Swiss Life
| Swiss Life Holding AG
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|---|---|
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| legal form | Corporation |
| ISIN | CH0014852781 |
| founding | 1857 |
| Seat | Zurich , Switzerland |
| management | Patrick Frost ( Management ) Rolf Dörig ( Chairman of the Board ) |
| Number of employees | 9,300 |
| sales | 23.008 billion CHF (2019) |
| Branch | Insurance, asset management |
| Website | www.swisslife.com |
| As of December 31, 2019 | |
Swiss Life (formerly Schweizerische Lebensversicherungs- und Rentenanstalt , or Rentenanstalt for short ) is the largest life insurance group in Switzerland . The Zurich- based company was founded in 1857 and took over its current name in 2002.
history
The beginnings
The Schweizerische Lebensversicherungs- und Rentenanstalt was founded on September 28, 1857 by Conrad Widmer with the help of the Schweizerische Kreditanstalt as the first life insurance company in Switzerland. The company form was that of a cooperative . The first Supervisory Board consisted of eight members, including F. Wild, Zurich Government Council, JJ Rüttimann, Council of States and Board of Directors of the Kreditanstalt and Alfred Escher , District President of the Canton of Zurich and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Kreditanstalt. Representatives from most of the Swiss cantons sat on the board of directors of the company, soon to be known as “Rentenanstalt”. The aim of its founders was "to give the Swiss fathers of families the opportunity, on a sufficiently solid basis, to secure their own to a certain extent against the vicissitudes of life by sacrificing a small part of the income".
Widmer was granted the license in Prussia as early as 1866 . A year later, the Rentenanstalt started operations in Hamburg and Bremen . There was no branch for the politically still fragmented Germany. Each kingdom, each duchy had its own general representative. The handwritten policies were all issued in Zurich. In 1885 the assets of the Rentenanstalt reached 20 million francs, so that they could part with the credit institution. Thereafter, all excess invoices should be paid to the insured members.
From 1894 the Rentenanstalt was one of the first life insurances to offer the possibility of taking out occupational disability insurance. Between 1866 and 1987 the Rentenanstalt established branches in Germany (in the 1920s also in Berlin with two branch offices in Linkstrasse and on Kurfürstendamm ), France (1898), the Netherlands (1900, under the Dutch name "Zwitser Leven") , Belgium , Great Britain , Spain , Luxembourg and Italy . In 1988 she took over “La Suisse” insurance in Lausanne .
Rentenanstalt's first domicile was in the Tiefenhöfe on Zurich's Paradeplatz. The expansion allowed the offices to move in quick succession from the Green Castle on Zwingliplatz, to the Chamhaus on the Untere Fences and finally to the Alpenquai, where the new headquarters were opened in 1898. Despite the generous facility at that time, further expansion in the interwar period made a move necessary. In 1937–1939 a modern building was constructed in the vicinity of the old headquarters according to plans by the Pfister architecture firm. This, with extensions made from 1961 to 1963 and later, has since housed the company's headquarters in Zurich.
The stockcompany
In 1997 the Rentenanstalt under Manfred Zobl changed from a cooperative to a listed stock corporation . The approximately 600,000 former members of the cooperative became shareholders. In 1998 the Rentenanstalt / Swiss Life share was included in the SMI index .
Like other banks and insurance companies, Rentenanstalt launched an expansive strategy under the title “Allfinanz”. From now on, a bank employee should also sell insurance policies and an insurance advisor should also sell investment funds. In the battle for market share in the financial sector, acquisitions of billions were made at home and abroad, such as the 1999 takeover of the real estate companies Uto Albis, Livit AG (from UBS ) and Oscar Weber (2000). Competitors across Europe (Lloyd Continental (France) 1999, Schweizerische Treuhandgesellschaft STG (2000)), IT companies and a stake in the Jungfrau Railway , which had previously wanted to buy an American holding company, were acquired. Finally, in 1999, the Rentenanstalt took over the Ticino Banca del Gottardo . Within a few years, the company was completely restructured from a life insurer to a financial conglomerate, which, in the opinion of critics, had become too large and confusing.
