Allianz Global Investors has created a dedicated European investment platform under the name of Allianz Global Investors Investments Europe. It is designed to offer institutional and retail clients throughout Europe customised investment solutions.

“We think that proximity and the ability to customise solutions that suit specific client needs will play an ever more important role for clients in Europe as the crisis has pushed some international players to retract into their home markets, whereas the business model of some smaller national investment managers has been challenged” says Chief Executive Officer Giovanni Bagiotti.

AllianzGI Investments Europe brings together the wealth of expertise of the investment management teams in Paris and Milan under a single investment process with 95 investment professionals that manage 108 billion euros for institutional and retail clients in all major asset classes. Allianz Global Investors has moved to a functional structure in Europe by the beginning of 2010. On the investment side this functional approach is reflected by the creation of the new pan-European investment platform.

The investment process is long-term oriented and combines a macro economic view with a disciplined fundamental bottom up analysis for European securities enabling the portfolio managers to make active investment decisions. The new investment platform has a sustainable investment process and particular strengths in the field of socially responsible investments. Based on the expertise of a dedicated sustainability investment team with 10 investment professionals, AllianzGI Investments Europe manages approximately 5 billion euros in SRI and covers the entire sustainable investment value chain.

“In the changing capital markets landscape the identification of potential investment risks is of rising significance. The systematic reflection of environmental, social and governance risks in the investment process helps investors to assess their risks in a holistic way. AllianzGI Investments Europe is further expanding its sustainability research capabilities enabling our portfolio managers to take into account non-financial criteria for their investment decisions,” says Chief Investment Officer Franck Dixmier.

“In order to support the pan-European expansion we leverage our investment and research capabilities and quality by taking full advantage of the European set up of Allianz Global Investors. In the course of the creation of the new investment platform, two mirrors of successful local funds that invest in euro-denominated sovereign bonds and European high yield securities, respectively, have already been successfully launched within a Luxemburg-domiciled umbrella fund for pan-European distribution,” says Giovanni Bagiotit, CEO.