GFG SAM - Groupe Financier de Gestion - has been based in Monaco for 6 years now. Its Chairman Stefano Zavaglia established his company in Monaco in 2010, following 10 years’ experience as Director of the Fixed Sales Department of Deutsche Bank in London.
Can you tell us about your business?
GFG SAM is a management company; a regulated profession in Monaco. We are authorised to provide financial advice, foreign fund management, order transmissions and portfolio management. We carry out fund management and wealth management. We are connected to Groupe GFG Holding S.A Luxembourg.
How is your group structured?
The holding company owns all the shares of GFG SAM in Monaco, as well as GFG Capital Limited in London. Furthermore, two independent offices - GFG Lausanne and GFG Milan - give the group a presence in Italy and Switzerland.
Is the EGB fund the centrepiece of your organisation?
Indeed, Euro Global Bond is a fund we launched in 2011 and which we manage entirely in Monaco. It now amounts to 330 million, which is a 7.6% gain on the initial amount of the fund. That has earned us, in 2016, a win in the "Thomas Reuters Lipper Fund Award" in Switzerland. This prize, awarded by the rating agencies, singles out the best fund over three years for qualitative and quantitative performance in its Euro Bond class.
How do you build your teams?
We recruit experienced professionals of all nationalities: Italians, French, English speakers. Our team comprises around twenty people, three departments ( Development/Distribution/Support ), and fund management and analysts, of course. An investment committee meets every month.
Three solid pillars support our wealth management asset allocation process: the quantitative management named the GFG Momentum Index, the internal scoring team responsible for qualitative analysis, and our external information network. These three components make up our proprietary model of asset allocation.
Are your customers multinational too?
Absolutely, our products are distributed at the European level. We have mainly institutional and corporate customers, and now also several hundred private individuals. We work with banks and asset management companies.
You were in London, the big financial capital, so why did you choose Monaco?
For the quality of life in Monaco and its strategic location in the heart of Europe. The success of an organisation like mine - on a human scale but with high added value - is the living proof of Monaco’s attractiveness. Monaco is a land that offers entrepreneurs significant opportunities.
