The fund manager will now be called Mapfre Asset Management, and has assets under management of €4.8bn (£4.0bn, $5.3bn) on behalf of 311,000 clients. It was previously known as Mapfre Inversión Dos.
Mapfre said the move was made to strengthen the global management of its investments and prepare a plan to promote the management of third-party assets within the group to take advantage of the commercial opportunities that arise.
“These changes are part of the group’s strategic plan and are designed to increase the collaboration, knowledge and capabilities of our specialist investment teams in the international arena,” the company said in a statement on Wednesday.
The name change was actually agreed at the company’s Annual General Meeting last April 25, and the new name was recorded in the Company Register on May 23. It is expected to be shortly entered in the Administrative Register of the Spanish National Securities and Exchange Commission.
Global player
Mapfre is a global insurance company with operations on the five continents. It employs more than 38,000 professionals and services approximately 34 million clients. Mapfre has over €60bn on its balance sheet and a team of 150 investment specialists, with direct management operations in 29 countries.
In 2015 Mapfre reported revenues in excess of €26.7bn euros, with net earnings of €709m.
Mapfre’s move follows a decision by Italy’s Generali, announced earlier this year, to use the expertise built up in its asset management arm, Generali Investments, to expand its third-party business with institutional clients and private wealth managers.
Generali Investments, is Italy’s biggest asset manager and one of the top 10 such firms in continental Europe, with around €431bn of AUM built up through its operation in three main European markets of Italy, France and Germany to which it has more recently added Benelux, Iberian and eastern European nations.
