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Rating the agencies
26 November 2019A 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
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Finding the holy grail
21 November 2019With 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
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Is winter coming? Allianz's US CIO ponders the market
19 November 2019Allianz'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
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How low and how long?
14 November 2019Low 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
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Comment: Cover this govvy which I may not behold
12 November 2019The 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.
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Sunny side up at Pacific Life
07 November 2019Tod 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
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Brexit blows hot and cold for insurers' outsourcing relationships
05 November 2019In 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
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What assets do CIOs like that CROs don’t?
31 October 2019A 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
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To outsource the CIO, or not?
29 October 2019While 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
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Q&A: the love affair between US insurers and structured products
24 October 2019Michelle 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
- CIO Interview: managing Europe's third largest general account
- Conning CEO on Generali's acquisition and AI in asset management
- Private credit beats PE for insurers' appetite for the first time in GSAM survey
- On the merry-go-round of asset classes, with Generali Group's CIO Francesco Martorana
- News roundup: Insurance asset management
- Private debt at the forefront of insurers' continued advance into private markets
- Insurers not holding managers to account on responsible investing, ShareAction finds
- Non-PE backed insurers feel pressure to compete with PE-backed firms
- Comment - What CIOs could learn from Japanese insurers - and Dolly Parton
- Outsourcing switch to BlackRock buoys capital surplus at LV