As one of the largest investors in the world, insurers can have an outsized impact on markets and investment flows.

So what's on the mind of this influential investor base?

You have investors excited about the returns you get from the yields themselves, so just owning the asset,

and then the potential appreciation you get as yields fall and bond prices rise.

So I think there's real interest and excitement about fixed income returns for the first time in a long time.

I'm Allison Nathan and this is Goldman Sachs exchanges. After taking a more cautious approach to their investments last year, insurance companies appear to be more willing to take on risk in their portfolios.

Today I'm sitting down with Goldman Sachs's Mike Siegel,

Globalhead of the Insurance Asset Management and Liquidity Solutions businesses,

and Matt Armis, Globalhead of Insurance Asset Management,

to discuss how insurers are approaching the global macroeconomic environment,

as well as key findings from their 13th annual insurance survey.

Mike, Matt, welcome back to the program.

Thank you.

Glad to be here.

So when we sat down a year ago,

we were facing a more worrying economic environment.

Inflation and recession fears were top of mind.

But today the macro backdrop seems more constructive.

So how our insurers thinking about the investment landscape today?

Mike, maybe you can start.

So Allison, you're absolutely right.

When we spoke last year, if you remember. can start. So, Allison, you're absolutely right.

...