By Gaia Neiman and Alessandro Parodi
(Reuters) -Italy’s five listed asset gatherers reported combined net inflows of 3.77 billion euros ($4.42 billion) in August, up 65%from 2.29 billion euros in the same month of 2024.
Net inflows into more lucrative managed assets rose 39% from the same month of last year, to a combined 2.52 billion euros, data showed.
WHY IS IT IMPORTANT?
The fund management industry is under pressure to protect margins as it grapples with growing technology spending and competition from passive products and other cheaper forms of investment.
With interest rates falling, Italian banks are increasingly turning to the running of customer savings to support revenues as consolidation sweeps the sector.
Monte dei Paschi this week secured 62% of Mediobanca after the bid target’s defence strategy, centred around the proposed acquisition of private bank Banca Generali, failed.
In April, Italy’s third-largest bank Banco BPM bought fund manager Anima Holding as it fought a hostile bid by bigger rival UniCredit which has now collapsed.
BY THE NUMBERS
QUOTE
“August brokerage activity (at Fineco) outperforms platform peers, with net flows annualising at 6.7%,” Citi analysts said in a note.
“The flows are predominantly driven by assets under custody (AUC) net flows …. We expect the AUC net inflows to be partly driven by purchases of government bonds as bond yields rose in August.”
($1 = 0.8530 euros)
(Reporting by Gaia Neiman, Alessandro Parodi; Eduting by Valentina Za)
