Financial regulation has a role to play in tackling climate change, but it cannot be a silver bullet. So the time has come for policymakers to step up their game, delegates at the Insurance and Climate Risk conference heard. Vincent Huck reports
Volatilità was one of the hot topics of 2018, and while widening Italian government bond spreads stressed insurers solvency ratios, was there an investment opportunity to be made? Vincent Huck reports
A report by the alternative credit council calls out insurer use of ratings agencies for private credit. Given their failings in the financial crisis are the criticisms justified? Sarfraz Thind reports
With low interest rates impacting solvency ratios, insurers are looking for the holy grail of high yielding assets which do not require higher capital charges. Vincent Huck reports
Allianz’s US CIO Todd Hedtke has three main economic concerns right now—low rates, volatility and credit. He talks about the macro environment and how he is navigating the insurer’s path through potentially inclement weather. Interview by Sarfraz Thind
Low interest rates are here to stay, might be the only consensus in the insurance investment market right now. But how low and how long will they stay remains an unanswered question. A panel of two economists and a consultant tried to provide some answers. Vincent Huck reports
The momentum around responsible investing will achieve nothing if insurers don’t address the bulk of their investment holdings namely government bonds, Vincent Huck writes. The 17th century French playwriter Molière has his say, too.
Tod Nasser is in charge of Pacific Life’s $53bn fixed income portfolio. While the rest of the market appears bedevilled by change and uncertainty, he is positive for now. Indeed, looking at the liquidity situation, buoyant corporate earnings and the health of the US consumer, it certainly is not as risky a world as it was before the financial crisis. Sarfraz Thind reports
In the face of growing uncertainties around the date and terms of Brexit, underwriters with UK operations are leaning ever more heavily on their chosen asset managers for help, advice and expertise. David Walker reports
A panel of CROs and CIOs at Insurance Asset Risk Americas conference reveals the investment decisions that prove most challenging to the relationship between risk and investment teams. Vincent Huck reports
While outsourced CIOs have been predominantly used in the pension space up until now, small US insurers are increasingly seeing the benefits of such a move. But insurers' needs differ widely from those of pension funds, and service providers will need to prove their worth to win mandates. Sarfraz Thind reports
Michelle Russell-Dowe, head of securitised credit at Schroders, discusses the benefits of structured products for insurers’ investments and warns of growing risk in the market. Interview by Sarfraz Thind