Analysis

• Phoenix's Blamont on an illiquid strategy

  10 January 2018

  Daniel Blamont is leading the charge for Phoenix's move into illiquid assets. Having started from nothing three years ago, the insurer has already built up an impressive portfolio and looks set to expand this in the future. By Sarfraz Thind

  

• Largest insurers use SFCRs to extend transparency of investments

  03 January 2018

  Insurance Risk Data's analysis of the first SFCR submissions reveals information goes far beyond fundamental insights of quantitative reporting templates. David Walker reports

  

• Tips for insurers and asset managers in 2018

  29 December 2017

  In the second part of this 2018 investment outlook, stakeholders share their views on the negotiating rising rates, inflation and what asset managers should be doing to help insurers. Sarfraz Thind reports

  

• A look back and forward

  27 December 2017

  The current year was relatively benign for the insurance investment industry. But 2018 holds new challenges. What risks and what opportunities should investors be looking at in the coming year? Sarfraz Thind reports

  

• The risks and rewards of leveraged finance: senior secured loans

  15 December 2017

  With European insurers showing increasing interest in allocating to senior secured loans – a more popular investment for US counterparts – David Turner explores how and why insurers either side of the Atlantic are approaching the asset class.

  

• The key to absolute return bond investing

  13 December 2017

  Schroders' global head of insurance asset management Paul Forshaw discusses the benefits of adding absolute return funds to the portfolio mix in an anticipation of a bear market

  

• Urban logistics: "the hottest game in town"

  07 December 2017

  The projected growth of e-commerce and urbanisation has seen real estate investors showing increasing interest in urban logistic centres. Paul Walsh explores the nascent asset class as an opportunity for insurers.

  

• The slippery skill of liquidity management

  01 December 2017

  Liquidity management is an ever-growing focus for insurers since the financial crisis. But how well do insurers understand it? Sarfraz Thind reports

  

• New options for the constrained investor

  24 November 2017

  AllianceBernstein's Stuart Davies explains how (re)insurers can access alternative return streams in a transparent and capital efficient way

  

• Timing and overcrowding: the challenges facing insurers in renewables

  22 November 2017

  Renewable energy is a popular asset class for insurers within the alternatives universe, and the trend is likely to continue based on the industry's growth forecasts. But challenges remain for insurers looking to grow exposure in unfamiliar territory. Asa Gibson reports