Guggenheim's asset management business has grown through a series of acquisitions. In February 2010, it agreed to buy Security Benefit Corp., whose holdings included an asset management business with $22 billion. In July 2009, it bought Claymore Group of Lisle, Illinois, which at the time oversaw $12.9 billion in exchange-traded funds and other assets. In January, Guggenheim sold its interest in Claymore Canada to New York-based BlackRock Inc., the world's largest asset manager with $3.5 trillion.
Guggenheim managed $78 billion in fixed-income assets as of Sept. 30, the firm said in a January news release.
Fixed-Income 'Expertise'
Guggenheim has "substantial expertise" in managing fixed- income assets for insurance companies, Rosen said, a business he described as a specialty because it involves handling taxable money. Institutional investors such as pension funds and endowments typically don't pay taxes, he said.
Deutsche Bank competes in the same business, Rosen said.
"This could be an area where they overlap and might be a good fit," he said. BlackRock and Boston-based Wellington Management Co. also compete in the same field.
Guggenheim and Deutsche Bank both have a "quantitative bent" to some of their investment products, said Neil Rue, managing director of Portland, Oregon-based Pension Consulting Alliance Inc.
In a telephone interview, Rue described Deutsche Bank's RREEF unit, which invests in real estate for institutions, as a "very well-known" competitor in its field.
DWS Investments, which manages mutual funds, traces its history to Scudder Stevens and Clark, founded in 1919, which created the first mutual fund to invest solely outside the U.S., according to the DWS website.
Investor Redemptions