In the section Backstage, interesting personalities from the financial sector and beyond provide insights into their personal preferences every Wednesday.

What do you do first in the morning?

I head out into nature with our Labrador between 5 and 6 a.m. At weekends too. So seven days a week, unless I am travelling, in which case I miss it after two days.

What is the best thing about your job?

The people. I become unhappy and nervous when I do not have enough client meetings in my calendar. Working with clients on their investments is the best thing about my job.

A moment that changed your life?

One? Many! Professionally, though, it was certainly the opportunity to spend four months in 1994 working for the chief analyst at Dresdner Securities Inc. in New York, backtesting his six-factor model on the S&P 500. That was my entry into asset management.

What cars do you own? Which is your favorite?

A VW ID.BUZZ GTX, the most modern version of the VW Bus, so to speak – fully electric, with all-wheel drive for the mountains. Brilliant.

What advice would you give to your 20-year-old self?

My 20-year-old self in 1990 or in 2026? 1990:«Learn even more». 2026: «You have access to all of humanity’s knowledge digitally or through AI. Use it!»

What are you particularly proud of?

To be honest, I do not like the word «proud».

What do you do when you have doubts?

Sleep on it, which is hard for someone who likes to make decisions quickly.

What is your favorite wine?

I grew up in the Rheingau. So the answer is very simple: Riesling. To be more precise, I have four favourite wine estates in the Rheingau: Wegeler, Staatsdomäne Kloster Eberbach, Peter Jakob Kühn and Georg Breuer. This, in turn, has to do with the vineyard sites these estates own – such as Rüdesheimer Berg Rottland or Steinberg. And to finally get to the wine itself: any Riesling from a Grosse Lage (roughly equivalent to a Grand Cru in France), preferably made as a Spätlese or a Charta Riesling. And yes, occasionally there are also good Rieslings from other regions, such as the Mosel and the Nahe.

What projects are you currently working on?

Personally: getting a frozen shoulder following a torn tendon back into shape in time for the ski season.
Professionally, to name just a few: additional active ETFs, a 1e multi-asset offering, and an evergreen infrastructure investment group within our investment foundation.

What do you admire in other people?

Intelligence and quick wit.

What would be the biggest surprise for someone who had to take over your job for a day?

The breadth and depth of the topics at a foreign asset manager in Zurich. From practical day-to-day questions in an office with 20 employees on Sechseläutenplatz to complex side letters for individual infrastructure co-investments. That is exactly what makes this job so exciting.

What is your personal drive?

For my family, «the pursuit of happiness». Professionally, two things: a) almost everything in asset management has to do with retirement provision – helping people achieve greater retirement wealth or a higher retirement income; b) every day with a client meeting is a good day.

What are you afraid of?

Climate change and its impact on our global civilisation in general and the Alps in particular. (Geo)political developments that are far removed from common sense.

Your favorite watch brand?

Breguet, but only because Captain Aubrey owned one in Patrick O’Brian’s Aubrey/Maturin novels. I wear a smartwatch myself, mainly for sport.

Is there an unfulfilled dream you would still like to realize?

A two-week wingfoiling course somewhere with consistent wind – over the past three years, Lake Walen has rarely had enough wind on the right day of the week or at the right time of day. And, at some point, taking a sailing course.

Your best investment?

My personal asset allocation for more than 30 years: 100% equities, plus the house we bought in 2007. A real-asset barbell structure, so to speak.

Michael Schütze is Country Head Switzerland and has more than 30 years of experience in asset management at AllianzGI. He has been based in Zurich since 2019, initially as Head of Institutional Switzerland and, since 2023, as Country Head. Previously, he was responsible for the corporate client, insurance and Pension Solutions business in Germany. His focus is on serving institutional and wholesale clients and developing investment solutions for pension funds, insurers and family offices.