Insurance Asset Risk EMEA 2018

Registration

KEYNOTE ADDRESS: SHAPING UP FOR A NEW MACROECONOMIC ENVIRONMENT

• With improved global growth, inflationary pressures picking up, rising interest rates and signs of volatility coming back to the markets, are we now entering a new macroeconomic environment?
•  What factors are going to shape and determine this new environment?
•  What is this new era going to look like and how will insurers fare in this environment?
•  What risks and opportunities does it bring?

Keynote Speaker: Astrid Frey, Chief Macroeconomist, Swiss Re

KEYNOTE ADDRESS: CHALLENGES AND APPROACH TO MANAGING ALL ASPECTS OF THE BALANCE SHEET

• Improved asset liability matching
• How are you structuring yourself to facilitate interaction between different functions when managing the balance sheet?
• What challenges have you come across and what benefits can be gained from aligning teams?
• How will this help you to remain "fleet of foot" in the investment market?
• Tactical capital management from the asset side
• How are you aligning your investment strategy with the strategic objectives of the firm?

Keynote Speaker: Mark Laidlaw, Chief Capital and Investment Officer, LV=

PANEL: OPTIMISING THE INSURER/MANAGER RELATIONSHIP

•  What risk management do you need in place to support or manage the outsourced relationship?
•  What level of trust do you put in your manager vs. what level of understanding of the asset class do you need yourself in order to manage the relationship
•  Managers and insurers working together to align objectives and meet regulatory demands.
•  What are the baseline requirements that a 3rd party outsourced arrangement should satisfy?
•  What would you expect under the Service Level Agreement
•  How much oversight is sufficient?
•  Are managers managing assets against actual liabilities rather than using buckets.
•  What changes would the actuary like to see in the asset management business and the service they are receiving?

Panelists:

Henrik Wijkander, Head of Investment Risk, Phoenix Group
Thomas Fiedler, Team Head, Strategic Asset Allocation/ Asset-Liability-Management, Ergo Group
Massimo di Tria, Chief Investment Officer, Gruppo Cattolica Assicurazioni
Andrew Nicoll, Global Head of Insurance, Columbia Threadneedle Investments
Alex Wharton, Director, Institutional Client Solutions, Aviva Investors

Moderator: David Walker, Senior Staff Writer and Head of Projects, InsuranceERM

INVESTMENT LEADERS PANEL: WHERE DO WE LOOK NEXT FOR DIVERSIFICATION OPPORTUNITIES AND CAPITAL EFFICIENT RETURNS

• How are your portfolios evolving after the implementation of SII?
• How much more illiquid assets can we afford in a low rate environment?
• Real assets vs. illiquids
• What new asset classes are you assessing/moving into?
• Geographical diversification
• Ramifications of branching into new asset classes
• Hurdles and regulatory barriers to new investments and how you overcome them.
• Approaches to capital efficient returns on surplus capital.

Panelists:

Ashish Dafria, Chief Investment Officer, Aviva UK
Corrado Pistarino, Chief Investment Officer, Foresters Friendly Society
Hayley Rees, Head of Direct Investments, Legal & General Retirement
Jelle van der Giessen, Chief Investment Officer, NN Group
Chris Price, Head of UK Insurance Solutions, Axa Investment Managers

Moderator: Vincent Huck, Editor, Insurance Asset Risk

FACTOR INVESTING: TECHNIQUES TO ENHANCE RETURNS AND BETTER MANAGE RISK FOR INSURERS

• Insurance companies are increasingly utilising factor-based investment techniques.
• In a recent Invesco study, 90% of insurance respondents anticipated an important increase in their factor allocations over the next five years.
• Against this backdrop, Invesco will discuss how:
• a wide-range of factor-based investment solutions can be applied to numerous areas of insurer's allocations, from strictly risk-managed, low-cost enhanced index strategies to multi-asset portfolio management.
• factor-based research engines can be customised to an insurer's specific requirements

Speaker: Georg Elsaesser, Senior Portfolio Manager, Invesco Quantitative Strategies

SENIOR SECURED LOANS

In this session, Adam Willis will discuss the investment characteristics of real estate debt and current market conditions. The possible treatment of real estate debt under Solvency II and why this asset class may be attractive for Insurers will be considered, as well as outlining case studies with previous insurance clients.

