Diversification is key to defending your company against the unknowns like the ones that Mann faced during the 2008 crisis. That experience was crucial. "You learn how to protect your assets," he tells Sarfraz Thind
Mike Fox gauges the impact of the climate agreement on investment decisions
Generali has been seeking to expand its investment horizons in a bid to combat the impact of low European interest rates. But the pace of change is slow and Solvency II's stringent capital rules are partly to blame, as the company's EMEA CIO, Andreas Hoffmann, explains to Sarfraz Thind
Preparing for Solvency II is one thing, but living with it will involve further refinements in how insurers approach asset management, as participants in part one this InsuranceERM/Standard Life Investments roundtable attest
Such are the yield and regulatory pressures, insurers are not necessarily deterred by asset managers' links to competing insurers. In fact, shared experience of the insurance business is a plus. And insurers' asset managers are looking further afield for new clients. David Turner reports
In part 2 of this InsuranceERM/bfinance roundtable, participants discuss their approaches to managing assets in-house and using external asset managers
Many insurers have been reassessing their investment portfolios in light of low rates and Solvency II. In the first part of this InsuranceERM/bfinance roundtable, participants discuss concerns about diversification and liquidity, and whether they can be opportunistic enough in today's fast-moving markets
Regulation and stasis comes ahead of dynamism and free movement of capital in draft rules from Brussels on securitisation, and there will be a big increase in compliance costs. David Shearer explains
The search for yield among insurers would suggest some shift to riskier assets such as equities, were it not for impending Solvency II capital charges inhibiting this. But there's still time to take advantage of the equity grandfathering provision, explains Elodie Laugel
The attraction of exchange-traded funds to insurance investors is increasing but further growth may be slowed by regulatory worries and resistance from proponents of an active approach to portfolio management. Sarfraz Thind reports
Asset management firms are keen to assist insurers in their solvency capital calculations, but some of their contributions are more helpful than others, as Andries Beukes and Pamela Hellig explain
In part two of this InsuranceERM/Insurance Asset Risk and Standard Life Investments roundtable on illiquid assets, experts discuss the management capabilities required and how the assets fit into Solvency II