Insurers explore new boundaries. The sector, tired of the low margins in traditional policies, has decided to make its way into one of the most juicy businesses in the financial sector: private banking. Advising high net worth individuals and distributing investment funds is a highly competitive activity, but also very profitable. Mapfre, Mutua Madrileña, Santalucía… are some of the entities that are most committed to gaining a foothold in this vein. Luis Ussía is the executive president of Mutuáculos, the financial arm of Mutua Madrileña. The manager explains the group's plans from the emblematic headquarters on Paseo de la Castellana in Madrid, a stone's throw from its neighbors and tenants, JP Morgan Private Banking. “Since I have been at Mutuáculos, there has never been such an ambitious plan to grow in the asset management segment,” he says. The objective set in the new strategic plan is to reach 15,000 million euros of managed assets by the end of 2026, between funds, pension plans, and life-savings insurance. That means growing 3.3 billion euros in three years. With lungs. This plan includes a strong push for discretionary management contracts, a product traditionally reserved for private banking clients. The ambitious objective refers only to Mutuáculos, but the Mutua group has been buying fund managers for several years (Alantra Wealth Management, EDM , Orienta Capital…) to expand its distribution capacity. If you count the money managed by these firms, the group already has over 20,000 million assets under management. Mutuocitos' private banking service serves clients with more than 100,000 euros. Their aspiration is to focus on the wealthiest clients because “that is where we are having the most success, in assets of more than 500,000 euros, which are also the most profitable for us,” acknowledges Ussía. The entity offers them portfolios of third-party funds, pension plans, life-savings insurance…Luis Ussía emphasizes that the entity prefers to distance itself from “the concept of private banking because, among other things, we are not a bank. And because our offer is aimed at all types of clients.” The manager recalls that in other countries, such as France, insurers are very involved in this business. The push for the high-net-worth advisory business is not limited to Madrid. Its recently inaugurated headquarters in A Coruña is located in the Casa Viturro, a modernist building located in the noblest part of the Atlantic city. A step away from Santander Private Banking, CaixaBank Banca Privada, Mediolanum Family Bankers… They also have branches in Barcelona, Malaga, Seville, Valladolid and, in a few months, in the Canary Islands. Mutua goes with everything.
Two businesses with many synergies
The insurance business and asset management are two natural allies. Insurance companies have been managing large amounts of money from their clients' policies for more than 150 years. In the case of life insurance, the commitments acquired are very long-term, which is why they have specialized in a type of prudent and diversified management. “The entry of an insurance company into the funds or financial advisory segment makes perfect sense,” explains the president of one of the five largest insurers in the country. “Large groups already have very powerful teams to manage our investments, so the synergies are more than evident.” Sectoral data confirm this opinion. According to Unespa (the insurance employers' association), insurance companies operating in Spain manage a volume of assets of 203,808 million euros, to which must be added 60,000 million euros in pension plans. And these figures do not even include the money managed in funds and with portfolio management contracts. In the case of Mutuáculos, its expansion in private banking is based on its own call center, together with a team of 14 people collecting of clients and 41 more senior people, dedicated to pure advice. Meanwhile, Mapfre has opted for a different approach, which relies on financial agents. They are people who maintain a commercial relationship with the insurer, but who only distribute its products. The company created its Mapfre Gestión Patrimonial division in 2017, to promote the sale of investment funds. The latest plans, recently presented, contemplate reaching 2,000 million euros of assets in 2026, and expanding its presence to have 16 branches throughout Spain. “The project is working very well,” says Miguel Ángel Segura, general director of Mapfre. Investments. We already have more than 1,100 agents and, in addition, there are more than 600 Mapfre employees selling financial products in their offices. Last year, the three entities that registered the most financial agents in Spain were three insurers, Mapfre, Allianz and Catalana Occidente. In addition, Mapfre has taken a 20% stake in the firm Abante Asesores. Another company that has relied on asset management for its diversification is Santalucía, the leading insurer in death policies. Nine years ago they bought a small management company and then took the leap with the acquisition of Aviva's business in Spain. Currently, between funds and pension plans, the company manages 4.6 billion euros, whereas a decade ago it was residual. The next step will be to offer its clients discretionary portfolio management contracts. The Allianz firm is also fighting in this segment. After losing its historical alliance with Banco Popular (absorbed by Santander), the parent company decided to wage war on its own. Two years ago they presented their securities agency, Allianz Soluciones Financieras, with the ambition of reaching 9,000 million euros before 2030. Susana Mendía, deputy general director of Allianz and head of life insurance, explained during the presentation of the project her aspiration is “become a relevant agent in the world of asset management.” The list could go on. Caser Asesores Financieros and Catalana Occidente each manage 1,400 million between investment funds and pension plans; The French Axa and Groupama also have an important fund division in Spain. In the end, all insurance groups that aspire to lead the sector want to find their place in the profitable business of asset management. Follow all the information from Economy and Business on Facebook and xor in our weekly newsletter