Speaker: Adam Willis, Investment Associate, Director, Real Estate Finance, M&G Investments

REGULATORY ADDRESS: THE REGULATOR’S VIEW OF ILLIQUID ASSETS, AND THEIR POTENTIAL RISKS

Speaker: Mark Cornelius, Head of Major Life Groups Division, Prudential Regulation Authority, Bank of England

PANEL: INTEGRATING ESG CONSIDERATIONS INTO YOUR INVESTMENT STRATEGY

• Addressing the need to embed sustainability across the asset and liabilities sides of the insurer
• How truly ESG are you? Varying levels of engagement: divestment vs. fully embedding an ESG strategy into your framework?
• Treatment of 3rd party assets managed by insurers in investment policies.
• How do you demonstrate to shareholders that investing with an ESG focus will not negatively impact performance and can in fact boost returns?
• Evidence of higher risk-adjusted investment performance with sustainable investing
• Implications of divestment on the portfolio and balance sheet
• Inclusion – a focus on green investment
• Engagement – how do you exert influence as a debt investor?
• Approach taken in an outsourced model – do you adopt managers policy or enforce your own?

Panelists:

Atanas Christev, Head of Investment, Direct Line Group
Ashley Hamilton Claxton, Head of Responsible Investments, Royal London Asset Management
Kristofer Dreiman, Head of Responsible Investment, Länsförsäkringar
Guy Miller, Chief Market Strategist and Head of Macroeconomics, Zurich Insurance Company

Moderator: To Be Confirmed

PANEL: UNDERSTANDING THE DRIVERS AND POTENTIAL TRIGGERS OF LIQUIDITY RISKS AND PROTECTING YOUR BALANCE SHEET ACCORDINGLY

• As the need for strong liquidity risk management becomes ever more apparent, how well do we actually understand it and how do we ensure a robust and agile balance sheet?
• Liquidity implications for the balance sheet as the push into illiquid private assets marches on
• Defining illiquidity appetite
• What liquidisation plan do you need?
• Ensuring availability of cash assets
• Collateral management
• Portfolio stress testing for liquidity management – at a group and local entity level
• Satisfying the regulator's scrutiny and expectations on liquidity risk practices.

Panelists:

Peter Vasey, Head of Investment Risk, Pension Insurance Corporation
Samu Anttila, Chief Investment Officer, Local Tapiola
Patrick van Beek, Head ALM, Aviva

PRESENTATION: ALTERNATIVE RISK PREMIA – WHAT’S ALL THE FUSS ABOUT?

• The genesis of Alternative Risk Premia as a recognisable and exploitable source of returns 
• When approaching strategy design, implementation and overall portfolio construction, what are the considerations? 
• Appropriate and prudent risk management 
• Why should an insurance company allocate to Alternative Risk Premia?

Speaker: Anthony Lawler, Co-Head GAM Systematic, GAM INVESTMENTS

PANEL DISCUSSION: ILLIQUID CREDIT INVESTMENT STRATEGIES – COMPLEXITIES AND OPPORTUNITIES

• As the quest for illiquid premium continues, how do you access this exposure to illiquids/private loans?
• Challenges/risks
• Working around regulatory restrictions
• Which types of loans are most attractive?
• As the supervisory scrutiny and expectations concerning rating and valuation of private asset classes shift ever higher, what is the tangible impact on an insurers ability and appetite to manage and invest in this asset class?
• What model to adopt? Outsourced vs. building a team of experts in-house.
• Applying robust internal credit risk assessments for private credit investments – challenges and best practice approach.
• Developing a robust credit assessment process
• What level of in-house capability and understanding is needed by insurers to effectively challenge a 3rd party manager's credit assessment?
• Update on latest regulatory expectations vis a vis internal risk assessments on private assets
• What updates and improvements to systems need to be made in order to address and satisfy PRA stipulations?
• Do you have the right talent pool?
• How are asset managers responding to the increased challenges and demands on them to sufficiently articulate and document the credit risk view to their clients?

Panelists:

Daniel Blamont, Head of Investment Strategy, Phoenix Group
Michael Ashcroft, Head of Investment Capital Analysis, Scottish Widows
Gareth Collard, Chief Investment Officer, JUST
Prasun Mathur, Head of Shareholder Investments, UK & Ireland Life, Aviva

Moderator: Symon Drake Brockman, Managing Partner, Pemberton Capital Advisors LLP

End of Conference

Drinks Reception