PARIS (Reuters) – Amundi, Europe’s biggest fund manager, posted in-line quarterly inflows on Tuesday, as demand for risk-averse products remained strong over the last three months of the year.
Net inflows in the fourth quarter were 20.5 billion euros, bringing total assets under management (AUM) to a record 2.24 trillion euros ($2.30 trillion) at the end of December, up 10% from a year earlier.
Demand for safe investments such as medium and long-term assets through exchange-traded funds and exchange-traded commodities brought 10.5 billion euros of net inflows, bringing total ETF AUM to 268 billion euros at the end of December, up 30% from a year earlier.
In a call with reporters, Amundi Chief Executive Valerie Baudson signaled the group was still open to acquisitions, as the industry reignited a race to size after BNP Paribas, France’s biggest bank, announced a 5.1 billion-euro acquisition of AXA’s asset management arm.
“We are still a potential market consolidator,” she said.
Amundi was among the rival bidders for AXA IM, people with knowledge of the matter have told Reuters. French bank BPCE and Italian insurer Generali announced the tie-up of their respective asset management activities two weeks ago.
Amundi’s fourth-quarter adjusted net income was 377 million euros, up 20.5% and beating the 348-million euro analyst average estimate.
Adjusted net revenues over the period were up by close to 15% from a year earlier to 924 million euros. Amundi said it will propose a dividend of 4.25 euros per share at its shareholder meeting in May.
“The very beginning of 2025 confirms a very good sales dynamic, and we’re confident about 2025 given all the partnerships and discussions we have with our customers,” Baudson told reporters.
The group said it had achieved its main targets under its 2025 strategic plan a year in advance, including its goals around cost income and average annual net income growth.
(Reporting by Bertrand de Meyer and Mathieu Rosemain; Editing by Sam Holmes)
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