Italy Asset Managers Enjoy Inflows of EUR1.75 Billion in August

MILAN--Italian asset managers had net inflows of 1.75 billion euros ($2.3 billion) in August, the first reversal in the trend of investor redemptions since March, according to the latest monthly figures issued Tuesday by the industry's association, Assogestioni.

In July, net outflows totaled EUR1.28 billion.

Of August's total, open-ended funds, which make up the bulk of the amount, had net inflows of EUR904 million, much higher than inflows of EUR52 million in July.

Among these funds, those focused on equities suffered outflows of EUR276 million, less than the EUR986 million of outflows recorded in July.

Investor concerns about Europe's economy in light of the sovereign-debt crisis have led to weakness in equities.

Open-ended funds that invest in bonds had inflows of EUR1.62 billion against EUR3.16 billion of inflows in the prior month.

Since the beginning of the year, outflows have totaled EUR7.40 billion, a reminder of investor fears about the repercussions of the crisis.

At the end of August, the industry had EUR976.8 billion worth of assets under management, according to Assogestioni.

Shares of asset management companies, such as Banca Generali SpA (BGN.MI), Mediolanum SpA (MED.MI) and Azimut SpA (AZM.MI), as well as Intesa Sanpaolo SpA (ISP.MI) and UniCredit SpA (UCG.MI), are sensitive to capital flows data as inflows boost their profits from fees and commissions.

Write to Gilles Castonguay at [e-mail]; Twitter: @GRCastonguay

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