Shortly afterwards there was a halt in 2002 with a new holding structure, exchange of the Rentenanstalt / Swiss Life shares and painful corrections in the books. The Banca del Gottardo, taken over at a price of CHF 2.4 billion, was still worth CHF 1.8 billion. In 2004 the value in the books was revised downwards again, to CHF 1.5 billion. Several attempts to find a buyer for the Banca del Gottardo failed.
New business in the UK ceased in 2003. In the same year the STG Schweizerische Treuhandgesellschaft and the subsidiary in Spain were sold.
As of June 21, 2010, Swiss Life shares left the Swiss Market Index.
New beginning
After this turbulence, "a concentrated load of careless managers and the corresponding damage to its image [...] the Rentenanstalt dropped its name in 2003" and, in 2004, dared to start over as Swiss Life with a simplified brand structure and a new image.
Only in the Netherlands did she continue to perform under the old name Zwitserleven . The activities there were sold in 2007 and since April 2008 - despite the continued use of the Zwitserleven brand - no longer belong to Swiss Life , but to the Dutch banking and insurance group SNS REAAL. The British insurance business was sold to Resolution Life Group, the private equity - portfolio to Pantheon Ventures. The life business of «La Suisse» was integrated in 2005.
In November 2007, Swiss Life announced the long-awaited sale of Banca del Gottardo . The Generali subsidiary BSI SA took over Banca del Gottardo for CHF 1.875 billion , with which it was merged to form a new private banking institute.
On December 3, 2007, Swiss Life announced a public takeover offer with the intention of acquiring a majority stake in AWD Holding AG . Swiss Life also became an important product partner of AWD, while AWD was to retain the business model of independent financial advice and the open product platform. Swiss Life named access to the growth markets of Central and Eastern Europe and the Austrian market as the goals of the takeover, as well as expanding its market penetration in Germany and further strengthening its position in Switzerland. Swiss Life expected a significant increase in the volume of new business.
This announced takeover was received with great skepticism on the market for various reasons. On the one hand, experts pointed out that AWD's image as an aggressive seller of financial and pension products does not fit with Swiss Life's business culture. On the other hand, the independence of future AWD advice was also strongly questioned, since an important product partner is now also the majority shareholder. The planned takeover also contradicts several statements made by AWD shortly before. The takeover price, which was around 36% above the three-month average price, was also criticized as being too high. The value of the Swiss Life share fell by 7.15% on the day of the announcement, which means that the market value of Swiss Life fell by around CHF 800 million.
On March 13, 2008, Swiss Life successfully completed the offer to the shareholders of AWD Holding AG, bringing their stake in AWD to an initial 86.2%. In mid-August, Swiss Life announced that it had also taken over the remaining 10.46% stake held by Carsten Maschmeyer and thus now held 96.71% of the AWD shares.
In the same press release, Swiss Life announced that it had acquired a block of shares of 26.75% in the financial services provider MLP AG from Carsten Maschmeyer . Swiss Life wants to further expand its position in independent financial advice with a focus on old-age provision in Germany. The surprising step was taken on the financial markets, as it was on the occasion of the AWD takeover, with a very critical valuation and a sharp decline in the price of Swiss Life shares. These lost over 12% in value within two days, which means that Swiss Life's market value has fallen by around 1.2 billion francs.
In March 2009, Talanx AG and Swiss Life agreed a strategic partnership. In order to underpin the collaboration, Talanx AG acquired a permanent 9.9% stake in Swiss Life. Talanx also took over an 8.4% stake in MLP from Swiss Life.
In November 2012, Swiss Life announced that it would write off the recognized goodwill of AWD by around CHF 600 million. In addition, the AWD brand was discontinued in April 2013 and replaced by the name Swiss Life Select .
In November 2014 Talanx AG announced that it would sell the remaining 5.03% stake in Swiss Life Holding AG.
