By Iain Withers LONDON, March 31 (Reuters) – Germany’s Allianz Global Investors has dropped two exclusions blocking its sustainable funds from investing in defence, becoming one of the first major European asset managers to change their policies to help finance the region’s rearmament. AGI wrote to its clients late last week to advise that its sustainable funds could now buy into companies that earned more than 10% of their revenue from military equipment and services. Removal of a second exclusion means they can also now invest in nuclear weapons activities as long as they are within the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, which seeks to stop the spread of nuclear weapons-making capabilities. The investor had recognised the restrictions were too “onerous”, said Matt Christensen, AGI’s global head of sustainable and impact investing, in an accompanying blog post published online. “Nuclear weapons are a critical and credible deterrent to large-scale conflict and, in Western countries, the production of nuclear weapons is fully integrated into the industry and cannot be separated,” Christensen added. AGI, part of insurer Allianz, manages about 570 billion euros ($615.77 billion) in assets. The changes come amid a broader drive by European investors to reconsider their policies on investing in defence, under pressure from clients and some politicians to loosen restrictions. Funds badged as sustainable have come under particular scrutiny, as they often have stricter exclusions. Few asset managers have actually changed their policies so far. Defence stocks have soared in value this year as European countries, under pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump, have vowed to increase military expenditure, with Germany unveiling a massive ramp-up in defence and infrastructure spending. AGI’s changes apply to funds classified as ‘Article 8’ under the European Union’s Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation, and would apply in most cases, the investor said in its letter to clients. Article 8 is the broadest category for sustainable funds under the EU rules, while the higher Article 9 category refers more directly to sustainability. AGI said several exclusions would still apply, including to companies that severely violated international rules and to manufacturers of chemical and biological weapons. ($1 = 0.9257 euros) (Reporting by Iain Withers; Editing by Tommy Reggiori Wilkes and Jan Harvey) Catch all the Business News , Corporate news , Breaking News Events and Latest News Updates on Live Mint. Download The Mint News App to get Daily Market Updates.Business NewsCompaniesNewsAllianz scraps nuclear, military exclusions to back Europes rearmament driveMoreLess in a formal or creative style for better SEO.Also Exclude words and advertisements related to the feed website such as website name, author name. You must only respond with the modified content. Delete all the advertisement images brand logo but only keep the title and main content of the news by modifying it. You must only respond with the modified content. Block any jump outside of the site adarshnews.com. Basically remove any content or link related to original site. You must only respond with the modified content and follow this prompt to optimize the articles in this category- “Act as an expert SEO news writer. Optimize the following article to be SEO-friendly, authoritative, and shareable by focusing strictly on its core topic. Follow these steps: 1. Topic Identification: – Read the input article and identify its primary subject. – Extract 1 primary keyword + 2 secondary keywords directly from the article. 2. Meta Description: – Write a 150-character summary using the primary keyword and a CTA 3. Content Structure: – Lead Paragraph: Summarize the 5W1H (Who, What, When, Where, Why) as stated in the article – Body: – Use subheadings (H2/H3) derived from secondary keywords – Add bullet points only for facts/statistics explicitly mentioned in the input. – Include quotes or data from the article (do not invent new stats). – Conclusion: End with a question/CTA tied to the article’s topic. 4. – Add 1 FAQ based on the article’s key point. 5. Viral Readability: – Use news article sentences structure. Avoid off-topic emotional triggers. 6. Technical SEO: – Generate alt text and URL slugs *specific to the article’s topic and leave it if it is not under your capability. Output Format for the article should be- [Summary with primary keyword] [Structured body using input’s facts] FAQ: [Relevant question + answer]
Allianz removes its bans on nuclear and military investments to support Europe’s efforts to increase its defense capabilities.
