The portfolio management market in Brazil

Portfolio management refers to the set of activities linked to the investment of funds in different types of assets in a portfolio (e.g. financial, real estate, land, art, etc.) in order to optimize the return on investment while mitigating the risks. The typical products offered by portfolio management firms are savings, life insurance and investment products (equity, bond, currency and commodity portfolios).

In this context, portfolio management is structured around 3 main activities:

The creation of a balance sheet for professional, economic or personal situations;

The implementation of an investment project: risk aversion, objectives in terms of return, etc;

The management and investment of capital: according to predefined criteria of profitability, risk, transmission, financial flows, etc.

Portfolio management is mostly realized by large banking groups, mainly retail banks (Itaú, Bradesco, BB, etc.) or investment banks (BTG, BBA, XP, etc.), or insurance groups. Independent consulting firms, which were already present in the past, have recently experienced strong growth rates thanks to digital technologies, in particular thanks to the arrival of "Robo -advisors" on the market.

In recent years, Brazil has not thrived as in the first decade of the millennium. In other words, there has not been a substantial increase of the overall wealth of the population. [IBGE] However, based on the net financial assets per capita (6,317 euros), the country appeared at the 39th place on the list of the wealthiest countries in the world in 2018, with a total of 1.9 trillions of euros. [Allianz]

In addition, with the democratization of the internet, many opportunities for new players have been created, with cheaper and simpler asset management services. Some of them focus on customers with small amount of resources, offering a complete digital solution with substantially lower fees (e.g. Fiduc, Guide, Gfai, LifeFP). These newcomers are bringing a new dynamic to the market, transforming the sector with the digitalization of their services and products, which reduces their costs and, in turn, their fees.