€1.9trn in assets under management and a place among the giants of asset management: that is the ambition of Natixis Investment Managers and Generali. On Tuesday 21 January 2025, the French asset manager and Italy's number one insurer announced the signing of a memorandum of understanding aimed at creating a major joint venture that should generate "synergies" - savings - of up to "€200m a year".

The parent companies of the two subsidiaries, BPCE and Generali Investments Holding, will each "own 50% of the business" of the new entity, "with balanced governance and control". Under the agreement, Natixis IM will contribute all of its assets under management, i.e. nearly €1.3trn, while Generali will contribute more than €630bn, the two companies said in a telephone press briefing. The new structure aims to rival Amundi, a Crédit Agricole subsidiary and European leader in the sector, with assets under management of €2,192bn in the third quarter of 2024.

The management of the new company will be shared between the two groups. The chairman of BPCE’s management board, Nicolas Namias, will be the joint venture’s chair, while Generali’s CEO, Philippe Donnet, will be vice chair. Generali Investments Holding's CEO Woody Bradford will become CEO of the joint venture, with Natixis IM's current CEO, Philippe Setbon, taking on the role of deputy CEO.

"The creation of a joint venture with BPCE would represent a unique opportunity to build an asset manager that is a leader in Europe and in the top 10 worldwide", stated Donnet, who hopes that the new company will draw on its "strong roots in Italy, France and the United States".

Read the original French-language version of this news report /