Asset management and third-party business
The Swiss Life Group has continuously expanded its position in the asset management sector . The company manages the assets of its own insurance business as well as the assets of institutional customers. Real estate is an important asset class.
In the summer of 2014, Swiss Life Asset Managers took over the German real estate manager and project developer Corpus Sireo and thus positioned itself as a provider of real estate asset management solutions in Germany and Switzerland as well as France.
In 2016, Swiss Life Asset Managers acquired the British real estate investment company Mayfair Capital , based in London.
In 2018, the German real estate company BEOS AG was taken over by Swiss Life Asset Managers.
Presidents of the General Management (CEOs)
- 1857-1892: Conrad Widmer
- 1892–1895: Emil Frey
- 1936–1947: Hans König (1880–1954)
- 1945: Max Karrer
- 1947-1958: Emile Marchand
- 1958– ?: Hans Wyss
- 1958–1961: Riccardo James Jagmetti (1896–1964)
- ? –1973: Ernst Reber
- ? –1976: Jacques Ruedin (1910–1997)
- 1973–1978: Hans Ammeter (1912–1986)
- 1978– ?: Walter Diener
- ? –1992: Kurt Rutz
- 1992–2002: Manfred Zobl
- 2002: Roland Chlapowski
- 2002–2008: Rolf Dörig
- 2008–2014: Bruno Pfister
- since 2014: Patrick Frost
Group structure
The Swiss Life Group reports by country. In addition to the three core markets of Switzerland, France and Germany, the group shows its cross-border segments International and Asset Managers separately.
Switzerland
Swiss Life Switzerland is a comprehensive provider of pension and financial solutions with the brands Swiss Life and Swiss Life Select and, with over 1.3 million insured persons, is one of the leading providers in Switzerland.
France
Swiss Life France specializes in personal insurance, but through its subsidiary Swiss Life Banque Privée it also offers asset management and insurance solutions in combination with private banking for wealthy private customers.
Germany
The German branch of Swiss Life, founded in 1866, is based in Munich and offers private and corporate customers services in the field of old-age provision and financial security. The core competencies are disability insurance and company pension schemes. The Swiss Life subsidiaries ( Swiss Life Select , HORBACH, Tecis Finanzdienstleistungen (formerly part of Tecis Holding ) and Proventus) are headquartered in Hanover.
International
With locations in Switzerland, Luxembourg, Liechtenstein and Singapore, Swiss Life International offers a comprehensive range of insurance solutions for wealthy private clients and multinational companies, as well as tailor-made pension, risk and investment advice for retail and affluent clients. The financial advisors of Swiss Life Select in Austria and the Czech Republic, Fincentrum in the Czech Republic and Slovakia and Chase de Vere in Great Britain also work under the umbrella of Swiss Life International.
Asset managers
Swiss Life Asset Managers offers institutional and private investors access to investment and asset management solutions. Swiss Life is one of the largest institutional asset managers in Switzerland and the third largest fund provider. In Germany, Swiss Life Asset Managers significantly strengthened its market position with the acquisition of the real estate asset management service provider Corpus Sireo in 2014. The real estate management company Livit AG, Mayfair Capital Investment based in London, which was acquired in 2016, and BEOS AG, which operates in Germany, are also subsidiaries of Swiss Life Asset Managers.
Corporate governance
Board of Directors
The Board of Directors is responsible for the general direction of the group and for monitoring the group management. The board of directors is elected for one year and is composed as follows:
| position | Surname | Year of appointment |
|---|---|---|
| president | Rolf Dörig | 2002 |
| Vice President | Frank Schnewlin | 2009 |
| member | Adrienne Corboud Fumagalli | 2014 |
| member | Ueli Dietiker | 2013 |
| member | Damir Filipovic | 2011 |
| member | Frank W. Keuper | 2013 |
| member | Stefan Loacker | 2017 |
| member | Henry Peter | 2006 |
| member | Martin Schmid | 2018 |
| member | Franziska Tschudi Sauber | 2003 |
| member | Klaus Tschütscher | 2013 |
| member | Thomas Buess | 2019 |
Group management
The Group CEO manages the Group's business activities and works with the Executive Committee to develop the long-term goals and strategic direction of the Swiss Life Group.
