Day 1 of the Insurance Asset Risk 2020 EMEA conference has come to a close after a packed half-day of panels, speed networking sessions, and discussion groups.
The annual conference is being held virtually this year, and is free to attend for insurers and regulators. More information on access and the conference is available here.
Highlights of the first day included two investment leaders panels - one covering the strategic portfolio positioning amid the turmoil of the COVID-19 crisis, and the other looked at future investment opportunities.
While the industry is generally optimistic about its ability in facing the challenges posed by the pandemic, but the monetary and fiscal policies put in place to dampen the effects of the crisis will have long lasting consequence, the audience heard.
Ageas’s CIO Wim Vermeir said: “Solutions to a crisis create the origins of the next crisis.”
The audience also heard from investment leaders that tomorrow’s investment opportunities lie in asset as exotic as nuclear fusion start-ups.
Although the topic of sustainability has faded from the spotlight somewhat as stakeholders navigate the pandemic, it hasn’t gone away, and Scor’s head of group investment risk and sustainability delivered a keynote speech on how insurers can include climate change in their investment decisions. She highlighted the ‘sustainability journey’ insurers should take, from being traditional investors to becoming investors with impact.
The panels and discussion groups are available on the events platform for on-demand replay.
Day 2 will kick off on 20 October at 9am (London time).