Insurance Perspectives: Alternatives In Focus

The long-standing partnership between insurance and alternatives asset management has reached an inflection point—with new partnership constructs and innovative avenues of growth taking hold. For many, the deeper collaboration is only natural given insurance companies’ long-dated liabilities and alternative managers’ long-term investment outlook. As this important market dynamic continues to mature, we sit down with TPG CFO Jack Weingart and three seasoned insurance company CIOs—Amy Stepnowski of the Hartford Investment Management Corporation (HIMCO), Jean-Baptiste Tricot of AXA, and Eric Johnson of CNO—to get their perspectives on the current market outlook for insurance asset management, the portfolio benefits of alternatives, and the co-evolution of the insurance and alternatives industries. Jack Weingart contends that there’s long been strong logic for bringing together the capabilities of insurance and alternatives asset managers, but that any such partnership requires an equitable arrangement to succeed—a sentiment echoed by Stepnowski, Tricot, and Johnson. With the prospect for economic deceleration ahead, Stepnowski emphasizes the need to underwrite opportunities through the full economic cycle, Tricot the importance of leaning into robust businesses, and Johnson the likelihood of a steeper yield curve. Stepnowski and Tricot also underscore the centrality of climate risk and investing in the climate transition to their roles as insurance CIOs.

Download Article