Amundi has reframed its business ambitions following its €825m acquisition of Lyxor, with which it aims to catapult its passive investment arm.
The acquisition has given the firm a 14% market share of UCITS ETFs, or more than €170bn in assets under management, which makes Amundi the second largest player in Europe, behind BlackRock's €556bn AUM, or 46% market share.
The firm said that one of the major reasons behind the acquisition of Lyxor was to further galvanise its position in the European market in light of increasing US competition in the space.
By 2025, the France-headquartered fund house intends to grow its passive AUM by 50% as it seeks to becomes "the European passive preferred partner for worldwide clients".
This division will be headed up by Arnaud Llinas, who joins as part of the acquisition and will report to Fannie Wurtz, who is a member of the Amundi general management committee.
The acquisition has also led to the creation of a dedicated alternatives arm at Amundi, which will represent more than €23bn in assets under management.
Headed by Nathanaël Benzaken, the department also seeks to grow its AUM by 50% by 2025, and will also report to Wurtz.
Florence Barjou, CIO at Lyxor, will depart the firm to join Crédit Agricole Insurance as head of investments, effective 1 March 2022. Crédit Agricole is the majority shareholder of Amundi, owning 70% of the group.
Lionel Paquin, CEO of Lyxor, has joined the Amundi executive committee.
Lyxor will be fully merged into Amundi in the second half of 2022, while the rebranding of products will occur over the full year.
