News

• March AM has taken a decisive step forward in its transformation strategy with a view to supporting a transition towards Socially Responsible Investing (SRI), fully certified asset managers and the constant optimisation of its outstanding customer service.
• Following the appointment of Juan Manuel Soto as Executive Chairman of March AM in March 2020, Javier Escribano is spearheading the firm as Managing Director and Cristina Gómez Noblejas is at the helm in the Commercial Department.
• Carlos Ruiz de Antequera, currently CIO at March AM, will also be co-managing the institutional SICAVs – Torrenova de Inversiones, Lluc Valores and Cartera Bellver – with José Luis Palma, who will now be overseeing the management of these vehicles. Antonio López Silvestre has been appointed head of SRI, a newly-created role at the firm.

March Asset Management, the Banca March Group's asset management business, has finetuned its internal structure to tackle the new strategic challenges facing the sector, including the transition towards socially responsible investing (SRI), asset manager certification and the constant optimisation of customer services.

The bank has prepared an ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) policy which affords a broad framework for the performance of its corporate activities in complete alignment with these values. March AM is utterly committed to this process; since March, it has integrated ESG criteria into investment research, decision-making processes, communication of ESG matters among investee companies, presentations of transparency reports and risk management.

New internal structure

Following the appointment of Juan Manuel Soto as Executive Chairman of March AM in March 2020, the organisational structure is now spearheaded by Managing Director Javier Escribano, and Cristina Gómez Noblejas is Commercial Director.

Current CIO Carlos Ruiz de Antequera is now co-manager of institutional SICAVs Torrenova de Inversiones (Spain's largest SICAV), Lluc Valores and Cartera Bellver. This move puts Ruiz de Antequera – alongside José Luis Palma – in charge of one of the key areas underpinning March AM's leadership position in the Spanish asset management sector and in co-investment instruments.

March AM has also appointed Antonio Lopez Silvestre as Head of SRI. As well as heading up European Asset Management, Lopez Silvestre will now also be responsible for integrating the SRI strategy and roadmap at the corporate and business levels.

As part of its strategy to implement SRI criteria, March AM has applied Article 6 of the EU Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR) to all of its funds and pension plans since March. The SFDR came into effect in March this year and the fund manager is working towards having all its funds labelled SFDR Article 8 and Article 9. To that end, the firm has sought support from leading providers in the sector such as Sustainalytics, Clarity, ISS and Inversis, working closely with these companies to develop an in-house tool which will meet all its needs.

The asset management business has also shored up its European Equity management team, bringing Javier Criado Andrés (who has been at March AM since 2015) on board as an analyst and co-manager of Iberian and European equity strategies.

Javier Escribano, Managing Director at March AM, said: “Our commitment to securing long-term returns through prudent, well-balanced management in complete alignment with our customers' interests is an inextricable part of our identity. This new organisational structure affords extensive experience in global, multi-asset management and will allow us to continue to offer our customers consistent results through stock picking, the option of adding in alternative assets and compliance with ESG criteria, optimising risk/return profiles and maintaining complete investment liquidity.”