Sarfraz Thind

Articles by Sarfraz Thind

  • PRA rejects market gripes over NNEG standards

    06 July 2017

    Regulator stands by its 'effective value' methodology to measure embedded value of no negative equity guarantees in restructured equity release mortgages

  • FCA report damns opaque asset management fees and underperformance

    28 June 2017

    A new dawn for industry, say participants, as regulator pushes for all-in fee

  • Low yields, high cost and underperformance: manager fees under the spotlight

    23 June 2017

    Paying 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

  • US insurer ETF use to grow 86% in next five years, S&P predicts

    22 June 2017

    Move to fixed income ETFs the next biggest trend, rating agency finds

  • Allianz CIO targets long duration and diversification amid heightened systemic risks

    20 June 2017

    Gathering risks cause for watchfulness, says Andreas Gruber

  • Election result hangs uncertainty over markets

    09 June 2017

    The reversal of 10-year gilt yields to pre-election levels serves as an indicator of the uncertainty facing investors as the country embarks on EU exit negotiations.

  • US accounting tweak could see insurers plough into bond ETFs

    07 June 2017

    BlackRock, State Street worked with NAIC to instigate new valuation treatment

  • The continued lure of equity

    26 May 2017

    Solvency 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

  • Moving on from hedge funds: alternative risk premia

    17 May 2017

    Insurers 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

  • Diversified Growth Funds - manna or mania?

    07 April 2017

    Diversified growth funds promise equity-like returns with fixed income-type capital charges. It certainly looks an interesting proposition for insurers in the current low yield world. But how well do the promises stack up? Sarfraz Thind reports