Mapfre launches €250m 'fund of funds' to target attractive opportunities

Spanish re/insurer Mapfre has launched a new fund bringing together its existing private equity investments of all the companies in the group, as well as those made going forward.

The insurance group is committing equity totaling €250 million to the "fund of funds" launched with Abante and Altamar. The fund will be managed by Abante Asesores Gestión SGIIC, and Altamar Private Equity SGIIC will act as the investment advisor.

It is the first instrument that Mapfre has launched with Abante since they signed an alliance in September 2019, with Mapfre taking a 10-percent stake in the financial advisory firm.

Mapfre Private Equity FCR, which has been registered with the Spanish National Securities and Exchange Commission (CNMV), will be balanced in terms of risk and return, and will cover various investment periods, company sizes and geographical regions, though will be concentrated in the US and European markets.

The insurer said that it will apply a "very conservative strategy", in line with Mapfre’s investment policy. The move is a part of its strategy of diversifying its portfolio to include other types of financial assets and gradually increasing its alternative investments in a bid to protect profitability against the prevailing climate of low interest rates.

“These alternative investments allow us to diversify our balance sheet in a climate of low interest rates, and also tend to be less sensitive to market developments, which provides protection against sharp declines such as those we have seen recently. In addition, the market moment is very attractive because great opportunities can be generated in the coming months," said José Luis Jiménez, group chief investment officer at Mapfre.