ING Direct 2006 Annual Report Download - page 25

Assets under management, by client category
in EUR billion
Insurance policy holders 21% 127.1
Institutional clients 20% 118.3
Retail clients 17% 99.9
Private banking clients 10% 59.2
Proprietary 32% 195.5
Total 100% 600.0
refl ecting our global strategy to leverage
global investment capabilities into regional
opportunities that appeal to customers. This
is evidenced in the sale of EUR 1.1 billion of
the US senior bank loan strategy in Europe.
ING IM has profi ted from its extensive
global proprietary business, which
provides scale and growth opportunities
to leverage into third-party business. ING
IM also continues to develop its Alternative
Assets business, with capabilities in private
equity and hedge funds. In Europe, we
experienced strong growth thanks to our
own distribution networks, third-party
distribution channels and a growing
range of products and services. In the
Netherlands, for example, we launched
our fi rst absolute return fund and
attracted EUR 305 million of infl ows in
a highly competitive market. It was the
most successful fund introduction in the
Netherlands.
In the Americas, ING IM is expanding its
traditional product range into customer
centric solutions, including asset allocation
and portable alpha strategies. In the US,
we have rebuilt our sales force with an
emphasis on derivatives and capital markets
expertise to compete in the increasingly
complex pensions market, launching
several structured vehicles totalling
EUR 900 million and a closed-end fund
totalling EUR 400 million. In Asia/Pacifi c,
the focus is on increasing ING’s presence
in existing markets, including the fast
growing markets of China and India. The
acquisition of ABN AMRO’s domestic asset
management business in Taiwan added EUR
2.4 billion to assets under management.
€ 2.3 billion
In October 2006, ING Real Estate successfully
bid for Summit REIT, the largest owner of
industrial real estate in Canada with a
EUR 2.3 billion portfolio. This public-to-private
transaction provided ING Real Estate clients
with access to a high-quality portfolio and
management team in a mature market.
Sharp improvement at ING Real Estate
ING Real Estate saw another year of strong
growth due to an unrelenting appetite
for property funds among investors
and a wide global platform from which
to meet this demand. The assets under
management of the global real estate
securities business doubled to EUR 15 billion.
Across the whole fund range, investment
performance was very good with 75% of
assets under management outperforming
the benchmark.
In 2006, ING Real Estate opened new
offi ces in Stockholm, Tokyo and Los
Angeles to further strengthen the global
platform. ING Real Estate also grew through
new products such as the ING Real Estate
China Opportunity Fund, which attracted
both institutional investors and high-net-
worth individuals across the three regions.
The Development division returned
to profi t after a string of sales, including
the 52-storey New York Times Tower
project in New York. In 2007, ING Real
Estate will focus on maintaining its growth
momentum. Cross-border business will
be emphasised as the real estate market is
globalising and clients seek out cross-border
investment products and services.
Rapid growth at Private Banking
ING Private Banking, which caters to high-
net-worth individuals, is aiming to become
a top-20 private bank measured by assets
under management. In 2006, assets under
management increased 16.8% to EUR 59.2
billion due to continued private wealth
creation worldwide and the increased
demand for private banking services.
Further growth is expected to come from
both mature and developing markets,
driven mainly by Belgium and Asia.
ING Group Annual Review 2006 23