Ambitions to bridge a gap in infrastructure finance and become a force in emerging market debt seem to be working out for Allianz Global Investors.

The asset manager, owned by German insurer Allianz, set up an infrastructure team two years ago, when the UK Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne, was calling on pension funds to bridge the gap in infrastructure finance left by the retreat of banks from lending in the sector. The team had made more than €2 billion in investments across Europe by the end of March, AllianzGI said.