Aviva Share Discussion Threads

[spud] 30/10/2019 11:15

UBS, Allianz, Aviva and Pimco join UN to rev up sustainable development investments
Pedro Gonçalves
29 October 2019

Several fund management groups have joined asset owners and business leaders from around the world to sign up to a new United Nations-backed corporate alliance on sustainability.

The CEO Alliance on Global Investors for Sustainable Development (GISD) comprises of 30 chief executives from across the globe and is aimed at harnessing the insights of private sector leaders on ways to unblock impediments and implement solutions for scaling long-term investment into sustainable development, in line with the SDGs.

Thirty financial groups such as Allianz, Aviva, Pimco, Citi, Nuveen, Santander and UBS commit to provide "decisive leadership" in directing resources to achieving the UN's Sustainable Development Goals.

We see a strong business rationale for catering to the growing importance of, and demand for, sustainability"
"We face widening inequality, increased devastation from conflicts and disasters and a rapidly warming Earth. These leaders have seized our sense of urgency, recognizing that our pace must be at a run, not a crawl", António Guterres told business leaders.

"They are committing to cooperate across borders, across financial sectors and even with their competitors, because it is both ethical and good business sense to invest in sustainable development for all people on a healthy planet."

UBS Group CEO, Sergio P. Ermotti said, "I'm very pleased about this invitation which is a testament to our efforts to create long-term positive value for clients, employees, investors, and society. We see a strong business rationale for catering to the growing importance of, and demand for, sustainability."

By the end of 2021, UBS has committed to raise $5bn of SDG-related impact investments, which aim to create a measurable positive social or environmental impact as well as a compelling return for clients.

The Swiss bank launched the first 100% sustainable multi-asset portfolio for private clients, which includes SDG-related impact investments in equities and bonds. The portfolio recently surpassed $7bn in invested assets.

"Trillions of dollars are needed to bridge the funding gap between where we are now, and where we need to be to achieve the SDGs," said Emmanuel Roman, chief executive officer of Pimco.

"We are extremely proud to be a member of the UN Secretary-General's GISD Alliance and look forward to working with other members to help bridge that gap."

A few of the actionable solutions the alliance is expected to advance, include encouraging innovation in financial instruments, revisiting existing and new business models aligned with the 2030 Agenda, and addressing industry obstacles to long-term investment in sustainable development.

spud

[spud] 25/10/2019 12:00

DUAL Asset announces major Aviva partnership
by Paul Lucas 24 Oct 2019

UK insurance giant Aviva has a brand new partner, in the form of DUAL Asset.

The latter, part of DUAL, the underwriting arm of Hyperion Insurance Group, has today revealed a long-term partnership with the insurer focused on its UK legal indemnity insurance business.

Under its Norwich Union brand, Aviva will become part of DUAL Asset’s online comparison websites including mylegal-indemnity-shop.com, in England and Wales, my-title-insurance-shop.com in Northern Ireland and my-defective-title-shop.com in Scotland. The move makes a range of insurance products for both residential and commercial property transactions available under the Norwich Union brand via the quote and buy portal, while Aviva will also provide £75 million of capacity to DUAL Asset for right of light policies.

It’s a deal that DUAL Asset believes “consolidates its position as one of the leading legal indemnity underwriters worldwide.”

“We’re clearly delighted to be partnering with such a strong brand in Aviva, which will further consolidate the strength of our online comparison sites, as the easiest and quickest way to get quotes from the leading players in the market,” said Ian Keith, managing director at DUAL Asset. “DUAL Asset is always looking for ways to evolve our product offering, using technology to deliver best-in-class products to our clients and these market-first portals are another example of this.

“In addition, Aviva providing rights of light capacity allows us to seriously and competitively enter a market that we have not focused on to date.”

Kevin Mills, head of legal indemnities at Aviva, commented that the two offer “well-known and trusted brands.”

“I am confident that together we can deliver a range of products to suit transactions of all shapes and sizes,” he said. “I have known many of the management team at DUAL for a number of years and am confident they share the same core belief as the team here at Aviva that delivering a consistently high level of customer service is paramount.”

spud

[tmmalik] 24/10/2019 17:39

JqkkwwkwwiY

[danielbird193] 24/10/2019 17:37

Would it be helpful to focus on Aviva and leave the Brexit trolling for other forums?

