Insurance Investment Exchange Awards 2018 is open for entries.

After a successful first year, it is time to shine a new spotlight on the vital work of insurance company investment teams along with the asset managers and service providers that together manage billions of pounds of assets.

“of the year” means during the period from 1 July 2016 to 31 December 2017, allowing firms greater flexibility to show full year results where appropriate”.

Who should enter?

FREE to enter, these awards are open to:

• Insurance companies and their investment teams
• Asset managers
• Consultants, technology firms and other service providers

Why should you enter?

The Insurance Investment Exchange Awards are the perfect platform:

For Insurance Companies:
- Boosting the profile of investment teams
- Creating the competitive advantage
- Motivating teams and attracting new talent
- Increased internal recognition

For Asset Managers:
- Generating new business
- Cementing existing client relationships
- Motivating teams and attracting new talent
- High profile for innovative strategies

"The insurance company and asset manager entries will be judged separately to ensure there is no conflict of interest among the judging panel. All entries are kept confidential and no information from them will be published or shared without the explicit permission of the entrant”.

How to Enter:

Entering is easy. In a simple statement of no more than 500 words addressing the key points in the below award criteria, tell your story and tell the judges why you deserve an award. Every entry can be supported by a maximum of three documents.

Simply create a login and follow the steps to entry, indicated for each category.

2018 categories for entry:

Insurance Companies: Insurance company investment performance is under pressure with greater board level scrutiny and regulatory demands than ever before. These awards are for those firms which have developed and delivered investment strategies that meet the many challenges of the current world of macroeconomic uncertainty, low returns and Solvency II demands.

- Most innovative investment solution of the year

Finding new ways to enhance yield and return without creating excessive balance sheet volatility or taking undue economic risk is a key challenge for the industry today. This award is for an creative investment strategy – either company-wide or focused on particular products or asset classes – that has succeeded in creating an innovative investment strategy that has delivered results.

- Capital efficiency initiative of the year

The need to ensure optimum capital efficiency in the low yield, highly regulated environment in which insurers now operate has become paramount. This award will showcase those initiatives that are focused on this key requirement and which can demonstrate flair, creativity and originality in meeting their objectives.

- Best life/health insurer

Life insurers face the challenge of matching long-term liabilities with an overlay of constant macroeconomic, political and regulatory change alongside their own shifting insurance risks, such as longevity and the demand for product innovation. This award recognises insurers that have consistently responded to those challenges.

- Best annuity provider

Few markets have been subject to the enormous external pressures of the annuity market. Squeezed returns, changes to life-expectancy and pensions freedoms have been a potent mix. Building and sustaining a consistent above-average investment performance is what will make the winning entry in this category stand out.

- Best general insurer

The soft market across most classes of business and the entry of new forms of capital into the market have squeezed premiums and profit margins, making new demands on investment portfolios. This award will showcase those investment strategies that deliver consistent returns while ensuring that risks are matched and liquidity to meet claims is maintained by general (P&C) insurers.

- Best re-insurer
Re insurers face a unique set of pressures and need creative, flexible investment strategies to enable them to respond to the needs of their client insurers and balance risk with effective capital management. Many insurers also look to their re-insurers to guide them through their own challenges. The winning entry will combine excellence in both areas.

- Best small insurer
Small insurers in every part of the market face a particular challenge in ensuring their investment portfolios deliver real value while minimising volatility and navigating an increasingly complex environment with greater scrutiny. Tackling this through innovative strategies, leveraging off external advisers and using internal talent effectively will be among the features of a winning entry. A small insurer is defined as an insurer with assets of less than £2bn.

- Best insurer investment team
Successful investment management is about much more than strategies, assets and returns – it is about the people who make the decisions, implement them and manage the complexity that surrounds them. This is an award for an insurance company investment team that has gone the extra mile to deliver results.

Asset Managers: Insurance company investment teams Insurance company investment teams need top-class asset managers to ensure they deliver results and this set of awards is for those asset managers focused on delivering value to the insurance sector.

- Best overall asset manager

The best asset managers create genuine long-term partnerships with their clients, underpinned by a thorough understanding of their business. They can offer a wide range of solutions across multiple asset classes and a are capable of responding to changes in their clients’ regulatory and risk environments.

