Voya has entered in a definitive agreement with Allianz Global Investors (AGI) whereby Voya will integrate certain assets and teams of the Allianz company with Voya Investment Management, the asset management business of Voya Financial.
Through the transaction, Voya IM will integrate AGI income and growth, fundamental equity, and private placement investment teams and the associated AUM into Voya IM. Voya IM will also add select distribution and business enablement teams from AGI US. On a pro forma basis and based on AUM as of March 31, 2022, Voya IM’s AUM would increase to approximately $370bn.
Rodney O. Martin, Jr., chairman and chief executive officer at Voya Financial, said: “This transaction fully aligns with our company’s focus on growth and delivering greater value for all of our stakeholders. We are particularly excited to embark on a highly strategic, long-term international distribution partnership with AGI. In addition to the multiple financial benefits — including that the transaction is expected to be immediately accretive to adjusted operating earnings per share and improve Voya IM’s operating margin — this agreement will expand the scale and reach of Voya IM.”
In addition, Voya IM and AGI have formed a long-term strategic distribution partnership whereby AGI will distribute Voya IM’s investment strategies outside the U.S. and Canada. This arrangement will allow Voya IM to benefit from AGI’s diverse, global reach, and enable Voya IM to offer its attractive U.S. asset-based investment strategies to an even larger client base. AGI has more than 500 relationship managers in 19 locations across Europe and Asia-Pacific.
Following the transaction, Voya will hold a 76% economic stake and Allianz Group will hold a 24% economic stake in the combined asset manager.
The news comes after we reported last month that AGI’s infamous Structured Products group would not be part of the agreement.
In May, Allianz SE has announced that its US asset management unit will plead guilty to criminal securities fraud in relation to the collapse of its Structured Alpha Funds in 2020, and will pay more than $6bn in charges.
The settlement with the Department of Justice (DOJ) and Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) includes a $2.33bn criminal fine, $3.24bn of restitution, and a forfeit of $463m, according to court documents.
The unit in question was charged with misrepresenting the performance of the Structured Alpha Funds to pension funds and other investors.
Prosecutors alleged that managers failed to implement measures designed to protect the fund against market volatility and overstated its returns to boost their pay.
As a result, the funds collapsed amid the turbulent financial market conditions that characterized the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, losing more than $7 billion in a matter of weeks.
