Awards for Asset Management

Bethmann Bank ranked seventh in TOPS 2026, the Fuchsbriefe test, and received a “Very Good” rating in the overall ranking for Germany (the test included over 70 banks and asset managers). We impressed in the areas of ‘consultation’ and “transparency,” receiving gold in both fields. In the areas of “investment expertise” and “beauty contest,” we still have some room for improvement, receiving silver, while we received bronze for “investment proposals.” Since 2018, we have also received the “Green Trust Traffic Light” and have been able to call ourselves a “Trusted Wealth Manager” since 2018. In the Fuchsbriefe sustainability ranking, we achieved the top category of “Grand Master” for the first time in 2024 with a score of 91.0 points. The “Sustainability in Private Banking” rating by FUCHS | RICHTER Prüfinstanz was compiled on the basis of a questionnaire survey and various market tests carried out by trained testers. The rating assesses, in particular, the consideration and implementation of sustainability throughout the company, employee training, consideration and implementation in customer advisory services, and acceptance of the customer's individual value system in advisory discussions and portfolios.

Further information is available here:

Fuchsbriefe TOPS (german)

Fuchsbriefe Trust Indicator (german)

Fuchsbriefe Sustainability Ranking (german)

• The actual investment proposal as the core of the offer. It determines whether a candidate qualifies for the final selection.
• The investment expertise of a provider
• Transparency, measured by responses to a questionnaire sent to headquarters
• The range of foundation services
• The beauty contest, i.e. the oral exam for the final selection

In 2025, a total of 54 out of 372 asset managers from Liechtenstein, Switzerland, Austria, and Germany received awards. The analysts tested 41 criteria, such as customer focus, returns, and convincing performance. We received the “cum laude” award.

Further information is available here:

Elitereport (german)

1. Appointment Scheduling / Reception
2. Conversation (customer analysis)
3. Result (transparency/risk)
4. Support / Professionalism

€uro Magazine awarded us a rating of “very good” in its private banking test in 2013, 2015, and 2018 to 2023.

In 2023, 18 banks and financial advisors were assessed by a panel of experts and the Institut für Vermögensaufbau (IVA) using a test customer on topics such as transparency, costs, and portfolio structure.

Further information on the 2023 test is available here:

€uro Magazine (german)

The Gesellschaft für Qualitätsprüfung mbH tested us this year at our Berlin location. The testing institute tested 2,024 private banking providers. A total of 169 institutions from German-speaking countries were evaluated in three different disciplines as part of a test case.

The criteria for the evaluation

The Gesellschaft für Qualitätsprüfung team used a three-dimensional criteria model for the evaluation, in which school grades were awarded:

• the digital check with a weighting of 20 percent
• the initial interview, weighted at 30 percent
• the second or on-site interview, weighted at 50 percent

Our award: “Excellent consulting quality”

We have once again received the “Excellent” award, which is reflected in a score of 1.84. Bethmann Bank ranks among the top performers, but we still have room for improvement in the digital check.

Further information is available here:

Article in Private Banking Magazine (german)

In 2024, Bethmann Bank participated for the second time in Capital magazine's ranking of the best sustainable asset managers and, as in the previous year, took second place among the participating banks. As part of this ranking, the Institute for Wealth Accumulation conducted a survey for Capital magazine to assess the sustainability of the private wealth management services offered by banks and independent asset managers. Participants were assessed in the areas of “portfolio,” “ESG in the investment process” (product transparency), and “ESG in the company” itself—i.e., the consideration of environmental, social, and good corporate governance factors. Participants could earn a total of 100 points, with a five-star rating awarded for a minimum of 80 points. In addition to 54 banks, 58 independent asset managers also took part in the ranking. We impressed in the categories “Portfolio Evaluation,” “Product Transparency,” and “ESG in the Company,” scoring a total of 86.6 out of a possible 100 points.

