Mapfre Asset Management, which is owned by Spain’s largest insurer Mapfre Group, has increased its stake in a French mutual fund company in order to boost ESG capabilities and fund distribution in France.
The Spanish firm has acquired a further 26% equity stake in La Financière Responsable (LFR) – which has €650 million of assets under management (AUM) – taking its total holding to 51%.
Mapfre AM currently has a Sicav domiciled in Luxembourg with over €1.2 billion of AUM and plans to extend sales into France. Currently, funds are registered in Malta and the UK.
Mapfre AM, which has €40 billion of AUM in total, previously acquired 25% of LFR in 2017 and adopted the French firm’s proprietary ESG-focused stock selection process. “Business upsides” since then have led to the extended stake.
José Luis Jiménez, Mapfre chief investment officer, said, “In the past five years, we have jointly launched SRI products, which have the peculiarity of having their own methodology for the final selection of the securities that make up the funds’ portfolios, something that is highly appreciated by our clients.”
He highlighted the firm’s Inclusión Responsable fund, which invests in companies committed to labour inclusion of people with disabilities, and the Capital Responsable fund, which is an Article 8 fund under EU sustainable investing rules.
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