Insurance group Swiss Life has sold its online funds shop Profitline to Zurich-based AIG Private Bank. Financial details were not disclosed.
Under the deal, assets worth Sfr440 million invested by Profitline's 40,000 customers will be transferred to AIG on 31 May 2003, although customers who have taken out life insurance will not be affected by the sale, as these policies will continue to be administered according to existing agreements.
Profitline was founded in 1996 by UBS Swiss Life as a direct sales channel for insurance products. Swiss Life/Rentenanstalt acquired the UBS stake in 1999 and rebranded the service as Swiss Life Direct, extending its range to include banking products.
The service is a funds shop selling unit-linked life insurance and stand-alone funds from different firms, including UBS, Credit Suisse and Deutsche Bank, by telemarketing and over the Internet.
Swiss Life says the sale is a result of a new strategic direction for the firm, which aims to concentrate on its life insurance business and personal consulting in its domestic market.