Mutuals With-Profits funds in 2013

Barnett Waddingham has completed its first investigation into the with-profits investment performance and strategy of a selection of Mutual insurers. The analysis is based on the  Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) forms submitted by 26 Mutuals to the PRA as at 31 December 2013.

In our analysis we have compared the investment return achieved by with-profits funds of Mutuals, commented on the sources of differences in return, and observed possible investment strategy trends.

We identified that there was a wide range of achieved returns over 2013 from a negative return for one company all the way up to the highest performer who achieved 16.2%. Asset allocation was a key driver with equities outperforming bonds over 2013 but relative manager performance also had a material impact.