The ownership of Italian asset management companies: Consequences on the commissions structure

Abstract

Recent actions by market operators and numerous contributions existing in literature have pointed out and stressed the importance of investigating the consequences of the ownership structures of the Asset Management Companies (AMCs). The objective of the paper is to delve into such field, trying to define the presence of a significant influence between ownership of the AMCs and the commissions system. The analysis has been conducted on a sample of AMCs, distinguished between independent and not-independent (in this context meaning ownerships of banks and insurances). We have analysed the receivable and payable commissions of the independent and not independent AMCs, for the four-year period: 2005-2008. The results achieved allow us to submit useful considerations about the importance of the governance characteristics of the asset managers and their choices in order to recover margins of profitability.