Operational course of affairs
y
Significant rise in orders in 2006
Robeco Group
Assets managed and held in custody
for clients, at year-end 2006
by investmenttype
Equity
44%
Fixed income
32%
Alternatives
7%
Other
6%
Mixed
5%
Money market
4%
Real estate
2%
Assets managed and held in
custody for clients, at year-end 2006
in EUR billions
2004
2005
2006
investment results. Of total assets managed and held in
custody for clients, 44% are in equities, 32% in fixed-income
securities and 7% in structured products, hedge funds and
private equity. The other categories, including real estate,
mixed and money market investments, account for 17%.
In the year under review, the number of securities and
in-house fund orders in the Netherlands grew to 8.6 (6.1)
million. The local Rabobanks showed an increase in both
the number of in-house fund orders (up 17%) and the
number of securities orders (up 65%). Alex also reported a
huge leap in the number of orders, the increase being 43%.
Positive cash flow contributes to growth in assets managed
In 2006, the inflow of new assets was EUR 5.8 billion.
Besides cash flow, the investment results made a positive
contribution to the 8% growth in assets managed to EUR
141.7 (131.6) billion. Institutional clients account for nearly
half of these assets. Investors provided a handsome inflow
of assets in equity funds at the American subsidiary Harbor
Capital Advisors. This cash flow was partly offset by an out
flow of institutional equity capital at the American subsidiary
Boston Partners. Third-party distribution - i.e. the sale of
funds via third parties - performed well in 2006, with inflow
mainly from the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany and
Switzerland. In 2006, demand for structured products was
lower among investors. Consequently, Robeco Alternative
Investments introduced fewer new products and Robeco
redeemed part of the structured products. A positive
development was the inflow of assets in hedge fund invest
ments at the Transtrend subsidiary and at Robeco-Sage.
Robeco-Sage invests in hedge fund managers on behalf of
clients and is therefore specialised in the selection of these
managers.
Expansion of activities
In 2006, Robeco strengthened its institutional sales teams.
In addition, the international collaboration within Rabobank
Group was enhanced, which contributed to the attraction
of the first mandates from Canadian, Norwegian and Italian
clients. Also in 2006, Robeco extended its international
funds distribution. Through collaboration with the Polish
Bank BGZ, in which Rabobank has a minority interest, a start
was made with the sale of investment funds. In Saudi
Arabia, Robeco signed a collaboration agreement with
Rana Investment Company. Robeco acquired a 40% interest
in Analytic Investment Management (AIM) in the year
under review. This Belgian hedge fund manager specialises
in systematic intraday currency trading. From 2007, Robeco
and Sustainable Asset Management (SAM) Group have
bundled their knowledge in the area of sustainable
investments. SAM Group, in which Robeco acquired a 64%
interest in early 2007, is a leading asset manager in
sustainable investments, with assets managed amounting
to EUR 2.3 billion. Robeco expanded its expertise with
these new investment strategies provided by AIM and SAM
Group. Early in 2007, Robeco increased its interest in
48 Rabobank Group Annual Report 2006
