The new goal of Edmond de Rothschild Asset Management, after several years of reorganization following the financial crisis, is to saturate its presence in the core markets where it has a presence. “The group has finished putting itself in order. In our main markets, which are Switzerland, France, Belgium, Germany, Spain, Italy and Luxembourg, we want to increase our market share further. Our strategy is to maximise this in these core markets,” Gad Amar, director of development, explains to NewsManagers. The creation of his position in late 2017 is a sign of new ambitions on the part of the Rothschild family and the director of the group, Ariane. Amar, who joins from the largest asset management firm in the world, BlackRock, knows a thing or two about rapid growth in assets. He gained experience when he was responsible for guiding the group through the ways to industrialize its management process, management capacity, and risk management, so that it is now delimited by standards and internal limitations through several new technological platforms, for example, so that it is possible to explain to a client how a portfolio is constructed from A to Z. “The asset management industry can no longer manage in an artisanal way,” says Amar.In the asset management activity of the group, the growth objective will now involve a new commercial approach. “It was essential for our sales personnel to revise their processes, and the tools they have, to be able to serve more clients with the same quality of advising and greater efficiency. For that to be possible, it is necessary to create adapted internal processes and tools,” Amar explains.The fund range has also undergone a rationalisation process in the past few months, which is nearing completion. “We have gone from a range of 100 open funds at the end of 2016 to a range that has been refocused on 50 externally active products which are actively sold,” the head says. Funds which yesterday had EUR1bn to EUR2bn, will be able to handle 10 times more int eh future if necessary. Amar is also betting on a more systematic process for “destruction/creation” of funds, which will eventually create an image of innovation for the group. The objective for the activity is to exceed EUR100bn in assets by 2025, compared with EUR89bn as of the end of 2017.Alongside traditional funds, the firm is planning to develop its Bridge platform for infrastructure, but is also talking about private equity and real estate. The latter activity accounts for about EUR10bn, thanks to mergers with local actors such as Cleaveland (in France), Cording (acquired in late 2017 in the United Kingdom) and Orox (in Switzerland), to allow it to gradually construct a pan-European real estate platform.
