LFDE merges with Tocqueville Finance: Birth of a European leader in conviction-driven management

La Financière de l’Échiquier (LFDE) announces its merger[1] with Tocqueville Finance, LBP AM’s equity investment subsidiary. This deal, which follows LPB AM’s takeover of LFDE in July 2023, will create a European leader in conviction-driven management.

A new dimension

With assets under management weighing 27 billion Euros and one of the largest investment teams in Paris (55 fund managers and analysts), LFDE will become one of the leading conviction-driven managers, notably in the European equity space, with a focus on long-term financial and extra-financial performance.

To support this new dimension, LFDE has introduced some changes to its governance: Michel Saugné, deputy CEO and CIO of Tocqueville Finance, will be appointed Co-CIO of LFDE, alongside Olivier de Berranger, and will join the executive committee.

This deal adds additional expertise to LFDE’s range of equity and credit products. LFDE now offers a full range of investment strategies across different styles, themes and regions[2], under two brands.

New ambitions

The “New LFDE” intends to step-up distribution efforts with its historical client segments in France and Europe. To this end, LFDE will offer all its clients a wide range of strategies and styles in the field of conviction management and, with access to LBP AM’s expertise, dedicated solutions in listed assets (smart beta equities, multi-asset, credit and convertible bonds) and real and private assets (debt – infrastructure, corporate and real estate – and private equity).

In addition, building on its pioneering commitment to sustainable finance, and in order to offer tailor-made ESG approaches, LFDE can now draw on complementary methodological expertise, and on the power of tools developed by LBP AM.

According to Olivier de Berranger, Chief Executive Officer and co-CIO of LFDE: “We’re delighted to be writing a new chapter in LFDE’s history with the help of experienced investment teams offering complementary expertise and substantial resources. Tocqueville Finance’s upward trajectory in recent years reflects its dynamism and will be a key asset in the development of the ‘New LFDE’. ”

Michel Saugné, co-CIO of LFDE and member of the Executive Committee, adds: “I’m delighted to help build a European leader in conviction management. I’ll take up this significant challenge alongside Olivier de Berranger, Vincent Cornet and a particularly dedicated Executive Committee. This new chapter will enable us to conquer additional market share and drive the new group formed by LFDE and Tocqueville Finance even further.”

Vincent Cornet, Deputy CEO of LFDE and head of business development, says: “The ‘New LFDE’ has all the assets – investment expertise, teams, product range – needed to overcome the changes in our industry and rapidly establish itself as an industry champion. Our development strategy will enable us to further strengthen our position in France while replicating this success internationally. To achieve this goal, I know I can count on the commitment of our expert, motivated teams.”

For Emmanuelle Mourey, Chair of LBP AM’s Management Board and LFDE’s Board of Directors, said: “By merging Tocqueville Finance into LFDE, LBP AM has achieved its goal, which was to create a key player in conviction-driven asset management. The new group has everything it needs to accelerate its development and chart a course for international success. With LBP AM, LFDE’s teams have a powerful shareholder determined to support their development and their freedom to innovate.”

About Michel Saugné, Co-CIO and member of LFDE’s Executive Committee

A graduate of ESSEC, Michel Saugné began his career in 1999 with BNP Paribas before joining Natexis as a proprietary trader on equity strategies. In 2004, he moved to LCF Rothschild as a fund manager, and was later appointed Head of the Funds of Hedge Funds team and co-head of the long-short equity expertise at Edmond de Rothschild. He joined Tocqueville Finance in 2013 and was promoted to deputy CIO in 2016. A member of LBP AM’s Executive Committee, he was appointed deputy CEO of Tocqueville Finance in 2023. In 2024, Michel Saugné was appointed Co-CIO of LFDE and joined the Executive Committee.

About La Financière de l’Echiquier (www.lfde.com)

Founded in 1991 and a subsidiary of LBP AM since July 2023, La Financière de l’Échiquier (LFDE) is one of France’s leading conviction-driven asset management companies. LFDE leverages its know-how and high value-added-expertise to offer its institutional, distribution and private clients solutions tailored to their financial and non-financial objectives. LFDE has 27 billion euros under management (consolidated as of 31.12.2023), a team of more than 170 employees and offices in Germany, Austria, Spain, Italy, Switzerland and the Benelux countries.

About LBP AM (www.lbpam.com)

Owned 75% by La Banque Postale and 25% by Aegon Asset Management, LBP AM is a leading multi-specialist in sustainable finance, solutions and conviction-driven management via its subsidiary La Financière de l’Échiquier (LFDE). LBP AM has three investment divisions: real & private assets, multi-asset & absolute return, and quantitative solutions. Covering all client types – institutional investors, distributors, private clients – the LBP AM Group leverages its investment skills and those of its subsidiary LFDE to offer a wide range of open-ended funds, as well as its expertise in the management of dedicated solutions and mandates, covering listed and unlisted assets. The LBP AM Group’s consolidated assets under management totalled 68 billion euros as of 31 December 2023.