September 2012 Bermuda Re/insurance
51
Over the next three years I would expect to see our community of insurance clients grow, particularly in the US and Bermuda as we supply expertise across a broad range of ‘core’, ‘specialist’ and ‘global’ strategies.
How does your approach to insurance clients differ from that of other asset managers?
We try to focus on a few things that we feel are important. First, we tend not to ‘sell’, at least not in the sense of selling a product. Instead, we consider how we can add value, focusing on providing intellectual capital to help a client analyse and meet its investment objectives. We are committed to relationships: some of our newest clients were engaged in dialogue with us for three or four years before mandating us and we are very comfortable with this approach—we recognise that it takes time to build confidence and trust.
Second, we aim to bridge the gap between clever ideas and regulatory reality. We don’t want to waste anyone’s time. There is no shortage of clever investment ideas out there, but there is a real shortage of ideas that actually work for an insurance company. We think about the relevance of ideas and products from a regulatory and business perspective before we talk about them. A good example is our Absolute Return Emerging Markets Debt strategy: the index may go up a lot, it may go down a lot, but we have a team of people managing emerging market debt who are intensely focused on not losing money in any calendar year. That capital preservation-driven philosophy fits well with insurance company objectives.
Third, we focus intently on the quality of our client service. In the insurance asset management team client service specialists work closely with investment and risk specialists to ensure we support
our clients with the technical understanding they require. This, I think, is a huge plus for clients who want a seamless relationship with their asset management partner across multiple areas of input.
Are you discussing any big new ideas with insurers?
Yes, we are. One area of dialogue where I see increasing traction is around diversification and correlation. There is much intellectual heat and light being generated discussing why diversification has failed as a risk management tool, and what to do about it. We believe a more intelligent approach to constructing and managing assets based on analysing the different risk premiums within each asset class is the future. Schroders’ multi-asset team is a pioneer in this space and this is a fertile area of engagement for us with insurers looking for improved risk: return outcomes.
www.schroders.com/insurance insurance@schroders.com
Important Information
The views and opinions contained herein are those of Paul Forshaw, Head of Insurance Asset Management and may not necessarily represent views expressed or reflected in other Schroders communications, strategies or funds. For professional investors only. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future results. The value of investments and the income from them may go down as well as up and investors may not get back the amount originally invested. Issued in August 2012 by Schroder Investment Management Limited, 31 Gresham Street, London EC2V 7QA. Registration No. 1893220 England. Authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority. Schroders (Bermuda) Limited is an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of Schroders plc and is licensed to conduct Investment Management business by the Bermuda Monetary Authority.
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76