Accelerating technological and societal changes are causing structural shifts to the way insurers invest. Olivier Guigné, chief investment officer at CNP Assurances, has recognised that trend and guided the French insurer through this paradigm shift.

Guigné summarises: "We need to diversify more and be more tactical, as we need to adapt to changes more rapidly than before, and also to invest in what we could call 'untested territories', as we see new technologies and sectors, which are rising very quickly."

At the core of this strategy seem to lie two conflicting ideas – on the one hand, a need for nimbleness and, on the other, the need to invest in asset classes which may not offer the ability for nimbleness – for example, infrastructure.

Already in 2021, CNP Assurances stood out in its diversification efforts. Unlisted infrastructures "offered a priori one of the best risk profiles" while markets rising double-digits were not offset by €2bn worth of trading, allowing the insurer to "generate an appreciable stock of surplus value".

Given the dire situation with rates, CNP Assurances diversified into funds for debt, Dutch mortgages, emerging countries – particularly Asia – and the US, using about €3bn.

Some €1bn went into 32 private equity funds in France, Europe and the US, mainly benefitting SMEs and ETIs across various sectors, leaving the group with €5.2bn exposure. A health fund received €20m as COVID-19 receded. While infrastructure is popular almost across Europe, CNP Assurances increased its own exposure to it by €1.9bn, in France and Europe, bringing its total exposure to €4.3bn.

These efforts didn't slow down in 2022 with the launch of a new infra unit-linked fund, in partnership with La Banque Postale, investments in international equity funds, and the issue of two green bonds.

CNP aims for €20bn of green investments by the end of 2023, and was just €100m shy of that by 2021.

And it beat its goal of a 47% reduction in listed shares' greenhouse gas emissions from 2014 to 2021, by reaching a 54% reduction.

It no longer holds companies over 10% reliant on thermal coal for revenue, or those developing new coal-fired power generation capacity. Since 2017, it has cut tobacco investments by 68%, following joining the Tobacco-Free Pledge, to less than €200m.

For all these diversification efforts in 'uncharted territories' while trying to instil nimbleness in a usually difficult game, Olivier Guigné was awarded the Insurance Asset Risk chief investment officer of the year award.