Understanding and identifying the right investment strategy for a single insurer requires a detailed understanding of its undertakings and objectives. Providing such a service to a large roster of companies spanning the full range of the insurance sector is an altogether different challenge.
Whether advising insurers on the likely treatment of equity release mortgages in regulatory revisions or identifying appropriate sources of long-term funding to match liabilities, EY's investment advisory team has continued to offer guidance to insurers across a wide spectrum of issues.
Drawing on the expertise available across the firm, including the capital optimisation team and global network of asset management specialists, the team was able to cater its insurance advisory offering to meet all of its clients' requirements.
Notable achievements over the course of 2018 included assisting a UK life insurer in developing its approach to environmental, social and governance factors. For that client EY produced a benchmarking report on how its peers had performed and advising on one of the largest investment outsourcing deals of the year.
EY also played a role in advising the government on the securitisation and subsequent sale of student loan books.
The team also advised insurers on how regulation such as Solvency II and IFRS 9 and 17 affected their investment strategies.
Identifying EY as a clear leader within the category, the judges praised the depth and scope of the services that it was able to provide its insurance clients. They highlighted its ability to dig deep into unique issues such as equity release mortgages.