Further information is available here:

Capital (german)

In 2024, stern magazine, in collaboration with an advisory board and specialists from the personnel marketing agency Embrace, honored “Germany's companies with a future.” The focus was on the companies themselves, not their products or services. In view of the changing economic climate, increasing digitalization, and the shortage of skilled workers, the design of the working environment is becoming particularly important for the future viability of companies.  Professor Jutta Rump from the Ludwigshafen University of Business and Society, head of the Institute for Employment and Employability (IBE), acted as a consultant. A questionnaire with around 90 questions was sent to 243 companies. The evaluation took into account both facts and self-assessments. The study is divided into five areas: “Mobile working,” “Working time arrangements,” “Structural organization,” “Empowerment (empowering employees),” and “Digitalization & innovation.” All areas were weighted equally. The evaluation scheme was unknown to the participants. The results were converted to a scale of one to five points for each dimension. The average resulted in the overall rating. The list includes 168 companies that achieved four or five stars, divided into size categories (up to 500 employees, between 500 and 2,500 employees, more than 2,500 employees). The list includes 168 companies that have achieved four or five stars, divided into size categories (up to 500 employees, between 500 and 2,500 employees, more than 2,500 employees). 

Bethmann Bank received a 4-star rating. Mobile working and digitalization & innovation were rated particularly positively with 5 stars, while we received 4 stars in all other categories.

You can find more information here:

stern Study (german)

Bethmann Endowment Fund

In 2021, the Bethmann Endowment Fund was certified with five out of five stars by the Institut für Vermögensaufbau (Institute for Wealth Accumulation). Successful certification means that at least four out of five test criteria (structural security, risk diversification, product implementation, costs, transparency) have been met.

In the 2022 endowment fund study by FondsConsult Research GmbH, the Bethmann Endowment Fund was assessed in terms of qualitative criteria such as fund management, KVG, investment principles and implementation in the portfolio context, risk management (“capital preservation”), distribution yield (“predictable distributions”) and running costs (“principle of economical use of funds”) as well as the implementation and execution of an ESG strategy, and was awarded a “good” rating. Fondsconsult's endowment fund study examined 15 investment funds that are primarily aimed at the target group of endowments.

More information is available here:

FondsConsult Foundation Study (PDF, 851 KB – german)

Bethmann Aktien Sustainability

In 2022, our Bethmann Aktien Sustainability fund was once again awarded two stars by the Forum Nachhaltige Geldanlagen (FNG). This seal confirms that we comply with the FNG's strict SRI quality standards. This assessment is verified by QNG (Qualitätssicherungsgesellschaft Nachhaltiger Geldanlagen mbH) in collaboration with the audit team led by Prof. Dr. Timo Busch from the University of Hamburg. The fund receives two out of three stars for its particularly sophisticated and comprehensive sustainability strategy. It has earned additional points in the areas of institutional credibility, product standards, and portfolio focus (selection and dialogue strategy, KPIs).

For more information, please click here:

FNG Seal (german)

• This is reflected in a transparency confirmation, combined with the transparency label, issued by Rödl & Partner GmbH.
• The transparency label shows at a glance that the client (Bethmann Bank) makes a special effort to enable investors to “control and monitor” the activities of the manager of the relevant investment product on a quarterly basis.
• The transparency report supports semi-professional investor groups in particular in liability management. The transparency report significantly reduces the risk of possible organizational negligence and ensures compliance with the required duties of care.
• The available information is prepared by an independent third party in a more comprehensible and targeted manner.
• Reliability in the implementation of the investment guidelines and management targets.
• The transparency report documents that investors are kept informed about the investment and management policy of the relevant investment product on an ongoing and comprehensible basis.
• Timely and comprehensive insight into investment management minimizes the information deficit. This generally results in greater security when dealing with capital investments.

The certification provides investors with the professional opinion of an independent third party on specific portfolios of an asset manager. This opinion is based on a regular review process, the results of which are documented in this document in a manner that is comprehensible to investors.

Certification Bethmann Endowment Fund (PDF, 1 MB – german)