Frankfurt School launches Transformation Investment Compass to track strategically relevant private investment activities in Europe

• New application from the Centre for European Transformation (CfET) brings transparency to Europe’s transformation investment pipeline
• Decision-makers lack a consistent, project-level view of where firms are committing capital – the application delivers a project-based map of transformation investment activity across key sectors and themes
• Identifying where investment is accelerating and where gaps persist
• First live presentation at the CfET Annual Conference on 12 March 2026

Frankfurt School of Finance & Management launches the Transformation Investment Compass, a new evidence-based instrument developed by the Centre for European Transformation (CfET) to track and analyse transformation investments across Europe.

Europe’s transformation agenda, including energy transition, digital infrastructure and industrial competitiveness, as well as security and defence capacity, requires sustained capital formation at scale. Yet public debate often focuses on targets and policy intent, while decision-makers lack a consistent, project-level view of where firms are actually committing capital. The Transformation Investment Compass uses advanced artificial intelligence models and is designed as a project-level tracker of real corporate investment decisions across Europe. It will be first presented live at the CfET Annual Conference at Frankfurt School of Finance & Management on 12 March 2026.

The Transformation Investment Compass will support CfET’s research and public engagement by creating a consistent map of transformation investment activity across key sectors and themes and by identifying where investment is accelerating—and where gaps persist relative to strategic priorities. By doing so, the Compass enables structured dialogue between corporates, financiers, and policymakers grounded in measurable investment activity.

“Europe’s sovereignty will ultimately be decided by whether firms actually commit capital and build capacity,” said Professor Sascha Steffen, Co-Director of the Centre for European Transformation and Professor of Finance / DWS Senior Chair in Finance at Frankfurt School. “With the Transformation Investment Compass, we are moving the conversation from ambition to execution. The Compass provides a clear, structured view of where transformation investment is happening, where it is not, and what that implies for financing, competitiveness and resilience.”

Professor Eckart Windhagen, Professor of Practice in Financial Transformation and Co-Director of the Centre for European Transformation at Frankfurt School, added: “In transformation, the hard part is not agreeing on objectives—it is building the capability to deliver at speed and scale. The Transformation Investment Compass brings discipline and transparency to the investment reality on the ground. It is exactly the kind of bridge between strategy, finance, and implementation that Europe needs now.”

"As the Gateway to Europe, we know from investors at home and abroad that the opportunities arising from the transformation of Europe and Germany are particularly attractive right now. If we want to maintain this momentum, it is important to show that things are moving in the right direction. The Transformation Investment Compass can serve as an additional data point to help better understand the actual progress of the transformation in Germany and Europe – and thus close the data gap between announcement and actual implementation. It is insights like these that make our collaboration with Frankfurt School so valuable to us," says Vincenzo Vedda, Chief Investment Officer and member of the Executive Board of DWS Group.

The Centre for European Transformation

The Centre for European Transformation is a leading think tank that powers excellence across all areas of scholarship crucial for advancing Europe’s sustainable transformation. It aims to bridge the gap between academics, business leaders, and government officials to collaboratively address the 21st-century challenges and foster sustainable transformation and growth in Europe. With the Transformation Investment Compass, CfET expands its role as a research-driven centre that not only analyses Europe’s financing challenges but also builds practical instruments that help decision-makers allocate capital more effectively. The Compass will strongly support CfET’s agenda at the intersection of research excellence, policy relevance, and practitioner engagement.