Allianz Global Investors posted net losses of €157m ($210m) for the 12 months to December 31 last year after paying its final retention bonuses to top management at US subsidiaries Pimco and Nicholas Applegate.

After paying €3.7bn for 70% of Pimco in 2000, Allianz committed itself to €700m in retention bonuses over five years. The payments end this spring and there are doubts over the future of star managers, including Pimco's chief executive and world-renowned bond trader Bill Gross.