Financial assets of insurance corporations - France - 2024-Q3
Published on the 9th of January 2025
Outstanding investments of insurers and pension funds have increased by €64 bn in the third quarter of 2024.
At the end of September 2024, outstanding financial investments of insurers and pension funds amounted to €2 731 billion, up €64 billion from the preceding quarter.
This increase was the result of both a €48 bn revaluation of assets and positive net investment flows of €17 bn.
Valuation increases concern long-term debt securities (+€40 bn), in connection with the decline in French long-term rates (-30 basis points for the 10-year OAT in the third quarter of 2024). The valuation of non-money market funds (+€11 bn) as well as the listed equities (+€2 bn) are also positive, in connection with the rise in stock markets over the quarter (+2.1% for the index of CAC 40).
In direct holdings (i.e before looking-through French investment funds), insurers and pensions funds favored purchases of long-term debt securities (+ €8 bn), money market funds (+ €3 bn) and bond funds (+ €2 bn). Conversely, they reduced their positions in equity funds and mixed funds (- €0.6 bn and - €0.7 bn respectively) and in short-term debt securities (- €2 bn).
After looking-through French investments funds (see page 2), insurers and pension funds mainly held outstanding securities issued by the financial sector excluding mutual funds (38%, including 16% for monetary financial institutions and 22% for financial companies), general government (22%) and non-financial companies (23%).
The looked-through portfolio of insurers and pension funds is made up of 64% debt securities, 20% equities and 16% units in mainly foreign investments funds. It is made up of 41% securities issued by France, 42% securities issued abroad and 16% unallocated units in investments funds.
This increase was the result of both a €48 bn revaluation of assets and positive net investment flows of €17 bn.
Valuation increases concern long-term debt securities (+€40 bn), in connection with the decline in French long-term rates (-30 basis points for the 10-year OAT in the third quarter of 2024). The valuation of non-money market funds (+€11 bn) as well as the listed equities (+€2 bn) are also positive, in connection with the rise in stock markets over the quarter (+2.1% for the index of CAC 40).
In direct holdings (i.e before looking-through French investment funds), insurers and pensions funds favored purchases of long-term debt securities (+ €8 bn), money market funds (+ €3 bn) and bond funds (+ €2 bn). Conversely, they reduced their positions in equity funds and mixed funds (- €0.6 bn and - €0.7 bn respectively) and in short-term debt securities (- €2 bn).
After looking-through French investments funds (see page 2), insurers and pension funds mainly held outstanding securities issued by the financial sector excluding mutual funds (38%, including 16% for monetary financial institutions and 22% for financial companies), general government (22%) and non-financial companies (23%).
The looked-through portfolio of insurers and pension funds is made up of 64% debt securities, 20% equities and 16% units in mainly foreign investments funds. It is made up of 41% securities issued by France, 42% securities issued abroad and 16% unallocated units in investments funds.
(EUR billion, outstanding amounts at market prices at end of period, transactions, valuation effects during period)
| Life and composite IC | Non-Life IC | Pension funds | |||||||
| Net flows | Valuations | Stocks | Net flows | Valuations | Stocks | Net flows | Valuations | Stocks | |
| Currency and depositis | 3.3 | 0.0 | 35.2 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 13.7 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 6.8 |
| Debt securities | 5.3 | 28.3 | 1,156.7 | 1.1 | 3.0 | 119.1 | -0.3 | 2.8 | 103.4 |
| < ou= 1 year (original maturity) | -1.5 | 0.1 | 21.6 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| >1 year (original maturity) | 6.8 | 28.2 | 1,135.1 | 1.1 | 3.0 | 118.6 | -0.3 | 2.8 | 103.4 |
| Loans | 0.5 | 0.0 | 61.5 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 14.9 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.1 |
| Equity | -0.1 | 0.9 | 185.8 | -0.3 | 0.9 | 87.0 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 13.7 |
| Listed shares | -0.1 | 1.2 | 66.4 | -0.1 | 1.3 | 15.6 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 6.4 |
| Unlisted shares | 0.2 | -0.4 | 69.5 | 0.1 | 0.6 | 40.1 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 2.7 |
| Others shares | -0.2 | 0.1 | 50.0 | -0.3 | -1.0 | 31.3 | -0.1 | 0.0 | 4.7 |
| Investment fund shares | 4.5 | 9.2 | 815.4 | 1.8 | 0.5 | 46.5 | 0.6 | 1.2 | 66.7 |
| Money market funds | 1.2 | 0.6 | 98.6 | 1.3 | 0.0 | 9.3 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 4.0 |
| Non money market funds | 3.2 | 8.6 | 716.8 | 0.5 | 0.4 | 37.2 | 0.5 | 1.2 | 62.7 |
| ow equity funds | -1.2 | 2.8 | 232.4 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 7.4 | 0.2 | 0.3 | 20.8 |
| ow fixed income funds | 2.1 | 2.9 | 146.9 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 9.9 | 0.1 | 0.2 | 8.3 |
| ox mixed funds | -0.9 | 3.2 | 181.9 | 0.1 | 0.2 | 9.2 | -0.2 | 0.6 | 23.9 |
| Financial derivatives | -0.3 | 0.0 | 4.3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.0 | -0.9 |
| Total | 13.2 | 38.4 | 2,259.0 | 3.1 | 4.4 | 281.2 | 1.0 | 4.0 | 190.9 |
Within equities, other equity investments include share equivalents that cannot be traded on a regulated market
Security portfolio transactions (1) of insurance corporations and pension funds (in billions of euros) in 2024 Q3
By category of issuers (2)
By geographical area
1 Debt securities, equities and investment fund shares
2 "Unallocated" is composed of bonds and equities issued outside the euro area.
2 "Unallocated" is composed of bonds and equities issued outside the euro area.
Breakdown of outstanding amounts of security portfolio after looking through UCIs
By category of issuers![]()
By geographical area![]()
By type of securities
The look-through approach consists, when the information is available, in replacing the French mutual funds shares in the insurance portfolios by the final investments of mutual funds. The 16% residual amount correspond to these mutual funds shares (mainly foreign) which cannot be allocated with this approach. After a look-through approach, the share of equities increases by + 8 percentage points (11% to 19%) and the one of debt securities by + 11 percentage points (53% to 64%).
Date of next publication : 9th April 2025
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Updated on the 8th of January 2025