Allianz Group’s Solvency II disclosures covering 2016 to 2025 show a balance sheet shaped by a genuine structural shift: a sustained decade-long compression of sovereign and corporate bond allocations.
The SFCR filings also point to two reporting reclassifications, in 2018 and 2023 respectively, that make the raw data on alternatives and unlisted equities appear more dramatic than the underlying economic change warrants.
Allianz corporate and government bond compression
The bond compression is unambiguous. Government bonds fell from EUR 191bn (28% of total assets) in 2016 to EUR 97bn (12%) in 2025, a reduction of EUR 94bn and among the lowest shares of the decade; alongside the 2022 valuation trough (EUR 82bn, 12%).
Corporate bonds contracted in parallel, from EUR 234bn (34%) to EUR 116bn (15%).
Combined, sovereign and corporate bonds accounted for 62% of Allianz’s Solvency II balance sheet in 2016; by 2025 that figure had fallen to 27%. The decline is consistent across rate environments, accelerating during the 2022 bond sell-off as mark-to-market valuations fell before partially recovering.
Reporting discontinuities reshape Allianz group alternatives map
The alternatives and equity picture is shaped by two reporting discontinuities, both arising from the same Solvency II classification rule.
In 2018, Allianz’s Collective Investment Undertakings (CIU) exposure rose sharply from EUR 19bn (3% of assets) to EUR 217bn (31%). At the same time government bonds, corporate bonds and listed equities fell by corresponding amounts.
The 2018 SFCR is explicit on the cause: “Subsidiaries that are collective investment undertakings in the meaning of Article 1 (40) Solvency II Delegated Regulation are included in the Group MVBS in the position 7.5 Collective investment undertakings, whereas those subsidiaries are fully consolidated in the Group’s IFRS balance sheet. This disclosure difference is the key driver for the different values between ‘IFRS re-mapped to MVBS line items’ and ‘IFRS adjusted for MVBS scope’.”
The affected entities are principally fund structures managed by the Group’s two major asset management entities, PIMCO and AllianzGI, which operate under the governance of Allianz Asset Management (AAM).
From 2018 onwards the SFCR disclosures consistently record CIUs at EUR 205–278bn, representing approximately 30–33% of total assets.
A second reclassification occurred at year-end 2023.
Unlisted equities fell from EUR 35bn (5%) to EUR 5bn (1%) in a single year (a drop of around EUR 30bn) while CIUs rose by EUR 41bn (EUR 205bn to EUR 246bn), the bulk of which reflects the reclassification, with the remainder attributable to the balance sheet’s recovery from the 2022 trough.
The 2023 SFCR confirms this is another reporting effect: on an IFRS basis, the Group’s equities were broadly stable at EUR 48–49bn in both 2022 and 2023, with no material disposal of equity holdings. The 2023 SFCR repeats the identical Article 1(40) classification text, and also notes a change in consolidation scope effective 31 December 2023, though the group states the impact on the Solvency II ratio was “close to zero”.
The drop in unlisted equities would therefore appear to reflect additional equity-type subsidiaries being brought inside the CIU classification wrapper, not an economic portfolio disposal.
The index-linked and unit-linked book has grown steadily, from EUR 79bn (11%) in 2016 to EUR 139bn (18%) in 2025, reflecting the continued expansion of savings and protection products across Allianz’s retail insurance operations. Total assets grew from EUR 689bn to EUR 792bn over the period, a 15% increase.
The practical implication of both reclassifications is that Allianz’s asset allocation trajectory, as visible in the Solvency II SFCR, should be read in three periods rather than as a single continuous series: pre-2018 (direct bonds and equities dominant), 2018–2022 (first CIU reclassification in place, unlisted equities building), and 2023 onwards (second reclassification, unlisted equities absorbed into CIUs). The decade’s genuine story is the bond compression; the CIU line in both discontinuity years measures a reporting structure, not a portfolio pivot.
Source: Solvency II Wire Database | Allianz Group
