Allianz under investigation by German regulator
An investigation into insurance giant Allianz has been launched by regulators in Germany, after the loss of some of its US investment funds last year, according to Reuters who first reported the news.
The German insurance company is one of the largest money managers globally and has €2.4 trillion ($2.9 trillion) in assets under management through Pimco and Allianz Global Investors, the bond giants responsible for the funds in question.
The investigation is the latest in a stack of lawsuits against Germany’s biggest financial company, including one by the US Department of Justice and Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
The ongoing investigation by Germany’s financial regulator, BaFin, is being conducted across more than one department of Allianz, sources told Reuters.
The investigation centres around how far Allianz executives outside the fund department were aware of, or involved in, a string of events that led to Allianz Global Investor’s Structured Alpha Funds accumulating losses worth billions of dollars.
In the wake of the pandemic the funds, which were aimed at US pension funds for workers including teachers, and marketed to European investors, dived dramatically – with some funds dropping by 80 per cent or more.
The losses forced Allianz to close two of its funds, worth $2.3bn at the end of 2019, in March last year. Some investors also chose to withdraw whatever money they still could from the funds, as a result.
Allianz have been contacted for comment.