GAM Holding Swings to Profit as Customers Add Net New Money

GAM Holding AG (GAM), the Swiss money manager that split from Julius Baer Group Ltd. (BAER), swung to a full- year profit after positive client inflows.

Net income was 86.7 million Swiss francs ($92 million), compared with a loss of 95 million francs a year earlier, the Zurich-based company said today in its annual report.

“In 2012 we saw a return to solid asset growth,” Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Johannes A. de Gier said in a press release. “As we are starting the year from a very strong position, with high levels of assets under management and strong investment performance, we have good reasons to be optimistic.”

GAM, which is buying back as much as a fifth of its shares by May 2014, said assets under management were little changed at 116.2 billion francs in the final quarter. Managed assets increased 9 percent in the 12 months though Dec. 31, with customers adding 2.4 billion francs.

GAM surged 27 percent this year, for the second-biggest gain in the Stoxx 600 Financial Services Index behind London- based 3i Group Plc. The 30-member gauge climbed 9.6 percent.

To contact the reporter on this story: Giles Broom in Geneva at gbroom@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Frank Connelly at fconnelly@bloomberg.net