"Independence is sometimes an uncomfortable value - he says - but I guarantee you that the more you practice it the less you are willing to do without it". So says Dario Tosetti, promoter of Tosetti Value, one of the most important European family offices that he leads from the office in Corso Marconi 10, in Turin, which was the place of work of Avvocato Agnelli for decades. Tosetti, a former Juventus great talent who at one point he chose his studies instead of the midfield, is an intransigent defender of the "pure" formula of the family office, a structure that must rely only on the fees paid by customers, without any involvement with placement commissions or other paid "collaborations" with other financial realities. Thanks to the rigorous respect of these fences Tosetti currently manages more than 5 billion in assets for a good hundred very wealthy families to whom it provides all-round assistance, not just financial.
But Tosetti Value, strengthened by a study center with 22 people to monitor the products and make reasoned choices, does not give up, more out of whim than out of interest, in trying to develop the financial culture of the real country, made up not only of the rich, but of millions of savers who rely on managed savings to make their money work. Thus was born the Observatory which reviews the performance (and also the costs) of all Ucits products distributed in at least one European country, classified long term fund, assets and liabilities managed by the top 250 asset-based companies which, with each issue (it is published by Il Sole 24 Ore) reserves surprises and embarrassment in our flourishing system.
Once again the analysis shows that European funds yield more than Italian ones: 4,3% against 2%, at more than double the speed. The reason? First of all the weight of management commissions, custodian bank charges, auditing costs, any other fixed costs in favor of the management company. A structural burden which weighs on average by 1,45% per year for the main Italian houses against 0,97% for the top 30 European companies.
Of course, the different mix of products offered to the public helps to explain the difference. International managers can rely on greater economies of scale with extensive recourse to passive funds (cheaper) and less recourse to alternative funds (flexible, total return, etc.) which are easier to place commercially but which cost more. The real difference, however, lies in the commissions. As stated in a commentary by the Centro Studi, "The "face" cost of the product improperly includes the charges incurred by the investor for the consultancy received for the subscription of that product".
Indeed it exists a hidden cost, as not known by the subscriber, linked to the placement of the product and which affects the value of the investment year after year. The research, based on January 2018, finds that in this period of time, there are cases in which fixed costs subtracted up to 7,56% from Italian funds of the performance. In short, a sort of "opaque" tax charged to the saver on which it is worthwhile to shed light in the name of transparency.
