Italian insurer Generali has picked DWS, Deutsche Bank’s majority-owned asset manager, as the first of a “limited number of preferred asset managers” it will partner with to develop new products.

The two companies announced the agreement on October 23, saying they had agreed to expand an existing partnership on mutual funds. The new accord means DWS is “eligible to be selected” for insurance mandates by Generali’s European subsidiaries — particularly in France, Switzerland, Germany and Italy, according to the companies.