French banking group BNP Paribas and Allfunds have wrapped up the agreement to build next-generation fund distribution services, increasing the latter’s volume to over €1trn.
The two parties inked the agreement in October last year.
Go deeper with GlobalData
Through the agreement, fund-buyer clients of BNP Paribas can access over 2,000 fund houses and 100,000 funds along with fund analytics services from its new Fund@ccess platform, powered by Allfunds.
Under the agreement, Allfunds will manage distribution contracts of third-party investment funds for some BNP Paribas Group businesses.
Currently, BNP Paribas Securities Services and BNP Paribas Asset Management have a 22.5% interest in Allfunds.
Allfunds will retain its operational independence, Hellman & Friedman and GIC having the majority stake in the business.
Allfunds CEO Juan Alcaraz said: “By integrating the business model of a top-tier custodian bank with the scale and value-added services of our leading fund distribution platform, we will offer a one-stop suite of services that is unique on the market, unrivalled in scale and efficiency, for the benefit of our clients.”
Allfunds has set up new offices in Paris and Warsaw as part of the deal.
At the same time, the firm increased its operations in Italy by two-fold.
Allfunds also absorbed more than 250 BNP Paribas Securities Services staff, mainly in Poland and Italy.
BNP Paribas Securities Services general manager Patrick Colle said: “The partnership will create a leader in the fund distribution space, giving clients access to a wide range of funds and streamlining the fund buying process for greater operational efficiency.”
Earlier this year, Allfunds launched an office in Hong Kong after receiving Type 1 and 4 licences from the Securities & Futures Commission of Hong Kong.
The new office will serve as the firm’s new North Asia hub.
Last year, Allfunds acquired Credit Suisse’s InvestLab business-to-business investment fund platform.
