Nu Asset, Nubank’s (NYSE: NU) investment fund manager, takes its first steps into exploring the institutional investor segment. This move is part of a distribution agreement established with Itajubá Investimentos Assessores de Investimentos, a key player focused on wholesale market distribution in Brazil.
Nu Asset’s advancements with institutional investors start “with the offering of fixed-income products for Closed Supplementary Pension Entities (EFPCs), also known as Pension Funds, and RPPSs (Proprietary Social Security Schemes).”
The agreement provides for Itajubá to “distribute Nu Asset’s funds suitable to these regulations to public and private entities.”
Andrés Kikuchi, CEO of Nu Asset Management said:
“Institutional investors have very different demands from retail, and the partnership with Itajubá opens many doors for us to navigate this market. One of the most pressing needs is for fixed-income solutions, a segment where Nu Asset has built expertise over the past four years, enhancing the growth of our management,”
Nu Asset closed July with over R$ 3.8 billion in assets under management, “of which R$ 3.3 billion are in fixed income and private credit.”
As a result of the joint planning, the first strategy “that Nu Asset will offer through Itajubá will be a liquid fixed-income fund, in compliance with CMN Resolutions 4,994/22 and 4,963/21.”
Carlos Garcia, founding partner of Itajubá Investimentos AI said:
“The agreement is an important milestone for Itajubá. The inclusion of Nu Asset’s fixed-income funds, which boasts a high-quality and experienced management team with good results, in our portfolio allows us to access a universe of approximately R$ 1.2 trillion, the sum of current fixed-income investments of EFPCs and RPPSs, benefiting our clients.”
Pension Funds (EFPCs – Closed Supplementary Pension Entities) are private institutions created for “the sole purpose of managing benefit plans of a pension nature, either sponsored or established.”
There are more than 240 EFPCs, which have assets “exceeding R$ 1.2 trillion, with 78% of this amount invested in fixed income.”
RPPSs (Proprietary Social Security Schemes) are “public social security systems specific to the retirement and pension of state and municipal employees.”
Currently, there are more than 2,100 RPPSs in Brazil, with “approximately R$ 325 billion in assets, of which 79% are invested in fixed income.”
The agreement between Nubank’s fund manager and Itajubá stems from the mutual commitment to “offering quality products for institutional investors, promoting the sustainable growth of the pension market in Brazil.”
While Nu maintains a trajectory marked by transparency and innovation in financial services, Itajubá Investimentos AI boasts 17 years of history and “approximately R$ 45 billion in assets distributed to more than 400 institutional investors in the country.”