Analysis

• Coping with the inflation conundrum

  10 June 2014

  The development of inflation or disinflation in different markets is a critical driver of corporate performance, rather than simply a tactical investment issue, as the case of P&C insurers shows. Etienne Comon explains

• With changing market dynamics, insurers can profit in fixed income

  07 May 2014

  They buy in bulk, their size gives them clout with large fixed-income asset managers and their buy-and-hold outlook insulates them from market swings, as Douglas Niemann explains

• China opens up opportunities for insurance asset management

  30 April 2014

  China Life's outsourcing of a $3.2bn investment mandate and a loosening of strict regulations has kickstarted interest in managing China's insurance assets. Hardeep Dhillon reports

• Annuity changes put corporate bonds under pressure

  23 April 2014

  Revisions to the UK's legislation around annuities is causing insurers to rethink investment strategies. Hardeep Dhillon examines the impact on sterling capital markets and demand for assets

• Diversification and caution characterise insurers' 2014 asset strategies

  05 March 2014

  Another year of weak yields from bonds is prompting some insurers to continue diversifying their investment portfolios. But with predictions of weaker equity markets and continuing low interest rates, others are battening down the hatches. Jamie Bullen and Christopher Cundy report

• ERM basics: Proxy techniques enable risk-based decision making

  08 January 2014

  Proxy techniques, such as least squares Monte Carlo, allow faster analysis of risks and for many insurers they have become essential tools for aiding decision making, as Brian Robinson explains

• Friends Life's Mark Versey: "Infrastructure is now a core investment strategy"

  22 November 2013

  Friends Life is now directly investing in both infrastructure and commercial real estate debt after awarding combined mandates of £1bn this year. Jamie Bullen asks chief investment officer Mark Versey what lies behind this new strategy

• Hopes build for better treatment of infrastructure investment under Solvency II

  27 September 2013

  Infrastructure investments provide a great match for insurers' liabilities, but Solvency II's crude view of the investment risk means money is not flowing as fast as it could. Milliman and JP Morgan Asset Management set out the justification for a review

• Leasing and trade finance could spice up insurers' portfolios

  18 September 2013

  The traditional bond markets are no longer satisfying insurers' desire for a secure, stable investment income. Portfolios need to be developed to include other new core asset classes and there are opportunities aplenty for the more nimble insurers, says Yasheen Rajan.