Asset managers predict insurers will use ETFs to fulfil a wide range of strategic goals in 2014, such as managing gaps between long-term investments, gaining exposure to niche asset classes such as emerging market debt, and matching liabilities.
Patrick Liedtke, head of the financial institutions group for Europe, the Middle East and Africa at BlackRock in London, says: "There is a lot of demand from insurers to understand what the current line-up of ETFs can do for them. They are not using ETFs as direct replacements for their traditional fixed-income portfolios, but to complement them and enable quick access to non-core credits".
A survey of 206 insurers published by BlackRock in December found many insurers are planning to increase their use of ETFs. Eight out of 10 insurers agreed or strongly agreed with the statement: "Insurers are likely to increase their use of ETFs over the next three years".
But some asset managers do not believe there will be a stampede by insurers into the ETF market. Han Rijken, head of insurance asset management at ING Investment Management in The Hague, says: "As an investor, you have no influence on what the asset manager is going to do with the underlying assets in an ETF. They may exchange an AAA [rated] bond for an A [rated] bond, meaning an insurer has to hold more capital against it [under Solvency II rules]", he says.
There are other drawbacks to the ETF structure that may prove off-putting to insurers, adds John Roe, head of head of multi-asset funds at Legal & General Investment Management in London. "With an ETF it's not always clear how their liquidity could dry-up in an extreme scenario. Investors experience changes in unit value relative to the net asset value and these get bigger in times of stress. So while you may be able to trade your ETF, the price may not reflect the true value of the underlying."
Using an ETF as part of an ALM strategy is also difficult. A credit ETF would not be appropriate for UK insurers looking to closely match the duration of their liabilities, says Roe. "Typically with UK insurers, when they buy bonds they buy them against specific liabilities. Obviously with an ETF, the bond portfolio is evergreen because new bonds are bought and older ones mature to maintain the fund's general risk profile, so you don't get the same degree of matching."
An ETF structure might be more appropriate for firms with a looser liability structure, for example a European with-profits fund where part of the return is not guaranteed to the policyholder, adds Roe.
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