BlackRock News

Global Insurers in Mood to Take on New Investment Risks

Despite challenging market conditions, insurers are in a relatively upbeat mood and ready to increase their risk exposure, according to a study from investment advisor BlackRock. Almost half (47%) of insurers surveyed plan to increase portfolio risk exposure over the …

Private Equity Firm Blackstone Eyes Insurance Data Analytics Business

Blackstone Group LP has bigger plans for insurance companies than just managing their money. The world’s largest private equity firm is expanding into a lucrative business dominated by BlackRock Inc.: portfolio risk analytics. Bennett Goodman, co-founder of Blackstone’s GSO credit …

Smith & Wesson Gun Maker CEO Defends Safety Efforts

The top executives of gun maker American Outdoor Brands Corp. on Tuesday defended their safety efforts in a letter to asset manager BlackRock Inc. posted on the website of the maker of Smith & Wesson guns. American Outdoor Brands and …

New Bond ETF Rules Expected to Attract Investments from Insurers

BlackRock Inc. expects $300 billion in new money from insurers to flood into the already booming bond exchange-traded fund sector over the next five years, a spokeswoman said on Tuesday, following a move by regulators to adjust some requirements on …

BlackRock Says Investors Must Weigh Climate Change Like Insurers Are Doing

BlackRock Inc., the world’s largest asset manager, said all investors should factor climate change into their decision-making and doing so would not mean having to accept lower returns. Global moves to coordinate a response to climate change took a big …

Hedge Fund Insurers Struggle in Crowded Market with Poor Investment Results: S&P

Hedge fund firms that set up reinsurance companies will struggle because too many rivals had the same idea and investment results have been disappointing, according to a report from S&P Global Ratings. Money managers entered the reinsurance business to gain …

Aegon to Acquire BlackRock’s U.K. Defined-Contribution Pension Business

Aegon NV agreed to buy BlackRock Inc.’s U.K. defined-contribution pension business to bolster its position in the country’s workplace-savings market. The deal will transfer 12 billion pounds ($17.6 billion) of assets under management and 350,000 customers to the Hague-based company, …

Global Financial Leaders Warn About Dangers of Negative Interest Rates

The chorus of global financial leaders warning about the fallout from negative interest rates is getting bigger. Nobuyuki Hirano, president of Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc., lambasted the Bank of Japan’s negative rates last week for putting banking stability at …

Hedge Fund Managers Benefit from Fee-Paying Reinsurer Units

Stock pops or stock drops, there’s always been at least one winner when it comes to Daniel Loeb’s reinsurance company: Daniel Loeb’s hedge fund. Loeb’s Bermuda-based Third Point Reinsurance Ltd. paid $98.8 million since 2013 to the entities that manage …

ACE Q2 Profit Climbs in First Earnings Report After Chubb Announcement

ACE Ltd., the insurer that agreed this month to acquire Chubb Corp., said second-quarter profit rose 21 percent as policy sales climbed. Net income increased to $942 million, or $2.86 a share, from $779 million, or $2.28, a year earlier, …