The conference organized by AIPB (Italian Private Banking Association) and Assosim (Italian Association of Financial Intermediaries), "Italy that wants to grow: PIR and Private Banking", was held today in Milan, the first conference that simultaneously involved producers and distributors of Individual Savings Plans to address some issues that are still little known to the public.
The speakers, spokespersons for some of the most important institutes that offer a private banking service and the major product houses in Italy, accompanied the audience on an in-depth study of the PIRs, introduced with the latest budget law to support small and medium-sized Italian companies. Among the prestigious guests, the Revenue Agency provided some relevant clarifications for the sector and investors interested in a sophisticated use of this new investment tool.
In fact, the will of AIPB and Assosim is to consolidate the knowledge of PIRs to find out if they can find a lasting and successful space in the private banking sector and provide constant strengthening of the capital market at the service of companies. "There is a particular consonance between the "classic" profile of those who entrust their savings to Private Banking and PIR, to the extent that Private savers are traditionally inclined to invest in instruments that directly or indirectly support companies", says Antonella Massari, Secretary General of AIPB.
"The Private Banking customer, in fact, not only has a significant portfolio size, but typically is not subject to illiquidity and, consequently, does not need rapid "disinvestment" times, conditions that allow him to be able to invest in a medium and long-term perspective, and which make it an ideal investor for companies that need resources for their development. In these terms, it is clear that the PIRs can only encourage and consolidate this attitude and this investment philosophy”, concludes Massari.
“The debut of the PIRs was particularly promising in terms of funding by revising upwards the initial estimates which envisaged reaching 16-18 billion Euros in five years. It is currently expected that this instrument could raise 10 billion already this year”, observed Michele Calzolari, president of Assosim.
“Assosim believes that in this phase it is very important to create the conditions to maintain the high expectations raised by the PIRs and therefore avoid the risk of overvaluation of the market values of Mid Caps”, continued Calzolari. “The Ftse Italia Mid Cap index has in fact grown by over 25% since the beginning of the year, reaching its maximum in May. The offer needs to move now. For intermediaries, especially the Italian ones, it is a question of facilitating access to the market for new quality small and medium-sized enterprises but also of strengthening the analysis of listed small caps in order to help new investors linked to PIRs to choose the company with the most interesting prospects”, concluded Calzolari.
