Alto! Amundi casts a European spell on Aladdin

In the world of portfolio management software, few names loom as large as Aladdin, Blackrock’s all-seeing platform that has quietly become a market standard for asset managers, banks, and insurers across the globe. Backed by the world’s largest asset manager, whose assets exceed 11 trillion dollars, Aladdin has long cast its shadow across Europe’s investment landscape.

But a challenger is emerging from within the continent. Amundi, Europe’s largest assetmanager with 2.2 trillion euros in assets under management, is taking its Alto platform global. What began as an internal technology project in Paris has now evolved into a modular Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) platform that Amundi is selling to other asset managers, banks, and wealth platforms, positioning Alto as a European alternative to the American giant’s operating system.

“We didn’t set out to imitate anyone,” said Guillaume Lesage, Amundi’s chief operating officer, in an interview with Investment Officer. “But we do thank Blackrock for opening the way. They showed the world that an asset manager can also be a technology provider.”

According to figures presented in June, Alto reached a pro forma external revenue run-rate of around 100 million euros in 2024, with compound annual growth of 31 percent since 2021. The system supports more than eight trillion euros in assets, with over 5,000 investment users and 120,000 users of its wealth and distribution tools.

Long-term growth engine

Alto’s revenue still is a more than a factor 15 smaller than the 1.6 billion dollars that Blackrock reported as tech revenue for 2024, almost all of which stemmed from Aladdin. But it is on a track towards revenue levels reported by other competitors such as Charles River (639 million dollars) and Simcorp (337 million euro). 

Lesage said he views Alto as a long-term growth engine, with revenue potential reaching “hundreds of millions” through continued organic expansion and acquisitions. Tech income, he noted, also supports Amundi’s stock valuation.

“SaaS revenue streams are valued higher than traditional assetmanagement fees,” he said. “In terms of stock value, it’s good.” Amundi is majority-owned (69 percent) by Crédit Agricole SA, with the rest listed on Euronext Paris.

From internal tool to tech business

Alto emerged during Amundi’s 2017 acquisition of US-based Pioneer Investments, then using Aladdin. Amundi migrated off Blackrock’s system within eighteen months, a key moment that validated its internal infrastructure.

By 2021, Amundi had packaged its technology into Alto, a modular platform covering investment, risk, compliance, data, and client advisory and integrated it with AI. These are offered as cloud-native, scalable solutions. Initially for internal use, Alto is now being adopted by banks, insurers, asset servicers, and asset managers in France, Germany, and beyond.

AI drives broader industry shift

Other major asset managers are also embracing AI to enhance investment workflows. This week, Schroders Capital launched a virtual investment committee agent, complementing its Generative AI Investment Analyst (GAiiA). The tool helps private equity teams draft memos, assess risks, and process historic data faster, while decisions remain with human professionals.

Robeco meanwhile is implementing agentic AI, deploying specialised agents for scenario simulation, portfolio adjustment, and trade execution. “It’s the next step beyond large language models,” said Mike Chen, head of next generation quant, in an earlier interview. “Agentic AI adds that capability. Executing trades, performing tasks, making decisions autonomously, within boundaries.”

While human oversight remains central, the trajectory is clear: AI is moving from support tool to strategic engine.

Alto vs Aladdin

Positioning Alto alongside Aladdin, Copenhagen-based Simcorp, or State Street’s Charles River may seem ambitious. But Amundi is finding a growing appetite for alternatives, especially those combining European data governance with flexible architecture.

A key asset is Aixigo, a German wealthtech firm Amundi acquired in November. Its API-based tools integrate with existing systems, a contrast to legacy monolithic platforms. Aixigo brings twenty-five years of experience, with clients in six countries and a team of 150 specialists.

“Alto is a full-stack platform. Aixigo complements it by offering embedded wealth advisory tools that banks can plug into their existing environments,” Lesage explained.

Together, the platforms address both institutional needs and retail ambitions, especially in markets where scalability and localisation matter.

Hybrid DPM

Amundi tabled two examples to illustrate Alto’s versatility across client segments. Le Conservateur, a traditional French wealth manager, initially explored a technology overhaul but returned with a dual request: delegate part of its fund management to Amundi while retaining control through integrated oversight tools. Amundi delivered both, securing mandates covering six billion euros in assets and the supporting technology layer.

Commerzbank, meanwhile, uses Alto and Aixigo-powered solutions at scale. The German bank leverages the platform for portfolio reporting, hybrid discretionary portfolio management (DPM), and high-volume retail servicing. Hybrid DPM combines automated portfolio management with human advisor input, enabling personalised, scalable investment services for retail and mass-affluent clients. The setup supports over eleven million clients, fifteen thousand advisors, and 1.7 million custody accounts.

AI agents available to Amundi staff

Internally, Alto is quickly reshaping its workflows. Seventy percent of Amundi staff use Alto Studio, an AI-enhanced interface combining internal data with large language models and business intelligence tools.

In Paris, a live demo showed pre-set AI agents supporting users with prompts that generate portfolio insights, risk flags, and automated reports. Practical applications include a compliance tool that cross-checks marketing documents against prospectuses and rules across jurisdictions, and an AI assistant that completes up to eighty percent of RFP responses, enabling broader mandate coverage.

“We don’t believe in proofs of concept,” Lesage said. “These are real applications, built and used by our teams. There are over twenty now, and some have been developed directly by users without us even knowing. That’s exactly what we want.”

Market outlook

As banks and wealth managers digitize, demand for platforms like Alto is rising. A market forecast cited by Amundi expects global wealthtech spending to double: from six billion to twelve billion dollars by 2030. Modular, scalable tools are well-positioned to benefit.

With Alto, Amundi is not just offering tools. It is redefining its role. What began as an internal system is fast becoming a pillar of the firm’s strategy, helping it stay relevant in what is quickly becoming a software-driven industry.

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