5/13/2015 BlackRock, Waddell & Reed Grab Assets as Insurers Increase Outsourcing | 929 Media İŇȘȚİȚŲȚİǾŇǺĿ İŇVĚȘȚǾŘȘ, PŘǾĐŲČȚ ĐĚVĚĿǾPMĚŇȚ BŀǻčķŘǿčķ, Ẅǻđđěŀŀ & Řěěđ Ģřǻb Ǻșșěțș ǻș İňșųřěřș İňčřěǻșě Ǿųțșǿųřčįňģ 05/12/2015 Christopher Smith BlackRock, Franklin Templeton and Waddell & Reed are each finding opportunities to gain more intuitional assets through insurance companies, now a growing opportunity for the fund industry as more firms look to capitalize on the insurance industry’s need for additional investment income. Each firm mentioned during their recent earnings calls that the insurance space is specifically an area contributing to their success on the institutional side of business. Waddell & Reed’s Chief Marketing Officer, Tom Butch, cited “a couple wins” the firm sees as significant and likely to grow. Franklin CEO Gregory Johnson said his firm made institutional business overall a priority, and insurance now represents one of a few areas where the firm has penetration it didn’t have before. More significantly, BlackRock CEO Larry Fink said the firm saw more than $9 billion in “solutionsbased fund for insurance clients in the quarter as they continue to search for holistic solutions to navigate a lowyield environment.” “The space has never been hotter. It’s hotter than ever,” says Stewart Foley, founder and partner of Insurance AUM, which consults asset managers, hedge funds and private equity firms to help grow their insurance general account assets under management. “A lot of [managers] want in to the insurance asset space.” Insurer’s outsourcing their general account assets, or assets used to cover benefits, claims and other obligations, is a trend that has been rapidly unfolding over the last few years. Since 2009, insurers’ outsourced general account assets have risen from $900 billion to over $1.6 trillion, according to data from the Insurance Asset Outsourcing Exchange, a data and research provider on the insurance general account investment management industry. “Fǿř čěřțǻįň mǻňǻģěřș, įț’ș ǻ ģřěǻț țįmě fǿř țħěm țǿ țřỳ țǿ țǻřģěț įňșųřǻňčě čǿmpǻňįěș.” While outsourcing has grown significantly among insurers in recent years, the space remains fertile ground for managers to attract more assets. Insurers currently outsource approximately 17% of their assets to external managers. That figure is estimated to rise to 20% by 2019, according to the Insurance Asset Outsourcing Exchange http://www.ninetwentynine.com/2015/05/12/blackrockwaddellreedgrabassetsinsurersincreaseoutsourcing 1/3 5/13/2015 BlackRock, Waddell & Reed Grab Assets as Insurers Increase Outsourcing | 929 Media The main catalyst driving interest is the insurer’s need to enhance their investment returns with historically low interest rates continuing to weigh down their portfolios. At the same time, other sources of institutional assets, such as pensions or endowment funds, are more heavily consulted with a lot of concentration around certain managers, says Foley. Insurance general account assets on the other hand are not heavily consulted and only have a portion of their trillions of dollars in assets outsourced to investment managers. “So there’s a lot of interest in this space,” he adds. Particularly, the opportunity for managers to attract assets exists outside of core fixed income strategies. “Core fixed income, high grade A or better, is not where the majority of the opportunity lies. There are already big, major wellestablished players,” such as BlackRock and Deutsche, Foley says. Fixedincome strategies like highyield bonds, bank loans, collateralized loan obligations, commercial mortgage loans, emerging market debt, and other assets such as real estate, low volatility equity, highdividend equity and hedge funds are some areas where managers can fill a need for an insurer, he says. Goldman Sachs Asset Management’s 2015 Insurance Survey released in April, which included responses from 267 CIOs and CFOs from insurance companies representing $6 trillion in global balance sheet assets, notes the top asset