Allianz plans to expand low-risk alternatives

Doubling in assets shows demand for low-return investments

Spencer Rhodes, Allianz Global Investors

Allianz Global Investors is a fairly risk-averse group and is keen to emphasise that. If the new head of its alternatives unit was given a dollar for every time he said its funds were "low risk, low return", he would have slightly more money than the average event driven fund generated last year.

A stark contrast from the buccaneering hedge fund managers of yesteryear, who placed multi-million dollar bets on breaking the Bank of England, Allianz prides itself on its low-risk approach. One doubts