AXA
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| Type | Public (Euronext: CS, NYSE: AXA) |
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| Founded | 1816 |
| Founder(s) | Claude Bébéar |
| Headquarters | Paris, France |
| Key people | Jacques de Chateauvieux (Chairman of the supervisory board), Henri de Castries (Chairman of the management board and CEO) |
| Industry | Financial services |
| Products | Life and health insurance, investment management |
| Revenue | €91.22 billion (2008)[1] |
| Operating income | ▲ €406 million (2008)[1] |
| Profit | ▲ €923 million (2008)[1] |
| Total assets | €673.5 billion (2008)[1] |
| Employees | 109,300 (salaried, 2008)[1] |
| Website | www.axa.com |
AXA (Euronext: CS, NYSE: AXA) is a French global insurance companies group headquartered in Paris. AXA is not the name of a single company but a group of companies independently organized and operated according to the regulations of many different countries.
The AXA group of companies are engaged in life, health and other forms of insurance, as well as investment management. The AXA group operates primarily in Western Europe, North America and the Asia Pacific region and the Middle East.
The AXA Group encompasses five operating business segments: Life & Savings, Property & Casualty, International Insurance (including reinsurance), Asset Management and Other Financial Services.
AXA ranks as the 15th biggest company in the world (based on revenue) on the 2006 Fortune Global 500 list.[2]
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[edit] History
The Company was originally founded in 1816 as Mutuelle de L'assurance contre L'incendie (the Ancienne Mutuelle).[3] It acquired Compagnie Parisienne de Garantie in 1978 and became Mutuelles Unies.[4] It went on to buy the Drouot Group in 1982 at which time it adopted the AXA name.[4] The takeover of The Equitable, a well known American insurer, came in 1991.[4] It bought Union des Assurances De Paris (UAP), France's largest insurer, in 1996 becoming AXA-UAP for a while before reverting to the name AXA in 1999.[5] Then in February 1999 AXA acquired Guardian Royal Exchange.[6] In May 2000 AXA acquired all shares it did not already own in Sun Life & Provincial Holdings.[7] On 14 June 2006 AXA acquired the leading Swiss insurance company Winterthur Group from Credit Suisse for approximately €9 billion.[8]
[edit] The AXA name
Despite being written in upper case, "AXA" is not an acronym, but was chosen because its name can be pronounced easily by people who speak any language. After acquiring the Drouot Group in 1982, the company hired an outside consultant to conduct a computer-aided search for a new name. The selection criteria consisted of a short and snappy name to convey vitality, a name that begins with the letter A so that it would appear near the top of all lists, and something that could be pronounced easily in every language, consistent with the group's desire for an international presence. In 1985, Chairman and CEO Claude Bébéar chose the name AXA.[9]
[edit] Operations
[edit] AXA in the United Kingdom
AXA trades in the United Kingdom as AXA Sun Life, AXA Insurance, AXA Investment Managers and AXA PPP Healthcare. AXA PPP Healthcare was created when AXA bought Guardian Royal Exchange (GRE), though it subsequently sold the other parts of GRE to Aegon. The company also owns the online insurer Swiftcover, distribution business Bluefinand fund manager Architas. In January 2007 AXA was reorganised into "strategic business units" (SBU's) aimed at competing within their specific markets.
AXA run its investment branch through AXA Investment Managers (IM).
[edit] AXA Sun Life
AXA Sun Life was created following the merger between AXA Equity & Law and Sun Life Assurance Society PLC. In 2006 Winterthur Life in the UK was absorbed although AXA continue to use the Winterthur brand for high net worth wealth management business. The business units are:[10]
- Wealth Management - AXA + Winterthur's Bonds + Individual Pensions
- Corporate Business - AXA + Winterthur's Group Pensions. AXA intend to create a "Market Leading" group pension proposition using Winterthur's 'Embassy' IT platform.
- Protection - This SBU will aim to market AXA's Protection Account as AXA continues to build on its presence in this area with the intention of becoming a leading protection provider.
- Traditional Business - Concentrating on policies which are still in force but no longer actively marketed.
