Our project

Established at the beginning of 2020, in July 2020 Anima Alternative was authorized by the Bank of Italy to provide asset management services. In December 2020 Consob gave the go-ahead to the marketing of its first direct lending AIF.

The creation of Anima Alternative is a big step forward in our business diversification strategy. It will strengthen the capabilities of the ANIMA Group in offering tailored solutions to institutional investors.

Private markets are an area of ​​great importance when responding to the growing demand for alternative income sources. The area complements the market segments already covered by the ANIMA Group.

The first closing of the Anima Alternative 1 direct lending fund was arranged in January 2021. The second strategy, the direct lending fund Anima Alternative 2, dedicated to institutional clients and classified under Article 8 of the SFDR, was launched in April 2022. In the future, Anima Alternative will lean on the ANIMA Group infrastructure to launch other private debt funds or products specializing in other private market segments.

Banks are structurally reducing their exposure to corporate customers. This trend opens up large market spaces for direct lending operators, catering in particular to the medium / long-term financing needs of Italian SMEs. With its funds, Anima Alternative supports companies with long-term financing, sustaining them in their growth path in domestic and international markets.

Our investments target Italian companies, mainly small and medium-sized (fewer than 500 employees) or mid-caps (fewer than 3,000 employees).

One of the distinctive features of Anima Alternative's funds is its ability to invest with the utmost flexibility through debt instruments (loans or bonds) and minority shareholdings.

Our investment targets are selected after careful analysis, combined with a strategic evaluation of their industrial project. Analyzing target companies' ESG (Environment, Social, Governance) policies is an integral part of the investment process.

As part of the ANIMA Group, Anima Alternative has been a member of UNPRI since its creation.

To consult further documentation, please refer to the section Sustainability-related disclosures