Our specialised subsidiaries
Asset management
Stability of managed assets in turbulent investment year
www.robeco.com,www.sarasin.com,www.schretlen.com
Rabobank Group saw a limited drop in assets under management for customers
in 2011 due to a combination of cash inflows, investment losses and currency
gains. Total inflow of assets into the asset management business was EUR 7.0
billion. Customers suffered from the poor stock market in the second half of 2011
in particular. Investment losses amounted to EUR 16.5 billion and currency gains
stood at EUR 4.9 billion. At Robeco, a streamlining of the organisation resulted in
cost savings and staff reductions. Driven by market conditions and the sale of
Sarasin, profit was down EUR 105 million, dropping to EUR 62 million. Private
Banking introduced Rabo Asset Management, a collaboration between the local
Rabobanks en Schretlen Co offering customers full-scope services. Of Private
Banking's services, 71% meet all sustainable banking criteria. Rabobank sold its
equity interest in Swiss-based private bank Sarasin in 2011Thanks to this sale,
Rabobank is now better placed to focus on its strategic core business.
Rabobank Group asset management business
Robeco and Schretlen Co support Rabobank Group's market leadership in the Netherlands
by offering a wide range of investment funds and assets management services via different
distribution channels. With their broad product offering and specialised investment teams,
they offer tailored investment and asset management services to investors of every kind.
Robeco, its subsidiaries Transtrend and Harbor Capital Advisors, and Sarasin provide services to
large institutional investors; on an international level, they offer investment services to high
net-worth individuals, among other clients. Rabobank Private Banking and Schretlen Co
offer estate planning and asset management services to high net-worth clients. Responsible
investing takes centre-stage in client services. Bouwfonds REIM, a division of Rabo Real Estate
Group, offers property-based investment products to private and institutional investors.
Strategy for Robeco
Robeco's strategic plan was updated in 2010 to include the period through 2014. Robeco wants
to focus on reducing the complexity level of the organisation and strengthening its position
as the Dutch market leader. To do so, Robeco has made choices in terms of the number of
products it wants to offer and the markets it wants to target. As part of this ambition, Banque
Robeco France was sold and the number of Robeco investment funds was reduced. Staff cuts
were implemented as fewer people were needed following the complexity reduction. Robeco
stands for responsible investing and the updated strategy focuses on further integration of
aspects in such areas as the environment, society and good governance. Robeco has an
exclusion policy, actively exercises its voting rights and enters into a dialogue with the
businesses it invests in.
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Annual Report 2011 Rabobank Group
