SANTANDER ASSET MANAGEMENT TAKES OVER £1.5 BILLION FAMILY INVESTMENTS MANDATE

From the 1st April 2009, Santander Asset Management UK will begin management of the £1.5 billion investment portfolio of leading friendly society, Family Investments. This is the first institutional asset management mandate for Santander Asset Management in the UK, and reflects its goal of becoming a significant force in the UK market.

Investment Approach

Santander Asset Management will manage the portfolio with a flexible approach using both passive and active mandates and funds to meet the diverse needs of Family Investments customer base. The relationship will be coordinated locally in the UK with management of the passive assets split between London and Madrid.

Jeff Scott, Chief Executive of Santander Asset Management UK said: “Santander Asset Management’s proven investment model and our ability to use our global expertise to tailor solutions for local markets has placed us in a great position to help Family Investments deliver on its goals. We are delighted to have been appointed to manage this investment mandate and look forward to working with Family over the coming years.

"The combination of Santander’s global experience to deliver bespoke solutions and a widely trusted and recognised mutual organisation with over 30 years experience in providing financial solutions for families makes this proposition one of the most credible in the market."

John Reeve, Chief Executive of Family Investments said: “We are committed to providing an investment structure with the best balance between risk and growth for our one million customers. Following an extensive review of our investment strategy, we are very pleased to appoint Santander Asset Management as we believe they are well placed to achieve the returns we require. Their strong performance track record managing the Abbey CTF fund and highly experienced global team makes them the ideal choice to deliver long term benefits to all of our customers."

The Family Investment Portfolio comprises of 14 funds, including the Family Child Trust Fund, traditional friendly society product funds and ethical investments.. Currently XX per cent of Santander Asset Management’s funds are ranked in the second quartile or higher with a well balanced fund range using both active and passive management (more details available on request).

- Ends -

For media use only and not to be relied on by consumers to make financial decisions. The value of investments may fall as well as rise and is not guaranteed. Past performance may not be repeated in the future.

Santander Asset Management is the asset management unit of Santander. With a presence in 13 countries, Santander Asset Management manages EUR 130 billion with a team of more than 900 professionals, of which more than 220 are investment professionals.

Santander Asset Management is the leader in Spain and Latin America. (The largest manager of mutual funds and individual pension plans in Spain, and the fourth largest manager of mutual funds in Latin America). The presence of local investment teams gives Santander Asset Management the best equity investment platform in Latin America.

Banco Santander (SAN.MC, STD.N), the largest bank in the euro zone and seventh in the world by market capitalization. Santander engages primarily in commercial banking with complementary activities in global wholesale banking, cards, asset management and insurance. Founded in 1857, Santander has as of June, 2008, EUR 918,332 million in assets and EUR 1,050,928 million in managed funds, more than 65 million customers, 11,216 branches and a presence in some 40 countries. It is the largest financial group in Spain and Latin America. Through its Abbey subsidiary, Santander is the sixth largest bank in the United Kingdom, and is the third largest banking group in Portugal. Through Santander Consumer Finance, it also operates a leading franchise in 20 countries, with its principal focus in Europe (Germany, Italy and Spain, among others) and the U.S. In the first half of 2008, Santander registered €4,730 million in net attributable profit, an increase of 22% from the previous year, excluding capital gains.

For more information, see www.santander.com.

Family Investments is the trading name of Family Assurance Friendly Society Limited. Family Investments is the market leading Child Trust Fund provider with over 620,000 CTF accounts and their Child Trust Fund is available in approximately 16,000 high street locations - four times greater than any other provider. Family's partnerships include the Post Office, Abbey, Barclays, Sainsbury's Bank, , Coventry Building Society, Bradford & Bingley, Clydesdale Bank, Northern Bank, Yorkshire Bank, Nectar, Skipton Building Society and Early Learning Centre. www.familyinvestments.co.uk

Media contacts

David Stewart, Abbey Media Relations
Tel: 0207 756 4199

The Abbey press office operates from 8.00am to 6.00pm. Outside of these hours please call 0800 5877708.

 

Back to the Press Office