Leadership in European ETFs and a Business of Liquid Alternatives: Amundi’s Bets After the Acquisition of Lyxor

Amundi has outlined its strategy following the completion of its acquisition of Lyxor Asset Management, which followed six months of preparatory work. According to Funds Society's coverage of the press conference, CEO Valérie Baudson said the deal elevates Amundi to the top position among European ETF providers and strengthens its active management offering with a leading position in liquid alternative assets. Lyxor, founded in 1998, reports more than €140 billion in assets under management and advice, including €95 billion in ETFs, a 7.7% share of the European market, and €45 billion in active management. Earlier reporting by Bloomberg put the purchase price at 825 million euros and estimated the combined firm would become the second largest ETF manager in Europe, a figure that Amundi's own communications later framed as first place.

In ETFs, smart beta and indexed solutions, Fannie Wurtz, global head of ETFs, Indexing and Smart Beta, said the combined ETF business exceeds €170 billion in AuM, with a range of more than 300 UCITS ETFs spanning ESG, climate, thematic, emerging markets and fixed income. Amundi's passive platform, with more than €282 billion, has set a target of increasing AuM by 50% by 2025. The firm expects growth from European institutional investors seeking greater ETF use in fixed income and ESG allocations, as well as from non-European institutions and retail self-directed channels. Amundi also plans to make responsible investing the primary focus of new launches and aims to raise the share of SFDR 8 or 9 ETFs to 40% of its ETF range by 2025.

Amundi is also creating Amundi Alternatives, a dedicated Liquid Alternatives business line, which currently manages more than €23 billion, including €16.7 billion in the Dedicated Managed Account Platform (DMAP). The firm targets 50% AuM growth on its UCITS Alternative platform by 2025 and aims to expand DMAP among international institutional clients.

The integration is expected to proceed in stages over two years, covering IT migration, legal mergers and the creation of a new organization, with legal mergers scheduled for mid-2022. Lionel Paquin, Lyxor's CEO, joins Amundi's Executive Committee. Florence Barjou will become Chief Investment Officer of Crédit Agricole Insurance effective March 1, 2022.