The awaited listing of mutual funds on the Stock Exchange starts on Monday 1 December. For savers, a range of opportunities opens up for a better comparison of products and a reduction in costs. But there are elements of caution, linked to the risks of "do it yourself". On the other hand, this revolution aligns us with the direction taken by a part of Europe, where, with different characteristics, there are already experiences of this kind: from Holland to Germany but also Denmark and Luxembourg.
The mutual funds land in Piazza Affari in a favorable moment for the asset management industry triggered by exceptionally low interest rates, the loss of attractiveness of the residential real estate market and the need to diversify and seek periodic returns. The latest Assogestioni data also confirmed the positive trend in funding: in October, subscriptions rose by 12,4 billion euro compared to 8,5 billion in September. And in evidence is precisely the sector of open-ended funds which recorded a collection of 7,4 billion against the 4,95 of the mandates. Since the beginning of the year, total deposits have thus risen to over 110 billion.
THE EXPECTED BENEFITS
The first and most obvious benefit for investors is the potential effects of increased competition between asset management companies. This is a real revolution for the sector: the mutual fund in Italy has always been distributed through bank branches and network companies of promoters and consultants, a model that has influenced the dynamics and development of the sector, starting from the issue relating to the dissemination of third-party products and from the role of inducement (ie the incentives that fund producers give to distributors).
The entry into the scene of the Stock Exchange, i.e. the possibility of buying tradable fund shares directly on a single platform, is destined to change the balance and increase the competitiveness of the sector. For example, it will allow greater visibility and access to the market for smaller asset management companies, which means greater choice for the investor. Including the opportunity to have access to niche products neglected by the big networks because they are not very profitable. At the same time, products will be more comparable and cost transparency will increase. Looking ahead, in fact, the expectation is that a cost alignment mechanism will be triggered between funds of the same type as well as a reduction process due to the lack of retrocession costs to the placers.
THE POSSIBLE RISKS
But be careful: for some, the risk may be getting carried away by the "do it yourself". The possibility of accessing funds without a filter from distributors must in fact fit into an overall assessment of one's needs. Looking ahead, therefore, the development of independent consultancy increasingly comes into play. Furthermore, the visibility on the price dynamics that this process will trigger, albeit downward oriented (a fundamental lever for getting this new system off the ground) is not so clear at the moment: on the one hand, the absence of inducement to the distribution network leads us to believe they will be less expensive classes of funds, on the other hand there are those who point out that the charges relating to the obligations of asset management companies for the listing procedures could support the costs for the saver on a level not far from the current one. Faced with the potential zero entry costs, the saver must then consider the negotiation charges in his final account, i.e. the expenses that the bank or SIM intermediary charges for the same purchase or sale transaction.
THE OPERATION
As far as operations are concerned, it will generally be very similar to that for ETFs and shares. However, no bid and ask prices: there will be a market segment specifically dedicated to funds in which purchase orders will be entered on the basis of the asset value of the units (Nav, net asset value) on the trading day which will therefore constitute the point of reference for the investment or disinvestment choices by the saver (while in the traditional system there is no certainty of the day on which the sale is closed). The chronological order of placing orders will be taken into account until the available quantities are exhausted. The fund can be subscribed for in units and not for counter value and trading closes at 11 am. Settlement will take place on the third trading day following the conclusion of the contract. Everything will then take place in euros: if the fund is in a different currency, the conversion conditions must be indicated in the prospectus. However, the same funds distributed by the distributors will hardly be found in this circuit: the path that seems to be the most popular with asset management companies is to create funds specifically destined for listing so as not to mix the collection channels of a single fund, which would generate operational difficulties.
