Blog: You, us, everyone

The Allianz Group was founded in 1980 and is headquartered in Munich, Germany. Today, the insurer employs about 147,000 persons in 70 countries; it is serving about 85 million clients. The Group’s activities cover the following three business areas: property and casualty insurance (generating half of operating profit), life and health insurance (approximately 45% of operating profit) and asset management. In the early 1990s, Allianz began pursuing an ambitious acquisition strategy, setting up its first joint venture in China in 1999 and later on (in 2000), it acquired Pimco, a U.S. investment management company.

In 2001, Allianz made its largest acquisition, i.e. bought Dresdner Bank, then Germany’s second-largest bank. The Bank operates in retail, commercial, asset management, among others. Because of the financial crisis, Allianz was forced to disengage from Dresdner in 2008.

Because of highly competitive and saturated markets, the Allianz Group will achieve only modest growth over the medium term. Margin and EPS growth will therefore only be possible because of higher efficiencies and the application of technology (IOT).

Its overall operational performance in 2013 and 2014 has been sound. Allianz conducts a sustainable dividend policy, it raised the dividend pay-out in recent years on regular basis, yet it appears that there is additional potential for further increases in future, particularly given the Group’s announcement in November 2014. It can be expected that the pay-out ratio is being raised from 40 % to 50 %. Based on this good new and the sound portfolio of Allianz, the shares remain attractive at present levels.