Société Générale Asset Management Prepares for Launch in Russia

Jason Corcoran

13 November 2007

France’s Société Générale Asset Management is getting ready to enter the Russia market where it will focus on retail clients. Representatives from Société Générale are preparing documents to be submitted to Federal Financial Market Service for an asset management licence, according to the Russian newspaper Kommersant. Local analysts suggested Société Générale could, with its high credit ratings, attract assets worth $100-200 million from retail clients in the first year of operations. Société Générale Asset Management is a subsidiary of France’s biggest bank group. As of 30 October 2007, it managed assets worth €375 billion. The French investment house joins an increasingly crowded market. The Swedish investment manager East Capital last month said it would open for business in the Russian mutual fund market next year. And Dresdner Bank, the banking arm of German insurer Allianz, is recruiting ahead of its anticipated launch of private wealth management operations in Russia.