In today’s briefing:
- Insignia Financial (IFL AU): Bain and CC Capital Bumps to A$5.00, While Brookfield Drops Out
- S&P/ASX 200 Index Outlook Post-Rebalance
- Seeking Value and Safety in HK/China: SHKP 16 HK
- Lucror Analytics – Morning Views Asia
- MGIC Investment Corporation: Will Their Capital Management Strategy Pay Off?
- How Is Lincoln National Corporation Shifting Business Mix Towards Spread-Based Products!
- F&G Annuities Life: Is Their Expansion in Reinsurance and Offshore Operations A Game Changer In The Making?
- Aflac Incorporated: Will Its Reinsurance & Capital Efficiency Help Up Its Game?
- Asia Real Estate Tracker (10-Mar-2025): Warburg Pincus teams with SK Group for Korean senior living.
- Comment on Exchange Rate EUR/USD – February 26, 2025
Insignia Financial (IFL AU): Bain and CC Capital Bumps to A$5.00, While Brookfield Drops Out
- On 7 March, Insignia Financial (IFL AU) disclosed a revised non-binding privatisation offer from Bain and CC Capital at A$5.00, an 8.7% premium to their previous A$4.60 offer.
- The exclusive due diligence period ends on 17 April (six weeks from signing the exclusivity deed). The Board will recommend a binding offer of at least A$5.00.
- The offer is attractive compared to historical trading ranges, peer multiples and precedent transactions. Therefore, a binding offer would gain shareholder support.
S&P/ASX 200 Index Outlook Post-Rebalance
- The S&P/ASX 200 (AS51 INDEX) has suffered a continuous sell-off for the past 3 weeks. The index is deeply oversold, our model predicts an imminent reversal.
- The reversal could lift the index to the 8091-8208 price area, but the index may start to fall again after that.
- As posted by Brian Freitas there has been 7 changes for the S&P/ASX 200 (index rebalance), read his insight for further details on this.
Seeking Value and Safety in HK/China: SHKP 16 HK
- MSCI China has rallied 19% YTD, outperforming DM and EM by 18% and 14% respectively. We think it makes sense to look at China and Hong Kong again
- Part of the rally is driven by AI optimism. In terms of fund flow, we are seeing increasing south-bound fund flow to HK equity market at a fast pace
- We think Sun Hung Kai Properties, which is a proxy for Hong Kong, may benefit and play the catch up game on the back of very attractive valuation
Lucror Analytics – Morning Views Asia
- In today’s Morning Views publication we comment on developments of the following high yield issuers: Longfor Group, Melco Resorts, Sands China, Tata Motors
In the US, February nonfarm payrolls increased to 151 k (160 k e / 125 k revised p), albeit the figure came in slightly below estimates. Moreover, the January number was revised downwards to 125 k (143 k p), with the two-month revision at negative 2 k (+100 k p). The unemployment rate edged up to 4.1% (4.0% e / 4.0% p). The average hourly earnings rose 0.3% m-o-m (0.3% e / 0.4% revised p) and 4.0% y-o-y (4.1% e / 3.9% revised p).
Fed Chairman Jerome Powell has reiterated that the US central bank is in no rush to reduce rates. He said: “Despite elevated levels of uncertainty, the US economy continues to be in a good place”, adding that “sentiment readings have not been a good predictor of consumption growth in recent years”.
MGIC Investment Corporation: Will Their Capital Management Strategy Pay Off?
- The recent results from MGIC Investment Corporation for the fourth quarter of 2024 highlight both strengths and potential challenges within the company.
- With a net income of $185 million for Q4 and a 14% annualized return on equity, MGIC showcases financial stability.
- In contrast, for the full year, net income stood at $763 million, a moderate increase from $730 million in the prior year.
How Is Lincoln National Corporation Shifting Business Mix Towards Spread-Based Products!
- Lincoln Financial Group has reported its financial performance for the fourth quarter and full year of 2024, showcasing a blend of strategic progress and challenges that reflect its ongoing transformation.
- A key highlight of the results is the marked increase in adjusted operating income, which reached its highest level in three years amidst a backdrop of strategic repositioning and capital strengthening efforts.
- In 2024, the company successfully raised its RBC ratio to over 430% by year-end.
F&G Annuities Life: Is Their Expansion in Reinsurance and Offshore Operations A Game Changer In The Making?
- Fidelity & Guaranty Life (F&G) has reported a robust performance for the fourth quarter and full year of 2024.
- The company achieved record gross sales of $15.3 billion, marking a 16% increase from the previous year, driven by strong demand across its individual annuity and life solutions segments.
- Retail channel sales reached a record $12 billion, a 20% gain, highlighting the significant traction in its Fixed Index Annuity (FIA), Multi-Year Guaranteed Annuity (MYGA), and Indexed Universal Life (IUL) products.
Aflac Incorporated: Will Its Reinsurance & Capital Efficiency Help Up Its Game?
- In the fourth quarter of 2024, Aflac Incorporated reported strong earnings, with net earnings per diluted share rising by 23.8% to $9.63, and adjusted earnings per diluted share increasing by 15.7% to $7.21.
- This positive performance was largely driven by the company’s operations in Japan, which accounted for over 70% of pretax adjusted earnings.
- Aflac Japan enjoyed a stable premium persistency rate of 93.4% and reported a 15.5% growth in pretax adjusted earnings.
Asia Real Estate Tracker (10-Mar-2025): Warburg Pincus teams with SK Group for Korean senior living.
- Warburg Pincus and SK Group have joined forces to launch a new senior living venture in Korea.
- KKR, APG, Gaw, and Alyssa will be participating in discussions about residential trends on MTD TV Forum.
- Alyssa has extended its partnership with Dai-Ichi Life for the management of 669 Japanese apartments.
Comment on Exchange Rate EUR/USD – February 26, 2025
- During the period under consideration, i.e. January 27th, 2025 to February 26th, 2025, the EUR/USD pair posted both downward and upward swings.
- In the beginning, it faced a general decrease, until February 10th where the pair faced a sharp increase.
- After that, it fluctuated sideways in a slight but steady upward momentum, and by the end of the period the price traded at almost the same level as of January 27th.
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