BTG Pactual has crossed BRL1 trillion ($183bn) in assets under management, driven by the expansion of Brazil’s corporate debt market and the bank’s diversification into exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and direct lending funds (FIDCs), according to its head of fiduciary services, Gustavo Piersanti.

He told Valor: “Brazil’s equity market moves in cycles, and we’ve benefited from them, but relying solely on equity funds would be risky. FIDCs and ETFs take up most of our time,” he added, highlighting growing investment in technology to manage different types of receivables and expand operational capacity.

BTG entered the FIDC market five years ago and now manages about BRL60bn in such funds, less than 10% of the category’s total BRL800bn in assets.

“The fact that we don’t yet have 10% of the market shows how much room there is to grow,” Piersanti said.

ETFs have grown sharply, rising from BRL1bn a year ago to BRL5.5bn today, he noted. The bank’s fiduciary services now account for roughly 10% of Brazil’s BRL10 trillion fund industry, spanning both liquid and structured funds.