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MA optimisation: the experience at LV=
07 July 2017The matching adjustment (MA) is a vital element of the Solvency II package to annuity underwriters, but making the most of it is challenging. In this article, James Sharpe, developer of optimisation tool OptiMA, and Ed Rayson of insurer LV=, describe how MA benefits have been improved in practice
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Why Aegon, Allianz, Aviva and NN are well prepared for rising rates
30 June 2017Many loans and mortgages offer resilience to interest rate volatility, and with talk of rising rates becoming more frequent – whether through optimism or anticipation – IAR unmasks the largest life insurers' allocations to the lesser-used asset classes. David Walker Reports
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Solvency II filings reveal extent of life insurers' illiquid investments
28 June 2017Insurance Risk Data, the data service offered by the publishers of IAR, examined the QRTs of Europe's largest life companies that together run €1trn of investments and found they had allocated €375.7bn to five illiquid asset classes. David Walker reports
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Low yields, high cost and underperformance: manager fees under the spotlight
23 June 2017Paying high fees for your asset management is never welcome. In the current low return environment insurers are increasingly having to re-evaluate the charges they pay as fees eat into their profits. And not before time, too. Sarfraz Thind reports
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US accounting tweak could see insurers plough into bond ETFs
07 June 2017BlackRock, State Street worked with NAIC to instigate new valuation treatment
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Five minutes with: Gjensidige's CIO Erik Ranberg
31 May 2017Norwegian insurer's chief investment officer talks to Insurance Asset Risk about his concerns regarding real rates, a lack of duration in the bond market, regulatory ambiguity, political risk and the need for active management. Asa Gibson reports
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The continued lure of equity
26 May 2017Solvency II has punished equity investment with its 39% capital charge. But the SCR restrictions are bringing out a plethora of equity structures designed to appeal to insurers with lower volatility and capital charges. Is this enough to attract new investors? Sarfraz Thind reports
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Capturing the illiquidity premium in the alternatives universe
19 May 2017Ahead of speaking at next month's Insurance Asset Risk conference in London, Invesco's head of UK insurance Ed Collinge talks to Asa Gibson about trends, changing attitudes and capturing the illiquidity premium.
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Moving on from hedge funds: alternative risk premia
17 May 2017Insurers have been looking at alternative risk premia strategies as a substitute for poorly performing hedge fund investments. The strategies offer a cheap and transparent way of getting exposure to hedge fund-like returns but there are complications. Sarfraz Thind reports
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Emerging market debt: fundamentally attractive
10 May 2017With strong and improving fundamentals underpinning emerging market debt, AllianceBernstein's Arnaud Mounier and Shamaila Khan argue that insurers should consider the asset class as a core strategic allocation, rather than an opportunistic diversifier.
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