Amundi has confirmed plans to combine Pioneer Investment Management with its US business Amundi Smith Breeden, as the proposed merger finally closes.
The new US entity will form Amundi Pioneer Asset Management and will manage Amundi’s investment hub and distribution platform in the region.
Amundi said the rebrand signals its desire to maintain Pioneer’s ‘strong brand recognition’ in the US, although now with significantly larger resources and scale.
Former CEO of Pioneer Investment Management in the US, Lisa Jones, has been appointed head of the Americas for Amundi and the combined US entity.
Patrice Blanc, previously CEO of Amundi Smith Breeden, has been named as chief operating officer of Amundi Pioneer.
Similarly, Ken Taubes, former chief investment officer for the US at Pioneer, has been appointed chief investment officer of US investment management for Amundi and Amundi Pioneer.
First announced in December last year, Amundi purchased UniCredit’s Pioneer investment arm for the cash sum of €3.5 billion. The merger has created a €1.3 trillion asset management giant and the eighth largest buy-side firm globally.
Xavier Musca, chairman of the board of directors at Amundi, explained at the time the acquisition is in line with the acquisition strategy announced at the time of its initial public offering.
“Pioneer Investments will reinforce Amundi’s product expertise, broaden its distribution channels and networks and generate significant synergies.
“It confirms Amundi’s position as a clear European leader in asset management, in terms of size and profitability,” he said.