Azimut Group

Azimut was established by Akros Finanziaria in 1988, while the group’s website lists 1990 as its year of incorporation; between 1990 and 1992 the current chairman, Pietro Giuliani, joined the group. In 1998 Azimut opened an investment hub in Luxembourg. In 2001 the group launched a management buyout in which about 700 people invested; completed in June 2002, it made Azimut independent of banking, insurance or industrial groups.⁠[1][1][2][1][1][1][1][2]

On July 7, 2004, Azimut held its initial public offering, listing its holding company Azimut Holding S.p.A. on the Milan Stock Exchange under the ticker AZM.IM; the same year it set up AZ Life in Ireland. Its shares were later included in Italy’s FTSE MIB index.⁠[1][1][3][2]

In 2011 Azimut entered China, Türkiye, Monaco and Switzerland; from 2013 to 2015 it expanded into emerging markets and the Asia-Pacific region, including Taiwan, Brazil, Singapore, Mexico, Australia and Chile, and began private markets activities in Italy; from 2017 to 2019 it opened operations in Dubai, Egypt, Abu Dhabi and New York.⁠[1][1][1][1][1][1][1][1]

In 2020 Azimut began private markets acquisitions and a GP seeding business in the United States, completed its first Timone management buyout, and took a stake in Kennedy Lewis. In 2021–2022 the group built a fintech ecosystem and launched the Beewise investment app, acquired Sanctuary Wealth in the United States, and took minority stakes in firms including HighPost, Pathlight, BroadLight and RoundShield; in November 2022 it signed an initial 35% investment in the U.S. small-cap manager Kennedy Capital Management (KCM). In 2023 the group completed its second Timone management buyout (more than 1,000 people invested, completed in February) and formed a strategic partnership with UniCredit.⁠[1][1][1][1][1][1][4][1][1]

On October 17, 2023, Azimut, through its U.S. subsidiary Azimut Alternative Capital Partners (AACP), acquired an additional 2.5% interest in HighPost Capital, bringing its total ownership to about 15%.⁠[5][5]

On May 7, 2025, Azimut, through AACP, agreed to raise its stake in HighPost from 15% to 56%, taking a controlling interest. HighPost was founded by private equity and marketing executives David Moross and Mark Bezos and then managed $644 million in assets; half of the secondary proceeds to the founders were paid in listed Azimut Holding shares, and Mark Bezos also became Head of Strategic Partnerships and a board director of Azimut US Holdings.⁠[6][6][6][6][6][6][6]

On May 22, 2025, Azimut Holding signed a binding framework agreement with FSI SGR (acting for the FSI II fund) to spin off part of its Italian distribution network and create TNB, a new-generation, digitally native bank dedicated to wealth advisory services. The transaction has a potential total value of about €1.2 billion; Azimut retains a 19.99% stake in TNB and obtained a guarantee under which TNB must generate at least €2.4 billion in fees for Azimut over at least 12 years and serve as the main third-party distributor of Azimut’s products during a 20-year partnership.⁠[7][7][7][7][7][7][7][7][7]

On December 29, 2025, the parties extended the exclusivity agreement from December 28, 2025, to June 20, 2026, with an option to extend further to December 20, 2026. As of August 2026, the agreement had been extended to December 20, 2026; Azimut was awaiting the Bank of Italy’s official report on its remediation plan, a prerequisite for seeking final regulatory approvals from the European Central Bank, the Bank of Italy and Consob, and said it expected the transaction could be completed by the end of 2026; at closing, FSI and co-investors will hold 80.01% of TNB.⁠[8][8][8][1][1][1][1][1]

On July 22, 2025, Azimut signed a binding agreement for Azimut US Holdings to acquire 100% of North Square Investments (NSI), a Chicago-based multi-boutique asset management and distribution platform then managing $16.0 billion; Azimut also contributed its 51% stake in KCM, creating an integrated platform with more than $20 billion in assets to be renamed Azimut NSI. After the transaction, Azimut’s U.S. assets under management totaled about $50 billion, making the United States its second-largest market after Italy.⁠[9][9][9][9][9][9][9][9]

On December 19, 2025, Azimut completed the acquisition of 50% plus one share of the Brazilian wealth advisory firm Knox Capital, which adopted the Azimut Knox brand; Brazil is the group’s third-largest country by assets under management, and as of November 30, 2025, Azimut managed €7.6 billion there. On January 19, 2026, Azimut announced the acquisition of a majority stake in Brazil’s Unifinance Group through an exchange of shares (with no initial cash payment and an earn-out), after which it would manage about R$60 billion in Brazil.⁠[10][10][10][10][10][11][11][11]

On March 5, 2026, the board of Azimut Holding approved its 2025 consolidated results: total revenues of €1.4 billion, operating profit (EBIT) of €649 million and net profit of €526 million, of which €101 million came from global operations; net inflows for the year were €32 billion, and total assets as of January 31, 2026, were €145 billion, up 32% year over year. The board proposed a cash dividend of €2.00 per share and sought shareholder authorization to buy back and cancel up to 14 million shares (9.77% of share capital), with 2026 targets of €10 billion in net inflows and €550 million in net profit excluding extraordinary items.⁠[12][12][12][12][12][12][12][12][12][12]

