The parent to a pair of multinational asset managers is on the hunt for M&A.

Giulio Terzariol Allianz SE Chief Financial Officer

Giulio Terzariol, chief financial officer of Allianz, tells the Financial Times that the German insurer (parent of Allianz Global Investors and Pimco) is interested in asset management deals. Yet U.S. fund firms may not be at the top of his target list.

"About 50 per cent of our assets are in America and 35 percent come from Europe and the rest is Asia," Terzariol tells the FT. "To have more exposure to Asia would be good."

Terzariol also hints at what types of asset managers are of interest to Allianz.

"We are looking at the possibility to diversify into new strategies," Terzariol tells the paper. "We have pretty much a fixed income shop. If we can add alternative strategies, they can be very profitable."

So who might Allianz target? Citing an unnamed source, the FT notes that Allianz has been eyeing publicly traded DWS (78 percent of which is still owned by Deutsche Bank). Yet the paper points out that DWS' AUM, like Allianz's, is skewed towards fixed income, though it does some have some alternatives and some passive products (the latter of which Allianz's shops don't have much of). And DWS' AUM, like Allianz, is heavily weighted towards products in the U.S. and Europe, with little in Asia. 

Edited by: Neil Anderson, Managing Editor


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