Willis Towers Watson appoints Diana Fox Carney as strategic adviser on sustainable business and the climate transition
Willis Towers Watson (NASDAQ: WLTW) has appointed Diana Fox Carney as a strategic adviser in its award-winning Climate Resilience Hub. As a long-standing leader in transformative policy and business thinking Fox Carney will join Willis Towers Watson’s climate, resilience and ESG solutions teams serving corporates and public sector institutions in North America and worldwide.
As a development economist Fox Carney developed early insights on global sustainability risks and the challenges, choices and opportunities for institutions on the pathway to low carbon, net zero futures. Previously Fox Carney led research at the IPPR think tank and former Executive Director of Pi Capital, curating and communicating world-shaping ideas for leaders from business and finance and has held senior roles at think tanks in Canada and the UK, focused primarily on energy and climate. Fox Carney is a Fellow of the Balsillie School of International Affairs and is a current, or past, board member of several not-for-profit organisations in development and climate. She works with several climate technology companies and sits on the advisory board of BeyondNetZero, a growth equity fund focused on the reduction of carbon emissions.
Fox Carney, said: “I am very excited to be joining the team at Willis Towers Watson, which has been at the forefront of innovation around understanding and managing risk. The company’s unique skill-set, combining exceptionally deep analytical capabilities on climate with very wide engagement on critical issues such as human capital management and board level advisory work, gives it enormous potential to make a real difference for clients. I very much look forward to contributing to this work.”
Rowan Douglas, head of Willis Towers Watson’s Climate and Resilience Hub, said: “We worked with Diana in 2015 to support groundbreaking climate policy research at IPPR and then at Pi Capital. With her move back to Canada we are delighted that she has joined Willis Towers Watson to serve our clients and drive innovations to support the resilient, net zero and just transition in the Climate Decade ahead.”
John Bremen, Head of Innovation & Acceleration for Willis Towers Watson, said: “Diana is one of the world’s leading sustainability experts, and it is a true privilege for us to connect with her wealth of knowledge and experience in this area to help our clients around the world navigate the transition to a low carbon economy.”
Fox Carney is a graduate of the Universities of Oxford and Pennsylvania. She is based in Ottawa, Canada.
Diana Fox Carney will be moderating Risk Matters: Making Resilience Add Up in a Net Zero Transition, a Willis Towers Watson-hosted event at the Resilience Hub at COP26 on Tuesday, November 2, at 9:15 a.m. (local time) Register for virtual attendance here: Race to Resilience at COP26
Top 500 managers see assets hit record $119.5 trillion
Assets under management (AuM) at the world’s 500 largest asset managers have reached a new record of $119.5 trillion, according to new research from Willis Towers Watson’s Thinking Ahead Institute. As of the end of 2020, this represents an increase of 14.5% on the previous year when total AuM was previously $104.4 trillion.
The research confirms growing concentration among the top 20 managers whose market share increased during the period to 44% of total assets.
Of the top 500 managers, 221 names that featured on the list a decade ago in 2011 are now absent in 2021, demonstrating a quickening pace of competition, consolidation and rebranding.
Blackrock has retained its position as the largest asset manager in the ranking, followed by Vanguard holding its second-place position for the seventh consecutive year. Of the top 20, 14 are U.S. managers, accounting for 78.6% of the top 20 AUM. On the whole, passive investments represent 26%, an increase of 16.2% compared with a 15.4% growth in actively managed AuM.
Asset managers have also been addressing the growing demand from more sophisticated asset owners for more complex and tailored investment solutions. Outsourced chief investment officers, a total portfolio approach and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) have all been popular sources of growth for the world’s top managers, to meet clients’ increasing requirements for returns.
“We have witnessed unprecedented change within the investment industry — accelerated dramatically by the pandemic,” said Roger Urwin, co-founder of the Thinking Ahead Institute. “In particular, sustainability is no longer just a luxury for some firms. Instead, during the pandemic, asset managers from all corners of the world have become even more aware of the interconnectedness of the financial system with society and the environment.”
