Robeco - major asset
WHAT'S NewS Issue 12 December 1996
Robeco special
7
The announcement in early June of Rabobank's 50-percent stake in independent
asset manager Robeco gave the international financial press a field day. Speculation
on the pro's and con's of the move for both parties made headlines around the
world. As an asset manager, Robeco enjoys a serious reputation through its cluster
of funds covering almost every conceivable type of investment option - from real
estate to emerging markets. But even though it profiles itself as the largest
independent in Europe, Robeco needs to expand its activities rapidly if it is to
compete with the global big boys. What's NewS asks Robeco people for a run down
of current activities and what the Group is aiming for in the future.
According to the very brief 'Robeco Group
in Brief' (one typed page), the primary
^rbjective of the Rotterdam-based house is
to 'market financial products and services
aimed directly or indirectly at the creation
of capital. Clients are private, institutional
and corporate investors in the Netherlands
and abroad'. As a summing up of activities,
this couple of lines is about as succinct as
you can get. Business-like in the extreme, it
conveys little of the dynamism of the
Group's approximately 750 staff which
bring together the skills and expertise
essential to the management of tens of
investment funds and billions of assets
under management. Nor does it express the
Group's growing strength outside its
traditional Dutch market. Subsidiaries in
France, Switzerland and Luxembourg are
increasingly active on and from their
markets as a stepping stone to the kind of
Gong-term international growth Robeco is
Pboking for. At the same time, the
institutional side of Robeco's business is
also the focus of enhanced activity.
SMALL PLAYER
In the widespread press coverage that
marked the Rabobank acquisition of a 50-
percent stake in Robeco, much was made
of the fact that the asset manager had only
NI.G 75 billion under management. CEO
Pieter Korteweg was the first to agree that
NI.G 100 billion was the minimum
requirement if you wanted to count as a
real force in this business. Yet, for an asset
manager that for decades focused on its
domestic market, Robeco has still
managed to maintain its independence in
what can only be described as a cut-throat
business. It has used innovative marketing
approaches, such as direct marketing, to
bring in private investors around the
world. For a small player, you will
probably find that Robeco's name
recognition among readers of quality
newspapers and magazines, ie. potential
private investors, is much higher than most
of the enormous players in these markets.
INNOVATIVE MARKETING
'It is true that we have made real inroads
through our innovative marketing
techniques,' confirms Willem van Someren
Gréve, director of marketing. 'We have
applied direct marketing techniques very
Willem van Someren Gréve, director
of marketing
successfully and by
using modern
selling techniques
have managed to
reach a wide
market. Given
major changes in
consumer
behaviours, the oak-
panelled plush
offices occupied by
cigar-smoking
investment advisors
is a thing of the
past. We have to
make use of that
changing environment and one recent
innovation is Internet. Our experience with
direct marketing is that the modern
entrepreneur, tomorrow's wealthy person, is
extremely receptive to being serviced
quickly, efficiently, without too much chat.
While our largest group of private clients is
still Dutch, not least through our
cooperation with Rabobank, I'm sure our
people in Switzerland and France will also
teil you more about how successful this
approach has been already for them.'
UNIQUE APPROACH
One of the ways Robeco has made its
mark on the vast potential private investor
market, which currently represents about
two-thirds of the Group's total 700,000
investors, is through its unique use of every
cent in assets for its clients. 'We were the
first and are still one of the very, very few
institutions that applies the so-called
shareholder account system,' Van Someren
Gréve agrees. 'What it means is that every
guilder, or franc or dollar for that matter, is
always fully invested because we do not
demand that a cliënt buys a full share of
this or that fund. We put every last cent of
their funds into fractions of units of shares
so there is no money hanging around idle
because it is not enough to purchase a full
share. This approach has proved extremely
attractive to investors around the world.'
THE FRENCH CONNECTION
It is an approach that could also very well
be seen as a typical example of Dutch
soberness and thrift. Van Someren Gréve
grins as he admits that even though many
of the funds are international in
ROBECO - EEN NADERE KENNISMAKING
Het nieuws van onze 50% deelname in Robeco werd in de financiële pers breed uitgemeten. Deze stap was een logisch vervolg op
de al bestaande samenwerking. Robeco neemt met haar wijze van opereren een speciale plaats in tussen de diverse fonds
nanagers. Naast particulieren richt Robeco zich ook op institutionele beleggers. Deze maken nu al eenderde van het totaal uit. Dat Robeco niet
alleen in Nederland opereert, maar ook vestigingen heeft in Zwitserland, Frankrijk en Luxemburg is nog niet overal bekend. In deze special een
overzicht van de activiteiten.
