Sage Advisory Services has crossed the US$30 billion mark in assets under management, with the captive insurance space driving its growth in the insurance sector over the past decade. The Austin, Texas-based investment manager, which is marking 30 years in business, says insurance now represents its largest corporate line of business, with expansion powered by the alternative risk transfer and captive space. Sage says it draws on 30 years of experience managing investment portfolios for the captive industry, positioning it to assist captive managers, risk consultants and boards of directors through the life cycle of each captive, from de novo to reserve to mature. The firm has built its risk management process into a three-tiered application covering corporate governance, enterprise-wide initiatives and portfolio management, designed to match capital to risk and provide oversight of market dynamics. Sage’s portfolio approach generally applies a buy-and-maintain strategy with market-driven tactical overlays, supported by holdings-based measurements, statistically based analysis and factor-based stress testing, alongside cash flow analysis, asset-liability studies and liability-driven investment approaches. Looking ahead, Sage is entering the insurance-linked securities market through a partnership with a Bermuda-based ILS manager, responding to captive client inquiries on alternative products and seeking returns lightly correlated to financial markets. The firm has also initiated a relationship with a third-party global investment platform to leverage insurance relationships in Puerto Rico as a springboard to captives in Latin America, covering Mexico, Panama and Colombia, with an operational base in Singapore for Asia. The commentary was authored by Gregory Cobb, director of insurance solutions at Sage Advisory.
