Zurich Investments Active Management

At Zurich, we’re committed to delivering strong financial returns, by making active choices on how, when and where we invest. 

Active management in multi-asset funds

A regular adviser conversation over the years has been about active versus passive / index tracking funds. In my opinion, asset allocation is the first, and core, decision in a multi-asset fund and this cannot be done passively. Most, if not all, investment professionals will agree that this is the key driver of returns. Put quite simply, in different market and economic conditions, how much you allocate to equities will have a far greater impact on returns rather than whether you prefer Wells Fargo to Citi or energy to consumer staples. 

There are a number of decisions involved before getting to individual holdings – you’ll need to decide on the initial asset allocation, work out how will this change on an ongoing basis, consider the regional allocation and then within equities and credit, the sector decision. We make these asset allocation decisions all the time, they are the main driver of absolute returns and a key tenet of the Zurich active investment management offering. Whilst our Prisma range is a newer fund range, the methodology and process that we employ has been in place for over 30 years. This investment management process has been proven across the full market cycle.

At Zurich Investments we recognize in the industry that passive management, particularly of equities, has grown in recent years, primarily in large pension schemes where trustees may have onerous responsibilities. It is worth noting that whilst there may be passive building blocks in funds labelled as passive, there is always an active asset allocation overlay at the level where the key asset allocation decisions are made. In some cases the secondary decisions can be made using index products, algorithms etc. A number of options in the market that have been labelled as passive or index tracking only introduce passive components to the fund at this secondary stage and in some cases don’t go passive until the final stage of sector and security level, having made a number of active calls in the process. This model has fallen down a number of times, most notably in 2020. When markets are stressed and tough, is the time when an active manager can especially add value. The outperformance that Zurich have delivered over the last number of years will continue to compound well into the future*. 

Trust in the expertise of Zurich Investments

A key reason why Financial Brokers recommend Zurich is down to the consistent outperformance of the Zurich Prisma range of funds* which are managed using the Zurich Investments active top-down process. By recommending Zurich your clients can trust the Zurich Investments team do what they do best; manage policyholders assets using a tried and tested process and within well-defined risk parameters to give strong policyholder outcomes. 

Compounding outperformance

Prisma 4, our most popular multi-asset fund, has produced an annualised 5-year returns figure of 9.2%*. Based on these figures an investment with Zurich would have doubled in less than 8 years. 

So whilst it is true that past performance is no indication of future performance, employing the same repeatable process has led to consistent outperformance. This in turns leads to consistent outcomes and aids you in helping to ensure your clients can fulfill their future financial goals – which is ultimately the reason why we’re all here. 

As an investment manager, Zurich Life in Ireland is conscious of the need to ensure that we invest policyholder and shareholder funds responsibly. For the Group, Responsible Investment is all about ‘doing well and doing good’. Zurich in Ireland shares this commitment and participates in group-wide practices in relation to Responsible Investment so your client’s investments can benefit the planet as well as their future. 

For more information

Zurich’s Prisma multi-asset fund range is available across the Zurich suite of Pensions, Savings and Investment products. You can find more information by speaking to your Zurich Broker Consultant or visiting zurichbroker.ie. 

*Source: Performance figures are provided gross of Annual Management Charge(AMC) by Moneymate. Performance figures for all fund managers are based on close of markets prices 31/08/2021, based on best available information.