BB Gestao de Recursos Tops Institutional Investor's Brazil 20 as Country's Largest Fund Manager

NEW YORK, NY--(Marketwire - Jul 20, 2011) - BB Gestão de Recursos, the fund management arm of state-owned Banco do Brasil, has extended its lead as Brazil's largest fund manager, according to The Brazil 20, Institutional Investor's annual survey of the country's money management industry.

BB Gestão de Recursos increased its assets by 36.5 percent in the 12 months ended March 31, to $239.3 billion. The No. 2 firm, Itaú Unibanco Asset Management, saw its assets grow by 14.8 percent, to $150.3 billion. Bradesco Asset Management, Caixa Econômica Federal and Santander Brasil Asset Management rounded out the top five.

The firms in the Brazil 20 boosted their collective assets by 29.3 percent in the 12 month period, to $910 billion. The portfolio mix for every firm in this year's Brazil 20 and the ranking methodology are available at our web site, www.institutionalinvestor.com.

In contrast to the industry's overall dynamism, Brazilian hedge funds, known locally as multimercados, slumped after a decade of robust growth. Multimercado assets were up just 2 percent on June 3 from the end of 2010, compare with growth of 12 percent in the same period for the country's entire fund management industry. A decline in Brazilian equities and rising interest rates have hurt the performance of most multimercados and prompted many investors to put money into short-term fixed-income products. As assets shift away from multimercados, many bankers see pressure growing for consolidation that will favor larger firms.

For the complete Brazil 20 and portfolio breakdown by asset class, visit www.institutionalinvestor.com

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