-
Climate lawyer urges CIOs to pressure sovereigns on climate
30 November 2020Australian government faces spotlight - and the dock - over poor bond disclosure. David Barnden, the lawyer who is taking the class action suit to the court, talks to David Walker about the case, and why institutional investors might want to join retail ones in litigating
-
Use of stress tests: careful not to address the fire that just happened
25 November 2020Ash Belur, a director at Willis Towers Watson's insurance investment team, discusses insurers' usage of stress tests in their investment portfolios and how 2020 might have thrown many of the scenario assumptions out of the window. Interview by Vincent Huck
-
Comment : ESG investing in credit without compromise
23 November 2020Andrew Epsom, insurance client solutions director at Royal London Asset Management, considers the continuing trend towards ESG investing in credit, but highlights that in many cases the approaches being adopted may not result in either the environmental or financial outcomes that insurers are seeking.
-
US Election result: Georgia on investors' mind
18 November 2020The great US election of 2020 is done and it has changed little for insurance investors. Biden's win with a slim majority in Congress, and the likelihood of a gridlock means any major reforms are improbable. Unless Georgia delivers the Senate to the Democrats. Sarfraz Thind reports
-
To invest in offices or not invest in offices, that is the question
16 November 2020With central office rents down, and the very future of work spaces in jeopardy, Vincent Huck looks at what is in the balance for European insurers' €87bn of investments in the asset class
-
Asset managers turn from outsourcing partners to owners of Bermuda re/insurers
11 November 2020Research by Insurance Risk Data analyses the trend of part ownership of Bermudian re/insurers by asset managers, looking in particular at the investments of Wellington, Blackstone and Carlyle. David Walker reports
-
In conversation: Guernsey's regulator on green capital charges
09 November 2020The director of banking and insurance, Jeremy Quick, and the assistant director, Matthew Tanner, at Guernsey Financial Services Commission talk to Vincent Huck about their recent proposal to introduce a 'green discount' for fixed income investments in the jurisdiction's solvency rules.
-
Cash a 'sweat-able asset' in need of exercise
04 November 2020Cash once used to be king, but the cost of holding it has become prohibitive for insurers, who are also weary of the prospect of losing money in their safe harbour asset class: government bonds. Has the time to make their money "sweat" come? David Walker asks
-
Prudential's CIO: shepherding through the valley of darkness
02 November 2020In Part II of this profile, Prudential's CIO Tim Schmidt talks about the investment structure at Prudential, his relationship with the CRO, its ESG policy and the threats of mismanaging risk in the industry. Interview by Sarfraz Thind
-
Guernsey to introduce green capital charges for life re/insurers
30 October 2020Proposal receives mixed responses from stakeholders fearful of a greenwashing exercise and the possible limited impact of the initiative. Vincent Huck speaks to the local regulator and industry stakeholders
- M&G JV with Asian pension fund to invest £1bn in UK housing
- Insurance sector the "natural home" of productive assets, L&G says
- Barings acquires Sydney office building for AU $360m
- BoE zeroes in on private market risks to insurers and UK financial system
- Meiji Yasuda expands backing of regional revitalisation startup
- Insurance Development Forum reaches first close on Infrastructure Resilience Development Fund
- Chart of the Week - The rise and rise of (small) insurers investing in private assets
- Aviva Investors finances £175m loan for acquisition of central London property
- Private credit: the feel-good factor?
- Private credit: are headline news and underlying performance one and the same?