MAPFRE appoints new supervisor to manage its French asset management subsidiary

The MAPFRE Group, which increased its stake in La Financière Responsable (LFR) to 51% in February 2023, has restructured the company’s senior management team. Alberto Matellán, currently chief economist at MAPFRE Inversión, will become the most senior management executive at LFR, which specializes in socially responsible investment. In addition, Thierry Chesneau is to be named president of LFR following the retirement of Olivier Johanet.

Matellán will drive execution of the asset management company’s new Strategic Plan 2025-2027, which prioritizes boosting the firm’s international footprint and enhancing service delivery levels, with the aim being to leverage LFR’s investment and analysis capabilities, the main feature of which is a proprietary methodology that facilitates the integration of social and financial dimensions.

LFR is one of the few European fund managers to hold the French Ministry of the Economy and Finance’s prestigious SRI label (socially responsible investment), and all of its funds are categorized as Article 9 (under the European Union’s SFDR regulations) for their social impact. LFR provides MAPFRE with a degree of specialization that, combined with the Group’s other investment teams, allows it to offer customers the widest possible range of investment and savings solutions.

Juan Bernal, group chief investment officer at MAPFRE, notes: “This new structure at LFR underlines our commitment to invest responsibly and will enable us to work in an even more coordinated manner to get the most out of our management teams. Our intention is to continue working on the implementation of our own methodology so we can identify the best ESG investment opportunities and consider jointly launching new impact funds.”

For his part, Alberto Matellán said: “Integration into the MAPFRE Group will enable us to develop further and bring the unique combination of financial and social analysis that defines LFR’s investment capabilities to a wider audience. Its investment philosophy and rigorous approach align completely with the culture that’s characterized MAPFRE from the very beginning and I’ve no doubt it will give rise to new investment opportunities.”

Matellán joined MAPFRE in 2016 as chief economist at MAPFRE Inversión. He has more than 25 years of experience of financial markets, gained while working for numerous international companies. He also holds a cum laude doctorate in Social Innovation Economics and completed an executive development program at Spain’s IESE. Matellán is a member of the Spanish Institute of Analysts and has lived in Paris since 2022, where he has been involved in integrating LFR’s sustainable and responsible investment strategies and products into the MAPFRE Group’s global offering.

MAPFRE continues its internationalization strategy in the asset management sector, particularly in the ESG and impact investing areas. Since 2017, MAPFRE and LFR have jointly launched a number of sustainable funds, such as the MAPFRE AM Capital Responsible fund and the MAPFRE AM Inclusión Responsible fund.