Description

This event is in-house and is not being broadcasted‎ nor recorded. No media will be present and speaker or attendee attribution, in any form, is a violation of CFA NY’s code of conduct.

Even though we’re no longer in a Zero Interest Rate Policy environment, interest rates remain “lower for longer” in the United States and Insurance companies are faced with some key questions on how to sustain investment premiums, targeted spreads and profitability. Add to the mix, negative to low interest in Europe & Japan, emerging market headwinds, global growth concerns and stock-market volatility, and the opportunities for yield appear to be limited. According to The National Association of Insurance Companies (NAIC), a majority of U.S. insurance industry investments are in bonds with 53.06% or $2.16 trillion in corporate bonds. Research by the Chicago Fed points to increased correlation of insurers’ stock returns to the US treasury yield compared to pre-2007. Consequently, there is an ongoing shift in asset mix as insurers are reaching out to asset managers with specialties in both traditional and alternative asset classes to maximize total return. Clearly, this issue has been on the minds of Insurance companies’ Chief Investment Officers and their investment teams. At CFA NY’s Insurance CIO Conference, you will hear directly from the investment officers of major Insurance firms on their outlook for 2016 and how they’re uniquely covering investment shortfalls through alternative investments, financial hedges, product restructuring and more.