- Sunlife Direct - This SBU focues solely on selling protection & savings products directly to those in the UK.
- AXA Distribution Services - This business unit will soon unveil a wrap proposition
- Advisory Services - This SBU consists solely of Thinc Group at present. Originally it was intended that AXA's tied distribution arm would also report into this SBU until it was recently incorporated into Thinc Group.
[edit] AXA Schengen
AXA Schengen Travel insurance provides travel insurance to travelers who need a visa to enter the Schengen area.
[edit] AXA Isle of Man
AXA Isle of Man Limited was originally created as a subsidiary of AXA Sun Life in the United Kingdom, but since the Isle of Man is not a part of the United Kingdom it is regulated instead by the laws of the Isle of Man.
Unlike the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man does not require the same access to liquidity of funds in case the company runs into problems. AXA Isle of Man Limited advertises itself as a repository for citizens of the United Kingdom and the Channel Islands who seek to shelter their assets from high taxation.
While the company trades upon the AXA logo and name and group advertising which promotes the total wealth of the group, the assets of the Isle of Man company are limited to those of the Isle of Man company itself, and this poses some risk since the island has its own police and governmental regulatory agencies. Relationship with the United Kingdom is primarily restricted to foreign affairs.
[edit] AXA in the United States
The United States arm of AXA is AXA Equitable. AXA Equitable consists of many subsidiaries; AXA Advisors, LLC, AXA Network, AXA Equitable Life Insurance, Mutual of New York (MONY) (famous for the song "Mony Mony" that the logo on its building inspired), US Financial Life, and AllianceBernstein.
On December 15 of 2006, AXA Advisors, LLC entered into agreements with LPL (Linsco Private Ledger), the country's largest independent broker-dealer. LPL agreed to provide brokerage, clearing and custody services on a fully-disclosed basis. The terms of the agreements are five years, subject to additional 24-month extensions. Services are expected to begin in August 2007.
[edit] AXA in Asia Pacific
AXA Life Insurance operates in the Asia Pacific region as AXA Asia Pacific Holdings Ltd. (AXA APH) (ASX: AXA) which is the former National Mutual Life Association of Australasia, and is listed on the Australian Securities Exchange. The head office of AXA APH is located in Melbourne, Australia, and there is a major regional office in Hong Kong. As well as a strong presence in Australia, Hong Kong and New Zealand, AXA is expanding its operations in Singapore, China, India, Korea (under partnership with Kyobo Life) Malaysia ( AXA-Affin ), the Philippines and Indonesia.
AXA General Insurance operates in the Asia Pacific region as AXA Asia P&C. The head-office of AXA Asia P&C is located in Singapore.
AXA has entered the Indian Market through Bharti Enterprises as JV. AXA has three ventures in India, Bharti AXA Life Insurance Company Ltd, Bharti AXA General Insurance Co. Ltd. and Bharti AXA investment Managers, and is also present in fusion with OYAK, as AXA OYAK, in the Turkish market since 1999.
AXA in the Philippines The Metropolitan Bank and Trust Company of the Philippines subsequently entered into joint ventures with renowned corporation the National Mutual Holdings Ltd. of Australia to create Philippine AXA Life Insurance Corporation.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ a b c d e "Annual Report 2008". AXA. http://www.axa.com/lib/en/uploads/anr/group/2008/AXA_Reference_Document_2008.pdf. Retrieved 2009-03-28.
- ^ Fortune 500 final list for 2006
- ^ Axa Isle of Man: History
- ^ a b c Axa: milestones
- ^ Axa to buy UAP International Herald Tribune, 13 November 1996
- ^ Axa of France to buy Guardian of Britain New York Times, 2 February 1999
- ^ Sun Life Stock soars as Axa ups bid to £24bn for remaining stake Independent, 3 May 2000
- ^ Axa buys Swiss rival Winterthur BBC News, 14 June 2006
- ^ AXA Website - History of the AXA name
- ^ Press releases - 2006 - AXA reorganises to build a more customer focused organisation
[edit] External links
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