ASSET MANAGEMENT
COVER FEATURE: VALÉRIE BAUDSON, AMUNDI
Amundi chief Baudson talks ESG, Asia and diversity The new chief executive of Europe’s largest asset manager identifies key opportunities for the firm as it works to integrate Lyxor, the French ETF manager acquired from Societe Generale in April By Luke Jeffs Valérie Baudson took over in May the top job in European asset management when she became the chief executive of Amundi, the largest European manager and the only European firm in the global top ten by assets under management. Baudson, who previously ran Amundi’s ETF and passive investment arm, replaced former long-standing chief exec Yves Perrier just weeks after the Paris-based firm completed its €825m (£700m) acquisition of Lyxor, the ETF firm, from Societe Generale. Baudson’s appointment and the Lyxor deal underlines the French firm’s plan to expand in ETFs and alternative asset management but Baudson’s challenge reflects the fact that she is now running a global and diverse asset manager with an eye-watering €1.8 trillion of assets under management. Speaking after Amundi won the Global Investor Asset Manager of the Year award for 2021, Baudson is fully aware of the responsibility she has taken on. “Today, Amundi is the industry’s European leader, recognised worldwide for its expertise, its growth momentum and profitability, as well as for its commitment as a responsible investor, and we are proud of what has been achieved throughout this time.” Baudson continued: “As the largest
Autumn Special 2021
on the continent, and in the top 10 worldwide, we have many strengths when it comes to expertise and capabilities, but one that I would like to focus on is responsible investment.” Responsible Investment As the largest asset manager in Europe, the home of environmental, social and governance (ESG) investing, Amundi has an obvious advantage over its US peers in that it has more experience managing these types of assets. Baudson said: “For us this is not new. When Amundi was created in 2010, one of our founding pillars was responsible investment: to be an asset manager and societal player was a conviction and not a marketing move.” She added: “As a leader on ESG, Amundi is able to offer institutional investors, clients of the partner’s networks and third-party distributors investment and savings solutions that meet their expectations regarding social and environmental goals.”
Amundi manages today €800bn of assets in responsible investments, of which €680bn are recognised under Articles 8 and 9 of Europe’s Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR), part of the EU ESG Action Plan. Similarly, all of Amundi’s actively managed open-ended funds take ESG criteria into account with a better ESG rating target than the investment universe whenever is possible Baudson said: “Acting as a responsible financial institution is a founding principle of Amundi since our creation in 2010 and a core commitment of our development strategy. This commitment is reflected in our responsible investment process, the solutions range Amundi has developed to help investors define and implement their responsible investment strategy, and our engagement and voting policy.” Amundi is proud of its track-record. Last year it participated in 4,241 shareholder meetings and voted on
As a leader on ESG, Amundi is able to offer institutional investors, clients of the partner’s networks and third-party distributors investment and savings solutions that meet their expectations regarding social and environmental goals.
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