AllianzGI joins the One Planet Asset Managers Initiative

Allianz SE | Munich | Oct 05, 2021

As a leading active asset manager, Allianz Global Investors is committed to tackle the challenges of climate change. Recognizing the role investors play as a catalyst to finance the transition towards a low carbon economy, AllianzGI announces it is joining the One Planet Asset Managers (OPAM) initiative.

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The One Planet Asset Managers (OPAM) initiative was launched in 2019 to support the members of the One Planet Sovereign Wealth Funds (OPSWF) in their implementation of the OPSWF Framework¹. The OPSWF Network comprises 43 of the world’s largest institutional investors with over $36 trillion in assets under management and ownership.

By joining OPAM, AllianzGI is committed to actively collaborate within the OPSWF Framework and to engage with other key actors, including standard setters, regulators and the broader industry to further the Framework’s objectives. The goal is to accelerate the understanding and integration of the implications of climate-related risks and opportunities within long-term investment portfolios through sharing of investment practices and expertise with the members of the OPSWF and publication of relevant research.

Tobias Pross, CEO of Allianz Global Investors commented: “Partnering with clients to tackle the most pressing sustainability issues and create a better future for all is at the heart of what we do. We are proud to be the first German investor to be joining the OPAM. We are committed to advance the understanding of the implications of climate-related risks and opportunities within long-term investment portfolios through the sharing of investment practices. AllianzGI looks forward to contributing to the work of the One Planet Initiatives given our experience in climate finance through our investment process, strong stewardship policy, and investment solutions that contribute positively to the alignment of an asset owner’s portfolio to a low carbon economy”.

This new commitment comes as AllianzGI, recognizing the urgency to tackle climate change, is accelerating its sustainability drive. Allianz Global Investors announced earlier this year that it was is committed to supporting the climate transition via exclusions in coal production and coal-based energy production. AllianzGI is a member of the Net Zero Asset Managers initiative and supports the goal of net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 or sooner. AllianzGI is also an original member of the EC’s Technical Expert Group (TEG) on Sustainable Finance and co-founded the Climate Finance Leadership Initiative.

¹ The One Planet Sovereign Wealth Fund initiative is a part of the One Planet Finance Initiative. The One Planet Sovereign Wealth Fund Framework has set out three principles to accelerate the integration of climate change analysis into the management of large, long-term and diversified asset pools:

Principle 1: Alignment: Build climate change considerations, which are aligned with the SWFs’ investment horizons, into decision-making.

Principle 2: Ownership: Encourage companies to address material climate change issues in their governance, business strategy and planning, risk management and public reporting to promote value creation.

Principle 3: Integration: Integrate the consideration of climate change-related risks and opportunities into investment management to improve the resilience of long-term investment portfolios.

About Allianz Global Investors

Allianz Global Investors is a leading active asset manager with over 600 investment professionals in over 20 offices worldwide and managing EUR 533 billion in assets. We invest for the long term and seek to generate value for clients every step of the way. We do this by being active – in how we partner with clients and anticipate their changing needs, and build solutions based on capabilities across public and private markets. Our focus on protecting and enhancing our clients’ assets leads naturally to a commitment to sustainability to drive positive change. Our goal is to elevate the investment experience for clients, whatever their location or objectives.

Data as at 31 December 2023. Total assets under management are assets or securities portfolios, valued at current market value, for which Allianz Global Investors companies are responsible vis-á-vis clients for providing discretionary investment management decisions and portfolio management, either directly or via a sub-advisor (these include Allianz Global Investors assets which are now sub-advised by Voya IM since 25 July 2022). This excludes assets for which Allianz Global Investors companies are primarily responsible for administrative services only. Assets under management are managed on behalf of third parties as well as on behalf of the Allianz Group.

About Allianz

The Allianz Group is one of the world's leading insurers and asset managers with around 125 million* private and corporate customers in nearly 70 countries. Allianz customers benefit from a broad range of personal and corporate insurance services, ranging from property, life and health insurance to assistance services to credit insurance and global business insurance. Allianz is one of the world’s largest investors, managing around 737 billion euros** on behalf of its insurance customers. Furthermore, our asset managers PIMCO and Allianz Global Investors manage about 1.7 trillion euros** of third-party assets. Thanks to our systematic integration of ecological and social criteria in our business processes and investment decisions, we are among the leaders in the insurance industry in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index. In 2023, over 157,000 employees achieved total business volume of 161.7 billion euros and an operating profit of 14.7 billion euros for the group.

* Including non-consolidated entities with Allianz customers.
** As of December 31, 2023.