News

• The number of customers taking out DPM services increased by 50% over the year to total almost 6,000 contracts. This increase was steady and constant throughout the year, evidencing investors' unwavering confidence in Banca March to identify investment opportunities.
• The combined volume of assets under DPM, plus the assets under management in funds managed by Banca March's partners, under its own strategic guidance, in order to offer SRI, impact investing and alternative investment strategies, rose to a total of €2.78bn, up 74% over the year.
• Assets under management in , the DPM strategy investing in global mega-trends, were up by 67% to €642 million at December 2021.
• The alternative investment strategies integrated into the bank's range of investment solutions through partnerships with K2 Advisors-Franklin Templeton and Banque Syz have attracted €425 million euros in AUM, up 163% versus 2020.

 

Next Generation continues to outperform, channelling investment into future megatrends

Discretionary portfolio management (DPM) services, which are characterised at Banca March by their unparalleled added value, were launched in 2018 to provide customers with a selection of open-architecture products that are actively managed to generate returns in any market context. The growth figures reported evidence the strong investor take-up levels thanks to the outstanding results obtained.

The Next Generation strategy – which invests in global megatrends rooted in social and economic change (industry 4.0, sustainability and the environment, and demographics and lifestyle) identified by the bank's team – put in an outstanding performance, with AUM climbing over 67% to December to stand at a total of €642 million. Aimed at customers with an adventurous profile, the service invests 100% in equity funds with a portfolio based on diversification and underpinned by the principles that comprise the bank's entire philosophy: prudence, long-term goals and shared growth with customers, employees and shareholders.

Another route to this value proposition is through the fund of funds March Next Generation F.I., a megatrend strategy with a minimum investment of just one share.

Growth in alternative, sustainable and impact investing

The alternative investment solutions launched by the bank in 2019 through partnerships with K2 Advisors-Franklin Templeton (DPM) and Banque Syz (fund of funds) continue to outperform, with year-on-year gains in 2021 of 163% and over €425 million in assets under management. In addition to these solutions, the fund of funds March Alternative Strategies⎯ was launched by March Asset Management in coordination with Banca March under the alternative investment advisory agreement with K2 Advisors-Franklin Templeton⎯. This product affords conservative investors access to a diversified portfolio of vehicles specialising in Long Short Equity, Global Macro, Credit/Relative Value and Event Driven strategies. This product had generated total assets under management of €147 million at the end of December.

Recently, the range of alternative investment solutions has been reinforced with the launch of the fund Dynamic Alternative Strategies, designed in partnership with Dynamic Beta Investments (DBI), which tracks the performance of a basket of hedge funds, comprising the 50 largest funds in the Event Driven, Equity Hedge and Relative Value strategies and 20 CTAs (Systematic global macro).

The Sustainable and Responsible Investment (SRI) and impact investing strategies launched with international fund managers such as Amundi-CPR have also posted outstanding inflows since their launch in late 2020, with a 240% increase in AUM to a total of €225 million. This figure includes the latest addition in this segment: the fixed income fund Robeco Global Climate Bonds, which seeks to reduce the carbon footprint of the issuers comprising its portfolio and currently has assets under management of €45 million.

The Banca March Product Area explained: “Society and the economy have stepped up both the pace and the depth of change. Against this backdrop, with interest rates at record lows, it is crucial to complement traditional investment options with other solutions offering diversification, such as megatrends, which seek growth in transformation, and alternative management, which offers liquid solutions with moderate risk. What's more, in a world which is increasingly aware of social and environmental issues, the analysis of non-financial factors is now essential, and has revealed tremendous investment opportunities in the field of sustainability. Our strategy of partnering with global specialists in alternative, sustainable and impact investments is proving highly effective, and the number of investors placing their trust in Banca March to manage their investments is constantly growing.”