March 29 - 30, 2023Insurer Investment Forum XXII: Presentations
Below are copies of the presentations from this year's Insurer Investment Forum. We will also be conducting Q&A’s with sponsors this Summer.
Please do note hesitate to reach out to us with any questions or comments. We are happy to answer any questions you might have.
It's a Sci-Fi World
Alton Cogert, President & CEO, Strategic Asset Alliance
About a decade ago, the Insurer Investment Forum’s theme was “The Times They Are A-Changing.” Little did we know that was an understatement. The world is going through accelerated changes in many areas of our life. And many of those changes are represented in our investment portfolios. In an industry known for its conservative nature, how can your insurer or government risk pool be aware and ready for change in its investment portfolio?
Digital Assets – Evolution or Revolution? - An Insurance CIO’s Perspective
Nico Santini, Senior Vice President, Chief Investment Officer, ProSight Specialty Insurance
Who hasn’t heard about the blockchain, cryptocurrencies, and the digitalization of assets and wondered about them? Is this an evolution or revolution? Is distributed ledger technology (or blockchain) the wave of the future? Can crypto assets be used as a currency, be a store of value, or even a possible investment asset class? And, what about decentralized finance, often called DeFi? Will this ultimately change how we do business and invest capital?
Most Important Insurer Investment Problems and Potential Solutions
Dan Smereck, Managing Director & Principal, Strategic Asset Alliance
Nathan Simon, Director, Strategic Asset Alliance
With any luck, we are approaching the land of post-COVID. But, with what kind of challenges has that land left us? Repressively low interest rates and spreads. Inflation. Historically high equity valuations. Uncertainties surrounding work from home versus office. With regulators trying to catch up. What are the most important investment problems coming from this for insurers? How are SAA’s clients addressing these problems? What does SAA see coming ‘over the horizon’ that insurers should be ready for today?
Managing Investments and Risk through Technological Change
Vin Delucia, CIO, New England Asset Management
Technology will continue to evolve rapidly as human ingenuity utilizes new technologies to create the “next big thing”. The basic laws of investing, however, will always apply. Today, we’ll briefly touch on some technological, environmental and regulatory changes on the horizon. We’ll provide our views on topics from 5G to ESG and what the implications are for investors, both today and in the future.
Blending Public & Private Credit for Enhanced Yield
Michael R. Smith, Managing Director, Muzinich & Co.
Private credit has increased dramatically in popularity amongst insurers and other institutional investors as yields within the public markets have declined. Equally, the narrative around why private credit is here to stay remains compelling: Banks have retreated from lending and private credit has filled the much needed void. But what about liquidity? Is there a way to blend public and private credit to allow insurers the benefit from Public Credit liquidity and the yield enhancement of Private Credit? How would that look and what could yield expectations be?
Uncovering Private Credit Opportunities for Insurers
Loren Sageser, Managing Director - Private Credit Product Specialist, Nuveen
2021 was a banner year for private credit, with combined syndicated and direct loans setting a record of $228 billion. While this was partly driven by the unleashing of pent-up demand from issuers and investors, it can also be attributed to the virtues of the asset class highlighted through COVID-19: higher yields, better diversification and lower defaults (versus comparable public market asset classes). Will these benefits hold for 2022? What questions should insurers be asking as they consider allocations?