Average salaries and benefits at asset manager Amundi Ireland fell 8.5 per cent last year to a little over €115,000 as the French-owned company spun off its London branch to another part of the group.
The average number of employees at the Dublin-based business fell to 326 in 2019 from 360 a year earlier, it said in its latest annual report, filed in recent days with the Companies Registration Office. Total salaries and benefits amounted to €37.5 million last year, down from €45.3 million in 2018.
The London branch disposal resulted in total revenues at Amundi Ireland reducing by 35 per cent to €103.4 million, with investment management fees sliding 46.4 per cent to €61.9 million, while revenue from the company’s provision of support, marketing and promotional services to the wider Amundi group, Europe’s largest fund manager, dipped marginally to €41.5 million.
The Dublin-based business, led by chief executive David Harte, was originally known as Pioneer Investments before its parent, Pioneer Asset Management, was sold by Italian lender UniCredit to Amundi in 2017 for €3.6 billion.
Cost-cutting
Amundi Ireland’s staff levels have fallen from an average of 438 in the year of the takeover, according to figures contained in previous annual reports, amid rounds of cost-cutting and movement of various business lines within the wider group.
The sale of the London branch to another group operation has helped Amundi Ireland to concentrate on equity and multi-asset products, the latest report said.
The business paid a dividend of €42.6 million to its parent during 2019, compared to €40 million handed over during 2018, it said.
Amundi had €1.65 trillion of assets under management at the end of 2019. The completion of the purchase of Spain's Sabadell Asset Management in recent weeks for €430 million added a further €21 billion of assets under management, based on end-May figures for that company.
