Analysis

• Argentina woes: if you get all tangled up, just tango on

  19 June 2018

  Soaring interest rates and economic turmoil are causing problems for Argentine insurers, and they must also adapt to new rules preventing them from investing in their favourite financial instrument. Vincent Huck reports

  

• Allianz's CIO talks: "I didn't come here to radically change things."

  15 June 2018

  Like Germany's national football team, Allianz is one of the most well-structured and led companies in the world. Come the final shake-up you know it will be there or thereabouts. In a two-part series Allianz's CIO, Carsten Quitter, speaks to Insurance Asset Risk some three years after his predecessor Andres Gruber told of his challenges. By Sarfraz Thind

  

• Impact investing or impact washing?

  13 June 2018

  Insurers say they can find financial value in ESG investing, but they have to be wise to investments that don't deliver on their stated goals. And while ESG can mean different things to different stakeholders, a push for standardisation is not always welcome, according to panellists at Insurance Asset Risk's 2018 EMEA conference. Vincent Huck reports

  

• How insurers can make the most of their liquid assets

  07 June 2018

  Christelle Ybanez explains why cash doesn't have to be the problem child, and how insurers can generate extra income from their liquid assets without increasing their investment risk

  

• UK insurers could be forced to disclose climate risk by 2022

  04 June 2018

  A UK parliamentary committee has called on government to act if regulators fail on implementing climate risk disclosures. While some witnesses highlighted to the committee the insurers' exposure to climate-related risk, some pointed out that thanks to Solvency II rules they might be ahead of the game. Michael Hurley and Vincent Huck report

  

• Private markets: end of the credit cycle, start of a new era?

  04 June 2018

  Insurers have increasingly invested in private assets in recent years to counter the low yield environment. But as we enter the later stages of the credit cycle, questions are being raised on whether private assets were tactical short-term choices, or if insurers have fully embraced these asset classes. Vincent Huck reports

  

• A slow growth for US infrastructure

  04 June 2018

  A US infrastructure overhaul is due—that much is common knowledge. However, so far, institutional investors and especially insurers have been coy to invest due to policy hurdles at the federal level. As each state administration starts to address these issues, insurers are seeing opportunities building up. David Turner reports

  

• Insurers' shift into private credit sparks evolution in internal rating capabilities

  04 June 2018

  With insurers showing greater appetite for private credit, authorities are keen to ensure firms are applying robust credit risk assessments – but the lack of rating agencies in the space is giving regulators and insurers a headache. Asa Gibson reports.

  

• New sustainability index puts food sector on insurance industry's plate

  01 June 2018

  A new index to capture the investment risks and opportunities in the food sector through the ESG lens has been launched. Abigail Herron discusses the findings on 60 of the largest listed livestock and fisheries companies, many of which will feature heavily in insurers' investment portfolios

  

• World's top insurers stalling on climate change drive

  24 May 2018

  While insurers are increasingly acute to environmental risks which might impact both sides of their balance sheet, new research has found that their investment strategies are not in line with the Paris Agreement. The research was published the same week Royal Dutch Shell held its AGM and shareholders, including some large insurers, were asked to vote on a climate resolution. Did they stand up to the test? Paul Walsh and Vincent Huck report