Insurance Funds: Can Asset Securitization Alleviate Investment Challenges? (AI Translation)
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- Insurance companies are moving away from alternative investments in real estate and local government bonds due to increased risks, with a significant decline in insurance company bond investment plans (referred to as 'insurance debt plans').
- The insurance industry's total assets under management reached approximately 27.67 trillion yuan in 2023, with alternative investments including the roughly 3 trillion yuan insurance debt plans being relied on to boost overall investment returns amidst declining yields across asset classes.
- Regulatory penalties and stricter oversight on alternative investments, alongside challenges in finding high-yield assets for equity investments, are pushing insurance funds towards more cautious strategies, including a shift towards asset securitization and equity investments but with limited enthusiasm due to complexity and lower returns compared to traditional insurance debt plans.
文｜财新周刊 丁锋 吴雨俭
By Caixin Weekly's Ding Feng, Wu Yujian
保险公司寄望另类投资拉高资产端收益率的路子，正在变得越来越窄；另类投资中以地产债和地方债为底层资产的保险公司债权投资计划，正在被一些保险公司抛弃。
Insurance companies are finding the path to boosting asset returns through alternative investments increasingly narrow; some insurers are abandoning their debt investment plans in real estate and municipal bonds, which constitute the underlying assets of these alternative investments.
保险公司债权投资计划，又被称为“保债计划”，是保险资产管理机构作为受托人面向委托人发行受益凭证，募集资金以债权方式主要投资基础设施、不动产等符合国家政策的项目，并按照约定条件和实际投资收益情况向投资者支付收益、不保证本金支付和收益水平的保险资产管理产品。
Insurance company debt investment plans, also known as "insurance bond plans," are financial products managed by insurance asset management institutions. Acting as trustees, these institutions issue benefit certificates to investors, raising funds to primarily invest in infrastructure, real estate, and other projects that align with national policies through debt financing. The returns to investors are based on agreed conditions and the actual investment income, without guaranteeing the principal or the level of returns.
2023年，保险业资金运用余额约27.67万亿元，同比增长10.47%。从大类资产配置来看，银行存款余额约2.72万亿元，占比9.84%；股票和证券投资基金余额约3.33万亿元，占比12.02%；债券余额约12.57万亿元，占比45.41%；其余约三分之一主要为另类投资。由于各类资产收益率持续下行，另类投资被险企寄予厚望用来增厚整体投资收益，这其中包括存量规模估计3万亿元左右的保债计划。
In 2023, the insurance industry's funds utilization balance reached approximately RMB 27.67 trillion, marking a year-on-year increase of 10.47%. From the perspective of broad asset allocation, bank deposit balances amounted to about RMB 2.72 trillion, accounting for 9.84%; stock and securities investment fund balances were around RMB 3.33 trillion, representing 12.02%; bond balances stood at approximately RMB 12.57 trillion, making up 45.41%; the remaining roughly one-third was primarily allocated to alternative investments. Due to the continuous decline in yields across various asset classes, insurance companies have placed high hopes on alternative investments to enhance overall investment returns, including an estimated scale of RMB 3 trillion in insurance debt plans.
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