Insurers plan boost to alternative assets - FT.com

Insurers plan boost to alternative assets - FT.com:

wow, if below was true, this would be counter productive...

Must read article... but surely if this was the result.. then something is wrong and should be fixed, rather than see the likely negative impact!? or is that just a too 'common sense' way of doing things??

"The findings of the study by BlackRock and the Economist Intelligence Unit, published on Monday, will appear counter-intuitive to some analysts who had predicted that regulatory pressures would make insurers even more cautious.

But in explaining the findings, David Lomas, head of financial institutions group at BlackRock, said insurers were hunting for higher returns in the current low yield environment and argued that the Solvency II regime in fact made some alternative asset classes more attractive."

"The survey found that only 6 per cent and 9 per cent expected to reduce their exposure to private equity and hedge funds, respectively, while 32 per cent expected to increase their exposure to both.
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