He has been fund manager of the year several times and is considered one of the leading experts in the field of investment funds in Austria. In the “Money and Life” podcast, Alois Wögerbauer, head of the 3-Bank Generali Group, talks about investment strategy, patience and the Austrian stock exchange.
OÖ Nachrichten: If you are responsible for 11 billion euros or even a bit more, can you sleep peacefully at all?
Alois Woegerbauer: You can and must. If I couldn’t, I couldn’t fill my role for 25 years. First of all, you are not alone, we are 65 people. And secondly, we don’t calculate how much has been won or lost on a daily basis. These are quite impressive amounts. We calculate in percentages.
How do you become a fund manager?
There are two main prerequisites for this: on the one hand, appropriate training and, on the other hand, enthusiasm for the financial markets. These cannot be calculated, so it is important to have a global view. I always need to know what’s happening in the world.
There is always some exchange open around the world. That could cause stress. How can you imagine the everyday life of a fund manager?
At least not in the way you see him in the movies. We are not traders, but investors and strategists. And if I invest in a company, there is no added value to consistently monitor the stock exchanges around the clock.
They manage 62 public funds and 161 special and large investor funds. What is the difference?
Mutual funds are accessible to everyone. With savings plans from 50 euros per month. Special funds are tailored to individual investors.
The customers are companies or people who are very, very wealthy.
Both, including foundations or pension funds.
How many funds do you put together each year?
One or two products a year.
How much are the expenses?
That depends on the strategy. For equity funds it is about 1.5 percent per year, for some bond funds 0.4 to 0.6 percent.
The Austrian stock exchange is comparatively small. Does it make sense to invest here?
Yes, it makes sense. Not just out of patriotism. The home market of Austria accounts for two to four percent of our shares. That is significantly more than the Vienna Stock Exchange accounts for in the overall market. The advantage for domestic investors is that the companies are better known. In principle, however, it is also important that we invest in local companies.
What is the main market?
By far the USA. 65 percent of the world stock market value is in the USA. And there are amazing companies there.
Next to the USA, China is the most important economy in the world. How do you invest there?
So we hold back. You also need legal protection and transparency when investing. People in China are not so sure about that. Even if you read the balance sheets of the big companies there. We are used to other standards in Europe.
On your website you write, They stand for realism, flexibility and the courage to express an opinion. How to understand?
Sometimes you have to be a little braver. If everyone in the stock market is saying the same thing, the odds of it happening are slim.
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