BB Asset launches exclusive funds division managing R$400bn

21 Jun, 2024

BB Asset launches exclusive funds division managing R$400bn

BB Asset, Brazil's largest asset manager with R$1.6 trillion under management, has established a new wealth management division. This move comes in response to the recent taxation changes affecting exclusive closed-end funds.

The new team brings together services that were previously scattered across different sectors, now overseeing exclusive funds, private banking portfolios, institutional investors such as pension funds and insurers, and companies, totaling R$400 billion.

"The goal is to refine and specialize management to lead the area to double-digit growth this year," said Ricardo Fontes, the executive leading the new exclusive and allocation team. This team comprises 40 people working across four management desks and one allocation desk. Mr. Fontes, with 16 years at Banco do Brasil, previously led the bank's wealth management team.

According to Mr. Fontes, internal process adaptations began in December, and he assumed his new role in March. The bank's wealth, private, institutional, and corporate sectors continue to serve these investors, but with the new design, BB Asset can now deal with them directly. "We have direct interaction now. In agribusiness, we developed portfolios for clients that have grown significantly in recent years," he said.

The mandatory withholding of income tax on investments altered the strategies for single-investor funds but did not reduce their importance, especially for estate succession planning. To enhance tax efficiency, BB Asset expanded its offerings to include corporate debt, exclusive tax-exempt debenture funds, and stocks. "The funds were split and gained another function. They can, for example, serve to increase allocations abroad and expand gains through geographic diversification," Mr. Fontes explained.