Deutsche Vermögensberatung (DVAG), which in English loosely translates as "German financial advisors", is a German

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

 Multi-level marketing

Multi-level marketing

Multi-level marketing is a marketing strategy in which the sales force is compensated not only for sales they personally generate, but also for the sales of others they recruit, creating a downline of distributors and a hierarchy of multiple levels of compensation...

investment

Investment

Investment has different meanings in finance and economics. Finance investment is putting money into something with the expectation of gain, that upon thorough analysis, has a high degree of security for the principal amount, as well as security of return, within an expected period of time...

 company based in Frankfurt

Frankfurt

Frankfurt am Main , commonly known simply as Frankfurt, is the largest city in the German state of Hesse and the fifth-largest city in Germany, with a 2010 population of 688,249. The urban area had an estimated population of 2,300,000 in 2010...

, Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

. The DVAG is operative in Germany, Austria and Switzerland.

The sales force consists of more than 37,000 so called "Vermögensberater" (Financial adviser

Financial adviser

A financial adviser, is a professional who renders financial services to individuals, businesses and governments. This can involve investment advice, which may include pension planning, and/or advice on life insurance and other insurances such as income protection insurance, critical illness...

) with about 5.4 million clients. In 2005 the company reached revenues of 833 million €. The Assets under management

Assets under management

Assets under management is a financial term used denote the market value of funds being managed by a financial instutition on behalf of its clients, investors, depositors, etc. This metric is a sign of size and success against competition...

 are listed as 123.6 billion €.

Board of directors

The Deutsche Vermögensberatung (DVAG) is managed by seven people. The members of the DVAG are:

• Reinfried Pohl (Chairman)
• Udo Corts  (Communication, Coordination)
• Hans-Theo Franken (Products)
• Sabina Gerhart (finance)
• Christian Glanz (IT-speciallist)
• Helge Lach (Education, Marketing)
• Kurt Schuschu (Distribution)

Chief representative

The two sons of Dr. Pohl working near to his father, the chairman of the DVAG:

• Reinfried Pohl jun.
• Andreas Pohl

History

DVAG was founded 1975 by Reinfried Pohl as "Kompass Gesellschaft für Vermögensanlagen mbH". From 1967 to 1969 Pohl worked for Investors Overseas Service

Investors Overseas Service

Investors Overseas Services, Ltd. was founded in 1955 by financier Bernard Cornfeld. The company was incorporated outside the United States with funds in Canada and headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland. In the 1960s, the company employed 25,000 people who sold 18 different mutual funds...

 (IOS), building up a strong sales force for financial services using a Pyramid scheme

Pyramid scheme

A pyramid scheme is a non-sustainable business model that involves promising participants payment or services, primarily for enrolling other people into the scheme, rather than supplying any real investment or sale of products or services to the public...

. After the insolvency of IOS, Pohl took over 500 salespeople from IOS to his new company.

Since 2008, as the DVAG absorb the advisors of the AachenMünchener Insurance Company, the Deutsche Vermögensberatung is called "The DVAG-Group"

Sponsorship

DVAG is famous for their sponsorship of Michael Schumacher

Michael Schumacher

Michael Schumacher is a German Formula One racing driver for the Mercedes GP team. Famous for his eleven-year spell with Ferrari, Schumacher is a seven-time World Champion and is widely regarded as the greatest F1 driver of all time...

 and Nico Hülkenberg via branded cap

Cap

A cap is a form of headgear. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head and have no brim or only a visor. They are typically designed for warmth and, when including a visor, blocking sunlight from the eyes...

s. The company has also had an association with FC Kaiserslautern since 1996.