By Alberto Chiumento and Alessandro Parodi
(Reuters) -Italy’s five listed asset gatherers reported combined net inflows of 3.36 billion euros ($3.94 billion) in June, down 3% from 3.47 billion euros in the same month of 2024.
Net inflows into more lucrative managed assets rose 45% from the same month of last year, to a combined 3.15 billion euros, the data showed.
WHY IS IT IMPORTANT?
The fund management industry is under pressure to consolidate to sustain margins in the face of rising technology investment needs, growing competition from passive products and other cheaper forms of investment.
Despite the industry’s challenges, falling interest rates are pushing banks to increasingly turn to managing customers’ savings to drive revenues.
Merchant bank Mediobanca unveiled a 6.3-billion-euro bid for private bank Banca Generali in April, to become Italy’s second-biggest wealth manager and fend off a takeover offer by Monte dei Paschi di Siena.
On June 15 Mediobanca said it had postponed to September 25 its upcoming shareholder meeting to vote on its bid for Banca Generali after some investors requested more information.
Italy’s third-largest lender Banco BPM concluded in April a buyout offer for Anima Holding, securing control of the fund manager whose products it distributes.
BY THE NUMBERS
QUOTES
“We expect the market to focus on [Fineco’s] 707 million euros of asset under management (AUM) net flows, well above the 380 million euros average of the first five months of H1 2025,” Citi analysts said in a note.
“This is only the third month since January 2021 in which AUM net flows have been above 700 million euros.”
Banca Generali’s net inflows in June “were positive and slightly above our average monthly estimate,” Equita analyst Luigi De Bellis said in a note.
Deutsche Bank upgraded its recommendation on Azimut to ‘buy’ saying “chances of successful completion seem to have increased” in reference to “‘The New Bank’ (TNB) project, i.e.
finalization by year-end of the disposal of 50% of the domestic franchise to a private equity investor”.
CONTEXT
Banca Mediolanum on June 30 completed the sale of its entire 3.5% stake in Mediobanca through an accelerated bookbuilding process, cashing in about 548.4 million euros.
($1 = 0.8527 euros)
(Reporting by Alberto Chiumento and Alessandro Parodi; Editing by Valentina Za)
