Allianz vs. Schroders: Investment Comparison

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Dec 26, 2025
4 min read

Allianz vs. Schroders: Investment Comparison

Choosing between Allianz Global Investors (AllianzGI) and Schroders is a common dilemma for investors seeking exposure to global markets. Both are giants in the asset management world, but they offer distinct philosophies and strengths.

This 2025 comparison breaks down their performance, investment styles, and fees to help you decide which fits your portfolio.

At a Glance: Allianz vs. Schroders

Feature	Allianz Global Investors	Schroders
Founding Year	1890 (As part of Allianz Group)	1804
Total AUM (2025)	~€500B+ (AllianzGI specifically)	~$1 Trillion (£816B)
Core Strength	Active "Best Styles" & Technology	Sustainability & Private Markets
Investment Style	Systematic, tech-enabled, risk-aware	Fundamental, bottom-up, value-driven

1. Investment Philosophy: Systematic vs. Fundamental

Allianz: The "Best Styles" Approach

AllianzGI is a pioneer in active management with a heavy emphasis on data and AI. Their flagship "Best Styles" strategy uses a systematic process to balance five key drivers: Value, Momentum, Revisions, Growth, and Quality.

Best for: Investors who want a core global equity exposure that adapts to different market cycles without betting on a single "flavor" of the month.
Technology Edge: Allianz is widely recognized for its Allianz Technology Trust, which leverages its proximity to Silicon Valley to identify disruptive tech trends (AI, Cybersecurity, Cloud) before they go mainstream.

Schroders: The Sustainable Value Seekers

Schroders leans more toward fundamental research and is a leader in Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) integration. In late 2025, Schroders hit a record $1 trillion in AUM, fueled by massive inflows into its private markets and sustainable growth funds.

Best for: Investors looking for high-conviction portfolios. Their emerging market and global value funds often hold fewer stocks (30–50) compared to Allianz, focusing on companies trading below their intrinsic value.
Private Markets: Schroders has significantly expanded its footprint in Private Credit and Insurance-Linked Securities (ILS), offering diversification that traditional stock/bond funds can't match.

2. Performance Comparison (Recent Data)

While performance varies by specific fund, recent 2024–2025 data shows distinct trends:

Income & Growth: The Allianz Income and Growth Fund remains a "crowd favorite" for its steady yields, posting returns around 8% in 2024.
Multi-Asset: The Schroder Multi-Asset Revolution fund saw a surge in 2024 (returning over 14%), benefiting from a flexible allocation that shifted between equities and bonds more dynamically than Allianz’s more static 60/40 approach.
Volatility: Historically, Schroders' multi-asset funds have shown slightly lower volatility compared to Allianz, making them a popular choice for risk-averse investors.

3. Fees and Accessibility

Both firms offer various share classes (Retail vs. Institutional).

Ongoing Charges (OCF): Typically range from 1.50% to 1.90% for retail equity funds. In head-to-head comparisons of global growth funds, Schroders often edges out Allianz with a slightly lower OCF (e.g., 1.64% vs. 1.88%).
Platform Availability: In regions like Singapore and the UK, both are highly accessible via platforms like Endowus, FSMOne, or Hargreaves Lansdown.

Final Verdict: Which is Right for You?

Choose Allianz if you want a technology-forward, systematic approach. They are excellent for "set and forget" core portfolios (via Best Styles) or for aggressive growth through their award-winning tech trusts.
Choose Schroders if you prioritize sustainability, want exposure to private markets (like private credit), or prefer a manager that takes high-conviction "value" bets on undervalued companies.

Compare their Global Technology and Emerging Markets funds

To see which has the better track record, we need to look at two distinct battlegrounds: Global Technology (where high growth and AI are the prizes) and Emerging Markets (where risk management and regional expertise matter most).

As of late 2025, here is how the primary funds from Allianz and Schroders compare.

1. Global Technology: Allianz vs. Schroders

In this category, we compare the Allianz Technology Trust (ATT) / Allianz Global Artificial Intelligence against the Schroder ISF Global Technology.

Metric (2025 Est.)	Allianz Global AI / Tech	Schroder ISF Global Tech
3-Year Return (Annualized)	~22.5%	~18.1%
Risk Profile	High (Aggressive AI/Semi focus)	Medium-High (Diversified Tech)
Primary Driver	Nvidia, Meta, Disruptive AI	Microsoft, Alphabet, Apple
Ongoing Charges (OCF)	~1.88%	~1.65%

The Verdict: Allianz Wins on Growth

Allianz is widely considered the "gold standard" for tech-focused investors. Their proximity to San Francisco allows them to capture early-stage trends.

The Allianz Edge: They significantly outperformed Schroders during the 2023–2025 AI surge due to a heavier weighting in semiconductors and cybersecurity.
The Schroders Edge: Schroders tends to be more defensive. When the tech sector corrected in early 2022, Schroders saw smaller drawdowns because they hold more established "blue-chip" software names.

2. Emerging Markets (EM): Allianz vs. Schroders

Here we compare the Allianz Emerging Markets Equity fund against the Schroder ISF Emerging Markets.

Metric (2025 Est.)	Allianz Emerging Markets	Schroder ISF Emerging Markets
3-Year Performance	Underperforming Benchmark	Outperforming Benchmark
Volatility	Higher (~23%)	Lower (~16%)
Regional Focus	Heavy Korea/Taiwan (Tech-led)	Diversified (India/Brazil/ASEAN)
Sustainability (ESG)	Standard Integration	Highly Rated (Article 8/9)

The Verdict: Schroders Wins on Stability

In the volatile world of Emerging Markets, Schroders is currently the stronger performer.

The Schroders Edge: They have a massive on-the-ground presence in Asia. Their EM fund has historically produced better risk-adjusted returns (Alpha) than Allianz. They were quicker to pivot toward India and Mexico in 2024, which helped them avoid the drag of the Chinese property slump.
The Allianz Edge: Allianz uses a "Best Styles" approach. This works well when one specific factor (like "Momentum" in 2023) is dominant, but it has struggled to maintain consistency in the fragmented EM landscape of 2025.

Summary Table

If you want...	The Better Choice is...
Maximum AI/Tech Upside	Allianz
Lower Fees	Schroders
Consistent EM Growth	Schroders
Dividend Yield + Growth	Allianz (Income & Growth Fund)