Argo Group Hedge Fund Commitments Down By Two-Thirds Over Four Years

insurance types-of-insurance blue green 660x

Argo Group International Holdings, Ltd. (NYSE: ARGO), the Bermuda domiciled property/casualty insurer, produced results this week, giving an opportunity for observers to look at its’ hedge fund holdings. Argo Group has invested in hedge funds for more than eight years. At the end of 2020 Argo Group had $111.2m committed to hedge funds out of total invested assets of […] Read more »

Insurer Argo Group Mirrors Industry In Capital Allocations to Hedge Funds

insurance types-of-insurance blue green 660x

By Simon Kerr, Publisher of Hedge Fund Insight   Argo Group International Holdings, Ltd. (NYSE: ARGO), the Bermuda domiciled property/casualty insurer, produced results last week, giving an opportunity for observers to look at its’ hedge fund holdings. Argo Group has invested in hedge funds for more than seven years within an allocation to “Alternatives”. The […] Read more »

Insurers Trim Hedge Fund Holdings – AIG Cuts A Third – According to AM Best

Insurance Life-Carriers-AIS-sc 656 x 774

By Jason Hopper, Associate Director – Industry Research and Analytics at A.M. Best   The U.S. insurance industry continued to reduce its risk appetite for hedge fund investments, as holdings declined year over year by 8.5% to $16.4 billion from $17.9 billion in 2016, according to a new A.M. Best report based on year-end 2017 data from the National Association of […] Read more »

Size Effect On Performance Still Applies To Hedge Funds in 2017

From Eurekahedge The graphic below shows how hedge fund returns have varied across fund sizes. For June 2017 year-to-date, medium sized hedge funds (US$100m – US$500m) posted the best returns with 3.53% gains, while small and large hedge funds were up 3.40% and 2.64% respectively. Over the past year, small sized hedge funds posted the best […] Read more »

Insurers Continued to Pull Away from Hedge Funds in 2016

From Jason Hopper and Dan Heitlinger of A.M.Best   Our November 2016 report, “Hedge Fund Performance Has Insurers Reducing Exposure,” noted rising investor concerns surrounding the performance of hedge funds and the insurance industry’s exposure to this asset class from 2013-2015. Based on 2016 data from year-end NAIC statutory financial statements, the insurance industry has continued pulling back its investment […] Read more »

Hedge Fund Performance Has Insurers Reducing Exposure Says AM Best

Insurance Life-Carriers-AIS-sc 656 x 774

By Jason Hopper and Ken Johnson of A.M. Best With interest rates remaining persistently low, NAIC Schedule BA assets, which include alternative investment securities, have generally provided insurers with the potential for higher risk-adjusted returns to help mitigate the decline in higher portfolio book yields. Without a meaningful increase in interest rates, insurers have limited choices for investing new dollars from […] Read more »

College Endowments’ Largest Allocators To Hedge Funds

  NOTE: * As of 30 June 2014  ** As of 31 December 2014  *** As of 31 August 2014 **** As of 31 March 2015, endowment only ***** E&F value as of 30 June 2014; allocations as of 30 June 2015 ****** As of 31 May 2014 (1) Assets in absolute return; does not include […] Read more »

A.M. Best Comments on Insurers’ Hedge Fund Activity: Road Ahead Looks Rocky

Insurance Life-Carriers-AIS-sc 656 x 774

By Ken Johnson, CFA, CAIA, FRM, Vice President, A.M. Best.   Headlines reflecting the recent underperformance from the hedge fund industry have caused insurers to rethink their current investment allocations, and whether or not to add allocations to this non-traditional asset class going forward.  However, the ongoing low interest rate environment and more recent equity volatility have […] Read more »

A.M. Best on Insurance Industry Hedge Fund Exposures

Insurance Risk Lead Article Illustration

By Jason Hopper and Ken Johnson of A.M.Best*   Introduction In A. M. Best’s recently published briefing, “Industry Interest in Non-Traditional Assets Continues”, we discussed the overall increased interest in non-traditional assets which are found on Schedule BA of the U.S. statutory filings. As allocations to Schedule BA assets (BA assets) have been increasing for […] Read more »