ING Investment Management will look to boost its presence in the UK funds market following an IPO and a rebrand, the firm has said.
ING IM has become part of NN Group, after Dutch financial services company ING Group listed NN Group, its insurance arm, in an IPO which raised €1.5bn and valued the business at €7bn. The listing, the largest in Europe this year, saw ING Group reduce its stake in the company to 71.4%.
A soft-launch of investment branding is expected over the summer. As of 2015, the fund manager will be known as NN Investment Partners, while the funds will be renamed accordingly.
ING business development director Peter Wilson said the flotation will give the firm more flexibility: “ING as a bank does not have a particular wide proposition in the UK, whereas the investment management proposition has wider opportunities.
"When we were part of a larger financial organisation, the larger group could have a different view than the investment management arm.
“Now the board and the group CEOs have more autonomy – they can have a vision and know they can implement it.”
The Netherlands’ largest financial services company, ING Group struggled during the financial crisis because of its exposure to US mortgage-backed securities. The Dutch government ultimately came to the rescue with a €10bn bailout. ING has since been under pressure to outline a strategy to pay it back.
The management board of the newly-formed NN Group will include ING IM’s chief executive Stan Beckers.
