The local asset management market
The modern local asset management market began in the years 2004–2005, with major players from the banking groups (BRD-GSG, Erste AM, Banca Transilvania AM and S.A.I. Raiffeisen Asset Management S.A.) entering the market. These are the players that still dominate the market; the impact of fintechs is marginal, despite the entry on the Romanian market of large groups active in this field (Revolut, Wise, etc.). The market size is over 5 billion euro, increasing by over 1 billion euro after March 2023.
S.A.I. Raiffeisen Asset Management S.A. plays a significant role, consistently ranking among the top four players, currently holding the second position in the market, with a market share of 20.4%. S.A.I. Raiffeisen Asset Management S.A. has been a company that repeatedly introduced innovative products to the local investment funds market, serving as an example of best practices.
The asset management market is dominated by UCITS* funds. Regarding asset classes, there is a preference for fixed-income funds, representing over 65% of total assets under management. One-off investments have historically dominated the market, but in the last two years there has been a strong increase of regular investments by all four major asset managers within banking groups. Consequently, the number of clients in investment funds has grown rapidly, and the trend continues.
Pension funds (voluntary pension funds)
The voluntary pension funds market (pillar 3) began developing in 2007–2008, with major players being banking groups and insurers (Allianz, NN, BCR, Banca Transilvania, etc.). It's an over 1 billion euro market, where S.A.I. Raiffeisen Asset Management S.A. has significantly contributed in recent years by attracting a high number of clients (half of the total new clients attracted to the voluntary pension funds market in 2023 are now clients of S.A.I. Raiffeisen Asset Management S.A.).
There are two types of products currently managed in the market, as defined by legislation:
medium-risk pension funds
and high-risk pension funds.
The impact of fintechs is insignificant for this market, and regular investments dominate, considering both the product's specificity and the way local legislation is structured.
* UCITS: The Undertakings for the Collective Investment in Transferable Securities (UCITS) is the European Commission's regulatory framework for managing and selling mutual funds. UCITS funds can be registered and sold in any country in the European Union using unified regulatory and investor protection requirements.
Source: S.A.I. Raiffeisen Asset Management S.A., as of September 2024