- Group CEO : Patrick Frost
- Group CFO : Matthias Aellig
- Group CIO : Stefan Mächler
- CEO Switzerland: Markus Leibundgut
- CEO France: Charles Relecom
- CEO Germany: Jörg Arnold
- CEO International: Nils Frowein
Products
Various products and services are offered for both private individuals and companies, in addition to disability , accident and pension insurance, as well as unit-linked insurance and asset management . The products are at least partially distributed through structured sales, which can lead to high sales pressure for the consultants.
Since June 17, 2011, Swiss Life in France has been the first insurance company to offer protection against a bad reputation on the Internet - the e-reputation.
CSR and sponsorship
The “Perspektiven” foundation founded by Swiss Life in 2005 promotes charitable initiatives in the Swiss home market in the areas of health, science, education, culture and sport and donates between 1.3 and 1.5 million francs annually for social and charitable projects.
In 2008 Swiss Life founded the Swiss Climate Foundation together with eleven other companies . All partner companies donate their surpluses from the reimbursement of the CO 2 steering tax on fuels to the foundation, which uses it to support projects of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that want to make a contribution to climate protection in Switzerland and the Principality of Liechtenstein.
Swiss Life has been a sponsor of the Swiss national football teams since 2004 .
In the area of culture, Swiss Life, among others, the Zurich Film Festival (ZFF), the Lucerne Festival , the Zurich Opera , the Zurich Tonhalle Orchestra and the Davos Festival.
The partnership between Swiss Life and Circus Knie was terminated in 2008.
Swiss Life has been supporting the ZSC Lions ice hockey club as a general sponsor since the 2015/16 season. Swiss Life is also the namesake of the Swiss Life Arena , the ice hockey and sports arena for 12,000 fans of the ZCS Lions club in Altstetten.
Group holdings
In addition to the life insurance business, the Swiss Life Group is also active in the non-life business:
- Swiss Life Asset Managers, Zurich
- Livit AG, Zurich, real estate
- Swiss Life Select Schweiz AG, Zug
- Swiss Life Funds AG, Lugano, fund company
- Swiss Life Network, Zurich
- Swiss Life Deutschland Holding GmbH, Hanover
- Swiss Life Immopulse, real estate purchase, sale and renovation services
Web links
- Swiss Life Group
- Swiss Life Switzerland
- Bernard Degen : Rentenanstalt. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland .
- Swiss Life / AWD: Together into Unglück , article in the balance sheet of January 8, 2013
Individual evidence
- ↑ Group Management> Patrick Frost In: swisslife.com, accessed on July 16, 2018
- ↑ Board of Directors> Rolf Dörig In: swisslife.com, accessed on July 16, 2018
- ↑ a b Our 2019 financial year on the Swiss Life website, accessed on February 28, 2020
- ↑ a b c d e f Chronicle of the City and District of Zurich, Zurich 1964, p. 624f.
- ^ Advertisement , Vossische Zeitung , January 1, 1927, p. 23
- ↑ Swiss Life Group: New holding structure and capital increase . ( swisslife.com [accessed July 17, 2018]).
- ↑ Finance and economy: bridging up to the orderly divestment of peripheral areas - cost-cutting measures can be taken calmly . ( fuw.ch [accessed on July 17, 2018]).
- ↑ NZZ: Gotthard Bank since 1999 at Rentenanstalt , March 30, 2004.
- ↑ SIX Swiss Exchange : Extraordinary inclusion of Transocean Ltd in the SMI and SLI indices (pdf; 20 kB) Media release of June 3, 2010, accessed on June 21, 2010
- ↑ Tages-Anzeiger, January 9, 2007, p. 23.
