Bankinter Asset Management

A positive turning point

The market experienced a turning point and some products, such as investment funds, returned to pre-crisis levels. The lack of investment alternatives, due to the poor returns on bank deposits, even saw some customers who had never acquired these products before drawn towards them.

With the tailwind being felt in the markets, Bankinter Asset Management, the Group company specialising in collective investment, based its offer in 2017 on the following initiatives:

Development of a new range of profiled investment funds to adapt to each investor's risk level. The take up was excellent, in part as a result of the transfer of money from money market funds, which saw their returns hit by the zero interest rate policy. New classes of funds were launched for intermediate amounts in funds that were initially aimed at high net-worth investors. 

Update of the investment funds website, in line with the information and transparency requirements established by the new MiFID 2 directive of the European Union. 

The details of the results by product and management type were as follows:

Investment funds. The Bank's asset management area controlled wealth amounting to 8.418 billion euros at the end of 2017, 10.4% higher than in 2016, and is ranked ninth in Spain, with a market share of 3.2%. The amount of assets under management increases to 17.35 billion if we include the investment funds of those international fund managers that the Bank makes available to its customers.  Overall, the funds offered by the Bank grew 22.8%. The performance of the Bankinter Bolsa España (Spanish stock market) fund, with a return of 11.14%, particularly stood out. 

SICAVs. At the end of 2017, the Bank managed a total of 371 SICAVs, with assets of 2.637 billion euros. During the year, proposals were made to customers to prepare for possible changes in the regulations that govern these investment vehicles.

Pension funds. Bankinter increased its range of options, allowing the bank to attain a total of 2.457 billion euros in retirement products. This was a rise of 10.6% on 2016.

Delegated management. Bankinter is strongly committed to this service, which is offered not only to customers in the top private banking segment, but also to those of personal banking and individual retail banking. Assets managed under delegation amounted to 2.991 billion euros at 31 December. 

The priority for 2018 is to complete the product range, both in (actively and passively managed) investment funds and in advisory services (an area which we particularly want to strengthen) and in delegated management. Bankinter also hopes to develop profiled funds in Luxembourg to increase its offer in the Portuguese market, which showed promising signs in 2017.