Advocacy Talking Points 16 June 2020
Assessing Insurance Companies in Turbulent Times
Webinar
Tighter regulatory regimes, geopolitical uncertainty, the ongoing digitization of the economy, and the Covid-19 pandemic have caused fundamental changes in the traditional insurance business. How should investors assess insurance companies?
Webinar Presentation: Assessing Insurance Companies in Turbulent Times
Download PDFPresented by: CFA Institute and the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA)
Supported by: The Hong Kong Society of Financial Analysts Ltd.
Amid the ongoing economic turbulence, the insurance industry remained resilient and continued to generate growth. Global direct premiums have surpassed US$5 trillion, equal to approximately 6% of global GDP. In late 2019, initial estimates of life and non-life premiums were projecting a healthy growth of 3% YoY.
Asia-Pacific serves as the locomotive of growth for the industry, accounting for almost 70% of global premium growth during the last five years. The region has been the center of global economic growth for the past few decades, and it is currently undergoing the largest wealth transfer in history.
Then came COVID-19. The ongoing pandemic has brought significant impact and groundbreaking changes to the global economy, and the insurance industry could not escape its impact. What is more, tighter regulatory regimes, geopolitical uncertainty, and the ongoing digital transformation of the economy have introduced fundamental changes in the traditional insurance business.
In parallel, blockchain, big data analytics, and AI challenge the traditional insurance distribution model and can revolutionize the operations of insurance companies. How different will insurance companies be in a few years and how will this impact their strategies to attract the right talents?
As the global markets have entered into unchartered waters, our webinar sheds light on the following key areas that can help investors to assess insurance companies:
- The insurance business model and its evolution in times of digital innovation
- The current insurance market landscape and the role of ongoing macro-political and economic challenges
- How do insurance companies gauge their investment and risk management strategy?
Event Host:
- Dr. Stratos Pourzitakis, Director, Society Advocacy Engagement, CFA Institute
Speakers:
- Charles Chui, CFA, Board of Director, HKSFA
- Eunice Chu, Head of Policy of ACCA Hong Kong
- Jennifer Law, MD, Equity Research at Haitong International Securities
- Mike Goodall, Chief Commercial Officer, Transamerica Life (Bermuda) Ltd.
Watch the Webinar
Duration: 1 hr 2 min.
Recorded: 16 June 2020.
Presenters
Eunice is responsible for elevating ACCA’s brand equity through stakeholders’ engagement, speaking in forums and training events, conducting research projects, article contribution and media commentaries. Eunice is the co-author of the "Sector Analysis: A Framework for Investors" research series jointly published by CFA Institute and ACCA. Besides her research work, Eunice also assists ACCA’s advocacy and educational work, giving presentation and training sessions on financial reporting, corporate governance and professional ethics issues in Hong Kong, Vietnam and Cambodia.
Mr. Charles Chui, CFA, is a seasoned investment professional with 20 years of experience in the private banking and wealth management business; with qualifications as both CFA and CPWP charter holders. He has exposure to major international European investment bank and Swiss private banking business, with major functions in overseeing the North Asian (including Japan) economics and capital market asset allocation decision. Charles is currently the Head of Investment Advisory in a top bracket mainland Chinese bank based in Hong Kong, with the mandate to enhancing investment returns of high net worth individuals and family offices while at the same time optimizing their overall portfolio’s risk and return profile.
Jennifer has more than 10 years of research experience on the insurance & non-bank financials sector for Asia ex-Japan, previously with Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Daiwa Capital Markets and Standard Chartered Bank. Prior to joining Haitong International, Jennifer was the Head of Financials Equity Research and the Head of Product Management & Research Marketing at BOCI. Jennifer has been voted as one of the Top 10 analysts for the insurance sector (Asia/ China) in multiple investor polls for years. She was also awarded the 1st runner-up in the 2014 HKSFA Best Research Report Competition. Jennifer holds a BA degree (dual major in Accounting & Law) from the University of Manchester and a BBA degree (dual major in Finance & Economics) from the Hong Kong University of Science & Technology.
Mike joined Transamerica Life (Bermuda) Limited. (Transamerica Life Bermuda) as its Chief Commercial Officer in April 2017.
Mike is responsible for all Sales & Distribution, and Marketing functions across Transamerica Life Bermuda’s Hong Kong, Singapore and Bermuda branch offices.
With over 30 years of experience in the banking and insurance industry, Mike has held various senior positions and portfolios across bancassurance, distribution operations and strategic business development in Asia and Australia.
Most recently, Mike served as Head of Insurance at Citibank Australia, where he was responsible for managing Citibank’s life, credit and P&C insurance business. Prior to this, Mike was Chief Distribution Officer at MetLife Australia, following his role as Regional Head of Bank Distribution in Asia. He has also held regional executive roles at Sun Life and Standard Chartered Bank.
Since 2015, Mike has served as Managing Director of the Self-Managed Independent Superannuation Funds Association, Australia’s first advocate association that liaises between fund trustees, industry authorities and the community on policy and legislation.
He also contributes to Self Managed Super, a Benchmark Media trade publication providing comprehensive editorial content to advisers servicing clients with self-managed superannuation funds.
Mike attended the University of New South Wales. He holds a Diploma of Financial Planning and is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
Stratos is the Director, Society Advocacy Engagement APAC at CFA Institute. He leads CFA Institute efforts to engage APAC societies in conducting advocacy initiatives in their local markets. In parallel, he offers training and support to CFA societies in the APAC region to engage in advocacy outreach with local stakeholders.
Previously, he worked as head of research at Asian Private Banker, he was a part-time lecturer at Hong Kong Baptist University, and he worked for more than five years at the Greek Ministry of Finance. He is also the vice-chairman of the Financial Services Business Council of the European Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong.
Stratos holds a PhD in Government and International Studies from Hong Kong Baptist University, a Master of International Public Policy from Osaka University, and Bachelor in Accounting and Finance. He speaks, English, Greek, Japanese, and some Putonghua and French.