Eurizon Capital, the Italian asset manager that has captured Italy’s largest fund flows recently, has opened an office in Switzerland and is readying to open in Spain as part of an international expansion plan.
The firm has appointed Manuel Dalla Corte as Switzerland country head based in the Zurich office. Corte was previously responsible for the Southern European fund distribution at Aviva Investors Switzerland.
The firm said it had also initiated an authorisation process for the opening of a commercial branch in Madrid.
Eurizon has been on an expansion drive in Continental Europe since 2015 when the firm opened a Paris office.
Eurizon is owned by the bank Intesa Sanpaolo and its expansion is coordinated by the Luxembourg-based Eurizon Capital SA, which markets Eurizon funds into 20 countries.
Additionaly, the firm has also expanded its Frankfurt operation by hiring Jörg Ahlheid as senior sales manager for Germany and Austria. Ahlheid, who was previously country head for Germany and Austria at La Financiére de L’Echiquier, joins the Frankfurt office alongside Howard Luder, country head for Germany, Austria and the Netherlands.
Eurizon said its results over the last three years “confirm the company’s ability to compete at a European level”. In 2017 Eurizon gained the highest inflows in Europe to multi-asset funds and was third in terms of total mutual fund net inflows, the firm said, quoting data from Thomson Reuters Lipper and Broadridge.
Gabriele Miodini (pictured), head of sales and client management at Eurizon Capital SA, said: “We have opted to grow our business in certain strategic European countries, through the establishment of local branches. We believe that our presence in the field represents the best approach for penetrating these markets, as it facilitates relations with domestic institutional customers.”
Miodini added that Germany, France and Switzerland were considered as key countries, flanked by Spain and the Nordics, where the firm has established “fruitful collaborations with networks” of local placement agents.
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