Episode 268 of the InsuranceAUM Podcast + 10 New Articles!

Episode 268: The Power of Patient Capital: Navigating Private Credit Through Market Cycles

In this episode of the InsuranceAUM.com Podcast, Stewart Foley sits down with @Michael King, Senior Managing Director and Co-Head of Senior Credit at Manulife Investment Management , to take a deep dive into the world of direct lending and sponsored finance. Michael shares his journey from carpentry to credit, discusses the unique dynamics of middle market private equity firms, and unpacks Manulife’s patient, deliberate approach to growing its private credit platform.

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Q1 Asset Allocation Viewpoints Webinar: Views From David Giroux on Market Shifts

Tuesday, January 28, 2025?| 4:00 PM Eastern Standard Time???

Join special guest David Giroux, CIO of T. Rowe Price Investment Management and Sébastien Page, T. Rowe Price’s head of Global Multi-Asset and CIO; moderator Christina Noonan, multi-asset portfolio manager; for a discussion on opportunities, risks, and portfolio positioning in evolving markets.

Click HERE to register for T. Rowe Price 's Webinar

Top Secondary Investment Trends with Keith Brittain

The secondary market has grown significantly over the last decade in terms of its size and presence in the private markets. As secondary market volume continues to increase, new trends across portfolio management and the secondary market are taking shape. We caught up with Keith Brittain, who was recently named Co-Head of Secondary Investments, to hear first-hand how the secondary market is evolving and where it may be headed next.

Click HERE to read more from Hamilton Lane

The case for convertible bonds: understanding their role in an insurance portfolio

In today’s financial landscape, identifying the right investment tools remains an ongoing challenge, particularly for insurance portfolios. We believe convertible bonds can offer a range of benefits seemingly tailor-made for insurance portfolios, and when selected and managed correctly, represent a unique and versatile debt security that blends the benefits of both bonds and stocks. In this viewpoint, we look at how convertible bonds work and why they’re particularly suited to insurance investors.

Click HERE to read more from Manulife Investment Management

Direct Lending: Does borrower size matter?

• Defaults are generally viewed as a sign of an imminent loss, but not all defaults are the same.
• Financial covenant defaults protect capital by forcing the borrower back to the negotiating table before a payment is missed.
• Leverage matters. Larger borrowers generally use more debt in their capital structure, increasing the risk profile of the loan.
• Financial covenants, combined with lower capital structure leverage, have produced slightly higher returns and narrower dispersion for direct loans in the lower middle market versus the upper middle market.

Click HERE to read more from 富达

Macquarie Asset Management’s Outlook 2025: Plan for growth, prepare for volatility

We invite you to join our expert panel for an insightful discussion on the key macroeconomic trends, opportunities and implications set to define 2025. Our panel will delve into the resilience of the global economy, the strength of the developed-world consumer as a key driver for growth, and the implications for real estate, infrastructure and listed equities.

Click HERE to watch the replay of 麦格理集团 's webinar

Fraternal Investment Portfolios: Walking a Different Path

Executive Summary

In this issue, we examine the enterprise profile and investment characteristics of U.S. fraternal insurers, drawing comparisons with the broader U.S. life insurance industry. Despite being generally smaller in size, fraternal insurers have recorded comparable investment income (expressed as a percentage of invested assets) with the broader industry over the past four years. However, the fraternal composite’s fixed income portfolio book yield has been lower compared to the life industry, and the gap between the two groups has widened since interest rates began to rise in 2022. While the fraternal composite’s fixed income credit quality was in line with the rest of the life industry, duration and sector allocation differences may have been contributing drivers to the lag in book yields.

Click HERE to read more from New England Asset Management, Inc. (NEAM, Inc.)

Net Lease: An All-Weather, Cycle-Agnostic Approach

The start of the Fed’s easing cycle has raised the prospect of a recovery in commercial real estate (CRE) markets after a challenging period of elevated financing costs and pressure on valuations. But while there are signs of a nascent recovery for some of the more challenged parts of commercial real estate markets, there are still risks on the horizon as economic growth looks set to moderate and inflation concerns could persist heading into 2025.

Click HERE to read more from TPG

Portfolio Construction Volume III: Risky Business

Executive Summary:

• An appraisal valuation is the best guess of the value a private asset would fetch in an orderly sale. Appraisal valuations tend to change at a slower pace than traded equity valuations, making traditional risk measurements less effective.
• In this paper, we examine three methodologies that asset managers typically use to measure appraisal valuations: observed volatility, statistical desmoothing and public market proxies.
• Leveraging these methodologies, we believe that the balance of evidence suggests that even a modestly diversified portfolio of private equity funds has volatility similar to that of listed equities.

Click HERE to read more from Hamilton Lane

Investment Grade Private Credit: The Basics

Investment grade private credit (PCIG) is a $1 trillion market used by nearly all life insurers and about half of pension funds as a substitute for IG corporate bonds to enhance diversification and yield. PCIG lending generally falls into three categories: corporate, infrastructure and asset-based finance.

Click HERE to read more from Voya Investment Management

Private Credit Insights 4Q24: The Year Ahead

All we want for Christmas is a great 2025 for alts. Looking at the factors in play, we may just get it—more (and bigger) deals, attractive spreads, and a little “Trump bump” here and there.

Click HERE to read more from Voya Investment Management