Sustainable and profitable

Asset Management

The AXA Group is one of the three biggest insurance companies in the world. At the same time, it ranks among the leading asset managers with assets under management totaling around CHF 1,800 billion. The strengths of our asset management operations lie in global experience, local expertise, and a risk-conscious investment philosophy.

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Benefits of our asset management services

Independence through best-in-class approach
Long track record and unparalleled market access
Strategic and tactical asset allocation
Sustainable investments

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Tailored to your needs

AXA Switzerland’s Asset Management unit develops tailored investment strategies for the Group’s insurance companies, collective and joint foundations, pension schemes, and pension funds. We manage over CHF 100 billion in Switzerland.

We firmly believe that responsible, sustainable use of all resources adds value over the long term – for our customers, our shareholders, our staff, society at large, and the environment. We take account of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors in all our investment decisions, while always aiming to achieve superior long-term returns. At the same time, we provide our customers with straightforward support to deal with their changing needs in a spirit of partnership.

We take care of the third contributor

AXA Switzerland Asset Management manages occupational pension assets for more than 40,000 Swiss companies. We aim to generate sustainable long-term investment returns for our customers so that their staff can enjoy financial security in retirement. We analyze market trends and regularly consult teams of analysts all over the world. Having built up expertise in assessing risks and opportunities over many years, we are well placed to put our findings into practice through active, tactical investment decisions (tactical asset allocation; TAA). This allows us to deliver excess returns for our customers.

Independent: best-in-class approach

We invest our customers’ assets in accordance with the same principles used for our own pension fund. Our best-in-class approach means that we manage your assets independently with no conflicts of interest. For example, we do not favor proprietary funds.

We systematically seek out the ideal investment style (active or passive) for each asset class as well as the best investment managers (e.g. BlackRock, Credit Suisse, UBS, Wellington, Columbia Threadneedle, Ardian, Pimco, Pictet, AXA Investment Managers, Lombard Odier, AllianceBernstein).

Secure: strong expertise for safe investments

We have been managing assets successfully in Switzerland for over 140 years. Since insurance is our core business, we are experts in minimizing long-term investment risks, but we also include attractive asset classes to achieve solid, sustainable returns. This expertise is especially valuable in the current market environment of ever more complex regulation and doggedly low interest rates.

Sustainable: investing in accordance with ESG criteria

Sustainability has been an important topic for AXA for quite some time. We are committed to a livable environment, a stable economy, and a safe society, and we assume a pioneering role in many areas of sustainability.

Sustainable investments form an integral part of AXA’s asset management offering. We take account of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors in all our investment decisions and refrain from making investments that go against our ESG principles. We apply our ESG approach professionally for our customers and require the investment managers we use to commit to investing responsibly as well.

Our efforts with regard to sustainability are also aligned with the United Nations Principles for Responsible Investment (UNPRI).

In line with the Paris Agreement, we have set ourselves the target of limiting the global warming potential of our own investments to less than 1.5°C by 2050. We aim to completely eradicate coal from the global energy mix, which is why we are systematically withdrawing from investments in the coal industry.

Working in partnership: helping you to manage your balance sheet structure

We treat our customers as partners. This means that, rather than merely investing your assets, we advise and assist you where necessary. We work together with our colleagues in occupational benefits to offer you the right solutions for all your pension needs from a single source.

Personal and flexible: tailored to your individual needs

With AXA, you benefit from our global experience as a multinational group of companies as well as from our local expertise. We give you access to the most attractive asset classes worldwide and to a Swiss asset management team that addresses your individual needs personally and flexibly.

Our asset management: industry comparison

Thanks to our diversified investment strategy, we achieve above-average returns for our customers.

Higher returns lead to much higher pension annuities.

What does responsible investment mean to us?

Sustainability criteria play a key role in our investment process. We want to assess and steer ESG risks and opportunities for our customers. To this end, we analyze and rate more than 7,000 companies using our own ESG standards, which we implement rigorously. We restrict or completely rule out investments in certain sectors and industries. Our approach means that we have no investments whatsoever in the following:

Tobacco production
Companies that develop, produce, store or trade in controversial weapons
Producers of palm oil that are associated with the destruction of rain forest
Companies that derive more than 20% of their revenues from tar sands and/or shale oil
Companies that derive more than 20% of their revenues from coal mining or coal-fired power plants
Financial investments in agricultural commodities

We also intend to have 75% of our real estate certified with a recognized sustainability label by 2030.

Our contribution to a sustainable future is recognized by various independent rating agencies:

AAA rating from MSCI ESG Research
A- rating from CDP (on a scale from A to F)
Among the top 3 insurers in the Dow Jones Sustainability Indices

Memberships

As part of our efforts to play an active role in developing sustainable services, we have been a member of various national and international initiatives for years. These include the following:

PRI: Principles for Responsible Investment
UN Global Compact
Swiss Sustainable Finance

Tobacco-free

The Tobacco-Free Finance Pledge (TFFP) is an initiative promoted by a global NGO fighting for a tobacco-free world. Its aim is to persuade investors around the globe to take their money out of tobacco companies. AXA decided in 2016 that it would no longer invest in tobacco-related stocks. Watch the video to find out more.

AXA’s collective foundations

The Swiss pension market is undergoing a transformation and becoming ever more complex.

Challenges in areas such as demographics, the capital market, state-of-the-art IT, case and care management, etc. make managing your own pension fund labor-intensive and time-consuming. That’s why AXA offers a range of semi-autonomous occupational pension solutions that are equally attractive for start-ups, SMEs, and large corporations.

Find out more about our occupational pension solutions and how we can support you with your own transformation.

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