Allianz Global Investors has announced that Deutscher Investment-Trust Gesellschaft fur Wertpapieranlagen and Dresdnerbank Investment Management Kapitalanlagegesellschaft will be merged at the end of December to form a new fund company.
The new company will be called Allianz Global Investors Kapitalanlagegesellschaft, and will see Allianz Global Investors’ retail and institutional investor businesses combined under a single roof.
Allianz Global Investors believes that this move will strengthen its position in the fund business, particularly against the background of increasing convergence between mutual funds and institutional fund business.
The newly formed unit, which covers fund business for the Allianz Group in Germany, currently manages E175.2 billion. Of this, Deutscher Investment-Trust Gesellschaft fur Wertpapieranlagen (DIT) accounts for E60.3 billion and Dresdnerbank Investment Management Kapitalanlagegesellschaft (DBI) for E84 billion.
Allianz Global Investors said that the increasing convergence in the companies’ business with institutional and retail customers is a crucial driver behind the amalgamation of DIT and DBI.
The company also said that, following the merger, customers and sales partners will benefit from less complexity, a more consistent portfolio of products and services, and more flexible transfer of specialized investment strategies for institutional customers into mutual funds.