news

beijing business daily (reporter li xiumei) the policy system for "long-term investment" of insurance funds has made substantial progress. on september 26, the central financial office and the china securities regulatory commission jointly issued the "guiding opinions on promoting the entry of medium- and long-term funds into the market" (hereinafter referred to as the "guiding opinions"), which mentioned that a long-term assessment mechanism of more than three years for medium- and long-term funds such as commercial insurance funds and various pension funds should be established and improved to promote the establishment of a long-term performance orientation.

wu qing, chairman of the china securities regulatory commission, revealed at a press conference held by the state information office on september 24 that it is necessary to improve the institutional environment for "long-term money and long-term investment", enhance the regulatory inclusiveness of long-term equity investment, fully implement long-term assessments of more than three years, and promote insurance institutions to make firm long-term investments.

insurance funds have a long liability cycle and are naturally long-term and patient capital. in the past period of time, regulatory authorities have made many attempts to facilitate the entry of insurance funds into the market. in september 2023, the financial regulatory administration lowered the risk factors for insurance companies to invest in stocks such as the constituent stocks of the shanghai and shenzhen 300 index and common stocks listed on the science and technology innovation board. lowering the risk factor means that the proportion of insurance funds invested in securities can be increased. in october 2023, the ministry of finance clearly adjusted the "net asset return" of the operating efficiency performance evaluation indicator of state-owned commercial insurance companies from the current year assessment to a combination of "3-year cycle + current year" assessment.

however, we have to admit that there is still room for improvement in the institutional environment of insurance funds in terms of performance assessment and investment operations. the reporter learned that under the current accounting system, stock price fluctuations will affect its current profits. in addition, the assessment cycle is too short, so insurance funds will pay more attention to short-term market fluctuations when investing, and have many concerns about "long-term investment".

focusing on the current situation, the "guiding opinions" pointed out that it is necessary to cultivate and expand patient capital such as insurance funds, break through the institutional barriers that affect the long-term investment of insurance funds, improve the assessment and evaluation mechanism, enrich the long-term investment model of commercial insurance funds, improve the equity investment supervision system, urge and guide state-owned insurance companies to optimize the long-term assessment mechanism, promote insurance institutions to become firm value investors, and provide stable long-term investment for the capital market.

wang peng, an associate researcher at the beijing academy of social sciences, pointed out that improving the assessment and evaluation mechanism and enriching the investment model will help stimulate the enthusiasm of insurance funds for long-term investment, increase the scale of their equity investment, and further strengthen the medium- and long-term capital strength of the capital market. by establishing and improving the long-term assessment mechanism, the impact of short-term market fluctuations on insurance fund investment decisions can be reduced, and insurance funds can pay more attention to long-term value investment and steady growth of assets, thus providing a more stable source of funds for the capital market.

financial commentator guo shiliang believes that the series of policies mentioned in the "guiding opinions" are mainly conducive to improving the stability of long-term funds, promoting long-term investment and value investment, cultivating patient capital, and continuously providing liquidity guarantees for the capital market.

at the above-mentioned state council information office press conference, li yunze, director of the financial supervision administration, said that the administration will continue to support the steady development of the capital market, expand the pilot reform of long-term investment of insurance funds, support other qualified insurance institutions to establish private securities investment funds, and further increase investment in the capital market. insurance companies will be urged to optimize the assessment mechanism and encouraged to guide insurance funds to carry out long-term equity investment. industry insiders believe that it is expected that with the promotion of subsequent policies, supervision is expected to further optimize solvency supervision and accounting rules.

as of the end of the first half of 2024, the balance of insurance company funds was 30.87 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 10.98%. in the future, how can more than 30 trillion insurance funds create a "model" for patient capital investment? wang peng believes that in terms of specific measures, insurance institutions should actively respond to policy calls, optimize long-term assessment mechanisms, reduce short-term performance pressure, and pay more attention to long-term investment and value investment. in terms of investment research capacity building, the ability to judge market trends, industry prospects and individual stock values ​​should be improved to provide solid research support for long-term investment.

wang zhaojiang, executive director of shenzhen beishan changcheng fund investment research institute, suggested that insurance institutions should do a good job in investor education and communication; in terms of investment, they should focus on the future, plan ahead, actively play the role of insurance funds in optimizing asset allocation, integrate the advantages of various types of assets, and maximize asset allocation work.

judging from the statements of institutions, recently, large state-owned insurance companies have expressed that they will respond to the call of regulatory authorities and deploy measures to enter the market with long-term funds. for example, the relevant person in charge of china life group said in an interview with the media that they will pay more attention to finding the "long-term investment code" from the national strategic deployment, continuously optimize the investment layout, and better realize the unity of social value and economic value. the relevant person in charge of picc asset management also revealed in a media interview that they will make good use of policy tools to appropriately increase the overall scale of stock allocation; actively implement the long-term assessment orientation, and reflect the patient capital positioning of insurance funds.