- Best alternatives asset manager

Alternative investment strategies are an important and growing segment of the insurance investment palette. This award is for the firm (or team within a larger firm) that has achieved consistent success across one or more alternative asset classes. The winning entry will be able to demonstrate how this successfully supported their clients’ investment objectives and allowed them to exploit unique niches or opportunities.

- Best fixed income asset manager

Fixed income is the life-blood of the insurance portfolio. Core fixed income assets have come under huge pressure as yields have been squeezed and a whole range of new fixed income strategies have grown in popularity, such as high yield, emerging market debt and structured credit. This award will showcase an asset manager that has found value in a well-structured fixed income portfolio and helped clients generate the cash-flow they need.

- Best Multi-Asset manager

Spreading risk and exposure across multiple asset classes is a key feature of investment strategies, especially against the background of the search for yield. Asset managers have had a key role to play in devising and delivering imaginative multi-asset strategies – both as pooled strategies and as holistic outsourced mandates. This award will showcase the best of those.

- Most innovative solution from an asset manager

An award for a firm (or team within a larger firm) that has delivered genuine innovation backed by results by finding secure value in new assets, restructuring portfolios or in their wider response to alleviating the macro-economic and regulatory pressures on the insurance sector.

- Best Client Service
Top quality service is essential in today’s highly demanding investment environment. Insurer clients need precise, accurate and timely reporting to ensure they are meeting their objectives and to satisfy regulators. They need clarity of insight into how they portfolios are performing and accurate modelling of the future prospects and risks. This award is for asset managers who can show excellent service across the board.

Other:

Service Providers: Insurers are also supported in meeting their investment and shareholder objectives by a growing invaluable network of advisers, technology firms and service providers. These awards recognise excellence among these partners.

- Technology Firm of the Year
Great technology is essential, in particular across the risk and regulatory spheres, for insurance companies to deliver strong investment results and deal with increased complexity as well as scrutiny. This award is for a firm that offers technology solutions that consistently meet the needs of insurers. The top entries will be able to demonstrate value-add, responsiveness to client needs, reliability, speed of implementation, scalability and high quality support.

- Adviser of the Year
As the demands of the insurance industry grow, a growing number of firms – both small and large – are evolving to fill key gaps in the ecosystem. They provide investment advice, risk advice, origination of investment deals, help with structuring assets to meet regulatory needs, implementing key aspects of capital models and internal infrastructure and so on. This award will highlight an advisory firm advising insurers, asset managers or both, which, over the last year, has offered clients fresh insight and support with their investment and risk strategies.

Awards for everyone:

- Diversity initiative of the year
The insurance industry and the asset management sector are both notoriously “Male, pale and stale”. Diversity and inclusion initiatives aimed at bringing new talent into the industry and opening up opportunities for everybody have become a key feature of the sector. This award is for an initiative that has addressed an issue and delivered measurable success.

- Rising star
An award for an individual under-35 working for an insurer, re-insurer, asset manager or advisory firm who has stood out from their peers for their flair, creativity, dedication and commitment to professional development.

- Outstanding Contribution to the Industry
An award to an individual who has made a significant or distinctive contribution to the market.

Deadline for entering:

Friday 9 March

Judging

Specialist judges will carefully scrutinise every entry in a confidential process before making recommendations to the overall judging panel which will make the final decisions.

List of 2018 judges include:

· Bob Swarup - Co-founder, Insurance Investment Exchange, and Principal, Camdor Global

· David Worsfold, Director, Worsfold Media Services

· Eric Vynckier, Board Member, Forrester Friendly Society

· Rob Groves, Chief Investment Officer, Pension Insurance Corporation

· Dan Shrupp, Principal, Camdor Global Advisers

· Jonathan Evans, Former Trader Ministers, MEP

· Michael Tripp, former Group CEO, Ecclesiastical Insurance

· Stephen Riley, non-executive director

· Con Keating, Brighton Rock

· Paul Abberley, CIO, Charles Stanley

· Norman Peard, Director, nPx-nQx Limited

· Barry Smith, Former Chief Executive Officer, Ageas

· Bridget Gardiner, Executive Director, The Brokerage

Awards date:

The winners from each category will be presented with their awards at a special event held at Skinners Hall, Dowgate Hill, London, EC4R 2SP , 26^th April.

Questions?

If you have any questions regarding entering, or need assistance putting your entry together please do not hesitate to contact Yasmin Abed on yasmin.abed@lastwordmedia.com, telephone +44 (0)20 7382 4477.

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