Responsible Investing for Insurers 2023

Chair's opening remarks

Vincent Huck, Editor, Insurance Asset Risk

Panel - What does it mean for an insurer to be a responsible investor? Discussing risk, returns and fiduciary duty

• What is responsible investing? What do we mean when we talk about responsible investing, such as activities ranging from ESG integration to ESG-focused strategies, to impact investing?
• How can insurers align their fiduciary responsibility to maximise returns for policyholders with "doing good" for society? Is there a conflict, or can responsible investing actually generate alpha?
• How should your responsible investing strategy from the investment side interact with the underwriting side? Must the two be aligned?
• What is the role of regulation in enabling insurers' sustainable investing strategies?
• Discussing the U.S. anti-ESG movement and "green hushing": how could this influence responsible investing globally? What are the risks and implications for asset owners with U.S. investments?

Moderator:
Michelle Dunstan, Chief Responsibility Officer, Janus Henderson Investors

Panellists:
Anand Rajagopal, Private Markets, Sustainability Lead, Phoenix Group
Corrado Pistarino, Chief Investment Officer, Foresters Friendly Society
Shipra Gupta, Investments Stewardship Lead, Scottish Widows

Presentation – Natural capital solutions for UK nature restoration and climate resilience

• How can blended finance solutions help to meet the UK's nature funding gap and support the delivery of its nature and climate goals?
• Examining how this can be achieved through real asset investments such as peatland, woodland and emerging ecosystems, and private equity investment into sustainable aquaculture and green impact SMEs

Speaker:

Eoin Murray, Head of Investment, Federated Hermes

Panel - Building an effective transition strategy and setting net-zero targets

• Financing the transition: what does this mean for insurers? What instruments are needed to achieve scalability? How to stay on track with pledges amidst macro-economic volatility and geopolitical instability?
• Setting a timeline for short term, long term and interim net-zero targets
• Examining the different challenges per asset class when setting net-zero targets
• How to set targets when using multiple asset managers
• Examining the need to attribute stewardship/engagement – how can it become more systematic and mainstream?
• Using frameworks such as the NZAOA protocol, and collaborating through other industry alliances to share best practices
• How to achieve a net-zero sovereign debt portfolio across 'emerging' and 'developed' markets?

Moderator:
Ashley Hamilton Claxton, Head of Responsible Investment, Royal London Asset Management

Panellists:
Bianca Hanscombe, Head of Sustainable Investments - UK Life, Aviva
Charles Beard, Responsible Investment Manager, Pension Insurance Corporation (PIC)
Nimisha Sodha, Responsible Investment Lead, Just Group
Ying Ye, Chief Investment Officer, Allianz UK

Case study - Forward-looking climate aware strategic asset allocation for net-zero transition

Jean-François Coppenolle, Investment Director - ESG and Climate Integration, Abeille Assurances

Panel - Incorporating biodiversity and natural capital into investment decisions: opportunities, risks and challenges

• Mapping the biodiversity investment landscape, and key drivers and inhibitors
• What does a nature investment opportunity look like, and how does it fit with your climate risk and transition strategy?
• Is an investment in biodiversity a sacrifice of return for impact? Is it a justifiable trade-off? Should investors expect natural capital to be return enhancing?
• Addressing the lack of metrics for measuring biodiversity investments: what tools are being developed?
• Update on the TNFD's disclosure framework for biodiversity, and experiences so far from those who are using the pilot framework

Moderator:
Sylvain Vanston, Executive Director, ESG Research Solutions, MSCI

Panellists:
David Thompson, Chief Investment Officer UK, Zurich Insurance Company 
Joanna Wolstenholme, Programme Officer, Nature Economy Programme, UN Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC)

Presentation - exploring how the increasing ESG data landscape is driving the next phase of corporate ESG scoring

• How can investment managers support insurers in the integration of financially material ESG risks and opportunities into their fixed-income portfolios?
• Exploring the recent evolution of the corporate ESG assessment framework in fixed income, and combining quantitative and qualitative approaches to:
• advance the systematic integration and analysis of material ESG factors into the investment proces
• enrich timely ESG information both in terms of breadth and depth without overburdening credit analysts
• address the differences in perspectives on financial materiality from an equity and fixed-income investor's point of view

