MAPFRE's investment area sees profits soar by 26.5 percent and net contributions in pension plans and funds increase by 270 million

MAPFRE Inversión, the business area that encompasses the investment services that MAPFRE provides to its clients, recorded a profit of 21.5 million euros in the first six months of the year, an increase of 26.47 percent compared to the same period in the previous year, according to the latest figures published by the Group. Sales revenue grew by 16 percent compared to June 2020, while total operating expenses rose by 10 percent. Operating expenses excluding retrocession of commissions to Group agents and companies grew by just 3 percent. In turn, MAPFRE Asset Management (AM)—the insurance group's pension plan and fund manager—saw a 9.3-percent increase in its managed assets in the same period, according to data provided by the different units. Both units are part of MAPFRE Vida and the factors that caused this positive performance are also similar. While José Luis Jiménez, Group Chief Investment Officer at MAPFRE, admits that the positive performance of the financial markets has helped, he believes that its "mutual and pension fund management clearly stood out above the rest of the sector." Indeed, the attractiveness of these products has led to net contributions growing by 200 million and 70 million euros for mutual funds and pension funds respectively.

Several of the products offered by the manager have yielded returns of around 20 percent so far this year, as is the case with the MAPFRE AM Behavioral Fund, which seeks companies whose businesses are temporarily undervalued by the market as a result of psychological bias and irrational market behavior. The performance of MAPFRE AM Inclusión Responsable, one of the Group's ESG (Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance) funds that invests in companies with policies on hiring people with disabilities, is also noteworthy. Cited by the United Nations as an example of best practice, the fund has grown by more than 18 percent. MAPFRE AM Good Governance, a global equity fund that invests in quality companies with good corporate governance practices, has also performed very well. But, as Jiménez explains, "the conservative offering or the profiled funds have also had an excellent performance." As an example, MAPFRE Capital Responsable, another ESG product within this category, grew by almost 5 percent over the year. To see all of the manager's strategies, please visit https://www.mapfream.com/nuestra-gama/

Álvaro Anguita, Managing Director of MAPFRE AM, also highlights the positive reception experienced by unit-linked plans with mutual funds within the Programa Horizonte Inversión, such as life-cycle programs in pension plans and funds. The Programa Horizonte Inversión was introduced earlier this year as an addition to the "Programa Tu Futuro" program, which was launched in 2018 and has been very well received. It is made up of different fund portfolios and can be adapted to each client's risk profile and the time horizon they want to use to plan and retain their savings. It is a unit-linked savings insurance plan that automatically manages client premiums at no additional cost. It automatically selects mutual funds to achieve the optimal portfolio at all times, adjusting and evolving over time. To do this, the program adjusts its exposure to equities, taking into account the market situation and the client's interests.

MAPFRE AM is Spain's largest independent asset manager and holds more than 40 billion euros in assets under management in Europe.

Performance of MGP

The positive performance of the MAPFRE Inversión business has also had a huge impact on the MAPFRE AM business. The brand was created in October 2017 and provides MAPFRE clients with financial investment solutions to make their savings more profitable. It has grown exponentially since its launch, in terms of both open-architecture-advised volume—which already exceeds 1.2 billion euros—and geographical distribution. As such, it now boasts more than 100 agents and offices in Madrid, Valencia, Barcelona, Seville and Bilbao, and is set to open a new branch in Mallorca in the coming months. A further five offices are proposed in the Strategic Plan 2021–2023 and the number of agents is expected to double in this period. "The assets managed by these MAPFRE AM offices grew by 21 percent compared to December 2020 (up 50 percent from June 2020). MAPFRE's sales network is notable for its widespread increase in activity, as shown by the 5.2-percent increase in individual pension plans over the period, compared to the 4.9-percent growth seen on the market. With regard to the second half of the year, unless there is a catastrophe, we anticipate different levels of positive performance along similar lines to what has been achieved so far," explains Miguel Ángel Segura, General Director of MAPFRE Inversión.

MAPFRE AM's clients have access to a platform with a range of over 15,000 mutual funds run by the best asset managers in the world, enabling them to subscribe to, transfer and/or redeem units within an extremely dynamic environment. In addition to human capital, technology is another pillar on which MAPFRE AM is based, with the evolutionary improvement of the open-architecture advisory platform, portfolio construction, including digital signature, market analysis, monitoring of the correct execution of its operations, and the preparation and follow-up of proposals, to close the permanent advisory cycle.

For more information about MAPFRE AM, visit www.https://www.mapfream.com/en/