[jordaggy] 24/10/2019 17:02

Not if Boris gets his GE...then hard Brexit! ;) which would be my choice!

[imagining] 24/10/2019 16:56

I'm in it for the well-covered and progressive yield,and also,the inevitably resultant CG's to follow in the medium term. Aviva is ticking up nicely (c20% in the last six weeks) despite all the political shenanigans. If Tulloch pulls the right levers,we could be knocking on the door of £6 to £7 p/sh by next Easter imo.

[spud] 23/10/2019 19:49

EI - Absolutely although I'm in it for the yield, a touch of CG doesn't go amiss occasionally!spud

[essentialinvestor] 22/10/2019 12:08

Spud, this is looking a lot better for you.

[whatsup32] 22/10/2019 12:05

Spud, article unfortunately from fools.com
Not to be taken seriously .

Regardless of that . I think good times are ahead and happily holding

[spud] 22/10/2019 10:57

From yesterday evening Blackrock update:"Over the quarter we initiated a position in Aviva, WPP and Grafton Group. spud

[spud] 21/10/2019 11:36

Shares in insurance group and long term savings manager Aviva (LSE: AV) look dirt cheap right now. Indeed, shares in the business are currently changing hands at a forward P/E of 6.8 and yield 7.8% — one of the highest dividend yields in the FTSE 100.

By comparison, the rest of the insurance industry is dealing at an average multiple of 11.3, which implies shares in Aviva could be undervalued by as much as 65% from current levels to hit the sector average.

When you add the company’s dividend yield of 7.8% into the equation, it is possible investors could see a total return of nearly 100% over the next few years.

The question I want to try and answer today is, can the Aviva share price really double your money or does the stock deserve its current valuation?

Changing of the guard

After an extended period without a CEO, Maurice Tulloch finally took over Aviva’s management in March. He has since been working flat out ever since to try to restore investor confidence in the business.

Tulloch has announced a cost-cutting plan and is working on the details of separating Aviva’s UK business into two divisions, general insurance and life insurance. This is part of his plan to “crack the complexity” of the Aviva group, which he believes has been holding the company back.

Tulloch is planning to slash costs by £300m, which is equivalent to around 10% of last year’s operating profit. That could mean a big jump in earnings for shareholders if the plan comes off without a hitch.

Still, at this point, the plan is only in its early stages, and we’ve yet to see any concrete results on either the cost reduction or simplification fronts. Over the next six-to-12 months, we should get some more information from the business detailing the progress made and further actions to be taken. Aviva usually publishes its annual report for the previous year around March.

Profits rising

In my opinion, the performance of the Aviva share price hinges on the company’s restructuring. If the new CEO can successfully reduce group complexity and cut out unnecessary costs, a 10% increase in operating profit could push the stock higher by 10%, assuming all else remains equal.

If the restructuring does not unfold as envisaged, the Aviva share price could continue to languish at current levels. Nonetheless, even in this scenario, investors will still be entitled to that 7.8% dividend yield.

On that basis, I reckon the Aviva share price is likely to return a minimum of 7.8% over the next 12-months, and possibly 18% to 20% if profits receive a boost from cost-cutting efforts. If Tulloch and team successfully execute their restructuring plan, then it is also highly probable that the market will also award the stock a higher earnings multiple. Although, it is difficult to say with any certainty if this will really happen right now.

So overall, I think it is highly likely the Aviva share price will produce a positive return over the next 12 months. However, I reckon it is unlikely the stock will double your money.

spud

[spud] 21/10/2019 11:32

Insurers treating vaping the same as tobacco smoking
21-10-2019

Insurance companies are starting to treat vaping the same as tobacco smoking when assessing premiums for life insurance and mortgage protection policies, reports The Sunday Times.

Aviva and Zurich have confirmed they have changed their approach to e-cigarettes in the past year. Smokers typically have to pay up to twice as much as non-smokers for life insurance, because half of all smokers die from a smoking-related disease.

Aviva said it changed its policy on e-cigarettes last year due to “uncertainty on the long-term impact” of vaping, the newspaper reported. The insurer is to continue to monitor the issue.

