Succo runs Italian job for Fortis

The recent appointment of Andrea Succo to Milan by Fortis Investment Management Italy begins a push for external client funds in line with its chief executive’s vision. Franco-Belgian funds house Fortis Investment Management has been making inroads into the Italian market after the appointment of Andrea Succo as its Milan representative. Mr Succo previously worked in both the Luxembourg and Brussels offices for Fortis. The appointment follows the opening of local offices in Frankfurt and Vienna. “We have to be present in the local market to acquire brand recognition and a retail segment,” Mr Succotold PWM in his Via Cappuccio headquarters. “More and more players in this market are moving to multi-management and are willing to subscribe to third-party funds. Italy presents a nice opportunity for an active manager with a broad range of products.” His key targets will be funds of funds, and the specialised Italian GPF vehicles in particular. He has already secured 20 agreements with some of Italy’s biggest groups, including Banca Intesa subsidiary Nextra, Unicredito’s Pioneer and Banca Populare di Lodi. The Italian push is part of a policy to boost the 57 per cent of the E77bn managed by Fortis Investment Managers for external clients. Currently, 43 per cent of assets comes from its internal insurance company. Chief executive Richard Wohanka has expressed wishes for a 75/25 split in favour of external clients. Developing the Italian market also ties in with his plan to diversify away from home markets. Currently, 52 per cent of the bank’s funds come from Belgian clients, though this was closer to 75 per cent when Mr Wohanka took over last year. The third part of Mr Wohanka’s strategy involves rationalising the fund line, which is necessary to consolidate the various parts of the group into the new structure such as Banque Générale de Luxembourg and MeesPierson. The Luxembourg-based Fortis L fund, which olds E12.5bn in 80 sub-funds, has become the flagship product for Europe.