AGI targets growing distribution arena

Munich-based Allianz Global Investors (AGI), one of Europe’s giant cross-border fund houses, with ?942bn of assets under management globally, has highlighted third-party distribution as a key growth area, with a tranche of new products expected from the launchpad. AGI’s chief executive officer, Joachim Faber, said net inflows in funds managed for third parties more than doubled in 2005 to ?65bn from ?29bn in 2004. He also claimed 89 per cent of AGI funds outperformed their benchmark on a three-year basis last year. Europe, where AGI manages ?90bn for external clients, out of its ?169bn total, will be a major development area Through its newly established entity Allianz Global Investors Europe, under its chief executive officer Elizabeth Corley, the company intends to leverage its product and service expertise across European countries. “We have around 250 funds, of which a small proportion are available in Luxembourg or Dublin”, said Ms Corley. “Our goal is to make sure that on a strategic basis, all these funds are brought into the market, but in a quite controlled way,” she said, announcing that they are now focusing on the first wave of products, which may include up to 10 new funds. “We don’t want to have suddenly, say, 50 new funds in the markets, as that confuses people. The professional buyers we deal with will want to do in-depth valuation on that; we don’t want to give our clients indigestion.” The first five products AGI will bring into the market before the summer are: euro equity growth, European equity growth, European small cap, US equity and Japan equity, to which they will probably add a few more “Distribution through private banks and wealth managers is increasing significantly faster than our insurance distribution, where we have an in-built home advantage,” said Ms Corley, who believes in the guided open architecture approach. Most of AGI’s focus is on large distributors.

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