Forum VI Review

"The Outlook in Turbulent Times"

Starting with golf and an opening dinner and ending with a farewell dinner overlooking the Pacific Ocean, Insurer Investment Forum VI was notable for its solid content and excellent networking opportunites.

We are more than heartened when we see our clients, most of whom have never met one another, share stories and opinions about their mutual challenges…and their mutual experiences with SAA.  By the end of the conference, clients and non-clients have gotten to know each other and, hopefully, have developed relationships that they can rely upon as a resource for future comments, ideas and questions.

The most controversial award probably goes to Tom Sherman, Lord Bissell, our only non-insurer/non-investment manager speaker.  Tom maintained that SOX actually presents a competitive advantage to insureres and, thus, should be embraced.  We did not take a survey on this, but our guess is that most attendees would disagree with that characterization, and some did so vehemently.

Most surprising session was the Investment Manager Rodeo, where Ray Helfer, Wellington, and Joel Strauch, PIMCO, answered questions they had not seen before within tightly timed increments (hence the ‘rodeo’ name).  The frankness and quickness with which they provided answers - that did not always agree - was an eye opener for many attendees.  Probably one of the reasons the session was the most popular.

All speakers were highly rated, but the top two were Ray Helfer and Anna Rodriguez, SCF Arizona.  Anna’s open and honest assessment of the investment process at her firm and how it fits into SCF’s mandate was much appreciated.  Her session with Rich Kelly of Safeco was perhaps the most entertaining of the conference.

John Davidson, Partner Re, did a masterful job in setting the tone for the converence and getting everyone to participate.  John produces a terrific weekly email newsletter, available for free via the Partner Re web site, and he used this as background to discuss the current economic and financial situation and his own expectations.

Marty Haney, Westfield Group and Jay DuBose, AAA Life provided contrasting approaches to insurance investing, as one represents an old line P/C company and the other a relatively new life company.   To say Marty forcefully presented his approach is an understatement.  While, Jay’s more understated approach provided a glimpse into the challeges of an insurer fighting the challenbes of spreads in excess of the cost of liabilities.

SAA President and CEO, Alton Cogert discussed one way to develop a blueprint to improvnig the investment process in these ‘turbulent times’.