Bellevue Group with half-year operating profit of CHF 6.8 mn - increase of assets under management to new high of close to CHF 7 bn - Seite 3

Assets under management at new record high

Assets under management reached a new all-time high of CHF 6.9 bn, an increase of 30% compared to the end of 2015. The acquisition of StarCapital accounted for much of the growth (CHF 2.5 bn). Meanwhile the Group reported organic inflows of CHF 126 mn in net new assets. Demand for its various healthcare strategies as well as for the BB African Opportunities and, in particular, BB Global Macro funds was strong. With some CHF 190 mn in assets, the BB Global Macro Fund delivered another positive return (+2.8% in CHF) despite the extreme challenges encountered in the first half thanks to its astute diversification across multiple asset classes and use of long and short investment strategies. Having delivered an outperformance of 8.2% and 6.8% (in CHF), both the BB Entrepreneur Switzerland Fund and BB Biotech AG clearly beat their benchmarks, although the latter's total return was negative. The highly adverse market conditions in the first half also left their mark on Asset Management's results. Besides the negative market impact of approximately CHF 1 bn on assets under management, performance fees plunged 85% to CHF 0.6 mn (prior-year period: CHF 3.6 mn). The operating results declined by 21% to CHF 9.5 mn.

Further erosion in Brokerage earnings - initial action taken to set up a wealth management franchise 

The structural and regulatory-driven slowdown in brokerage activities led to a renewed drop of around 24% in Bank am Bellevue's income. Conversely, its extensive expertise in M&A and capital market transactions was in high demand. Bank am Bellevue's Corporate Finance Team co-managed several capital market transactions during the first half, including the initial public offering of Investis, a leading residential property company in the Lake Geneva region and a national provider of real estate services. Nevertheless, the decline in brokerage volumes led to an operating loss of CHF 1.1 mn for the bank. In order to broaden and stabilize the bank's income base, initial action has been taken to establish a wealth management franchise at the bank.

Outlook

Bellevue Asset Management plans to list a new investment trust on the London Stock Exchange in the second half of the year. The new investment vehicle will cover a global healthcare universe and specifically address local client needs. Wealth management for entrepreneurial private clients will be set up as a new field of activity for the bank under the helm of Christian Zenker, an expert with many years of experience. This new field of activity will be established through organic and acquisitive initiatives.