Thursday 29 September 2016

Amundi creates dedicated platform for real and alternative assets, yippee!

Yeah, yippee! Well, well ... / 'What's this, boss?' Take a wild guess, Voice. 'Er ... is it the Thursday morning PR email, back by popular demand?' You got it in one! 'Oh, good. What do I win?' A biscuit. 'But I got no mouth. Only a voice!' Tough!

Amundi is launching a single platform bringing together its capabilities in real and alternative assets (AI) in order to become one of the leading alternative asset managers in Europe. Real estate, private debt, private equity, infrastructure and alternative multi-management are now all part of an integrated business, bringing together 200 investment professionals in origination, structuring and management, responsible for EUR 34bn in assets (as at 30th June 2016). Amundi aims to double its funds under management in real and alternative assets by 2020.

Well, okay. A single platform. It makes sense.

Amundi's track record in alternative assets includes 40 years' experience in real estate, a leading position in credit management and a pioneering approach in infrastructure, where it has partnered with EDF. The new business grouping will help Amundi develop these areas of expertise to serve investors' needs for performance and diversification. With low correlation to traditional assets, AI strategies have an illiquidity premium which is attractive as we face long-term low interest rates and sustained equity volatility. 38% of institutional investors envisage reallocating part of their portfolio to private debt, 44% to infrastructure, and 51% to private equity.

Yeah, that's great.

Amundi is already recognized in these asset classes based on its own expertise and through its partnerships. The company has exclusive access to several large scale European real estate transactions. It also actively contributes to the financing of the real economy through private debt, private equity and infrastructure.

You see? 'Oh dear. Is there much more of this, boss? I mean, who actually reads this stuff?' Ha! We haven't heard from Pedro Antonio Arias yet. 'What?! Who the hell is Pedro Antonio Arias?!'

Pedro Antonio Arias, Amundi's Global Big Head of Real and Alternative Assets, said: "We have been meticulously building our capabilities over recent years by attracting skilled teams from diverse backgrounds. Our aim is to further develop our capabilities based on the EUR 34bn we already manage in this area, and to be a leading European player in real and alternative assets."

'Oh, okay. I suppose Eric Wohleber will be coming out of the woodwork in a minute.' Ha!

Eric Wohleber, Amundi's Big Head of Real & Alternative Assets Sales, added: "Amundi's power, infrastructure and financial strength are all major advantages allowing us to give European and Asian investors transparent, institutional-quality investment solutions in real and alternative assets."

'What about Uncle Tom Cobley?' He wasn't available for comment. 'Shame.' / Oh, about Amundi -

Publicly traded since November 2015, Amundi is the largest European Asset Manager in terms of AUM, with over 1,000 billion euros worldwide. Headquartered in Paris, France, Amundi has six investment hubs located in the world's key financial centres, and offers a combination of research depth and market experience that has earned the confidence of its clients.

'Please, boss, please!' Ah, that's enough. It's the end of the week. Go and have a lie down on the astral plane, Voice. 'Let's finish this post first. Anything else?'

...

Well, well ... / Anything else, dear reader(s)? Music? I'm listening to Radiohead, The Bends ... dedicated to the memory of Bill Hicks, which is a nice touch.

No. Let's put something else on. Something lighter. Gilbert O'Sullivan. 'You're having a laugh!' Oh, I'm not. This is good shit, if you're in the mood for it.

'Your music?' My music? I'm doing some more work on a couple of my new lyrics later. 'Eh? I thought these songs were finished?!' You thought wrong, man. To paraphrase Marco Pierre White, I don't want the listeners to suffer any weakness with the new demo. / I've got to change just two lines in one of the lyrics, but ... with another, I've got to rewrite the whole thing. 'Christ!' It'll be worth it, believe me, Voice, and, uh, pop fans.