Generali Assicurazioni will increasingly focus on asset management, in the belief that it has the expertise to do it in a winning way and that it can extract value from a financial sector that continues to have untapped potential. The turning point was illustrated by the CEO of the Lion, Philippe Donnet, in a long interview with "l'Economia" of the Corriere della Sera in which he explained that this idea was born before the hypothesis surfaced, then vanished, of a takeover of Intesa Sanpaolo. In reality – said Donnet – Generali's strategy “is unique in the insurance world, very different from its competitors” at a time when insurance companies are looking for alternative investments.
“Ours – explained Donnet – is a multi-boutique strategy: we will look for asset managers with a very strong track record and we will leverage their entrepreneurship to create an alignment of interests between us who control the platform and the boutiques who are also looking for other investors, because they must also have a third-party business, not just manage Generali's funds. Our growth – specified the number one of the Trieste Lion – is not based on the acquisition of asset management or small companies but we do not exclude them if they allow us to accelerate growth. But it's a very opportunistic and disciplined activity."