Zurich confirmed it had changed its approach to vaping after consultation with reinsurers. It said the approach was based on “some research pointing to a high frequency of dual use of e-cigarettes and normal cigarettes”.

A number of mortgage brokers said lower premiums for vapers were no longer available in the market.

Several insurers, including the AA, had classified users of e-cigarettes as non-smokers if they had not smoked tobacco in the previous year. Zurich used to charge e-cigarette users more than non-smokers but not as much as tobacco smokers.

Nick McGowan, a mortgage broker with Lion.ie, said savings for vapers who did not smoke tobacco were no longer available. “The reinsurers changed their stance due to the lack of long-term data. They’ve taken a cautious approach,” he said.

John Geraghty, chief executive of LA Brokers, said he was not aware of any companies offering lower premiums for e-cigarette users any more. “Most life insurers ask applicants have they smoked cigarettes, cigars or pipe tobacco or used nicotine replacement products or e-cigarettes in the past 12 months,” he said. If the answer is yes, their premiums are loaded.

Joe Dunne, managing director of VIP electronic cigarettes, which has more than 20 stores in Ireland, said it was regrettable that insurance companies had made decisions based on “unfounded fears”. “The research is clear — vaping is 95% less harmful than smoking tobacco,” he said.

This view is accepted by Public Health England, but the HSE is more cautious, saying it does not advise using e-cigarettes to give up tobacco because “we don’t yet know how safe they are”.

The Sunday Times reported that Dunne claimed that recent coverage of vaping was based on a misunderstanding of US reports linking vaping to deaths. “It has since been clarified that those people were smoking cannabis, so it’s unfair to take action against e-cigarettes based on those deaths. It’s like banning alcohol because of the effects of moonshine,” he said.

spud

[dround87] 20/10/2019 16:42

That's already shown in the polls and why Labour are royally screwed. Corbyn will never see power. That's been clear for some time. What isn't shown is the impact on tories if BJ fails. Tories are on knife edge already as to whether they'll be able to outvote the sum of the opposition without brexit party help. Nigel turning the screws already to discredit BJs deal. You can be sure his words are appealing to folk in traditionally strong tory leave voting constituencies like those in Lincolnshire and Norfolk.

[wskill] 20/10/2019 09:50

Looking like Labour will be the biggest loser to the brexit party with the majority of their MPs going against the views of the electorate in their wards.

And rightly so they should never be returned to parliament merely to serve their own self interest.

[dround87] 20/10/2019 07:32

Take a small chunk of Tory seats and hand them to the brexit party. Not that farfetched.

[ianood] 19/10/2019 20:28

And then you woke up!

[dround87] 19/10/2019 20:04

Best case. Worst case being they don't get the legislation through, Nige moves in for the kill and BJ end up purring on his lap.

[dr biotech] 19/10/2019 18:50

If they extend by 3 months then there will be time for an election, tories will win based on Boris’ deal and we will end up with that.

Complete mess/bodge both sides will blame each other for years to come.

[tradejunkie2] 19/10/2019 16:47

Hoping for a new trade on Monday to pick up some cheap shares here o.O

[dround87] 19/10/2019 16:16

No they haven't. They've only kicked the can a bit further down the road. Yawn! Looks like a 3 month extension to come. Could end up with a no deal exit for a variety of reasons. I reckon there are low odds of it ever coming to pass but it's not impossible and not that difficult to see how it could happen.

[gaffer73] 19/10/2019 16:03

Well sort of, but not a certainty. Like everything else to do with Brexit!

[imagining] 19/10/2019 15:41

Not necessarily imv. After all, parliament has ensured we cannot be leaving the EU with a 'No Deal' by default.

[gaffer73] 19/10/2019 15:16

Sub 400p Monday then.

[spud] 18/10/2019 19:15

I'm pretty confident Boris can push his deal through - The whole county/Europe (Parliament included) are war weary and will support. This excludes the bleedin' Irish who were put on this mortal coil to be argumentative and never to agree on anything. Corbin's Whip will fail and a number of his dissidents will side with the Government. There, you heard it here first. Now form an orderly queue for next week's lottery numbers....spud