Feddo Kuiper Robert van der Meij
Centers of excellence
Product pipeline
Capturing the market
The value added enjoyed by clients of Rabo Securities' Equities
unit lies in its research and its specialization on the Dutch market.
'We focused on what we do very well and that is being a Dutch
broker. Other firms in Holland tried to become pan-European,
and found themselves competing with the Merrill Lynches of
this world and losing their identity,' says Robert van de Meij,
Head of Equities.
Equities has taken a different approach,
seeking sector expansion rather than geo-
graphic coverage. Feddo Kuiper, also Head
of Equities, explains, 'Instead oftrying to
cover all of Europe, we are moving into the
European market in areas we understand,
creating Centers of Excellence in areas
such as food and agriculture, financials,
and semi-conductors. Soon, we will be
offering products in real estate. What we
are trying to do is become more broadly
European through these Centers of
Excellence, without losing our identity, or
getting out of our league.' This year, to
enhance their brokering services further,
Equities acquired certain assets of Edward
de Graaf and created Rabo Securities
Execution Only, a one-stop shop for clients
seeking low-cost brokering services.
As Equities looks to expanding its offering
of products, both Van der Meij and Kuiper
agree high quality is the key. 'We are very
focused,' says Van der Meij, 'but we are also
flexible within changing markets to make
sure we get the right products to the
pipeline. We don't want to do everything.
We want to make sure we offer very high
quality products and only offer more
products if we can create the same level of
quality. The only thing we want to achieve
is Centers of Excellence and specialization,
and better utilization of our research team
to benefit our clients. And that means that
our products have to offer more solutions
and better value added.'
The Word
