Asset manager Allianz Global Investors, part of German insurer Allianz (ALVG.DE), said on Wednesday it had set up a new unit focused on ‘impact’ investing in private markets, as part of a sustainable investing drive.
AllianzGI, which manages around 647 billion euros ($730.27 billion) in assets, would look to invest in private companies helping solve environmental or social issues in a measurable way, it said in a statement.
Foreign investors are piling into China at the start of 2022, seeing it as a haven from the inflation, growth and pandemic problems plaguing most other markets.
Despite seeing returns last year eroded by Beijing’s regulatory and policy purge, global fund managers are pumping money into mainland equities and bonds, betting China’s stability pledges, monetary and fiscal easing and subdued inflation could shield them against volatility in other markets.
That’s in stark contrast to conditions elsewhere. Major central banks are preparing to withdraw the excess stimulus measures of the past couple of years, and the Federal Reserve is hastening monetary tightening to tame runaway inflation, potentially undermining stock values and earnings.
