Vienna - The management board of Raiffeisen KAG presented the market data for 2023 to date at a press conference today. As of the end of May 2023, the fund company's assets under management stood at EUR 40.8 billion, thus exceeding the EUR 40 billion mark again after a year of multiple crises. Since 2018, Raiffeisen KAG has grown by almost EUR 9 billion.

At the same time, it has gained significant market share, especially in retail funds: from 18.8% in 2018 to 24.5% in 05-2023. The fund company is also gaining market share in the overall market. In the current year, it has grown more strongly than the overall market with +4.27 % on average.

Active management gains importance again

"The development in this year shows very clearly that investment funds are picking up speed again after the crisis year of 2022. Raiffeisen KAG was able to benefit from this to an above-average extent," says CEO Hannes Cizek. "This is mainly due to the fact that we have been focusing on topics that strike a nerve with the times for years: Sustainability, fund savings and megatrends." But active management is also clearly gaining in importance again, according to the CEO. Especially with sustainably oriented investments, it is important to be able to react to developments at short notice in order to remove securities that have come under criticism from the portfolios and to be credible, says Cizek. Last year also showed that investment funds are one of the most profitable investment options in the long term –adjusted for inflation.

Strong demand for sustainable investments

Dieter Aigner, the board member responsible for fund management, also sees the high credibility of sustainability as a reason for the solid growth of Raiffeisen KAG. "We are working hard to keep the quality of the investments high and to further develop the sustainable investment process," says Aigner. This pays off and is also recognized by numerous rating agencies. Last year, Raiffeisen KAG was awarded a AAA rating by Scope for excellent quality and competence in the management of sustainable fund strategies and as such was named "Best Asset Manager ESG Universal Provider, Austria". The Raiffeisen sustainability mix is by far the largest mutual fund in Austria with its now EUR 5 billion and also ranks among the top in Europe. Since 2018, the volume of sustainability-oriented investments of Raiffeisen KAG has increased almost six-fold from EUR 3.1 billion to EUR 21.3 billion.

Fund savings increasingly popular as a pension instrument

"Fund savings play a very important role in the business development of Raiffeisen KAG. On the one hand, because it generates stable monthly inflows, and on the other hand, because the topic of sustainability is appealing to ever broader customer groups," says Cizek. In particular, mixed funds that invest in both bonds and equities and are managed according to ESG criteria are in high demand and are becoming increasingly popular as an instrument of retirement planning, the CEO said. The number of fund savings contracts managed according to ESG criteria has increased more than sixfold at Raiffeisen KAG since 2018.

Sustainability expertise also in high demand internationally

Raiffeisen KAG's stringent sustainability approach is also highly regarded on the international stage. This is confirmed by Michal Kustra, who is responsible for the Italian and CEE markets within the management. After all, the EUR 6.2 billion of assets managed in Italy as of the end of May 2023 account for more than 15% of Raiffeisen KAG's total assets under management. "Raiffeisen KAG funds are now offered by five of the ten largest banks in Italy. This is no coincidence, but is due to our reputation in sustainable investments," says Kustra.

In CEE, too, a lot has happened in the last five years in terms of ESG investments. "Whereas in 2018 only just under 14% were invested sustainably in CEE, 73% of the current EUR 1.4 billion in assets are now responsibly invested. Our offensive as a first mover in CEE has absolutely proven its worth," says Kustra.

Raiffeisen KAG's sustainable alignment progressing

The transformation of Raiffeisen KAG into a sustainably oriented fund company has been underway since 2020. In the meantime, almost all mutual funds in the equity sector are managed according to ESG criteria and a large proportion of bonds are also managed sustainably. In the case of multi-assets, the changeover is in full swing. "We want to convert our entire product range to responsible investment by 2025," says Dieter Aigner. This is challenging, but we are on the right track. At the same time, Raiffeisen KAG is constantly fine-tuning its sustainability investment process, which now sets international standards and takes into account the complexity of sustainable investment.

Race to Zero: Net Zero Emissions by 2050

By signing the Net Zero Asset Management Initiative in December 2022, Raiffeisen KAG became the first fund company in Austria to commit to making its own portfolio climate-neutral by the middle of the century. This also entails an intensified dialogue with the emissions-intensive industry. This should drive the transformation of the companies and also contribute to Net Zero. Aigner: "Our Race to Zero has begun. We are pleased to be part of a global project and thus to make a further active contribution to a more sustainable world."

For further information please contact:

Andrea Pelinka-Kinz (+43 1 717 07 - 8787) or
Pia Oberhauser (+43 1 717 07 - 2426)

www.rbinternational.com and www.rcm.at