WestInvest was founded as a subsidiary of WestLB in April 1989. Originally known as Rheinisch-Westfälische Grundstücks-Investment GmbH (RWGI), it was renamed WestInvest Gesellschaft für Investmentfonds mbH (WestInvest) in 1998. Together with the management company Deka Immobilien Investment GmbH, WestInvest does business as Deka Immobilien and has been part of the Deka Group since 2004, with DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale currently holding a stake of 94.9%. The remaining 5.1% is held by WIV GmbH & Co. Beteiligungs KG, based in Frankfurt am Main. DekaBank also holds a 94.9% stake in WIV GmbH & Co. Beteiligungs KG.
The WestInvest product range includes open-ended real estate mutual funds and institutional special AIFs with fixed investment terms.
Today, WestInvest can look back on more than 30 years of experience in managing open-ended real estate funds. Over time, the company has repeatedly proven its ability to be innovative by launching new, breakthrough products. Its decision to pioneer the concept of funds inflow management with WestInvest InterSelect, for example, made the management company a vanguard in the industry. WestInvest continued to break new ground in 2003 when it launched WestInvest ImmoValue, an open-ended real estate mutual fund specifically for institutional investors.
Managing Director, Real Estate Management
Joined Deka in 2000
Ulrich Bäcker is a Managing Director of WestInvest Gesellschaft für Investmentfonds mbH and Deka Immobilien Investment GmbH and is responsible for Global Real Estate Management. As part of this role, he has been responsible for comprehensive asset management of around 600 properties on five continents since 2007.
Bäcker joined DekaBank in 2000 and was initially the Head of Service & Logistics and Real Estate Management for the Bank as well as Managing Director for Group property companies. In these functions, he was responsible for the acquisition and sale of Group properties, plus asset, property and facilities management. Before joining Deka, he held a variety of management positions at Dun & Bradstreet and Gesellschaft für Zahlungssysteme. Ulrich Bäcker trained as an industrial manager and computer scientist, specialising in business.
Managing Director, CRO/COO
Joined Deka in 2009
Burkhard Dallosch has been a Managing Director of WestInvest Gesellschaft für Investmentfonds mbH and Deka Immobilien Investment GmbH since 2009. As COO/CRO, he is responsible for the Organisation, Risk and Finance divisions of the Deka Group's Real Estate business division.
The business economist has more than 30 years of experience in the finance and real estate industries. His previous positions included head of Wohnungsbauförderanstalt (housing promotion agency — Wfa) for the state development bank of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW Bank), CRO/CFO for a mortgage bank and head of a foreign branch of a major bank with responsibility for the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
Managing Director, Real Estate Fund Management
Joined Deka in 2002
Esteban de Lope Fend has been a Managing Director of WestInvest Gesellschaft für Investmentfonds mbH and Deka Immobilien Investment GmbH since 2020 and is responsible for fund management, product development and sales support.
He has held a variety of positions at Deka since 2002, most recently as Head of Real Estate Fund Management for open-ended retail real estate funds. Prior to this, he spent almost ten years as a Fund Manager responsible for the real estate mutual funds Deka-ImmobilienGlobal and Deka-ImmobilienEuropa. Before joining Deka, he worked as a construction and project manager at a variety of real estate and construction companies.
Esteban de Lope Fend is a Certified International Investment Analyst (DFVA) and holds degrees in Civil Engineering from the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Industrial Engineering from the University of Freiberg and Real Estate Economics (ebs). He has been a member of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (MRICS) since 2005.