DWS Appoints Matthias Naumann to Head of Real Estate, Asia Pacific

DWS today announced the appointment of Matthias Naumann to head its direct real estate business in Asia Pacific (APAC). Matthias is based in Sydney and reports into Clemens Schäfer, Head of Real Estate, APAC & Europe in Frankfurt.

In his expanded position, Matthias will oversee the platforms day-to-day operations and direction as a dedicated ‘on the ground’ Head of Real Estate for APAC, whilst maintaining his current role as Chief Investment Officer (CIO) Real Estate for APAC. In addition to expanding DWS’s presence in existing real estate markets, Matthias will be responsible for establishing strategic growth in new markets and key sectors. He is supported by a full service direct real estate platform across portfolio management, transactions, asset management and research with a footprint in key cities and countries including South Korea, Singapore, Australia and Japan. Matthias chairs DWS’s APAC Real Estate Investment Committee, co-chairs the Global Real Estate Investment Committee and is a member of Clemens Schäfer’s Real Estate Leadership Team.

Matthias joined DWS in 2013 and has 20 years of experience. He has covered APAC as the CIO for Real Estate since 2021, relocating to Sydney from DWS’ Frankfurt headquarters in early 2024. Matthias commenced with DWS in its Real Estate Research and Strategy team, progressing to Head of Strategy in 2015 before his appointment as CIO for its well established European Real Estate platform in 2019. Before DWS, Matthias served as a senior analyst at AXA Investment Managers in London. Previously, he was an analyst at Invesco Real Estate GmbH in Munich and commenced his career as a portfolio analyst at Investment Property Databank in London. Matthias holds a post-graduate engineering degree from TU Dortmund University.

Clemens Schäfer, Head of Real Estate, APAC & Europe at DWS said: “Matthias’ strong strategic credentials and CIO background, along with his APAC and international experience, will ensure greater alignment of our regional and global objectives and connectivity with clients. Unlocking sustainable AuM growth through more investment, deployment of capital, and managing assets through the investment cycle will remain critical to his leadership, backed by our firm commitment to the region.”

Matthias Naumann, Head of Real Estate, APAC said: “I am excited to lead DWS’s APAC direct real estate business and furthering our strategic growth ambitions in the region’s dynamic real estate markets. Building upon our historically strong foundation in Japan and Korea is central to our Media Information strategy, with a particular focus on the Living sector, especially in Australia. Our skilled regional team and global real estate expertise are key to our continued success.”

Vanessa Wang, Head of APAC and Head of Coverage, APAC said: “We are confident in Matthias’ ability to achieve growth in the coming years and to reach our clear objective to deliver our APAC real estate platform to global investors under his leadership.” DWS Real Estate is a global platform with a long-established heritage in Europe, the United States and APAC. The global direct real estate equity platform currently manages almost EUR 55 billion in AuM as of June 30, 2025.