Italian pension funds seeking to increase their investments in private markets face competition from international players backed by pension funds who are eyeing strategic assets in the market.
Patrizia Noe, Head of Italian Institutional Client Coverage at UBS Asset Management, speaking at a recent event organized by asset, said that the rules currently in place mean that pension funds cannot invest strategically or government-held He said that direct transfer of assets is not allowed. Management association Assogestioni.
Giorgia Meloni’s government plans to free up 20 billion euros by privatizing assets.
“Would you like to review the rules? Or create a table [new] Is it a strategic approach that can only be defined by pension funds, to make funds available for matches that are important to the country? ” Noe said.
Political stability and solid rules are also important factors promoting investment, particularly in the strategic areas identified in Italy’s Recovery and Resilience Plan supported by the European Commission, he added.
Italian asset and fund managers are competing with international companies to invest in strategic assets such as Telecom Italia’s fixed-line network, which is to be sold to KKR, which the government says is a strategic move. This is a transaction that has been deemed and approved.
“Where is KKR taking its money from? From U.S. pension funds,” said Hugo Looser, chief executive of asset management firm Arca Fondi.
For Loser, there is a lack of long-term and risk-oriented investors in Italy and Europe.
“If we want to divert funds from Italian and European savings to the real economy, we will need to change the institutional structure,” he said, adding that this can only be achieved by a shift away from the focus on the third economy. He added that he could. The second pillar will be the pension system.
The Pension Funds are committed to supporting the Italian economy, both alone and together in public-private partnerships, to overcome fragmentation and achieve greater investment scale.
Fon.Te, the pension fund for trade, tourism and hospitality workers, has approved commitments of more than €350 million in private equity, private debt and infrastructure over the next 18 months.
“We plan to continue making selections in 2024.” [investments] both in venture capital and real estate assets,” General Director Anna Maria Selvaggio said at the event.
Prebianbiente has invested 15 million euros in a private equity fund of funds (FoF) managed by Fondo Italiano Diinvestment and plans to invest a further 15 million euros in an infrastructure FoF, the general director said. added Salvatore Cardillo.
Investing in private markets was a “late start,” he said, noting that “we had to understand and build” new types of investment structures. The fund asked the Italian government to help design products tailored to institutional investors investing in the real economy.
Inarcasssa has invested €1.5 billion in private equity, debt and venture capital.
“Currently, Inarkassa has committed €125 million in venture capital. This means that we are one of the most relevant institutional investors in this sector,” said General Manager Alfred・Mr. Granata said.
She added: “One important aspect for us is that current private market investment vehicles emphasize sustainability, innovation and gender equality. For us, these themes are very close to our heart. is important and makes these types of investments attractive.”
