Institutional

As institutional investors worldwide increase their exposure to private markets, a trio of Belgian institutions offered a timely reminder that success in the asset class depends as much on discipline as on opportunity.

Driven by steadily declining yields and increasingly strict capital requirements, Dutch, Belgian, French, and German insurers have in recent years largely divested from government bonds. The freed-up capital has mainly been invested in corporate bonds and private debt.

Swap rates have fallen below European government bond yields for several weeks—a rare shift that is forcing institutional investors to reconsider their interest rate hedging strategies.

LGIM has launched its first Luxembourg-domiciled fund, aimed at international institutional investors, to expand its private markets strategy. It’s called ‘Staff’, or short term alternative finance fund. LGIM’s head of private credit Nick Bamber spoke to Investment Officer.

Appetite for Luxembourg life insurance products declined significantly last year, according to the annual reports that the two largest unit-linked insurance firms, Lombard International and OneLife, posted this week.

Luxembourg’s Commissariat aux Assurances (CAA) slapped Lombard International Assurance with a record 1.68 million euro fine for lapses in its anti-money laundering (AML) and counter-terrorism financing (CTF) controls. This enforcement action underscores the regulator’s stringent stance on compliance in the financial sector.

Europe’s top supervisory body for the insurance sector on Thursday launched a new climate disaster data initiative that will help supervisors, the industry and policy makers better understand insurance exposures and losses from climate and nature related catastrophes.

It’s called the Catastrophe Data Hub. The European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority, known as Eiopa, said the hub is an open-source collection of catastrophe risk data at European level.  

The rapid adoption of technology in Luxembourg’s insurance industry is reshaping competitive dynamics, with non-users facing increasing disadvantages. Discussions at Thursday’s ACA Insurance Day 2023 highlighted the critical impact of technologies like cloud computing and artificial intelligence on the sector.

This week’s overview of transfers in the fund and asset management sector includes appointments at Axa Investment Managers, Allianz Global Investors, Alter Domus and Linklaters.

Bruno Valersteinas has been formally appointed as Chief Executive Officer at OneLife per 1 August, replacing Antonio Corpas who passed away due to an accident in January.

OneLife said that Valersteinas’ appointment has been approved by the Commissariat aux Assurances, the supervisor for Luxembourg’s insurance sector. He formally takes on the role as CEO and dirigeant agréé, or authorised manager.