Allianz Investment Management LLC (AllianzIM) serves as a registered investment adviser specializing in buffered outcome exchange-traded funds (ETFs) that provide investors with defined upside participation in equity markets alongside downside buffers. The firm offers a comprehensive suite of U.S. Large Cap Buffer ETFs, including the AllianzIM U.S. Large Cap Buffer10 Jul ETF (NYSE Arca: AZAL), which seeks to match the price return of the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust up to a specified cap while providing a 10% buffer against the first 10% of index losses over a one-year outcome period from July 1 to June 30; similar products such as Buffer20 variants and six-month options; and additional series tied to monthly or quarterly resets referencing the S&P 500 Price Index through FLEX options and collateral. These non-diversified funds target institutional and retail investors seeking risk-managed equity exposure across growth and value large-cap stocks in diversified U.S. sectors, with an expense ratio of 0.74% and in-house portfolio management.
AllianzIM, a wholly owned subsidiary of Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America and part of the Allianz Group, leverages proprietary hedging capabilities honed from managing over $145 billion in hedged assets to bridge insurance and capital markets. Headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota, the firm operates within the global Allianz Investment Management network across hubs in Milan, Munich, Paris, Singapore, and Stuttgart, with ultimate parent Allianz SE based in Munich, Germany.
In recent developments, AllianzIM announced on December 5, 2025, that AZAL and approximately 30 other Buffered Outcome ETFs will transfer their primary listing from NYSE Arca to Cboe BZX Exchange effective December 22, 2025, alongside a naming convention update for U.S. Large Cap Buffer10 and Buffer20 products to reflect outcome periods more clearly, while maintaining unchanged investment objectives, strategies, and management teams. The AZAL ETF traces its inception to June 30, 2020, as part of AllianzIM's inaugural buffered outcome launches in July 2020, with ongoing expansions including quarterly reset ETFs introduced in 2025 to enhance investor flexibility amid volatile markets.