Analysis

• Storebrand: Fighting fires in the Amazon

  05 August 2020

  It's the climate at stake, Storebrand AM's CEO Jan Erik Saugestad says. The Norwegian insurance asset manager is part of a coalition which aims to hold climate-unfriendly governments accountable. Scoring a success in Brazil's Amazon fires battle last month is just the start, says its CEO. Interview by Sarfraz Thind

  

• EU recovery deal hailed by insurers, but concerns over its 'greeness' plagues some

  03 August 2020

  Investors breathed a sigh of relief when the €750bn EU recovery deal was reached after five days of tense negotiations. Although it will go a long way for the stability of Europe's economy, some lamented EU leaders had missed an opportunity to advance the issue of sustainability. Stephanie Harris takes the pulse of insurers and their asset managers

  

• ESG's negative impact on returns - myth or reality?

  29 July 2020

  A growing number of insurers have announced new or upgraded sustainable investment strategies in recent years. JP Morgan Asset Management (JPMAM) and Insurance Asset Risk have joined forces to investigate the drivers behind insurers' sustainable strategies. Vincent Huck reports on the high-level key findings

  

• Mortgages - safe as houses, or 'waiving' goodbye to repayment returns?

  27 July 2020

  Home loans have proved popular with Europe's insurers, to the tune of €237bn invested in 2019, but that was in the good times. As many underwriters holding them are forced to delay collecting repayments amid COVID-19, some are re-running stress tests on their portfolios, David Walker finds

  

• Comment: Global insurance CIOs well-positioned to weather COVID-19 storms

  23 July 2020

  Many insurers had already reduced portfolio risks in view of expensive valuations and anticipated credit cycle concerns, with the events of 2020 enabling accelerated decision making to capitalise on market dislocations, Etienne Comon writes on the back of Goldman Sachs Asset Management's annual insurance asset management survey.

  

• Comment: Where eagles dare

  21 July 2020

  On the back of five months of research on insurers' sustainable investment strategies, Vincent Huck reflects on the state of ESG integration at insurers, and why it's time for investors to 'dare'

  

• European insurers reported record equity holdings prior to COVID-19 market collapse

  14 July 2020

  While underwriters like to call themselves 'fixed-income investors', they have become significant players in the equity markets, and the COVID-19 turbulences might not be all bad news. David Walker reports

  

• Solvency II's VA mechanism too good a tool in COVID-19 times

  08 July 2020

  Often hailed as ineffective the Solvency II's volatility adjustment rules have served insurers well against the impact of COVID-19 on markets in the first half of 2020, but could it have served them too well? Stephanie Harris reports

  

• EU's CMU consultation puts equity capital charge under the spotlight again

  06 July 2020

  Insurance Europe again calls for review of equity charge reviving the debate over the Solvency II equity treatment and potentially setting a collision course with the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority. Vincent Huck reports

  

• Did the Fed kill the bond market?

  02 July 2020

  Hopes were high at the end of March for investors to profit from the Fed's QE intervention and access a rejuvenated credit sector. The once-in-a-lifetime returns have, however, swiftly disappeared, and investors are back to staring at the ghost of bond market past. So what next? Sarfraz Thind reports