On July 29, 2026, Azimut’s subsidiary AZ International Holdings signed a binding agreement to acquire 100% of Yapı Kredi Portföy Yönetimi, the asset management arm of Türkiye’s Yapı ve Kredi Bankası, for about €305 million (excluding cash on its balance sheet at closing and an earn-out component). After closing, Azimut’s assets under management in Türkiye would reach about €29 billion, making it the country’s second-largest asset manager and Türkiye the group’s third-largest market, and the two sides would enter into a 15-year exclusive distribution agreement. Completion was expected by December 2026, subject to regulatory approvals.⁠[13][13][13][13][13][13][13][13][13][13]

In the first half of 2026, Azimut Holding reported total revenues of €781 million, operating profit of €354 million, net profit of €242 million and net inflows of €8.1 billion, with total assets of €158 billion as of June 30. Assuming the Yapı Kredi Portföy transaction closes within the year, the group raised its 2026 net inflow target from €10 billion to more than €35 billion, confirmed its €550 million net profit target, and launched a first share buyback tranche of €250 million lasting six months.⁠[14][14][14][14][14][14][14][14][14]

On September 21, 2026, Azimut agreed to acquire, in cash through Azimut NSI, the remaining 49% of Kennedy Capital Management, bringing its ownership to 100%. Azimut first signed a 35% investment in November 2022 and raised it to 51% in February 2025; KCM was founded in 1980 and is headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri. The transaction was expected to close later that year.⁠[4][4][4][4][4][4][4][4]

On September 29, 2026, Azimut announced a definitive agreement to acquire 100% of Beanstox Inc.BeanstoxBeanstox is a digital investment advisory company headquartered in Boston that was founded in 2018 by Kevin O’Leary and Connor O’Brien. Through a mobile app it offers individual investors automated portfolios built from ETFs for a monthly subscription; in September 2026 Azimut Group announced an agreement to acquire all of its shares, with closing expected in the fourth quarter of 2026.Open the full entry, a U.S. automated investment advisory app, as its entry into the U.S. direct-to-consumer wealth market; the price was not disclosed. Beanstox was co-founded in 2018 by Kevin O’LearyKevin O’LearyKevin O’Leary is a Canadian entrepreneur, investor and television personality, publicly known as Mr. Wonderful. He founded software business SoftKey and became widely known through Dragons’ Den and Shark Tank. His activities span venture investment, financial products and consumer brands.Open the full entry, who serves as chairman, and chief executive officer Connor O’Brien, and offers personalized automated portfolios built from low-cost ETFs on a subscription basis. Azimut plans for Beanstox to serve as the digital gateway to the group’s U.S. business and to target the roughly 60% of the population, an estimated 120 million American adults, who do not currently invest.⁠[3][3][3][3][3][3][3][3]

Closing is expected in the fourth quarter of 2026, subject to regulatory review and customary closing conditions, including the completion of a corporate reorganization and an advisory client consent process under the U.S. Investment Advisers Act of 1940; as of October 2026 the deal had not closed. Beanstox’s current management team will continue to run the business. Azimut chief executive officer Giorgio Medda said the acquisition is a pivotal step in the group’s U.S. expansion strategy that opens a direct channel to a vast and underserved market of American savers; O’Leary said millions of Americans are not investing yet and that with Azimut’s backing Beanstox can help many more people get started.⁠[3][3][3][3][3][3][3][3]

In September 2026, Azimut Group recorded net inflows of €683 million, bringing year-to-date net inflows to €10.9 billion, of which €5.9 billion came from global operations; total assets were €158.889 billion as of September 30, up 12.7% since the start of the year. That month its Turkish business saw outflows of about €695 million amid market turmoil. Alessandro Zambotti, the group’s chief executive officer and chief financial officer, said the upcoming closing of the Yapı Kredi transaction involves about €23 billion in assets.⁠[15][15][15][15][15][15][15][15][15]

Azimut Group’s businesses comprise asset management across public and private markets, wealth management, investment banking and fintech, serving private and corporate clients. It has companies in Italy, Australia, Brazil, Chile, mainland China and Hong Kong, Egypt, Ireland, Luxembourg, Morocco, Mexico, Monaco, Portugal, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Switzerland, Taiwan, Türkiye, the United Arab Emirates and the United States, covering 20 countries in all; its website lists more than 1.8 million customers.⁠[3][3][3][3][3][2]

About 2,000 portfolio managers, employees and financial advisors of Azimut Holding jointly control about 21% to 22% of the company through a shareholders’ agreement (figures differ by date), with the remaining shares in free float. As of October 2026, Pietro Giuliani is chairman, and Giorgio Medda (based in New York) and Alessandro Zambotti (based in Milan) both serve as chief executive officers.⁠[16][3][3][16][16][16]

Azimut Group: Official website: https://www.azimut-group.com/ (opens in a new window).⁠[3]