According to the research, passively managed AuM among the largest firms grew to a total of $8.3 trillion in 2020, up from $4.8 trillion in 2016.
“Asset managers have always had the ambition to develop and innovate. We have seen this particularly with ESG [environmental, social and governance] mandates, which increased by 40% in 2020. The biggest contributor to this was the growth in ESG ETFs,” said Urwin.
Additional research findings:*
Half of managers surveyed (50%) increased the proportion of minorities and women in top positions over the course of the past year.
Client interest in sustainable investing increased across 91% of the firms surveyed.
78% of managers increased resources deployed to technology and big data, and 66% increased resources deployed to cybersecurity.
The number of product offerings increased for more than two-thirds (70%) of surveyed firms.
Aggregate investment management fee levels decreased for a quarter (25%) of the surveyed managers — but fee levels increased for 21% of managers.
A majority of managers (59%) experienced an increase in the level of regulatory oversight.
*Excludes US-based asset managers
The world’s largest money managers
RankFundMarketTotal Assets
1
BlackRock
U.S.
$8,676,680
2
Vanguard Group
U.S.
$7,148,807
3
Fidelity Investments
U.S.
$3,609,098
4
State Street Group
U.S.
$3,467,467
5
Allianz Group
Germany
$2,934,265
6
J.P. Morgan Chase
U.S.
$2,716,000
7
Capital Group
U.S.
$2,383,707
8
BNY Mellon
U.S.
$2,210,574
9
Goldman Sachs Group
U.S.
$2,145,000
10
Amundi
France
$2,126,391
11
Legal & General Group
U.K.
$1,736,402
12
Prudential Financial
U.S.
$1,720,958
13
UBS
Switzerland
$1,641,000
14
Franklin Templeton
U.S.
$1,497,955
15
Morgan Stanley
U.S.
$1,474,627
16
T. Rowe Price
U.S.
$1,470,500
17
Wells Fargo
U.S.
$1,455,000
18
BNP Paribas
France
$1,430,900
19
Northern Trust
U.S.
$1,405,300
20
Natixis Investment Managers
France
$1,389,663
Willis Towers Watson appoints Alex Shepherd as Head of Global Facultative
Willis Towers Watson, a leading global advisory, broking and solutions company, announced that it has appointed Alex Shepherd as Head of Global Facultative.
Alex Shepherd joins Willis Towers Watson from ERS Syndicate 1856, where he served as Active Underwriter driving performance and growth across all classes. Alex will report into Garret Gaughan, Head of Global Markets P&C Hub and Facultative as the broker seeks to replicate the success of a Hub approach in its Facultative business.
“Alex Shepherd brings almost 25 years of experience in the Direct and Facultative market across a number of Lines of Business. He has the experience and vision we need to move our Facultative business forward, leveraging the experience we have gained through creating and operating a truly connected and aligned global facultative business.” said Adam Garrard, Global Head of Corporate Risk and Broking. “He will also be harnessing our unrivalled in-house analytics capabilities to provide cedants with strategic consultancy combined with transactional broking. I am excited by the possibilities presented by bringing these skills together in a way that no other broking house has managed and the significant value we can create for our cedants. We really are creating something special.”
Commenting on his appointment Alex said ‘I am excited to be joining WTW to lead the global facultative team and build out the facultative team of the future. I am confident that we will re-define facultative broking, using the data and analytics capability available within WTW. We will be breaking down the traditional barriers that our competitors can’t see past to deliver truly unique products that will benefit our cedants.’
In addition to his time at ERS, Alex Shepherd has held various roles at RenaissanceRe, Canopius, ACE Global Markets and Marsh, he also holds a B.A. and M.A. from the University of London.
Willis Tower Watson’s head of corporate risk and broking (CRB) for GB Alastair Swift said ‘In talking with our Cedant Customers they are looking for greater value from their Facultative brokers. At WTW we have invested heavily in our in-house analytics, which means we are uniquely placed to provide the advisory services that will enable our customers to buy their Facultative covers far more strategically than they have in the past. Alex’s appointment is a key step for us in redefining the role of the Facultative broker.”
Willis Towers Watson launches Optimum SAA, raising the bar again on investment best practice
Willis Towers Watson’s Insurance Investment Team has announced the launch of its latest version of strategic asset allocation software, Optimum SAA. The cloud-based platform helps insurers and wealth management companies find their optimal asset allocation weightings to achieve better risk management and investment return.
According to Willis Towers Watson, many organisations struggle to find an appropriate strategic asset allocation system. Common issues include unstable optimisation techniques that are not fit for purpose; bespoke IT systems that are expensive, inflexible and don’t meet regulatory requirements; poor assumptions from calibrations that lack robustness; and poor interpretability of model outputs due to improper KPIs.
Designed to enable Chief Investment Officers, Chief Financial Officers and Risk Managers overcome these challenges, Optimum SAA uses superior modelling and stable optimisation techniques to help companies better understand their current asset allocation position and to determine the optimised asset allocation within set constraints.
Ash Belur, Director at Willis Towers Watson, said: “Investment professionals want to develop robust strategic asset allocations to meet their specific needs and to optimise investment returns and manage risks. Optimum SAA cuts through the complexity of strategic asset allocation to produce optimised and practical investment portfolios that reflect a company’s constraints, objectives and risk appetite.”
Drawing on over 30 years of assumptions committee experience and robust processes for producing asset return assumptions, Willis Towers Watson Optimum SAA provides trusted calibrations for a broad range of asset classes, with flexibility to reflect specific investment views held by an insurer or wealth management company.
U.S. commercial insurance prices increase again in the second quarter but have moderated
U.S. commercial insurance prices increased again during the second quarter of 2021, according to leading global advisory, broking and solutions company Willis Towers Watson’s Commercial Lines Insurance Pricing Survey (CLIPS). The survey compared prices charged on policies underwritten during the second quarter of 2021 to those charged for the same coverage and quarter in 2020 and found the aggregate commercial price change was just above 6%.
Data for nearly all lines indicated significant price increases in the second quarter. Excess/umbrella still showed the largest price increases, while commercial auto, property, and directors’ and officers’ liability increases were also near or above double digits. Workers compensation continued to indicate a slight price reduction, in contrast to nearly all other surveyed lines. Reported price changes for account sizes were all below double-digit increases except for specialty lines.
“The rate of price increases has moderated again in the second quarter while still elevated versus historical norms. This is largely driven by significantly lower price increases for excess/umbrella and directors’ and officers’ liability than previous quarters,” said Yi Jing, director, Insurance Consulting and Technology, Willis Towers Watson.
CLIPS is a retrospective look at historical changes in commercial property & casualty insurance (P&C) prices and claim cost inflation. A forward-looking analysis of commercial P&C trends, outlook and rate predictions can be found in Willis Towers Watson’s Insurance Marketplace Realities series.
Willis Towers Watson appoints new Canadian Property & Casualty Broking Leader
Willis Towers Watson, a leading global advisory, broking and solutions company, announced that Kate Mead is the new Head of its Canadian Property & Casualty Broking Team.
Previously Willis Towers Watson’s Practice Leader for the Midwest, Northeast US & Canadian Environmental business, Kate will now focus on strengthening both client and insurer relationships in Canada, provide strategic guidance to support business development, and promote Willis Towers Watson’s leading analytical capabilities.
“I am honoured to be taking on the leadership of the Canadian broking team at such an exciting time”, said Mead. “We have new opportunities to capture momentum across all our product lines, to grow our talent, and to continue providing outstanding service to mid-size, national and global clients with our trademark holistic approach to broking, analytics, claims and loss control.”
Mike Liss, Head of Corporate Risk & Broking, North America, at Willis Towers Watson said: “I am delighted to announce Kate as our new Broking Leader of the Canadian business. Canada is a key component of our global strategy with a strong client base and growth potential. This appointment continues our desire to build on a world class team, expand our visibility in the market and leverage our business strengths. We look forward to elevating our presence in Canada with Kate as a key member of our leadership.”
Willis Towers Watson selects Carl Hess as President and Future CEO
Willis Towers Watson (NASDAQ: WLTW), a leading global advisory, broking and solutions company, announced that its board of directors has unanimously selected Carl Hess as the company’s new president and next chief executive officer (CEO). Hess, who currently serves as Willis Towers Watson’s Head of Investment, Risk and Reinsurance business segment, will immediately assume the president role and succeed John Haley, upon his retirement, as CEO on January 1, 2022.
“Following a thorough, multi-year succession planning process, including input from a third-party consultant to assess the experience and attributes of potential internal and external candidates, the Board is confident Carl is the right person to guide the company forward,” said Victor Ganzi, Chairman. “Carl is an exceptional leader with a strong track record of delivering results, depth of experience and understanding across Willis Towers Watson’s various businesses and a proven ability to bring together and motivate colleagues across the company to deliver value for clients and shareholders. We look forward to his continued contributions as president and future CEO. On behalf of the Board, I want to thank John for his years of thoughtful leadership and continued guidance during this transition.”
Haley added, “Carl has played a key role in the evolution and growth of Willis Towers Watson through his diverse leadership roles across our business segments and geographies. I’m confident that with his leadership, Willis Towers Watson will continue to offer a compelling colleague experience, innovate and adapt to address client needs, deliver significant value for our shareholders and better the communities in which we live and work.”
“I’m honored by the opportunity to lead this exceptional company of talented, resilient and dedicated colleagues,” said Hess. “I am excited to fulfill our purpose for the benefit of our clients and all of our stakeholders: to create clarity and confidence today for a more sustainable tomorrow. Thanks to John’s leadership, Willis Towers Watson is well positioned to compete vigorously across our businesses around the world. I look forward to working together to ensure a smooth transition over the next several months.”
Hess began his career at the company in 1989 and has held diverse leadership positions spanning business segment and geography roles. Prior to his current role, Hess served as co-leader of North America at Willis Towers Watson and before that, managing director, the Americas, of Towers Watson. He served as the managing director of Towers Watson’s Investment business since January 2010 and also worked in a variety of roles for over 20 years at Watson Wyatt, lastly as global practice director of Watson Wyatt’s Investment business. Hess is a Fellow of the Society of Actuaries and the Conference of Consulting Actuaries, and a Chartered Enterprise Risk Analyst. He has a B.A. cum laude in logic and language from Yale University.
As previously announced, Willis Towers Watson will host an Investor Day on September 9, 2021. Specific details for this event will be announced at a later date.
Aon and Willis Towers Watson Mutually Agree to Terminate Combination Agreement
AON and Willis Towers Watson announced today that the firms have agreed to terminate their business combination agreement and end litigation with the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ). The proposed combination was first announced on March 9, 2020.
“Despite regulatory momentum around the world, including the recent approval of our combination by the European Commission, we reached an impasse with the U.S. Department of Justice,” said Aon CEO Greg Case. “The DOJ position overlooks that our complementary businesses operate across broad, competitive areas of the economy. We are confident that the combination would have accelerated our shared ability to innovate on behalf of clients, but the inability to secure an expedited resolution of the litigation brought us to this point.”
Case added, “Over the last 16 months, our colleagues have turned potential challenges into opportunities to advance our Aon United strategy. We built on our track record of innovation, continued to deliver industry-leading performance and progress against our key financial metrics and move forward with the strongest colleague engagement and client feedback scores in over a decade. Our respect for Willis Towers Watson and the team members we’ve come to know through this process has only grown.”
“Our team’s resilience and commitment are a source of pride and confidence. They have continued to bring to life Willis Towers Watson’s compelling value proposition to better serve our clients in the areas of people, risk and capital,” said Willis Towers Watson CEO John Haley. “Going forward, our focus remains steadfast on our colleagues, our clients and our shareholders. We believe we are well-positioned to compete vigorously across our businesses around the world and will continue to introduce important innovations to the market. We appreciate and deeply respect all the Aon colleagues we got to know through this process.”
In connection with the termination of the business combination agreement, Aon will pay the $1 billion termination fee to Willis Towers Watson, Willis Towers Watson’s proposed scheme of arrangement has now lapsed, and both organizations will move forward independently. Both firms will provide further financial updates and outlooks on their respective Q2 2021 earnings calls, which take place on July 30 for Aon and August 3 for Willis Towers Watson.
LifeSight appoints Howard Williams to its board of trustees
LifeSight, Willis Towers Watson’s UK DC master trust, has announced the appointment of Howard Williams as a new trustee. Howard replaces Shar Nebhrajani who stepped down at the end of June after serving two terms on LifeSight’s trustee board.
Howard has a 35 year career in investment management having worked at J.P. Morgan Asset Management for more than two decades where he was Chief Investment Officer and Head of Global Equities until his retirement in 2017.
During his investment career Howard worked closely with a wide variety of institutional investors including defined contribution and defined benefit pension schemes based in the UK and around the world. He is now a Non-Executive Director at Schroder Unit Trust Ltd and Senior Independent Director at Dunedin Income Growth Investment Trust PLC.
LifeSight has a five-person trustee board, responsible for the oversight and delivery of its services to members, all of whom are independent of Willis Towers Watson. The trustee board contains a broad range of skills and experience which has been recognised for its strength. With nearly 250,000 members, LifeSight manages over £10bn of Assets under Management.
Earlier this year, as part of its ongoing commitment to sustainable investing, LifeSight committed to net zero greenhouse gas emissions across all its default funds by 2050 at the latest, with at least a 50% reduction by 2030.
Howard Williams, LifeSight trustee, said: “I strongly believe in helping LifeSight members achieve the best outcome from their retirement savings by carefully managing the risk and reward in their LifeSight investments. I have many years experience in investment management and am committed to working with the independent board at LifeSight to ensure that members can access an attractive range of investment options where good corporate governance, sustainable investment and climate risks are explicitly integrated into the investment approach.”
Jane Platt, chair of the LifeSight trustee board, said: “Howard is a hugely experienced investment expert who brings over three decades of industry experience to the LifeSight trustee board. His commitment to achieving the best possible financial outcomes through strong governance will greatly benefit LifeSight members.”
Willis Towers Watson launches new Sports and Entertainment Industry Group
Willis Towers Watson (NASDAQ:WLTW), a leading global advisory, broking and solutions company, announced the launch of a new Sports & Entertainment Industry Group which will support the Willis Towers Watson (WTW) global network with Sports & Entertainment (S&E) organisations, to identify, mitigate and transfer risks associated with the sector.
Ian Tomlin, Head of Accident and Heath, will lead the new London based industry group which brings together the breadth of Willis Towers Watson expertise, in a proposition targeted towards both sports and entertainment organisations and professionals to provide advice on their exposures across asset, liability and human capital risk.
“We are excited to launch the Sports & Entertainment industry group, which will align a breadth of expertise across the network to offer the sector a new comprehensive, global approach to risk management.”Ian Tomlin | Head of Accident & Health, Willis Towers Watson
Ian Tomlin, Head of Accident & Health, Willis Towers Watson commented, “We are excited to launch the Sports & Entertainment industry group, which will align a breadth of expertise across the network to offer the sector a new comprehensive, global approach to risk management. We are delighted to be working across the global sports industry as well as supporting event organisers and production companies in partnership with the Willis Towers Watson Leisure and Hospitality Practice.”
Adam Garrard, Global Head of CRB, Willis Towers Watson added, “Clients in the sports and entertainment sector have been badly affected by Covid-19 and new and emerging risks including around event cancellation and pandemic related coverage as well as the increasing need for spectator management are critical to the future of this sector. As Our expertise in this sector ensures we can provide dedicated Sports and Entertainment support to clients which can address the unique people and risk management needs of this industry.”