- ↑ Brand, values and mission of Swiss Life - Swiss Life ( Memento of the original dated December 19, 2006 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Het bedrijf: Zwitserleven
- ↑ Swiss Life press release on the sale of the Banca del Gottardo ( Memento of the original dated November 8, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Swiss Life press release, December 3, 2007, announcement of the takeover of AWD Holding AG ( Memento of the original from June 11, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Reuters, December 3, 2007, AWD gives up independence - Swiss Life takes over ( page can no longer be accessed , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Swiss Life press release, March 19, 2008 ( Memento of July 16, 2011 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ Swiss Life press release, August 14, 2008 ( Memento of the original from October 19, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Press releases from 2009 ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Talanx reduces position in Swiss Life. Retrieved May 6, 2014 .
- ↑ Swiss Life is leaving MLP entirely. Retrieved May 6, 2014 .
- ↑ Talanx sells remaining shares in Swiss Life. Retrieved January 30, 2017 .
- ↑ Real estate report - Munich: Swiss Life buys Corpus Sireo. Retrieved August 16, 2018 .
- ↑ a b Savings banks sell Corpus Sireo to Swiss Life. Balance sheet, accessed on July 16, 2018 .
- ↑ a b Swiss Life Asset Managers acquires Mayfair Capital Investment Management Ltd. In: finanzen.ch . October 10, 16 ( finanzen.ch [accessed on July 16, 2018]).
- ↑ a b Takeover: Swiss Life buys real estate company Beos . ( handelsblatt.com [accessed September 12, 2018]).
- ^ Independent Commission of Experts Switzerland - Second World War: Switzerland and the gold transactions in World War II. Chronos, Zurich 2002. ISBN 3-0340-0616-0 .
- ↑ Matriculation of the University of Zurich ( Memento of the original from June 19, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Thomas Fuchs: Ammeter, Hans. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland .
- ↑ Swiss Life Annual Report 2017. Accessed July 16, 2018 .
- ^ Branders Group AG: Swiss Life. Retrieved July 16, 2018 .
- ↑ Swiss Life France: SwissLife.fr. Retrieved July 16, 2018 (fr-fr).
- ↑ Swiss Life Germany: Welcome to Swiss Life. ( swisslife.de [accessed on July 16, 2018]).
- ↑ Swiss Life Group: Swiss Life International . ( swisslife.com [accessed July 16, 2018]).
- ↑ IPE Reference Hub: Swiss asset manager tables 2017 . ( ipe.com [accessed July 16, 2018]).
- ↑ Swiss Life Group: Board of Directors . ( swisslife.com [accessed July 16, 2018]).
- ↑ Swiss Life Group: Group Management . ( swisslife.com [accessed July 16, 2018]).
- ↑ Bounced Structures ( Memento of the original from September 28, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ (fr) Insurance to save the reputation on the Internet , Le Figaro , June 17, 2011.
- ↑ Lisa Louis, The good reputation on the net becomes business ( Memento of the original from March 5, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , Blog.zdf.de/hyperland , September 1, 2011
- ↑ Swiss Life: Swiss Life Annual Report 2017> Responsibility for society. Retrieved July 16, 2018 .
- ↑ Swiss Life: “Perspektiven” foundation . ( swisslife.ch [accessed on July 16, 2018]).
- ↑ Swiss Climate Foundation: This is how we work. Retrieved July 16, 2018 .
- ↑ Swiss Life: Sponsoring> Football . ( swisslife.ch [accessed on July 16, 2018]).
- ↑ Swiss Life: Sponsoring> Film . ( swisslife.ch [accessed on July 16, 2018]).
- ↑ Swiss Life: Sponsoring> Classical Music . ( swisslife.ch [accessed on July 16, 2018]).
- ↑ Swiss Life extends its commitment | ZSC Lions. Retrieved March 13, 2019 .
- ↑ FAQ of the arena. Retrieved March 13, 2019 .
Coordinates: 47 ° 21 '46 " N , 8 ° 32' 3" E ; CH1903: six hundred and eighty-two thousand seven hundred fifty-seven / 246348