IAR EMEA conference: questions from the audience

The audience for the chief investment officer panel at Insurance Asset Risk’s European conference asked a lot of questions that couldn’t be answered in the time available. Vincent Huck caught up with Massimo Di Tria, CIO at Cattolica Assicurazioni, to get his responses.

NN Group’s asset management earnings fall by 2.6%

Lower fee income hits Dutch insurer but assets under management grow

Illiquid credit attractiveness in late cycle

As insurers increasingly position their portfolio for a turn in the cycle, is illiquid credit an investment of choice? In part three of this roundtable from Insurance Asset Risk and NN Investment Partners participants discuss how to build resilience in illiquid credit portfolios as well as the as the current regulatory considerations on illiquid investments.

Investment returns drive Achema's 48% growth in operational results

Affiliated asset manager also reports growth in AuM and a €28bn external mandate win

Build-to-rent: An opportunity for institutional investors to bridge the housing deficit?

Miria Whittle, manager at EY, looks at how insurers can enter the build-to-rent market, what are the risk they should consider, the returns they should expect and most importantly why it is in an asset class that won’t go unnoticed for long.

ReinSTSted: Are new rules reopening the ABS market for insurers?

Holding asset-backed securities has been a challenge for most insurers since the dislocations of the global financial crisis and introduction of Solvency II. This year, new regulation offers the potential for Solvency II-regulated firms to return to securitised debt investments, says James King, fund manager at M&G.

What's behind the wall: US insurers' investments in EM debt

Emerging markets should be an attractive option for US insurers as the Federal Reserve looks to cut rates, making opportunities at home less attractive. But, as the Trump government continues building trade barriers, are US government policies stymying enthusiasm for the asset class? Sarfraz Thind reports

Singaporean life insurers exposed to risk of falling asset prices

Despite strong buffers over and above their minimum capital requirements, two of the four largest Singaporean insurers by assets breach minimum capital requirements in International Monetary Fund's stress test. Vincent Huck reports

African infrastructure, an asset class underserved by insurers

Sanjeev Gupta, executive director at Africa Finance Corporation and former CEO of Sanlam Investment Management Emerging Markets operations speaks to Insurance Asset Risk about mitigating risks in African infrastructure investments and why insurers are under-investing in the asset class. Interview by Vincent Huck

Allianz invests $150m in Indian offices

Q&A: Introducing risk-based capital in Hong Kong

David Alexander, head of P&C reinsurance Hong Kong & Taiwan at Swiss Re, and chairman of the Hong Kong Federation of Insurers taskforce on RBC has been directly involved in liaison with the Insurance Authority on the introduction of the new regulation. Interview by Vincent Huck.

China’s Belt & Road: where are the insurers’ investments?

As China celebrates the sixth year of its initiative this week, insurers remain reluctant to invest in its projects. Vincent Huck asks why

Hong Kong’s insurers gearing up for risk-based capital

In Hong Kong, local stakeholders tell Vincent Huck how they are getting ready for a risk-based capital regime which will require them to put in place ALM strategies and define their investment risk appetite.

Mandate from world’s largest pension fund helps LGIM grow international assets by 50%