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Allianz board member Jaqueline Hunt due to hedge fund affair before Aus

2021-09-20T14:42:06.365Z


Several pension funds are suing, the Bafin is investigating, the US Department of Justice as well: Now the responsible board member of Allianz has apparently to leave her post because of the hedge fund affair.


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Allianz board member Hunt

Photo: Thomas Einberger / imago images / argum

At the insurance group Allianz, board member Jacqueline Hunt is facing an early end in the course of the likely billion-dollar affair over losses of Allianz hedge funds in the corona crisis. The alliance is considering "to bring forward the succession planning for its board of directors," announced the Munich group. This also concerns the asset management division, "which is currently facing particular challenges due to the structured alpha issue in the USA." The 53-year-old's contract expires in the coming year anyway. The Wall Street Journal reported that Hunt was already negotiating an early exit.

The American is given at least part of the responsibility for the debacle that the asset management subsidiary Allianz Global Investors (AllianzGI) suffered with the hedge funds. About 25 institutional investors in the US - including pension funds for government employees - have sued Allianz for six billion dollars. In spring 2020 they had lost a large part of their commitment with the risky, but supposedly crisis-proof papers. You accuse Allianz of deviating from its investment strategy in view of the temporary panic in the markets. The losses also prompted regulators in the US and Germany, as well as the US Department of Justice, to act.

Allianz has not set up any provisions so far, but has already issued a profit warning.

According to its own information, it also checks the »risk and compliance processes in relation to the Structured Alpha Funds, which belong to the Asset Management division«.

Hunt has been on the Allianz board of directors for the two asset management subsidiaries Pimco and AllianzGI since 2016.

However, Pimco enjoys a relatively large degree of autonomy within the group as long as the Californians reliably deliver their profits in Munich.

The smaller, Frankfurt-based AllianzGI is actually primarily known in Germany for mutual funds.

Hedge funds like the "Structured Alpha" family sold in the US are more of a fringe business for them.

According to the Wall Street Journal, Hunt wanted to leave before the US Department of Justice became aware of the Structured Alpha funds in May.

Over time, divergences about corporate culture have accumulated, the newspaper quoted an insider as saying.

The time of their departure is still unclear.

Hunt had already had her contract extended by three instead of the usual five years in 2019.

According to the newspaper, a successor is already available, but this has yet to be confirmed by the financial supervisory authority Bafin.

Allianz announced that the supervisory board would deal with the succession plans at its next regular meeting on September 30th.

fdi / Reuters

Source: spiegel

All business articles on 2021-09-20

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