Multi-manager pioneer, Mediolanum, has marked its 25th anniversary and news that its EMEA fund assets delegated to third-party managers have reached EUR2.19 trillion with data from the 2023 Allfunds Data Analytics (ADA) new report which highlights the continued growth of sub-advised funds in the funds industry.
Assets delegated to third party managers have reached EUR1.38 trillion representing 11 per cent of the entire UCITS funds universe, the report says. Interest in boutiques has gone from strength to strength – mandates in June 2023 grew by 2.5 per cent to 44.4 per cent marking a 16.7 per cent increase in the last three years in sub-advised mandates. The firm writes that this has been mainly driven by the multimanager approach where boutiques’ mandates grew 26.8 per cent overall in the last three years.
Mediolanum International Funds Limited (MIFL) ranked as top fund platform belonging to banking groups, with EUR46 billion AUM in H1 2023 delegated to third party managers, the report says.
Multimanager strategies continue to rise driving almost entirely the growth of sub-advised fund assets in the overall industry. Some 68 per cent of MIFL’s AuM are run with a multimanager approach, the firm says.
ESG funds are driving growth representing 45 per cent increase in EMEA sub-advised mandates, with MIFL having experienced 94 per cent growth in ESG mandates making it the industry’s highest growth among the funds platforms belonging to banking groups.
On its 25th anniversary, MIFL writes that it has positioned itself as EMEA’s leading banking group funds’ platform (“Banking Distribution channel”) for delegated assets, as sub-advised funds continue to grow.
Speaking on the report, entitled ‘Bringing boutique talent closer to investors through delegated fund managers’, and the firm’s 25th anniversary, Furio Pietribiasi, CEO of MIFL, says: “MIFL was set up 25 years ago in Ireland with the strong vision of building a business able to attract, develop the best talent and to invest in the most innovative tools and technology in the market by being domiciled in one of the fastest growing and most competitive funds’ centre in the world.”
“Pioneering the sub-advisory model has really made the difference for our clients and distributors, allowing for unique product innovation adapted to on-going financial markets conditions and capturing the best long-term opportunities for the investors.
“Today, supported by Ireland’s thriving financial ecosystem, which we are proud to be an integral part of, we have 113 sub-advisory mandates, of which 45 are with boutique managers, which accounts for EUR12.1 billion, corresponding to 26.3 per cent of our total AuM. These results have been possible thanks to one of the largest and most experienced manager selection teams in Europe and growing sophistication in our investment processes and risk management.
“We have always believed in the benefits of the multimanager approach, which allows investors to access open architecture at a more competitive price where the manager selection and allocation are decided by long-standing investment professionals; distributors have full transparency and control of their clients investments at any time, resulting also in a longer clients’ investment holding period thanks to the constant product evolution which adapts to market trends or investment opportunities. As highlighted in this report, the continued growth in the funds’ industry, despite market volatility, is a testament to the benefits of sub-advisory and multimanager.”