Markus Peters, Director of Fixed Income Business Development and Strategy - Responsible Investing, AllianceBernstein

Presentation - Investing in clean energies and green infrastructure

• Examining the appetite for green infrastructure and clean energies, despite the high capital costs: will demand continue to outstrip supply? If supply increases, how much of it will be investment grade?
• The impact of regulation in investments:
• With the introduction of green capital incentives in China, will Europe follow suit?
• What is the progress of the Solvency II review? How could a rebate change investment dynamics?
• Examples of investments in clean energy and green infrastructure projects

Speaker:

Erik Vynckier, Board Member, Foresters Friendly Society

Panel - Climate aware strategic asset allocation

• Aligning climate ambitions with purpose and strategy
• Assessing transition and physical risks within the portfolio
• Best practices in scenario analysis and stress-testing
• Integrating climate risk into traditional investment and risk functions

Moderator:
Robert Leeming, News Editor, Insurance Asset Risk

Panellists:
Greg Scott, Investment Manager, Phoenix Group
Saiyan Raja, Senior Risk & ALM Specialist, Ortec Finance

Investing in co-located infrastructure – how can industry reduce its impact on the environment?

• The costs of inaction of failing to mitigate and adapt to climate change.
• Examining how co-located sustainable infrastructure can secure master resources of energy and water and ensure long-term sustainable operations
• How can an investment strategy diversify away insurers' portfolio climate risk?

Nick Wood, CEO and CIO, Resonance Asset Management

Panel - How are insurers integrating social issues into their responsible investment strategies?

• How are insurers achieving DEI in their investments? What criteria is being used to determine materiality?
• Managing legal and political sensitivities within different jurisdictions and cultures when assessing social issues
• What regulation might be introduced to standardise social metrics, and what lessons can be learnt from climate metrics when developing a social taxonomy?
• How are human rights and labour rights being considered in ESG investment strategies, including emerging markets? How to deal with the data gaps?
• Examining the challenges of social and human rights risks across complex supply chains: how far along the supply chain should you go? What constitutes best effort, and should this differ for those assets you have invested in vs. those assets you have underwritten?

Moderator:
Vincent Huck, Editor, Insurance Asset Risk

Speakers:
Abigail Hall, Responsible Investment Manager, Scottish Widows
Benjamin Michel, Policy Analyst - Centre for Responsible Business Conduct, OECD
Remi Fernandez, Manager, Human Rights & Social Issues, Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI)

Panel - Impact investing: opportunities, challenges and emerging trends

• Examples of impact funds and the investment drivers
• Should insurers be widening their investable universe outside corporates (eg social enterprises, charities, foundations, etc) when it comes to impact investing?
• With the cost-of-living crisis and high inflation, to what extent are asset owners focusing more on social impact investments?
• Aligning impact investments with the UN SDGs

Moderator:
Josh Adcock, Staff Writer, Insurance Asset Risk

Panellists:
Aileen Mathieson, Chief Investment Officer, Aspen Group
Pete Flynn, Chair, Big Issue Invest Fund Management
Rachel Delhaise, Head of Sustainability, Convex Insurance

Panel - Exploring the ESG data landscape, the regulation of ESG data, and implications for asset owners

• Dealing with the imperfections in sustainability data, and how to "make do" when there are gaps: when is it appropriate to use estimation models?
• What can the investment side learn from the underwriting side in terms of developing forward-looking data models, such as cat risk modelling?
• Understanding the regulatory landscape for ESG data and progress in developing global standardised reporting frameworks, such as ISSB
• Discussing the role of ESG data providers:
• How can ESG data providers support insurers with achieving regulatory compliance?
• When will there be an oversight mechanism for ESG data providers? Examining regulatory developments such as the ESG rating code of conduct
• Determining the opportunities and limitations of using AI for ESG data

Moderator:
Niamh Whooley, Managing Director, Head of Sustainable Investing, Pemberton Asset Management

Speakers:
Anne de Clermont, Head of Responsible Investment, AXA
Matyas Horak, Investment Manager, ESG, Legal & General
Simon Atherton, Senior Climate Investment Risk Manager, Phoenix Group

Closing remarks and end of conference