Results for Analysis
Low yields, high cost and underperformance: manager fees under the spotlight
Paying high fees for your asset management is never welcome. In the current low return environment insurers are increasingly having to re-evaluate the charges they pay as fees eat into their profits. And not before time, too. Sarfraz Thind reports
US accounting tweak could see insurers plough into bond ETFs
BlackRock, State Street worked with NAIC to instigate new valuation treatment
Five minutes with: Gjensidige's CIO Erik Ranberg
Norwegian insurer's chief investment officer talks to Insurance Asset Risk about his concerns regarding real rates, a lack of duration in the bond market, regulatory ambiguity, political risk and the need for active management. Asa Gibson reports
The continued lure of equity
Solvency II has punished equity investment with its 39% capital charge. But the SCR restrictions are bringing out a plethora of equity structures designed to appeal to insurers with lower volatility and capital charges. Is this enough to attract new investors? Sarfraz Thind reports
Capturing the illiquidity premium in the alternatives universe
Ahead of speaking at next month's Insurance Asset Risk conference in London, Invesco's head of UK insurance Ed Collinge talks to Asa Gibson about trends, changing attitudes and capturing the illiquidity premium.
Moving on from hedge funds: alternative risk premia
Insurers have been looking at alternative risk premia strategies as a substitute for poorly performing hedge fund investments. The strategies offer a cheap and transparent way of getting exposure to hedge fund-like returns but there are complications. Sarfraz Thind reports
Emerging market debt: fundamentally attractive
With strong and improving fundamentals underpinning emerging market debt, AllianceBernstein's Arnaud Mounier and Shamaila Khan argue that insurers should consider the asset class as a core strategic allocation, rather than an opportunistic diversifier.
'Insurers need to move from climate talk to climate action'
Axa and Vivat's investment arms recently announced coal exclusion policies, while Axa also committed to stop underwriting coal projects – could this be a model for the rest of the industry? Peter Bosshard from anti-fossil fuel NGO the Sunrise Project comments.
Factor investing - from idea to implementation
Eager for better risk-adjusted returns and greater diversification, insurers are warming up to factor-based investment strategies. Invesco's Ed Collinge and Georg Elsaesser explain why the approach is proving popular with the industry.
French elections are “crucial” for future of Europe, says NN’s CIO
Political events emerge as number one concern for insurance investment chiefs in Goldman Sachs Asset Management's survey of insurance investors, having not been considered as a threat in 2015. Asa Gibson reports
Outsourced or in-house: Zurich's CIO on finding the right balance
Urban Angehrn oversees Zurich Insurance Group's $190bn asset book. With no pure asset management business in the group, he talks to Asa Gibson about selecting managers, deciding when to manage in-house and the importance of responsible investment.
Climate risk: how insurers are failing to join the dots on the investment side
The quantification of climate-related risks is strategically important for insurers in terms of underwriting and investing performance, but the industry is accused of not leveraging its underwriting expertise to benefit its asset allocation strategy. Environmental Finance's Peter Cripps reports
Diversified Growth Funds - manna or mania?
Diversified growth funds promise equity-like returns with fixed income-type capital charges. It certainly looks an interesting proposition for insurers in the current low yield world. But how well do the promises stack up? Sarfraz Thind reports
Alternatives shine for Lloyd's syndicates
Following the insights gleaned on rising manager fees and falling yields for Lloyd's syndicates, David Walker shines light on the well-performing fraction of alternative investments made by the sector in 2015.
The Solvency II mandate race
Solvency II has turbo-boosted the move to insurance asset outsourcing. Asset managers are beefing up their capabilities to win market share—but what can you do to make yourself stand out from the crowd? Sarfraz Thind reports
Wraps - a gift to infrastructure investment?
Insurance 'wraps' can boost the credit rating on infrastructure debt to make the asset more attractive to investors, especially underwriters grappling with Solvency II. Christopher Cundy reports
Yes, no, maybe: the PRA responds to industry's Solvency II reform agenda
The UK regulator has made a point-by-point rebuttal to the Association of British Insurers' agenda for Solvency II reforms and confirmed its priority to review the reporting requirements. Christopher Cundy reports
The insurance asset management gold rush
Enticed by lucrative revenues, insurers are pushing into the asset management business like never before. Insurer-affiliated managers are currently some of the fastest growing in the world. With regulations and low rates driving increased insurer third-party asset outsourcing, the industry is in a prime position to pick up more business. Sarfraz Thind reports
Premiums 4 Good: QBE's unique approach to responsible investment
Insurance Asset Risk this month will feature a number of analysis and thought leaderships on responsible investment. In this article, Tom Herbstein and Andrew Voysey from the University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership discuss QBE’s initiative that allows its customers to have up to 25% of their premiums invested responsibly.
Insurers need to heed their own ESG experience when investing
Jessica Ground, global head of stewardship at Schroders, argues insurers are a natural fit for ESG investing – if they can harness pricing expertise on the investment side.