AMUNDI
ESG investing was founding principle for Amundi Amundi: Best ESG ETF Issuer ($1bn+) & Best ETF Distributor Why do you think your firm has won these awards? We are delighted to receive both awards as a reflection of our strength as an ETF provider. I believe there are a number of reasons for Amundi winning. As a European asset manager, Amundi has a long history of leadership in ESG – in fact responsible investing was chosen as a founding principle for the firm at a time when our competitors weren’t really thinking about ESG. The expertise and knowhow gained since then is the foundation for our approach to building a broad spectrum of ESG and Climate ETFs. Finally, we also believe that simply tracking an ESG index does not make you an ESG leader. We are proud to take our shareholder responsibilities seriously, and have actively engaged across our ETF range since day one and have received external recognition for the strength and consistency of its engagement and voting programme. What differentiates your offering from others? I believe there are four key points that set us apart: • Amundi’s scale and resources mean that investors can access robust, innovative, and cost-efficient ETF solutions leveraging the expertise of the entire Amundi Group. • Amundi’s breadth of expertise and innovation. We bring over 30 years of index replication experience and an ability to work in a co-construction mode together with index providers and investors to build innovative ETF solutions. For example, we collaborated on the first ever low carbon indices (and ETFs) back in 2015 and then co-developed the first index approach to the Paris Aligned Benchmarks last year. • Amundi’s fundamental belief in the importance of sustainability is a core founding value, embedded across the organisation. • Amundi’s focus on offering cost-effective solutions, including our Amundi Prime range of core ETFs, one of the lowest ranges of its kind in Europe starting at just 5 bps. What is the extent of Amundi’s commitment to ESG and sustainable values across its offering? Amundi is 100 per cent committed to ESG across the entire organisation, dedicating extensive resources and driving forward with ambitious plans. Within the ETF, Indexing and Smart Beta division, we have built a comprehensive range of ESG ETFs and we are 16 | www.etfexpress.com
committed to continuing to develop the range in line with investor needs and data availability. How did your firm cope during 2020 with market volatility and working from home? And what has this year been like for your business so far? 2020 was indeed an extraordinary year, especially in the first half. Amundi already had a very robust and structured business continuity plan that enabled all the teams to be operational while guaranteeing their safety. One of our biggest priorities was managing the unprecedented liquidity stress and we were able to provide a continuous access to liquidity. In parallel, as we were anticipating that the ESG transition would continue and even amplify with the pandemic, we remained focused on innovation in order to provide our clients with a large variety of ETFs to implement their responsible strategy. At the end of the day, our ETF, Indexing & Smart beta business performed very well and I am delighted with the start we have seen so far in 2021. How do you see the rest of the year panning out for your business? I have strong expectations for the year, as I believe we have the right product line-up to meet investors’ evolving needs – particularly when it comes to sustainability. What trends do you see the ETF industry experiencing over the coming year? Rotation towards ESG is the most groundbreaking trend in the ETF industry and beyond. This will shape our future and our clients trust our knowledge and history to help them in their ESG journey. n Fannie Wurtz Head of Amundi ETF, Indexing & Smart Beta Fannie Wurtz was Global Head of ETF, Indexing & Smart Beta Sales at Amundi before being appointed Head of Amundi ETF, Indexing & Smart Beta in April 2016. Prior to joining Amundi in November 2011, she was responsible for the ETF business development at CA Cheuvreux from 2008. Fannie has extensive experience in institutional sales, which she gained as Sales Associate Director at Fidelity Investments (2003-2008), where she was in charge of the Institutional clients and distributors coverage, and at Schroders Investment Management where she managed Institutional Clients relationship. Fannie started her career at State Street Bank and KPMG Audit.
EUROPEAN WINNERS INSIGHTS 2021 | Mar 21
