Global Insurers Start Investing in Crypto Amid Risk-On Investment Approach
Global insurers aim to maintain a risk-on investment approach, with higher allocations to private equity, green bonds, and middle-market corporate loans, but also cryptoassets, according to a report by Goldman Sachs Insurance Asset Management.
The survey represents the views of 328 chief investment officers and chief financial officers handling more than USD 13tn in global balance sheet assets, per the report.
“In a sharp reversal from prior years, insurers now see rising inflation and tighter monetary policy as the largest threats to their portfolios. Amid strong wage growth and strong employment gains, the easy monetary policies of the pandemic-era are unwound and expected rate hikes are top of mind,” it said.
Commenting on the company’s findings, Mike Siegel, Global Head for Insurance Asset Management and Liquidity Solutions Businesses at the investment bank’s Asset Management arm, said that global insurers were also demonstrating a rising interest in crypto.
“This year, we surveyed for the first time on crypto, which I thought we would get no respondents. But I was surprised. A good 6% of the industry respondents indicated that they're either invested in crypto, or more specifically, considering investing in crypto,” he said.
The companies that are either invested (2%) or considering allocating their funds (4%) to crypto are doing so to better understand the market and the infrastructure, according to Siegel.
“But if this becomes a transactable currency, they want to have the ability down the road to denominate policies in crypto. And also accept premium in crypto, just like they do in, say, dollars or yen or sterling or euro,” the executive said.
Also, per the report, American insurers are slightly more interested, with11%
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