Vontobel turned the tide last year and managed to attract more money, mainly in asset management. Shareholders will be rewarded with a higher dividend.
When former star fund manager Rajiv Jain left the Zurich-based private bank, his departure left an indent in firm's books – Vontobel shed 10.6 billion francs in client assets in 2016. Last year, the company added 5.9 billion in new money its books, recovering some lost ground, the results for 2017 showed.
Asset management contributed 3.6 billion francs to the total. The bank had an inflow of money starting in the second quarter, reaching its target range of 4 to 6 percent since.
Fixed Income Boost
The fixed income boutiques did particularly, including TwentyFour Asset Management, whose products were put on offer in the U.S. last year. Vescore and Sustainable & Thematic Investing, two other Vontobel boutiques, also recorded pleasing inflows of assets.
The combined wealth management business notched up 2.2 billion francs in new money measuring, an increase of 4.7 percent. Total assets under management hit a record 186.6 billion francs last year, up from 155.3 billion a year earlier.
Higher Dividend Payment
Wealth management recorded a pre-tax profit of 60.5 million francs, and asset management contributed just short of 163 million. Financial products, Vontobel’s third business line, reported pre-tax profit of 89 million francs, up 29 percent year-on-year.
In total, Vontobel's profit fell 20 percent to 209 million francs. The bank proposes to increase its dividend by 11 percent to 2.10 francs a share.
