Baloise, the Swiss insurance firm, two years ago opened its asset management for external institutional clients. The strategy proved successful.
Since the change in direction, which was part of its «Simply Safe» strategy, the asset management division of Baloise attracted net new money worth more than 1.2 billion Swiss francs ($1.2 billion). Pension funds were the main source of asset it received, the company said in a statement on Friday.
Baloise in 2017 had announced it would open its asset management services to external clients. It argued that asset allocation preferences of pension funds and other institutional investors came close to those of its own clients.
Long-Term Investment Horizon
«Baloise Asset Management’s services are primarily targeted at institutional investors, such as pension funds, that have a long-term investment horizon,» Baloise said today. «These customers’ investment criteria are aligned with the needs of our internal insurance investment customers, which is not the case for other providers in the market.»
The company hoped to generate economies of scale and to keep costs under control. Baloise today said that the strategy had paid off.
Sustainability Criteria
The managers recently integrated a set of sustainable investment criteria, having signed the so-called Principles for Responsible Investments (PRI), Baloise said.
