Allianz first created a separate asset management business in 1998 under the leadership of board member, Joachim Faber. Through a combination of asset management acquisitions as well as acquisitions of other businesses that had asset management units, Allianz established a large asset management division comprising different investment ‘boutiques’.

By 2010 the Allianz asset management division, going under the name of Allianz Global Investors by then had reached EUR 1500bn. In 2011, a decision was taken to combine most of the different investment managers into a globally integrated asset manager; from 2012 Allianz moved to what they call a “two pillar” model where Allianz Global Investors and PIMCO operate separately from each other despite common ownership.

When Allianz Global Investors was established as a integrated asset manager in 2012, it was managing EUR 279bn in assets. By June 2018, assets under management were EUR 524bn; these assets were split between investments in equity (27%), fixed income (36%), multi asset (25%) and alternatives (12%).