Unicredit, new partnership with Azimut on asset management – Corriere.it

Return to managed savings for Unicredit. The bank led by Andrea Orcel has signed an agreement with Azimut Holding for the distribution of asset management products. Azimut will launch a newco in Ireland, a management company that will perfect investment products to be distributed in Italy through the Unicredit network on a non-exclusive basis.

What the agreement provides

The funds will be made available for the Italian market in the second half of 2023 following regulatory approvals. Piazza Gae Aulenti will be able to exercise a purchase option on the management company in five years. In case of exercise of the call option the bank will then be able to count on its own product factory which will be added to the Onemarkets platform fund. The operation, a second step in asset management after the establishment of the sicav One markets funds with Jp Morgan, Pimco, Blackrock, Fidelity, and Amundi, will sanction the return of Unicredit to internal asset management as in the days of Pioneer and Fineco. The intent to build a factory with a head in Italy but antennas all over the world.

The goals of the partnership

Unicredit is working to rebuild the asset management value chain, returning to building product factories, says CEO Orcel -. a step towards the creation of new products in various sectors. We made the agreement with Allianz in insurance, now the alliance with Azimut in asset management. The goal is to provide our customers with the best content, rebuild capacity selection and packaging of products with our strategy also made by others. We rebuild the value chain. Onemarkets was a building block. In Italy there will be mutual benefit for Unicredit and Azimut which has expertise and products. Opportunity to bring the asset management factory back into the house. We will immediately have products with high added value. They help us build a best in class factory. And at the moment it will allow us to internalize: create capacity to increase quality for our customers. And if we regain control, Azimut will remain with a stake.

Improve customer service

The partnership will also allow UniCredit to extend its offering, including the potential distribution of its banking products at Azimut, and underscores the bank’s strategic objective to bring greater value and scale to its asset management business, for the benefit of customers. Willingness to improve customer service and extend it, perhaps even consumer credit on which a technology can be developed. We recreate a value chain (distribution that accounts for 75% of the costs). And a series of pieces of skills are created. As for the agreement with Amundi – said Orcel – we have a contract that expires in five and we respect it. The contract ends then other partnerships or other partners develop.

The role of azimuth

Pietro Giuliani, president of the Azimut group, wanted to recall that the project was also born on the basis of a twenty-year acquaintance with Andrea Orcel: In 2004 he led the listing of Azimut on the Stock Exchange as Merrill Lynch. With this operation he proved to be quicker than others in realizing the potential of the partnership with Azimut as the only Italian asset manager to be present all over the world with a deep understanding of the needs of Italian and European customers. Azimut which today has reached a customer base of around 50% outside Italy, willing to increase the weight of Italy/Europe, as long as a national champion in asset management comes to light. Our clients and now Unicredit can have managers working all over the world. We are like Intel, a microprocessor that partners like Unicredit can use, Giuliani said.