The value-based asset management firm Anthos Fund & Asset Management has a history of almost one hundred years. According to CEO Jacco Maters, ESG aspects were already an issue long before discussions on taxonomy and Article 8 requirements were on the agenda: „We have found documents with exclusion criteria that are more than 70 years old,“ he told Börsen-Zeitung in an interview in Frankfurt.

As a provider of fund-of-funds, Amsterdam based Anthos specialises in value-based asset management. There are various fund-of-funds strategies that invest in a wide range of asset classes, from equities to alternative investments. Anthos was founded to manage part of the assets of the C&A founding family Brenninkmeijer, but is otherwise strictly separate from the family office. Two years ago, Anthos also opened up to third party investors in the Netherlands, Belgium and the DACH region. According to Anthos, it has since already acquired twelve clients.

„We are on track with our planning,” says Maters. Winning clients takes time, especially as Anthos also acts as an Outsourced Chief Investment Office (OCIO) for some clients. For a fee, the OCIO not only provides advice on investment strategies, but also implements them. „The client hands over the keys to their portfolio, so to speak,“ explains Maters. Typically, the amounts involved are in the three-digit million euro range. “This is a decision that is not made after the first meeting.“

In the Netherlands, where, according to Maters, the concept is already more widespread than in Germany, since the beginning of the year Anthos has been managing the assets of the Oranje Fonds, one of the largest Dutch foundations, with assets under management of around 300 million euros. The selection process for the mandate ran for several months in the first half of 2023.

Maters also sees foundations, church organisations and family offices as a core target group in Germany. In competition with other asset managers, Maters sees an advantage for Anthos, which offers both liquid asset classes and alternative assets as a fund of funds. In combination with the OCIO service, the asset manager still sees a gap in the German market in this area. Anthos bases its return targets on standard benchmarks, depending on the client's requirements. Maters does not see the fact that certain investments are excluded from the value based investment as a disadvantage: “I am convinced that you can still beat the unadjusted benchmarks with a portfolio that takes exclusions into account," he says.

Maters says that interest in alternative asset classes in particular is currently high, but access is not easy for family offices or foundations without the right contacts. „Doors that we can open are often closed to new investors,“ he explains. This applies for example to private equity firms, with whom Anthos has worked for years.

Networking with sister companies can also be helpful. The real estate company Redevco and the investment company Bregal are, like Anthos Fund & Asset Management, part of Cofra Holding, which is backed by the Brenninkmeijer family, now in its sixth generation. According to its own information, Cofra Holding has more than 30 billion euros in assets under management, although it does not publish the exact amount. Bregal accounts for around 18 billion euros and Redevco for 9 billion euros. Anthos accounts for a higher single-digit billion euro amount.

Even though they invest independently of each other, there is a regular exchange on market topics with the sister companies, says Maters: „We have different perspectives on the markets, which gives us a good overall picture.“ In Germany, Maters still sees growth potential for Anthos, which employs a total of 70 investment professionals. The core team covering Germany consists of four people.

Michael Schmidt, a well-known face in the German ESG community, also sits on Anthos' three-member Supervisory Board. Among other things, Schmidt is a member of the German government's Sustainable Finance Advisory Board, heads the Governance & Sustainability Commission at DVFA, the professional association for capital market experts, and was a member of the Green and Sustainable Finance Cluster Germany until the end of April. Anthos intends to further expand its presence in Germany: „We are planning to open a German office, probably in Frankfurt,“ says CEO Maters. The company is currently working on the necessary licenses. Maters has just brought management support on board. Marjolein van Dongen will start as Chief Client Officer next week. The Dutchwoman, who is switching from Amundi, will be responsible for the areas of client strategy, sales, relationship management, marketing and communication.

Despite all growth targets, the value-based approach remains central to the Anthos managers – even if this is not always to their advantage. „There are customers who don't want that”, he says, and in any case long term and close collaboration would not be possible. Maters therefore also attaches great importance to preliminary discussions with potential customers. „We say no to potential clients if it is not a good fit,“ he emphasises. This has already happened twice. “That is a luxury we can afford, because we are not necessarily dependent on growth.“