Bluerating | July 2025
There are many new developments in the world of financial advisory, thanks to the various cross-public tender offers in the current banking game, but also the creation of a new bank, TNB, born from a spin-off of Azimut.
Azimut has signed a binding agreement with the FSI fund led by Maurizio Tamagnini for the creation of TNB, which will be a next-generation bank, a fintech, dedicated to wealth advisory for individuals and businesses.
It will be led by Paolo Martini, the doyen of financial advisory and a pioneer of many of the sector’s innovations, including the launch of wealth management across networks and the democratization of investments in the real economy.
TNB features five new features.
The first is that TNB will be a digital platform, built around the specific needs of clients and financial advisors. With a network of over 900 professionals and over €25.6 billion in total assets under management, TNB will immediately rank among the top ten financial advisor networks in Italy, both in terms of number of financial advisors and assets under management.
The new digital platform, which will be developed with ION, a fintech company founded by Andrea Pignataro, will be entirely modeled on TNB’s business model.
The second innovation is that the new bank will be controlled by Fondo Strategico Italiano, a growth capital fund management company founded by Maurizio Tamagnini, a highly respected professional with an excellent market reputation who invests in mid-market companies, the backbone of the Italian economy, which present significant opportunities for value creation.
The acquisition of 80.01% of TNB’s capital will be made by FSI and its co-investors (including TNB’s management and financial advisors through newly formed companies that will bring them together). Azimut will retain a 19.99% stake, accompanied by a set of governance rights, including the appointment of a director and a member of the board of statutory auditors.
The third innovation is that the advisors who will be part of TNB will be able to hold up to 20% of TNB’s capital value through ad hoc vehicles: this is unparalleled in the Italian market, with the exception of Azimut itself, which has established a shareholders’ agreement for its managers and professionals, grouped together in Timone.
The founding value of the TNB initiative is, in fact, the significant participation of management and financial advisors in TNB’s capital through co-investment plans, including the progressive allocation of TNB capital against the dilution of FSI and some co-investors alone, subject to the achievement of shared objectives.
The fourth innovation is the launch of an intensive recruitment campaign for the new bank’s staff. Being a bank requires new skills, dedicated structures, and functions required by regulators and the market.
The fifth innovation is the creation of a bank, born from a spin-off of Azimut, which in the past had preferred to rely on external banking partners. TNB will be the Azimut Group’s new banking partner of choice for banking services, supporting the Italian network in the operational management of customers and in the offering of solutions such as current accounts, deposit accounts, and advanced digital banking services.
In short, all the conditions are in place for TNB to enter the financial advisory game as an outsider.
Nicola Ronchetti