Although it noted a “sharp slowdown” since the outbreak of the war in Ukraine, Europe’s biggest asset manager Amundi saw its assets under management top 2,000 billion euro during the first quarter, buoyed by the integration of Lyxor and persistent inflows from retail clients.
Amundi, part of the Paris-based Credit Agricole group, said on Friday that its assets under management rose 15 percent to 2,021 billion euro in the first quarter when compared to the same period a year earlier.
The asset manager said its net revenue rose 8.4 percent to 835 million euro in the first quarter. Net income rose 5 percent to 324 million euro. Excluding Lyxor, net revenue would have been 770 million euro.
Biggest in European ETFs after Blackrock
Amundi managed to acquire Lyxor in the spring of 2021. In April last year it announced it had agreed to pay 825 million euro for Lyxor, more than double what other asset managers were willing to pay.
The acquisition turned Amundi into the largest provider of European ETFs following US asset manager Blackrock, considered the world’s largest. Amundi serves approximately 100 million clients worldwide, ranging from retail to institutional and corporate clients. A significant number of its funds and ETFs have a legal home in Luxembourg.
Amundi CEO Valérie Baudson said the increasing earnings point to a “high level of operational efficiency” with a “resilient” diversified business model and “appropriate” strategic choices.
“In a more difficult backdrop due to increased market volatility and the conflict in Ukraine, Amundi has had a solid quarter thanks to robust inflows in medium- and long-term assets, driven by the majority of our areas of expertise and our different customer segments,” she said in a statement.
‘Sharp downturn’
Amundi noted “robust inflows” of 21 billion euro in medium and long assets, especially in retail, during the first quarter, although it also said “there has been a sharp slowdown since the outbreak of the war in Ukraine”. Amundi’s treasury products saw outflows of 26 billion euro during the first three months of this year.
Its first-quarter net asset management revenue was up 8.7 percent at 837 million euro as a 16 percent increase in net management fees, to 766 million euro, offset a decline of 36 percent in performance fees, to 71 million euro.
Addressing its acquisition of Lyxor, Amundi spoke of “excellent business momentum” and said the integration was “in line with the roadmap” while the first IT migration projects have been started.
Amundi paid 652 million in goodwill for Lyxor
“The acquisition of Lyxor is paying off with solid business momentum in passive management,” said Baudson.
Amundi last year finally beat US financial conglomerate State Street in its fight for Lyxor, the former ETF arm of French bank Societe Generale. Lyxor, with assets of 164 billion euro, was also chased by several other suitors, including Deutsche Bank, JP Morgan, Northern Trust and BNP Paribas.
Referring to the Lyxor acquisition, Amundi said on Friday that it recognised goodwill in the amount of 652 million euro.
Responsible investments at Amundi attracted 9 billion euro in assets during the first quarter, the firm said. Its assets in this field amounted to 834 billion euro at the end of March.
Related articles on Investment Officer Luxembourg: