Authored by: Edward Toy – Director, Investment Specialist To say that 2022 was an eventful year for investments would be a significant understatement. Interest rates rose across the entire yield curve. Market spreads varied. Equity markets jumped up and down. Oil prices spiked and then settled back down. Commercial real estate values rallied before dropping....

Authored by: Edward Toy – Director, Investment Specialist It is commonly understood that investment profiles, strategies and practices differ among U.S. insurance companies. Life insurance companies invest differently from Property & Casualty (“P&C) and Health insurance companies. These differences reflect different needs in asset-liability management and meeting liquidity requirements. In addition to differences across insurer...

Authored by: Edward Toy – Senior Manager, Investment Specialist The COVID-19 Pandemic resulted in economic turmoil and substantial disruption to virtually every investment market in 2020. In many ways the recovery in the second half of 2020 and into 2021 was nearly as surprising to analysts. The areas of potential concern were overtaken by the...

Authored by: Edward Toy – Senior Manager, Investment Specialist 2021 was generally a good year for investment markets after a tumultuous 2020. The S&P 500 reported an overall price gain of 26.9%. National indices of commercial real estate values recovered significantly. Bond defaults and rating agency downgrades moderated significantly. As insurance regulators head into 2022,...