Q3 negative investment results continue

Majors and minor players alike continue to blame market conditions for falls in investment returns in Q3.

Copy Of Copy Of FO Black 1200 2023 08 15T145657.536 @Allianz.com
Allianz becomes latest insurer to announce disappointing Q3 investment results.

There were more poor results from leading insurers for Q3. 

Allianz’s asset management figures for Q3, as well as the nine months to the end of September 2022, showed underwhelming figures for the Munich-based insurance giant. 

Asset management income for the quarter was at €792m, which was down by 10.2% on the same period last year when the figures were at €882m. 

"Allianz joined a legion of other insurers that also saw poor results
and said Q3 was a difficult period for them overall."

Overall asset management income for the nine months of 2022 until the end of September was at €2.393 billion, a 2.5% drop on the same period last year when figures were at €2.454 billion. 

Allianz joined a legion of other insurers that also saw poor results and said Q3 was a difficult period for them overall. 

US major The Hartford announced that it saw a lower net income for shareholders in Q3 this year compared to last year. 

Staying across the Atlantic, Connecticut-based P&C insurer, Travelers, which released its Q3 results last month experienced a disappointing quarter for investments. 

Its net income was $454m – a decrease of $208m – due to lower core income and net realised investment losses compared to net realised investment gains in the prior year's quarter.  

However, Allianz’s German competitor Hannover Re said last week that it had a good quarter. The company said its AUM stood at €58 billion, with growth of 3.2%, which it said was down to strong operating cash flow that had offset negative effects from asset valuation.  

Overall, though, Allianz did experience growth with a quarterly revenue rise of 1.3% to €34.8 billion. 

The company’s statement also said that it had “again achieved a solid operating result in a very challenging environment” for its asset management unit. 

Other re/insurers that have announced quarterly results include Bermuda-based newcomer Conduit Re, which announced strong premium growth and an overall surplus, despite a fall in investment returns, which it attributed to market trends instead of individual issues. 

"Conduit Re expects to be able to reinvest at higher
rates as the existing portfolio rolls over.” 

“We continue to maintain our conservative approach to managing our invested assets with a strong emphasis on preserving capital and liquidity,” the organisation said in its statement on investment earnings. “Our strategy remains maintaining a short duration, highly-rated portfolio, with due consideration of the duration of our liabilities.” 

The statement added that the US Federal Reserve has raised rates six times thus far in 2022, and has indicated further increases before year-end, which greatly affected the market. “As a result, the portfolio return is negative 6.2%, mostly due to unrealised losses, for the nine months ended 30 September 2022,” it said. “While we expect market volatility to remain elevated in the near term, Conduit Re expects to be able to reinvest at higher rates as the existing portfolio rolls over.” 

AM Best has said the market was likely to continue with its recent trends, including the losses.