Statistical Bulletin no. 25/2 - Intermediaries - September 2024
 

Financial intermediation in the first half of 2024

At the end of June 2024, the value of financial instruments held with Italian intermediaries for the provision of investment and asset management services amounted to 3,770 billion euros down 3.8% compared to the figure at the end of 2023, mainly due to the decrease in bond-type financial instruments. 

The volumes of activity related to the provision of investment services grew overall in the first half of 2024 (placement of financial instruments +23.5%, trading on own account +79.7%, order execution +12.7%, reception and transmission of orders +10.3%). Gross premiums from the placement of insurance products with a predominant financial component distributed in Italy by Italian intermediaries supervised by Consob increased (+11%), due to the rise in premiums related to the distribution of unit-linked policies (+13.5%). 

At the end of June 2024, the assets managed by Italian intermediaries amounted to 1,489 billion euros down compared to the figure at the end of 2023 (-1.2%), due to the reduction in asset management on an individual basis (-3%), foreign open-ended UCITs placed in Italy (-3.5%) and closed-ended UCITs under Italian law (-2.5%). Such reduction was not offset by the increase in open-ended UCITs under Italian law (+6.4%) and pension funds and other forms of pension established in Italy by companies other than insurance companies (+5.9%). 

In the first half of 2024, net inflows from Italian-law open-ended UCITs were positive by about 11 billion euros, mainly from bond funds (18 billion euros), which more than offset redemptions from balanced (3 billion euros) and flexible funds (4 billion euros). 

The accounting data of Italian asset management companies at the end of June 2024 show, in aggregate, a net profit of 854 million euros, an increase of 232 million compared to the end of June 2023, mainly due to the increase in net commissions (283 million euros), interest income and similar income (42 million euros) and income from equity investments (28.5 million euros), which outweighed the increase in operating costs (40 million euros) and taxes (62 million euros). For the Italian investment companies there was a net profit of 61 million euros, an increase of 12 million euros compared to the first half of 2023, mainly due to the increase in net trading income (13 million euros) and interest income and similar income (7 million euros), which more than offset the reduction in net commissions (4 million euros) and the increase in taxes (3 million euros). 

The Report was prepared by:
Gaetano N. Finiguerra (supervisor) -  CONSOB, Head of Statistics Office, Research Department (g.finiguerra@consob.it)
Emilio Ciccone - CONSOB, Statistics Office, Research Department(e.ciccone@consob.it)
Simona Di Rocco - CONSOB, Statistics Office, Research Department(s.dirocco@consob.it)

Thanks to Matteo Modena (coordinator) - CONSOB, Research division (m.modena@consob.it)
Marco Taverna  - CONSOB, Research division (m.taverna@consob.it) and
Renato Grasso (coordinator) - CONSOB, Research division (r.grasso@consob.it)
 

Editorial secretary: Andrea Cianciullo

For information and clarifications write to: Ufficio.Statistiche@consob.it