News
Clear Path Analysis - Pension Plan De-Risking, North America 2020 Report
05/07/2020
In the foreword to the Clear Path Analysis “Pension De-Risking North America 2020 Report,” Conning’s Sean Kurian outlines why it’s never too late to consider a disciplined de-risking strategy to help navigate a defined benefit plan’s inevitable peaks and troughs.
Conning Sees Pressure Rising on Medical Professional Liability (MPL) Carriers
05/06/2020
Leading global investment management firm Conning said that data from the medical professional liability (MPL) insurance industry suggest that business and financial pressures are mounting on carriers, meaning that more trying times may be ahead.
Life-Annuity and Health M&A Continued as Insurers Looked for Growth in 2019; Muted Growth in 2020 Projected
05/05/2020
In 2019, M&A activity involving acquisitions of life-annuity and health insurers in 2019 were slightly higher than in 2018, driven by broad economic, regulatory, competitive, technological, and demographic trends.
COVID-19 and Poor Countries: The Right Response
04/30/2020
The world’s poorest countries affected by COVID-19 are in need of financial assistance, but Conning affiliate Global Evolution, a manager of emerging and frontier markets debt, argues that any solution must be driven by the principle of “crowding in” market-based finance through market confidence-building measures.
COVID-19 Impact on Frontier Market Sovereign Debt
04/15/2020
Although Global Evolution’s Frontier Market (FM) sovereign debt portfolio enjoyed some isolation relative to other pure hard currency indices, the financial market risk contagion still aggressively bled into its universe.
While P&C Distribution M&A Flew High in 2019, Insurer Acquisitions Slowed
04/14/2020
In 2019, M&A activity involving acquisitions of property and casualty insurers slowed considerably from 2018, down approximately 6% compared to the prior year. That’s in stark contrast to the distribution acquisition market that sustained strong interest from consolidators as well as private equity investors throughout 2019.
COVID-19 Provides Insurers an Opportunity to Demonstrate Value, But Political and Regulatory Risks Loom Large
04/13/2020
Conning’s comprehensive examination of the pandemic’s impact, “COVID-19 effect on the insurance industry,” is a report packaged in four separate chapters: an industry overview, along with individual reports on the property and casualty, life/annuity, and health industries.
Clear Path Analysis Pension Plan De-Risking Q&A
04/08/2020
The COVID-19 pandemic is a reminder to DB pension plan sponsors of the potential value of a disciplined de-risking strategy. Conning’s Sean Kurian discusses sponsor concerns in this Q&A.
Insurers May be Able to Enhance Income Without Committing Additional Cash or Adding Significant Risk
03/31/2020
A Conning Strategic Alert describes how market dislocations have helped drive up yields for structured securities while the decline in U.S. Treasury yields has led to falling rates within FHLB lending programs. Insurers who are FHLB members may be able to use loan proceeds to invest in structured securities.
COVID-19 Update: Contagion and Containment
03/12/2020
The COVID-19 virus that started as a China-only issue with ramifications to supply chains has now gone global with adverse implications to consumer behaviour, capital investment and growth. In Europe, government containment initiatives have in some cases been draconian but time will tell if they stop the virus from spreading. Meanwhile, oil and base metals face downward pressure and the narrative of an emerging-market-led global upswing in 2020 seems a distant memory.