Deutsche Asset Management (DeAM) has appointed heads of its seven new UK business units following a revamp designed to make the fund management company more competitive.

The new business streams will be responsible for their individual day-to-day investment issues, client servicing and profitability. DeAM believes that each unit will each be capable of fighting for business with boutiques as well as larger rival firms. The move comes amid a decline in the popularity of balanced investment mandates and an increase by pension funds in the use of investment specialists focusing on single asset classes.