Go-To Resource for Insurance Firms Outsourcing Investment Management Reveals Market Trends Toward Private Asset Classes
BOISE, Idaho, May 28, 2024 – Clearwater Analytics (NYSE: CWAN), a leading worldwide provider of SaaS-based investment management, accounting, reporting, and analytics solutions, today announced the release of the 2024 Insurance Investment Outsourcing Report (IIOR). The eleventh annual ‘Yellow Pages’ of insurance-focused asset managers includes 70 asset managers and 12 investment consultants, the latter which are new for this year.
Clearwater partners with DCS Financial Consulting, who designs and administers the IIOR. Each participant has a profile page with robust details on AUM, types of assets managed, as well as insurer-specific services offered. Additionally, 14 summary analyses provide users with rankings of participants in different asset classes and other useful insights. This report is highly regarded in the industry and leveraged by numerous insurers to identify asset managers and consultants who focus on their space.
The report shows the outsourcing trend continues to grow with $3.6 trillion in insurance AUM reported, and over $900 million of consultant assets under advisement. When the report was first issued in 2014, $1.4 trillion in AUM was reported. Download the report today.
Top findings of this year’s global report:
- More managers enter the insurance asset management business each year. Over the last three reports, 22 new managers joined the IIOR.
- Many of the new managers bring private credit and alternative capabilities supporting the trend of insurers adding these strategies to their investment programs.
- Private asset classes reported grew to $602 billion, up 40% over the last two years while public asset classes were flat over the same period
- Investment consultants have become more prominent in the space, with many helping insurers extend their investment strategy into private asset classes.
- While there is a lot of activity in private asset classes, public fixed income continues to dominate outsourced assets with 70% of AUM reported in the category.
“Insurer investment programs have grown in sophistication since the 2008 financial crisis and the prolonged low-rate environment convinced many insurers to look beyond investment grade bonds,” said Sandeep Sahai, CEO at Clearwater Analytics. “As investors diversify to increasingly complex asset types, they invest the time to understand these asset classes with the support of experts represented in our guide. We have seen increased alternative investments among the 800-plus insurance clients on the Clearwater platform and their money managers.”
“The trend of insurers moving towards external asset management speaks volumes about the expertise and scale that external managers offer,” said Steve Doire, Strategic Advisor at Clearwater Analytics and owner of DCS Financial Consulting. “The sheer variety of specialty asset managers now available to insurers is a testament to the evolution of the industry. The 7% YoY growth in the aggregate third-party insurance general account AUM shows the market is growing in complexity and sophistication, and the readiness for investors to explore and capitalize on diverse investment options.”