BNP Paribas has created a private asset management wing within its investment and protection services (IPS) team.
The €30 billion unit will be operational in January 2023 and will combine private asset management expertise across IPS, while collaborating with BNP Paribas Corporate & Institutional Banking and the group’s distribution networks.
The French asset manager has ambitions of becoming a leading player within the European private asset management space.
Renaud Dumora, deputy chief operating officer of BNP Paribas and head of IPS, said: “Private asset management, a market that has tripled in 10 years, is one of the growth drivers identified in our GTS 2025 strategic plan and particularly for the IPS division, which is focused on savings and investment.
“Several IPS business lines have already developed strong expertise in private asset management and bringing them together will result in a stronger, broader and differentiated client offering.”
“By leveraging all of the group’s capabilities, Private Assets will be able to meet the growing expectations of institutional investors as well as individual clients,” he added.
Headed by David Bouchoucha, the new unit will fundraise from major institutional investors and individual investors alike and will focus on both direct and indirect management. It will primarily develop strategies on corporate financing and real assets and has partnered with Dutch mortgage specialist Dynamic Credit Group to provide individual financing.
The private asset management wing will also provide fund selection advice, bringing together the private asset management activities of Principal Investments and its subsidiary BNP Paribas Agility Capital.
The third-party private asset management activities of BNP Paribas Asset Management, currently carried out by the Private Debt & Real Assets teams, as well as parts of BNP Paribas Cardiff, are being pooled into the new team.
The integration of ESG criteria into investment and fund selection processes will also be an important element in combining these activities.
Sandro Pierri, CEO of BNP Paribas Asset Management, added: “The creation of Private Assets brings together teams with robust expertise, who will collectively offer a unique range of investment opportunities and solutions to all the group’s clients.”
“In an environment of volatility and cyclical uncertainty, being able to offer quality assets, selected according to financial and extra financial criteria, offering a stable return provides a major diversification lever,” he said.
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