Three leaders at Dutch asset manager Robeco Groep are to leave the company in a corporate restructuring that will see the business divide activities into a clearly labelled asset management company and a financial holding company.
Robeco Groep, which had €262bn in assets under management at the end of March, will separate its activities into Robeco Institutional Asset Management and Robeco Group.
Japanese financial services group ORIX Corporation bought around 90% of Robeco from its former owner Rabobank in February 2013.
Leni Boeren, who has been a member of the management board of Robeco Groep for 11 years and is chair of the executive committee of Robeco Institutional Asset Management, is to leave the group when the transition is finished.
David Steyn, who only began as chief executive of Robeco Groep and chairman of its management board in November last year, has already left and will join the ORIX Group as part of the changes.
Bert Bruggink, chairman of the Robeco Groep supervisory board, has also gone and will join the ORIX Group, the company said.
Under the new structure, Robeco Groep said Robeco Institutional Asset Management will have its own supervisory board and executive management.
It said this would emphasise its position as an autonomous global asset manager, under the name Robeco, headquartered in Rotterdam.
The other part of the new structure will be Robeco Groep, which will be changed into a financial holding company from an operating company.
Makoto Inoue, president and chief executive of ORIX Corporation, said the new structure would allow Robeco’s investment talent “to flourish and help Robeco to further expand on its strong foundation”.
The company believes it will also further separate the holding activities of Robeco Groep and the asset management businesses of its subsidiaries, Boston Partners, Harbor Capital Advisors, Transtrend, RobecoSAM and Robeco.
“The new structure reflects current global industry and market trends, guaranteeing continued expertise in investments, distribution and client servicing,” the company said.
A spokeswoman for Robeco said the new structure had arisen from studying industry best-practice across the world, and detailed discussion between management and supervisory board members, shareholders and regulatory authorities.
“As a result, the changes bring the governance structure of the business fully into line with AIFMD guidelines for Robeco,” she said.
Investment strategies, the teams running them and client servicing at Robeco will all remain as they are.
The supervisory board of Robeco will consist of Jeroen Kremers as chairman, and Jan Nooitgedagt and Gihan Ismail, with further members being announced soon.
Kremers and Nooitgedagt are members of the Robeco Groep supervisory board now, and Ismail is currently executive director at Marine Capital.
The company said the day-to-day management of Robeco would remain with Boeren, Roland Toppen, Peter Ferket, Ingo Ahrens and Karin van Baardwijk, who formed its executive committee, with Boeren leaving the group after leading the transition.
The Robeco spokesperson said the company aimed to appoint a chairman of the executive committee of Robeco Institutional Asset Management in the near future.
The supervisory and management boards of the newly transformed financial holding company Robeco Groep will be replaced by a “simplified financial holding board” chaired by ORIX chief Inoue, subject to regulatory approval.
With Bruggink and Steyn already having left the two boards, the other members of the Robeco Groep supervisory board will step down once the transition to the new structure is completed.
At the end of last month, Robeco announced the sudden departure of executive board members Hester Borrie and Hans Rademaker, who were head of global distribution and marketing and CIO, respectively.
In December, Robeco announced it was opening a London office, saying the city was a key hub for the institutional and wholesale investment business globally.
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