New research from Clearwater Analytics points to an overwhelming expectation of increased M&A activity among APAC’s insurers over the next three years. Almost all (96%) of insurance asset management executives at firms with total assets under management of $3.823 trillion predict a rise in domestic dealmaking, with 15% anticipating a dramatic increase.
Insurers tell us they need to achieve scale quickly if they are to absorb rising regulatory demands, support more complex investment strategies, and compete on cost and capability.
Risk diversification ranks close behind, reflecting a desire to reduce reliance on individual products, asset classes, or geographies in an increasingly volatile global environment.
Notably, the desire to eliminate competition ranks last among M&A motivations. This suggests insurers are not chasing consolidation for dominance, but rather a need for greater resilience.
Insurers’ investment portfolios are becoming more complex with the inclusion of private markets, structured assets, and alternative strategies. At the same time, regulatory scrutiny is intensifying while data, reporting, and governance requirements are expanding across jurisdictions. Consequently, insurers must reinforce their operations, and larger platforms are seen as better equipped to make the necessary investment in technology, compliance costs, and specialist expertise across broader asset bases. Smaller, standalone operations may find it harder to justify the infrastructure required to keep pace. This is why operational efficiency features so prominently in the drivers of M&A.
The research points to a market where the ability to integrate systems, standardise processes, and generate consistent reporting is becoming as important as underwriting skill or investment performance.
Today’s operations teams are expected to move faster, stay audit-ready, and support increasingly complex portfolios — all without increasing cost or risk. Modern investment ops starts with a unified investment platform. CWAN replaces legacy systems and manual processes with automated, scalable workflows to operate faster, reduce risk, and manage increased complexity.