ZURICH LIFE ASSURANCE PENSIONS & LIFE COMPANY
Zurich Life Assurance: Expertise and Resilience Joe Creegan, Head of Corporate Life & Pensions, says the past year has allowed the company to rise to the challenge of volatile markets and show their fund managers’ expertise.
“C
learly 2020 has been a very difficult year for our staff and our customers alike and an unprecedented year of change,” says Joe Creegan, Head of Corporate Life & Pensions, Ireland, at Zurich Life Assurance. Creegan notes that Zurich was already in the process of rolling out the equipment and set-up needed for staff to work remotely, and were relatively well prepared for the transition. “As a business we had already embarked on a journey to digitise many of our products and processes and the Covid-19 pandemic has accelerated that journey, as we have moved more services online and moved over 90% of our staff to remote working. “Our business has been quite resilient, as everybody has got used to this way of working. It has become the new norm, and it’s hard to see us going back to where we were a year ago, perhaps ever. “Work has been democratised in a way; everybody has the same challenges working in a room at home.” He highlights their initiatives around mental wellness to deal with the stresses and anxieties of the past year as something that has had a net
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positive effect on the culture of the organisation. “We are also involved with Rugby Players Ireland and the mental wellbeing campaign around ‘Tackle Your Feelings’ and have run events which have been very well-received.” ACTIVE APPROACH “Resilient” is a word he applies not only to the employees, but also to the company, facing into the challenges of the market. “In a year of volatile investment markets our active approach to investment management has delivered significant added value to our existing customers and we also seen increased interest
WHEN THE MARKET IS GOING UP, IT’S HARD TO DIFFERENTIATE BETWEEN A GOOD FUND MANAGER AND A BAD FUND MANAGER, BUT WHEN YOU GET VOLATILITY IN THE MARKET, THAT’S WHEN YOU CAN ACTUALLY DEMONSTRATE YOUR EXPERTISE.
from companies and individuals looking to move away from passive investment management, which has underdelivered for many years now, but particularly during the volatility witnessed in 2020. “Unlike many of our competitors who adopt a passive approach to investment management under the mantra of lower costs, we have made fast decisions and moved quickly over the period to reposition our pension scheme portfolio, by selling out of certain assets classes or individual stocks and buying in to others, in order to deliver out performance for our customers. I believe our customers expect us to actively manage their money in return for the annual management charge incurred. “If you look at our performance versus some of our competitors over a 12-month period, we have delivered significant positive performance. When the market is going up, it’s hard to differentiate between a good fund manager and a bad fund manager, but when you get volatility in the market, that’s when you can actually demonstrate your expertise.” Creegan emphasises the importance of this Recognition
InBUSINESS | YEARBOOK 2021
24/03/2021 15:59