Normality has been re-defined by the pandemic and no-one is sure what the New Normal will look like as we rebuild our old world. Will all the pieces still fit? How will investment strategies have to evolve?
The return of in-person events for the Insurance Investment Exchange will take another step forward on 9 September with a breakfast roundtable exploring the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and the policy responses to it on the credit cycle and the implications for insurance portfolios.
18 months on from the first lockdowns, Covid seems to have been a non-event for portfolios. Spreads went and then rapidly came back in. Defaults never really rose despite initial fears. Markets and issuance both hit new highs. But underneath it all, there is fragility and for insurers, growing questions. Stimulus may have saved markets, but it has also distorted them and reiterated the lower for longer narrative that has dominated insurance minds for the last decade. Risks such as inflation and the zombification of the economy are rising, while the crush for yield continues.
Meanwhile, the future of QE is once again up for debate with central banks, led by the Fed, edging closer to tapering away from the massive programmes of the last decade.
Key discussion topics for the roundtable, which will be hosted by Janus Henderson, will include:
- The impact of Covid on the Credit Cycle.
- Has Covid hit different sectors differently and has it resulted in different sub-cycles?
- What is the impact near-term and evolution longer-term of defaults?
- What about the impact of all the new issuance?
- Are traditional corporate balance sheet measures still a good indicator of credit worthiness given 2020 is regarded as an anomaly?
- What about the issuance of green or sustainably-linked bonds? Do insurers need to use other metrics to determine their credit-worthiness relative to ‘normal’ bonds?
- What are the metrics that we should be thinking of when monitoring the development of the cycle? How have these changed over the past year?
Numbers are strictly limited for this so early registration is recommended. If you register and your plans change please nominate a colleague to attend in your place or let us know so we can make sure all of the places are filled.
The event will still be run virtually should we no longer be able to host this in person due to changes in government restrictions.
Our events are always complimentary for insurers, regulators and select independents. They are also eligible for CPD points and quarterly certificates will be issued to attendees to confirm their attendance.
- Our first in-person quarterly seminar will be on Wednesday 22 September at which we will expand the discussion about the post-Covid challenges and the investment dynamics of the New Normal.