Germany has planted another seed in its growing hedge fund industry. Deutsche Bank's DWS Investments has launched two new hedge funds aimed at the low net-worth investors. For as little as €124 (US$150), individuals can invest in either the DWS Hedge Long-Short Equity Market Neutral Fund or the Hedge Long-Short Equity Opportunistic Fund. Lest one think one can't get much of a bang for one's buck, the funds, which are managed by Jan Viebig, both made money in October – the worst month for hedge funds in 2005 – and finished the year up more than 16%. Viebig told the Financial Times that he lucked out by selling off the funds' natural resource and energy stocks a month before they went into a tailspin. By the way, German law prohibits firms from advertising the low-cost investment, so it may be a slow go for the new offerings.

Meanwhile, Germany is proposing new legislation that would reduce the reportable stake amount requirement from 5% to 3%. According to the FT, the new law would go a long away in avoiding the type of mess caused last year when out of the blue The Children's Investment Fund brandished its 5.1% stake to force management changes at the Deutsche Boerse. German law allows shareholders with more than a 5% to demand "an extraordinary general meeting," the kind that helped TCI's campaign for change.