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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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Axa Investment Managers hires Price to lead UK insurance solutions
22 June 2016Reports to Mathilde Sauvé, head of institutional solutions
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Insurers paring down external asset managers to reduce complexity
21 June 2016Industry looking to multi-asset managers and total return over benchmarking, says Axa
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Emerging market debt a logical extension for insurers
26 May 2016The key driver for investing in emerging markets is the search for additional yield, and the hard-currency version seems a better fit for insurers' portfolio. But beware of the sovereign risks associated to some countries. Benedicte Gravrand reports
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The global trends in insurance investment strategies
11 May 2016Non-US insurers are seeking greater exposure to US securities, while US firms are leading the charge for re-risking, as Benedicte Gravrand reports
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No such thing as excessively liquid portfolios
11 April 2016Insurers don't all have the same view on liquidity
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Convertible bonds shine brighter under Solvency II
22 March 2016Finding the sweet spot between the yield of an asset and its capital charge has become a core consideration for EU insurers. Convertible bonds may represent a golden opportunity, as Benedicte Gravrand reports
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Goodbye gilts as Solvency II shifts asset allocation
20 January 2016Prompted by Solvency II, some insurers have moved out of government bonds and into swaps and short-dated government or corporate bonds. But the swap-based approach is not without its challenges, as Sarfraz Thind reports
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Asset diversification gains in popularity among insurers
05 March 2015The benefits of diversification under Solvency II are becoming clearer. But should insurers try to reap these benefits with in-house solutions or the help of external multi-asset funds? Sarfraz Thind reports
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Insurers juggle the attractions and drawbacks of illiquid assets
12 February 2015With quantitative easing reducing the chance of any rise in interest rates soon, insurers are even more interested in higher-yielding illiquid assets to bolster their paltry returns from fixed-income, but Solvency II capital charges remain a problem. Sarfraz Thind reports