Steve Doire, CFA, CPA, CPCU
Strategic Platform and Client Advisor
Steve brings extensive knowledge of the insurance industry, insurance asset management, and general asset management to Clearwater and its clients. He works closely with clients and prospects to help them leverage the capabilities of the Clearwater platform. He also collaborates with platform development teams, clients, and other industry influencers to evolve both the Clearwater system offering and the user experience of Clearwater’s clientele. Steve worked for more than 20 years as a leader in Deutsche Asset Management’s insurance asset management group where helped grow the business from $20 billion to more than $200 billion in AUM, including expansion into global markets. He also worked for a P&C company for several years early in his career.
Clearwater Analytics regularly conducts polls of institutional investors to gain insight into hot topics and trends. Our April 2022 poll focused on investing in alternative asset classes.
Our survey received 110 responses, representing over $5 trillion in AUM. The respondents provided useful insight, including why they invest in alternatives (82% said diversification among other drivers like yield). They demonstrated that the current market environment isn’t damping the demand for alternatives, with over 75% planning to increase or hold steady. However, about one-third of our respondents said capital deployment on new investments was slow to very slow as demand for alternative apparently outstrips supply.
Operationally, adding alternative assets to an investment program can also add new requirements and challenges. Respondents were clearly focused on data challenges like connecting to custodians and service providers, as well as accuracy. They also indicated that there is room for operational improvement and transparency. Over 50% noted improvement is needed in transparency in the form of client and management reporting.
Please see our full discussion and survey statistics (including how many are looking at crypto) here.