Episode 234 of the InsuranceAUM Podcast + 10 New Articles!

Episode 234: Avoiding Negative Yield: Flexible Co-Sourcing Models for Insurance Investment Operations

In this episode of the InsuranceAUM.com Podcast, host Stewart Foley is joined by Scott Kurland , Managing Director at SS&C Technologies , for an insightful discussion on a new concept they call "negative yield." They delve into how insurers can avoid this negative yield by adopting a flexible co-sourcing investment operating model. Scott explains how co-sourcing allows insurance companies to maintain control over core operations while outsourcing specific investment accounting and administrative tasks to a trusted partner like SS&C.

Click HERE to listen to the podcast.

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H2 2024 hedge fund outlook

In our latest outlook, we dissect the primary drivers supporting our favorable outlook for the asset class – with cautionary tales, of course – and delve into the implications and opportunities for our sub-strategies.

Click HERE to read more from abrdn.

Active investing is suited to the uncertain markets ahead

• Passive investment strategies have enjoyed decades of growth, but there are signs that some of the drivers of this momentum are fading.
• The gap between active and passive fees is narrowing, while tax-efficient vehicles in the form of active exchange-traded funds are rapidly growing in popularity.
• We believe active managers with global scale and deep research platforms can thrive in the new world of higher rates, greater dispersion and heightened volatility.

Click HERE to read more from T. Rowe Price

Three often-overlooked investments insurers are using to add duration

Increasing duration was the most popular course of action in Nuveen’s 2024 EQuilibrium survey of institutional investors. Half of the 800 respondents said they would be doing this, in contrast to the 19% who planned to decrease it. And insurers were even more likely to extend: 61% of North American insurers, 58% in Asia Pacific and 53% in Europe.

It’s not surprising insurance companies are looking to capitalize on ways to lock-in higher rates and match long-term liabilities.

The surprise is the investment choices used to express this view: two lesser-known but innovative debt instruments – Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy (C-PACE) and credit tenant loans; and U.S. municipal bonds, which are often overlooked to extend duration.

Click HERE to read more from Nuveen, a TIAA company .

Q3 Asset Allocation Viewpoints WEBCAST

Join Sébastien Page , T. Rowe Price ’s head of Global Multi-Asset and CIO; our special guest Rob Sharps , CEO and president of T. Rowe Price Group, Inc.; and moderator Christina Dove Noonan, CFA , multi-asset portfolio manager; as they discuss their outlook—including perspective on market trends, the importance of active management, and positioning in our multi-asset portfolios.??

Watch the replay HERE.

Midyear Infrastructure Strategic Outlook 2024

• The infrastructure market is expected to remain under pressure from the new interest rate environment, but infrastructure has absorbed higher rates well in comparison to other asset classes. Given strong cash generation and expectations for rates to fall to more manageable levels, we do not expect major repricing in the unlisted infrastructure market.
• The infrastructure market has begun to stabilise and 2024 should see a return to stronger fundraising and transaction activity. With economic conditions still challenging, it will remain important for assets to demonstrate downside protection as well as the ability to quickly adapt to prevailing economic conditions.

Click HERE to read more from DWS Group

Frontier markets: Distressed to impress

There’s an old saying: you wait ages for a London bus and then two or three come along at once.

It’s been like that recently for frontier market sovereign debt restructurings, with Zambia, Ghana, and Sri Lanka all reaching or approaching deals. These events created some compelling investment opportunities and provided valuable lessons for investors.

Click HERE to read more from abrdn.

Alternative Opportunities for Insurers | Q2 Update

In our Q2 2024 edition of Alternative Opportunities, we continue to cover views on a variety of private asset classes from Invesco Solutions and our partner firms. Within this piece, we’ll present a framework for analyzing across alternative markets to help inform insurers’ investment decisions.

Click HERE to read more from Invesco US

Emerging markets: Surprising to the upside

The growth outlook of emerging markets (EMs) has improved, prompting their central banks to act even more cautiously.??A later Fed cutting cycle, still sticky inflation, fiscal slippage, and political uncertainty reinforce our view that an emerging market easing cycle will prove more dispersed than we had expected.

Click HERE to read more from Aberdeen

How the U.S. election could impact the financials sector

• Financial regulators would likely be more proactive and involved under a Democratic president than in a Republican administration.
• Policy differences could make a difference in bank mergers, banks’ capital requirements, and the regulation of consumer finance and the nonbank financial system.
• The economy’s health and the outlook for inflation and interest rates are likely to be more important for financials’ performance over the next presidential term.

Click HERE to read more from T. Rowe Price

Insurance Perspectives: Alternatives In Focus

The long-standing partnership between insurance and alternatives asset management has reached an inflection point—with new partnership constructs and innovative avenues of growth taking hold. For many, the deeper collaboration is only natural given insurance companies’ long-dated liabilities and alternative managers’ long-term investment outlook. As this important market dynamic continues to mature, we sit down with TPG CFO Jack Weingart and three seasoned insurance company CIOs— Amy Stepnowski of the Hartford Investment Management Corporation (HIMCO), Jean-Baptiste Tricot of AXA, and Eric Johnson of CNO—to get their perspectives on the current market outlook for insurance asset management, the portfolio benefits of alternatives, and the co-evolution of the insurance and alternatives industries.

Click HERE to read more from TPG Angelo Gordon