FRANCE - Fund managers on the French market have seen a rise of 39% to €610bn (£387.8m) in French institutional assets under management, according to a study by consultancy firm Bfinance.

The study, which takes into account equities, bonds and cash of 63 investment managers on the French market, showed Crédit Agricole Asset Management at the top of the list with nearly €73bn of assets under management (excluding asserts from their own group). BNP Paribas Asset Management came second with over €52bn.

Other investment managers included in the top 10 are for instance AGF Asset Management, AXA Investment Management and Société Générale Asset Management.

The figures do not take into account the so-called captive assets such as those from one's own group (for instance the assets coming from AXA, the insurer, and flowing to AXA Investment Managers, the fund manager).

Bfinance said: "We excluded these figures because we don't consider them to be outsourced to a real third party. If would have considered them, the figures would be much higher than what they are now. Usually, it's about the overall institutional assets under management."

It is the first time such a survey has been published, according to the firm.

The firm believes that the results reflect an overall trend in the French market, however emphasised that it relied on voluntary figures and had no way to examine if all the data reflect reality, "since we don't have access to the fund managers' books" spokesman Julien Laplante said.

Laplante said that the fact that French institutional investors increasingly externalise their investments reflects a Europe-wide trend in which markets are becoming more professional.

Also the cash market is very important in France, making up over a third of the overall asset under management, according to Laplante.

Topics