Asset management revival powers Allianz profits

Frankfurt, Germany - German insurer Allianz reported a big jump in net profit in the second quarter, as revitalised asset-management activities boosted its result.

US asset management subsidiary Pimco was a major contributor to a € 55bn increase in funds managed by the firm between April and June.

In a sign of recovery from a slump following the departure of founding chief executive Bill Gross in 2014, Pimco accounted for some € 33bn of net new funds in the firm’s coffers, € 19bn of them from a single client.

“Pimco has become a performance engine again,” finance director Dieter Wemmer said in a statement.

In total, third-party funds under management at Allianz reached € 1.4tn.

That figure was just € 3bn higher than in the first quarter, as the weaker dollar shrank the value of the portfolio in euro terms.

Operating, or underlying profit from asset management alone gained 16.8 per cent to reach € 584mn across the whole group.

Allianz had announced last week that net profits grew 83.4 per cent between April and June, to € 2bn.

Operating profit added 23 per cent to reach € 2.9bn, on the back of revenues up two per cent at € 30bn.

Both the property and casualty insurance and the life and health insurance arms boosted their underlying profits, with lower claims helping property and casualty to 28 per cent growth.