Equities-focused asset management group Comgest is considering a potential move to outsource some its trading activities, The TRADE has learnt.
So far, no decision has been made as to whether the buy-side firm will outsource or not.
A spokesperson at Comgest told The TRADE at the end of October: “As part of an ongoing effort to enhance the firm’s ability to create value for its clients, we are exploring whether it would be beneficial to outsource our portfolio trading activity over the long term.
“We are having conversations with several outsourcing providers, but no decision on whether to outsource has been made.”
Several sources speaking to The TRADE believe that Amundi is one of the front runners for the mandate. Specifically, Amundi Intermediation – the firm’s regulated entity dedicated to best execution – offers buy-side outsourced dealing solutions for all asset classes and geographies.
Amundi declined to comment when approached by The TRADE.
Comgest has offices across the globe, with on the ground presence in: Austria, Belgium, France (its headquarters), Germany, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Singapore, the UK, and the US.
According to the international firm, its current investment process is one of bottom-up stock-pickers, building portfolios on a company-by-company basis, irrespective of benchmarks, geography or sector allocations.
Read more – Outsourced trading: Easy to do, difficult to get right
As outsourced trading continues to grow in popularity among the buy-side – whether it’s an all-in model or a hybrid approach – the space is becoming an increasingly relevant topic.
The past 12 months has been a rollercoaster of developments across the sphere, with several firms already having made the move to outsource some, or all, of its trading operations.