CANDRIAM, a global multi-asset manager focused on sustainable and responsible investment, has achieved a significant milestone with assets under management (AUM) reaching a record €1501 billion at the end of June 2021.
This represents an increase of €10 billion for the first six months of 2021, up from €140 billion in December 2020, and €22.5 billion year-on-year, up from €127.5 billion in June 2020.
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In 2016, as part of the firm’s five year strategy, CANDRIAM set out its ambition to reach €150 billion of assets under management by the end of 2021. CANDRIAM has reached this target six months ahead of schedule, seeing assets grow more than 50% since the end of June 2016, when the firm reported €96.6bn of AUM. Growth was supported by several factors, in particular strong investment performance over the period; 83% of CANDRIAM funds received 3, 4 or 5 stars by Morningstar2 for the first half of 2021.
In addition capability has been added in illiquids and alternatives, the firm’s distribution footprint has increased across Europe and internationally, and growing investor demand has been met by building one of the largest and most innovative ranges of sustainable solutions in Europe.
As one of the fastest growing European asset managers, the first six months of the year saw CANDRIAM continue to invest in top industry talent, hiring across a range of areas to strengthen investment and distribution teams as well as invest in the efficiency of its platform.
Industry Leader in Responsible Investing
AUM growth for the first half of 2021 was driven by strong performance across the business and increased investor demand for CANDRIAM’s innovative range of thematic and ESG strategies. CANDRIAM’s AUM dedicated to ESG-related products and solutions has now reached €98 billion, of which the majority of its European fund range is classified within Article 8 and 9 under the EU’s Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR)3 .
CANDRIAM has established itself as a significant partner in shareholder engagement and has collaborated with other asset owners on burgeoning ESG issues including the use of facial recognition technology by welcoming 50 global investors, representing more than US$4.5 trillion in AUM, as signatories to its Investor Statement on Facial Recognition.
Commenting on CANDRIAM’s strong performance, Naïm Abou-Jaoudé, CEO of CANDRIAM and Chairman of New York Life Investment Management International, says: “Achieving this milestone of €150 billion, six months ahead of schedule, highlights our aim to deliver superior investment performance, our dedication to our clients and the ongoing support of our shareholder. The first half of 2021 reflects the growing popularity and demand for our ESG offering and other high performing strategies. I am confident of our ability to meet evolving investor needs by providing innovative solutions in accordance with our vision to invest with conviction and responsibility.”
Continued Strong Sales from Thematic Global Equity and other ESG Strategies
CANDRIAM’s H1 2021 net sales reached a total of €4.2 billion. Thematic equity strategies proved one of the most popular categories during the period, achieving inflows of over €800 million, taking the total AUM across thematic equities to €8.8 billion as at end of June 2021. Sustainable global credit and high yield, sustainable emerging market equities, fundamental equities and absolute return strategies also saw strong inflows during H1 2021. Growth in assets also reflected positive markets and good investment performance.
Double Impact Investments and Related Philanthropic Initiatives
CANDRIAM has developed one of the largest and most innovative ranges of sustainable solutions in Europe to meet growing investor demand. As part of CANDRIAM’s Institute for Sustainable Development, CANDRIAM sets aside 10% of net fees earned from several of its sustainable and thematic strategies to fund philanthropic programs. In 2020, this represented a total amount of €2.5 million. These include several double impact thematic strategies that focus on climate action, oncology and supporting a circular economy, which have both a positive impact in terms of environmental and/or social development, in addition to donating part of the net management fees to related charitable initiatives.
CANDRIAM is committed to making industry-wide improvements to sustainable investing by accelerating the development of the CANDRIAM Academy, also funded by the CANDRIAM Institute. Launched in 2017, the world's first free-to-access accredited training platform for sustainable investing has now reached more than 8,000 members from 40 countries. To further develop the Academy’s offering, a new module dedicated to understanding ESG analysis of companies was added to the platform in early September 2021.
Another flagship initiative of the CANDRIAM Institute is the continued support to develop academic research in the field of ESG investing, not only to accelerate a shift to a more sustainable future but to encourage the younger generation to participate in this growing sector. Over the past two years, new academic partnerships were agreed with four leading academic institutions: The London School of Economics’ Grantham Research Institute, KEDGE, UCLouvain, and the Vlerick Business School.
Source: CANDRIAM