Azimut, Italy’s leading independent asset manager, and Notus Portfoy Yonetimi (“Notus”), a Turkish independent asset management company, have signed an investment and shareholders agreement to start a partnership in Turkey. Notus is an asset management company with TL 168mn under management (equivalent to $76 mn) as at 28th February 2014.
Notus was established in 2011 by 3 partners each with over 25 years of experience in the Turkish and European financial industry. Notus mission is to provide a new breadth of discretionary portfolio management services driven by independence, investment discipline and risk management. The company manages discretionary portfolio mandates for 45 individuals and corporate clients ensuring diversified and efficient asset allocation plans across local and international markets. In addition, Notus is the manager of 2 local mutual funds with balanced strategies focusing on local fixed income and equities.
The Turkish asset management industry has $28bn in AuM as of January 2014 (of which more than 90% is invested in short term fixed income strategies) with around 41 asset management companies (of which 29 are independent) registered with the Turkish Capital Market Board. The industry AuM accounts for only 5% of the country’s GDP making it one of the less penetrated markets in the world. In addition, the dominance of banks time deposits absorbing more than 90% of the country’s savings offers a great potential for the success of independent wealth managers aiming to serve the evolving financial goals of Turkish clients.
Since 2012 Azimut, through AZ Global Portfoy (“AZ Global”), has pioneered the rise of the independent asset management industry in Turkey with the introduction of a unique model of integrated financial advisory leveraging on a new generation of 8 local funds. AZ Global is also (i) the fund manager of AZ Fund Lira Plus, aiming to convert in Euro the level of local interest rates and (ii) the advisor of AZ Fund Global Sukuk, the first European UCITS and Shariah compliant fund investing in Islamic bonds.
Subject to the regulatory approval by the competent authorities, Azimut, through AZ International Holdings S.A., will purchase 70% of Notus equity capital.