News & Insights
The Shepherd and the sea. Should insurers invest actively or passively?
THE CALM INVESTMENT SEA In our previous instalment, Heracles (or Hercules) had battled the Lernaean Hydra - mirroring insurance companies’ battles against investment risk in various guises. This time we shift to a completely different story; (in my Greco-Roman...
Inflation forecast: what to expect in 2023?
Inflation is seemingly past its peak across most major economies, but of course it is still extremely high and well above target levels. A return to target is not likely until 2024, with average inflation rates looking high. However, this disguises the improvement...
A soft or harder landing?
The gap between official economic forecasts (the consensus is for a soft landing) and market expectations has widened further, with the latter discounting a greater probability of a steeper economic contraction. In our economic projections that underpin our asset...
Are central banks on a divergent path?
We reiterate our statement from last quarter that the major central banks are well advanced on the path of moving to a tight monetary regime through raising interest rates and starting QT (quantitative tightening). The Fed may well have deliberately adopted a hawkish...
ARE YOU COVERED? Eight key questions on Cayman’s new insurance regulations ‘Investment Activities of Insurers’, (‘The Rule’)
The Cayman Islands Monetary Authority (CIMA) issued a new piece of legislation in February last year that aimed to tighten up regulation around the investment activities of insurance companies on the island. The Rule was broadly designed to ensure assets are managed...
ANDPAPERS Q1 2023 | CENTRAL BANKS DIVERGING
“There are decades where nothing happens, and years when decades happen.” 2022 was indeed one of those years. In February, Russia’s amassing of troops on Ukraine’s border quickly erupted in an armed conflict that is still ongoing. This caused oil and gas prices to...
VANQUISHING THE INVESTMENT RISK HYDRA. CAN INSURERS SIMULTANEOUSLY OPTIMISE AGAINST ECONOMIC, REGULATORY AND ACCOUNTING RISK?
The investment risk Hydra Ancient Greek mythology speaks of the great hero Heracles (known as Hercules to the Romans); and of his twelve labours performed as penance. The second of his heroic labours was vanquishing the Lernaean Hydra, a serpentine monster with...
The Debrief | Q1 2023
We invite you to sit down with our Chief Investment Officer, Pau Morilla Giner, and Head of the Private Investment Office, Iain Tait, as they debrief on the last quarter and look ahead to potential market trends for Q1 2023. They examine the geo-political shifts,...
AUTUMN STATEMENT – FIXED INCOME REACTION
Given the intense anticipation for the Autumn Statement please find below our market update and a summary of the macro impact. Post Autumn Statement Market Update The fiscal consolidation package, alongside Hunt’s reiteration of his support for the Bank of England...
Will inflation ease and how long will it take to revert to the 2% target?
Inflation readings have remained sticky and where there is improvement, it is extremely gradual. The battle between demand pull and cost push pressures seems to be heading in the right direction, but frustratingly, it is happening at a snail’s pace. Despite this,...
UNCERTAINTY, INFLATION AND THE US FEDERAL RESERVE
The markets have been on a rollercoaster ride over the past couple of weeks. Initially there was a significant drop in equities and a rise in bond yields following the US Federal Reserve (Fed) statements on the 2nd of November. This was quickly followed by a large...
Can the central banks pull off a soft landing?
There is an increasingly big gap appearing between official economic forecasts (the consensus is for a soft landing) and market expectations (inverted yield curves, higher market volatility, and falling risk assets) that are beginning to discount a greater probability...