While European asset managers struggle to defend market share against US giants, Italy’s listed players are posting record numbers.
Italy’s top five listed asset gatherers reported combined net inflows of €68 billion ($79 billion) for 2025, a stunning 46.8% increase year-over-year.
🚀 THE DECEMBER SPIKE: December was an outlier month, with inflows hitting €18.2 billion (a 4x increase YoY).
- The Catalyst: This was largely driven by Azimut’s acquisition of North Square Investments (US), proving that inorganic growth is currently the fastest route to scale.
- The “Good” Flows: Crucially, net inflows into lucrative Managed Assets skyrocketed 336% in December to €17 billion. This shift is vital for protecting margins against the rise of passive products.
🌍 EXPANSION VS. CONSOLIDATION: The data highlights two diverging paths for European managers:
- The Global Path (Azimut): CEO Alessandro Zambotti cited expansion into the US, Brazil, Morocco, and Saudi Arabia as key drivers.
- The European Path (Generali): The collapsed merger between Generali and French giant BPCE serves as a reminder of the political barriers still blocking a true “Pan-European” champion.
🗣️ KEY QUOTE: “We are very proud of… net inflows reaching and exceeding the targets we had set both in qualitative and quantitative terms despite the context marked by the banking consolidation wave.” — Gian Maria Mossa, CEO of Banca Generali.
💡 ANALYST TAKEAWAY: The numbers are impressive, but they are heavily skewed by M&A. The real story here is the pivot to Managed Assets. With technology costs rising and fee compression continuing, Italian managers are successfully converting deposits into high-margin products. However, the Generali/BPCE failure suggests that for 2026, scale will likely come from transatlantic deals (like Azimut’s) rather than cross-border European mergers.
👇 Fund Selectors: Are you increasing allocation to active Italian managers, or do US passive ETFs still dominate your core portfolio?