Mumbai, July 26: Europe’s largest life insurer, Standard Life’s CEO Iain Lumsden said the 180-year old life insurance company will continue investing in equity despite the recent crash in stock prices that forced UK insurers to cut bonuses. Lumsden said the lesson that Indian insurers could learn from this is to be careful about investor appetite for volatility. He said that Standard Life, which has over 70% of its assets in equity, had learned that there is a need to communicate the existence of volatility.
On Standard Life’s interest in the HDFC group, Lumsden said his company did not have any plans to increase strategic shareholding or make any open offers for HDFC shares. Standard Life holds 14.5% in HDFC by way of both foreign direct investment and through the FII route. Should the shareholding cross 15% the company would need to make an open offer as per Securities and Exchanges Board of India guidelines.
But, the company was interested in increasing its stake in HDFC Standard Life Insurance to 50% should the regulations be relaxed. The company has 49% in HDFC MF. “We see ourselves as a life insurance and a fund management company,” he said. Standard Life has been forced to reduce return `with profits’ policies following the crash in stockmarkets.
Bureau Report