classes insurers are considering for outsourced management over the next 12 months are hedge funds, emerging market equity, U.S. investment grade corporates, private equity, highyield debt, middle market corporate loans, real estate equity and emerging market debt. Maggie Ralbovsky, managing director at Wilshire Consulting, which advises insurance companies among other institutional investors, has seen similar interest in some of the aforementioned asset classes given the current low yield environment, noting, “For certain managers, it’s a great time for them to try to target insurance companies.” “If a manager can have multicredit approach that addresses their desire to be tactically shifting across the whole spectrum of credit segments, that manager will be very well positioned,” she says. Credit: GSAM Insurance Survey "Too Much Capital, Too Little Return." Further, managers that can be more creative with their illiquid fixedincome offerings so their products that are more “insurance friendly” will find success as well, Ralbovsky says. For example, Goldman came up with a strategy to syndicate individual loans so the insurance company didn’t have to participate in a commingled fund structure, Ralbovsky recalls. That’s http://www.ninetwentynine.com/2015/05/12/blackrockwaddellreedgrabassetsinsurersincreaseoutsourcing 2/3 5/13/2015 BlackRock, Waddell & Reed Grab Assets as Insurers Increase Outsourcing | 929 Media important because when an insurer invests in any commingled fund it’s treated on their books as an equity security capital charge, which can be upwards of 30% whereas a fixedincome capital charge is just a few percentage points. It’s also import for managers to ensure they offer products around the insurer’s needs. Many private lending vehicles get people locked up for five years, which can be troublesome for insurers needing to meet specific requirements to pay its policyholders. However, Deutsche offers a private lending product offering income distribution every quarter. That can help insurers meet their yield targets, Ralbovsky notes. Still, as insurance companies gain comfort with new asset classes and look to diversify their manager rosters, managers without a complete understanding of each insurer’s specific needs won’t get very far as no two companies are alike. “The general account is literally the life blood of the company,” says David Holmes, partner at consultant Eager, Davis & Holmes and founder of the Insurance Asset Outsourcing Exchange. A manager is not going to win a mandate if they don’t understand inside and out what the insurers regulatory or credit ratings agency requirements are, he says. The investment guidelines for each insurance company differ depending on state requirements, and the business needs of each company vary based on the nature of their liabilities and capital positions. Insurers are also more risk averse than other institutional investors and have longterm investment outlooks that can lead to a longterm sales cycle for asset managers sometimes spanning two to three years, Holmes says. “It’s a comfort sale. It’s not all about returns,” he continues. It’s about the insurer understanding the manager’s business and vice versa. MǾŘĚ İŇȘȚİȚŲȚİǾŇǺĿ İŇVĚȘȚǾŘȘ ǺŘȚİČĿĚȘ ČǻŀPĚŘȘ Řěčǿňșįđěřș Fǿșșįŀ Fųěŀ Đįvěșțměňț ČǻŀPĚŘȘ ǻppěǻřș țǿ bě bǻčķpěđǻŀįňģ ǿň įțș đěčįșįǿň țǿ ķěěp fǿșșįŀ fųěŀ čǿmpǻňįěș ǿųț ǿf įțș pǿřțfǿŀįǿ. Přěșșųřě Mǿųňțș ǿň Bįģ İňvěșțǿřș țǿ Řěđųčě Čŀįmǻțě Čħǻňģě Řįșķ Țħě mǻjǿřįțỳ ǿf țħě ẅǿřŀđ’ș ŀǻřģěșț įňvěșțǿřș ǻřěň’ț đǿįňģ ňěǻřŀỳ ěňǿųģħ țǿ ħěđģě ǻģǻįňșț čŀįmǻțě čħǻňģě řįșķș įň țħěįř pǿřțfǿŀįǿș, ǻňđ țħěỳ mǻỳ șǿǿň fįňđ țħěmșěŀvěș įň čǿųřț ǿvěř įț. Čǿmpěňșǻțįǿň ǿf Pěňșįǿň Fųňđ ČĚǾș Čǿměș ųňđěř Fįřě Pěňșįǿň pŀǻňș ǻňđ țħěįř pǻřțįčįpǻňțș ǻřě bųțțįňģ ħěǻđș ǿvěř ħįģħ čǿmpěňșǻțįǿň ŀěvěŀș mǿřě ǻňđ mǿřě fřěqųěňțŀỳ, ǻňđ įț’ș ģǿțțěň țǿ țħě pǿįňț ẅħěřě șǿmě ǻřě șǻỳįňģ ěňǿųģħ įș ěňǿųģħ. © 2015 929 Media http://www.ninetwentynine.com/2015/05/12/blackrockwaddellreedgrabassetsinsurersincreaseoutsourcing 3/3
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