Zurich focuses on organic growth
Zurich Financial Services is to concentrate on organic growth to further develop its Australian business.
Zurich Financial Services is to concentrate on organic growth to further develop its Australian business.
That is the message coming from the chairman and chief executive of the global fi-nancial services behemoth, Rolf Huppi, who says acquisitions are becoming less attractive as the market continues to mature.
“In a lot of markets, it is often more costly to buy an organisation than to acquire customers,” he says.
“It takes about 18 months to merge the operations and their infrastructures. And by the time you have re-aligned the cultures, the market has changed again.
“At the same time, there are not many days that a proposal does not cross my desk seeking interest for the golden opportunity for Zurich. I certainly review each pro-posal on its own merits.”
And Huppi has been involved first hand in a number of Zurich’s high profile ac-quisitions over the past three years, including Eagle Star in the UK and Farmers Group in the US.
But he says the purchases were also strategic acquisitions in line with what Huppi believes are the three fundamental drivers of the financial services industry around the world — globalisation, technology and customer expectations.
Huppi says all three concepts come together on his vision for the intersection of internet and financial services.
“In five years time, you will be in Hong Kong on business, looking into your mir-ror to shave or put on your make-up. This mirror will also be your access to the Internet,” he says.
“The mirror will tell you that there is a $100,000 bond that is set to mature the fol-lowing day. It will know your risk tolerance, your investment portfolio and the amount of protection you have in the form of life insurance products. It will also know the latest investment offerings from around the world.
“While you are shaving, the mirror will suggest you place $50,000 into a UK bond issue that closes tomorrow and $50,000 into a US venture capital managed fund that has just hit the market. It may also tell you that your income protection pre-mium is due.
“What you do then is up to you. But if you choose to act upon the mirror’s recom-mendations, all the transactions will be taken care of without you lifting a finger.”
Ends
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