Investing in Real Assets conference 2022 (virtual)

PRESENTATION: macro-economic outlook for real asset investments

• Macro-economic drivers for increasing portfolio allocations to real assets
• Interest rates and the role of central banks – what is the outlook for the rest of 2022 and beyond, and implications for real assets? If interest rates rise, will insurers fall back on their core fixed income investments?
• Is post-pandemic inflation here to stay? What are the implications for ALM?
• Emergence from Covid 19- are we truly in a "post-Covid economy", or still in recovery mode?
• The future outlook for real assets:
• Will allocations to illiquids continue to grow in the search for higher yield, and if so, to what extent, considering capital charges under Solvency II? What could be the impact of the Solvency II review?
• What new tangible assets could come onto the market?
• Beyond yields, what will be the drivers for real assets investments going forward?

Interviewed by:
Vincent Huck, Editor, Insurance Asset Risk

Speakers:
Charlotta Groth, Managing Director and Global Macroeconomist - Group Investment Management, Zurich Insurance Group
Jerome Jean Haegeli, Group Chief Economist, Swiss Re

PANEL - Climate change and sustainability: how real assets can support net zero transition strategies

• Outcomes from COP26 and implications for investments in real assets
• Sharing examples of how insurers are achieving sustainability through real assets investments
• What steps can be taken to get closer to reaching net zero emissions across your real assets platform and all stages of the investment process?
• Investment/climate considerations for renewables vs. oil and gas
• How to find the upside potential for renewables: where is the incentive, given the "greenium" of high capital costs ?
• The nuclear energy debate – weighing up the benefits and the risks
• Examining the growth in low carbon technologies (CCUS – carbon capture, utilisation and storage) and battery technologies – how do these fit into real assets portfolios?
• How does one engage with investors when making real assets investments?
• Engaging with the public sector in climate transition strategies when investing in PPPs

Moderator:
Abbie Wood, Staff Writer, Insurance Asset Risk

Panellists:
Bronwyn Claire, Senior Programme Manager – ClimateWise, Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership
Prasun Mathur, Head of Private Assets, Aviva
Tom Sumpster, Head of Private Markets, Phoenix Asset Management, Phoenix Group plc

PANEL – Real assets investment trends in the U.S.

• In the wide spectrum of real assets, in which sectors and sub asset classes are US insurers finding opportunities?
• Biden administration's infrastructure plans:
• What are the potential opportunities for insurers' investments?
• How long it will take to convert into real investment opportunities, and in which sectors?

Moderator:
Sarfraz Thind, U.S. Editor, Insurance Asset Risk

Panellists:
Randy Brown, CIO and Head of Insurance Asset Management, Sun Life
Rip Reeves, Chief Investment Officer/Treasurer, Aegis Insurance Services
T.C. Wilson, Chief Investment Officer, The Doctors Company
Kevin Strobel, Head of Investments and General Account ALM, Transamerica

End of day one

PRESENTATION – Asia Pacific outlook and opportunities for US and European insurers

Speaker:
Clarence Wong, Chief Economist, Peak Re

PANEL – How are insurers investing in real estate in the post-Covid economy?

• The role of real estate in insurer's portfolios, and the shifting landscape of asset allocation to real estate
• Discussing the shift from public to private investment in real estate
• Investing directly in properties vs investing in real estate funds
• Strategies for sourcing real estate assets, and examining the winners and losers of the different real estate assets in the wake of Covid:
• Hotels and leisure - Retail
• Office space - Healthcare facilities and care home
• Industrial and warehouses - Residential
• ESG integration and sustainability considerations in estate investments
• How to deal with legacy issues in standing assets? Retrofit or re-design?
• The 'S' of ESG: examining investment opportunities in social housing
• Future growth, trends and models
• Will insurers increasingly turn into property developers, and even urban planners over time? How could that change market dynamics?
• Are investors doing enough to unblock the pipeline of available assets?

Moderator:
Vincent Huck, Editor, Insurance Asset Risk

Panellists:
Corrado Pistarino, Chief Investment Officer, Foresters Friendly Society
Hayley Rees, Managing Director, PIC Capital
Lars Haram, Chief Investment Officer & Head of Asset Management, Oslo Pensjonsforsikring

PANEL: trends and opportunities in infrastructure investments, including PPPs

• Investing in infrastructure debt vs. infrastructure equity: who should invest in what, given their different liabilities?
• Public capital vs private capital, and PPPs (public private partnerships)- examining the potential benefits, risks and political head/tailwinds for insurers in infrastructure initiatives through government stimulus packages:
• What is the value proposition for insurers?
• What to avoid in PPPs? When should an insurer turn down a PPP opportunity?
• How much infrastructure build in the coming years will not be presented as a PPP?
• At what size can an insurer consider direct investing in infra? Where, and for what assets, are insurers coming together in so-called club deals/ syndicates, to invest?
• How is the increased focus on ESG and net zero transition changing insurers' approaches to infrastructure investments?
• Examining illiquidity risks and premiums
• Managing the restraints of Solvency II capital charges for infrastructure investments
• How to make sure your investment strategy is capital-efficient
• Future trends and forecasts for the different infrastructure sectors in the post-Covid economy, and potential reclassifications of assets from core to core plus, or vice versa
• Transport: rail, roads and bridges - Energy infrastructure
• Digital infrastructure

Moderator:
Vincent Huck, Editor, Insurance Asset Risk

Panellists:
Adil Jiwa, Loan Investments & Shareholder Assets, Scottish Widows
Adrian Jones, Lead Portfolio Manager Infrastructure Debt and Home Equity, Allianz Global Investors
Florence Carasse, Head of Infrastructure Debt, Pension Insurance Corporation
Manuel Dusina, Head of Infrastructure, Phoenix Asset Management, Phoenix Group plc
Peter Brodehser, Head of Infrastructure Investments and Real Estate Debt, Talanx Group - Ampega Asset Management

End of day two