The House of Lords Industry and Regulators Committee has criticised the use of leveraged liability-driven investment (LDI) strategies by defined benefit pension funds, which played a significant role in the financial turmoil following Liz Truss’s and Kwasi Kwarteng’s calamitous mini budget last September.

As the long, grey month of January shuffles to its conclusion, clarity gradually begins to emerge on prospects for the year. When it comes to insurer investment strategies, caution reigns, writes Contributing Editor David Worsfold.

We are taking a deep dive into the way insurers’ investment teams are responding to the demand to develop and refine ESG (Environment, Social and Governance) strategies with some trenchant views from Erik Vynckier.

This time last year, predictions of what 2022 might hold in store were laced with fervent hopes that we were on a return path to normality. Instead, we were hurled through a year of disruption unparalleled in modern times.

One of our articles rounding up experts’ views on what might lie ahead in 2022 was entitled ‘Reaching out to normality?’. Just about the only part that was right was the question mark.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer, Jeremy Hunt, used his Autumn Statement to unveil the Treasury’s long awaited reforms to the Solvency II regime, which the UK did so much to create when it was in the European Union. Moving away from the EU regime is now touted as a “Brexit bonus”, writes Contributing Editor David Worsfold.