German insurers Gothaer and Barmenia have joined forces to create BarmeniaGothaer Asset Management, combining total assets worth around €50bn in total, the duo announced yesterday.
Gothaer Asset Management has effectively changed its name to BarmeniaGothaer Asset Management, and the new name was added to the commercial register (Handelsregister) as the legal entity on 2 January.
The new firm will invest around 30% of assets in government and “government-related” bonds, and over 14% in corporate bonds, among other asset classes. It holds €3bn invested in renewable energies, the insurers added.
In the past few years, Goather Asset Management started to expand its investment portfolio to natural capital and venture capital among alternative asset classes.
Christof Kessler is responsible for investment decisions, and is part of the management team of BarmeniaGothaer Asset Management.
Anton Buchhart is responsible for legal, compliance and IT. He is also responsible for middle and back office including controlling, reporting and risk monitoring and management, accounting and evaluation.
The transfer of assets under the new firm follows the merger of the two insurance companies officially completed last September.
Gothaer Versicherungsbank VVaG and Barmenia Versicherungen a.G. hold 64% and 36%, respectively, of Barmenia.Gothaer Finanzholding, responsible for the financial management of the new entity.
The merger represented the first combination of two large independent insurers in Germany in over 20 years.
The first product launched by BarmeniaGothaer was a private pension product (Fondsrente) investing in a range of funds, from low-cost ETFs to sustainable investment options and actively managed funds.
Goather offers occupational pension vehicles and products including direct insurance (Direktversicherung), Pensionskasse, support fund (Unterstützungskasse), and the occupational pension plan called “business”, an employer-financed company pension scheme protecting employees in case of disability and death of their partners, according to the insurer.
Barmenia, instead, offers occupational health insurance policies, a tool that companies use while recruiting, and the private pension product PrivatRente Index targeting higher returns tracking stock indexes, it said.
BarmeniaGothaer said contributions increased by 6.1% year-on-year in 2024 to €8.52bn, according to the first joint financial statement published in December.
Gross contributions of the Barmenia Allgemeine Versicherungs and Gothaer Allgemeine Versicherung increased on a consolidated basis by 10% to €3.01bn, driven by both private (12%) and corporate clients (11%), it added.
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