After a year in which fixed income yields and capital market assumptions adjusted dramatically to a new regime, we believe it’s an opportune time to re-think insurance asset allocation.

European insurers are being confronted by several challenges they have not seen for quite a few years, from heightened investment volatility, substantial unrealised losses and rising lapse risk to inflation in claim values.

At the same time, the risk-and-return outlook for virtually every investment asset class was fundamentally reshaped during 2022, due to the lingering impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, ongoing supply chain disruptions, geopolitical tensions, persistently high inflation and rate hikes.

We have updated our intermediate-term capital market assumptions to help insurers re-calibrate their strategic asset allocations for this new investment regime.

We find that both core and extended fixed income, as well as private markets, appear to have gained in efficiency over public equity. In many cases, this development, and the implied asset allocation adjustments, fit well with the challenges insurers face in 2023; but it is also the reason for insurers’ unrealized losses, which means adjustments will need to be implemented gradually and carefully.

Executive Summary

  • Equity and fixed income markets moved dramatically during 2022, leading to substantial changes in capital market assumptions.
  • We show the effect on estimated return and estimated volatility for a range of asset classes, as well as the effect on estimated returns relative to market Solvency Capital Requirements.
  • For an illustrative life insurer and an illustrative general insurer, we show the effect on estimated return, estimated volatility and market Solvency Capital Requirements of re-allocating 1% of a portfolio pro rata to a range of asset classes under our new capital market assumptions.
  • Our main conclusions are:
    – Higher yields have made core fixed income more attractive
    – Higher yields and wider spreads have led to large improvements in relative value for extended fixed income
    – Return expectations for public equity remain similar: lower market valuations are offset by anticipated lower earnings growth
    – The relatively high estimated returns from private equity and the diversification and yield benefits of private fixed income suggest they might be an efficient way to spend risk and capital budgets, where an insurer can take on some illiquidity

NB Capital Market Assumptions: 2023 Vs 2022

Estimated annualized return and volatility, five- to seven-year term

NB CAPITAL MARKET ASSUMPTIONS: 2023 VS 2022 

Source: Neuberger Berman, Bloomberg, Cambridge Associates, FactSet. Analytics as of December 31, 2022. Non-Euro assets are hedged to EUR using three-month forwards (-2.54% USD to EUR for 2023 & -0.79% USD to EUR for 2022). The performance and risk projections/estimates are hypothetical in nature and reflect the Neuberger Berman’s Capital Market Assumptions. The estimates do not reflect actual investment results and are not guarantees of future results. Actual returns and volatility may vary significantly. Asset classes are represented by benchmarks and do not represent any Neuberger Berman investment product or service. Please see Additional Disclosures at the end of the presentation for asset class and index definitions and Neuberger Berman Capital Market Assumptions. Investing entails risks, including possible loss of principal.