Can you please introduce yourself, your role, and LV’s ethos around its investment strategies?
I'm Chief Investment Officer at LV=. I joined the business in 2008 and am responsible for LV's investment strategy, oversight of our asset managers, and the design and delivery of investment solutions for our members and customers. As a mutual, we put members at the heart of everything we do. This shapes our approach to investing, allowing us to focus on delivering long-term outcomes rather than short-term shareholder returns.
“We invest across equities, bonds and property, combining disciplined risk management with a long-term perspective.”
Our investment approach is centred on globally diversified, multi-asset portfolios aligned to different customer risk profiles. We invest across equities, bonds and property, combining disciplined risk management with a long-term perspective. We work closely with our primary asset manager, BlackRock, while retaining responsibility for strategic asset allocation, mandate design, risk oversight and member outcomes.
LV= was recently awarded “Special Recognition - Mutual Insurer Investment Strategy of the Year” at the Insurance Investor European Awards 2026. Can you tell us about what specific areas of investment LV= focuses on, as well as how it differentiates itself?
This recognition reflects the heart of our investment approach: putting our members and customers first, disciplined investment governance and a willingness to innovate where it can improve outcomes. As a mutual, we can take a genuinely long-term view and focus on delivering good outcomes for our members, rather than managing short-term shareholder expectations.
We invest through globally diversified, multi-asset portfolios designed for a range of customer risk profiles. We use active management selectively where we believe there is a credible opportunity to add value while maintaining clear governance and ownership at LV=. Our relationship with BlackRock gives us access to global scale and the specialist expertise of the world's largest asset manager.
"It's not designed to remove investment risk, but to help cushion the impact of short-term market volatility and to provide a steadier investment journey."
What really differentiates LV= is our smoothing mechanism. It's not designed to remove investment risk, but to help cushion the impact of short-term market volatility and to provide a steadier investment journey. We believe this can help customers remain invested, stay focused on their long-term financial goals and avoid reacting to short-term market movements.
Ultimately, our mutuality, long-term investment discipline, smoothing, and strong oversight help us deliver value for our members and customers over time.
What are the specific challenges and opportunities for a mutual insurer in today’s investment world?
One of the biggest advantages of being a mutual is that we can take a genuinely long-term view. We don't have external shareholders, so our focus is on delivering good outcomes for members and customers. When LV= performs well, eligible members can also share in that success through member bonuses, which is a tangible benefit of the mutual model. In 2025, LV= delivered £100 million in member bonuses to eligible member policies and has shared more than £500 million in member bonuses since 2011.
That advantage also brings responsibility. We need to balance investment return with capital strength, liquidity, resilience and fairness between different generations of members. Today's higher yields and broader investment universe create opportunities, but volatile markets, geopolitical uncertainty and inflation risks mean those opportunities need to be approached selectively. For a mutual insurer, the objective is to take well-understood risks where members are appropriately rewarded.
Which asset class are you feeling most bullish about and would expect greater future allocations to? Which are you feeling may necessitate a pullback from, and why?
We wouldn't describe ourselves as unconditionally bullish on any single asset class. Our approach is to construct diversified portfolios and adjust exposures as the balance of risk and return changes. That said, we continue to see attractive opportunities in parts of global equity markets where earnings are supported by structural growth, and in high-quality fixed income, where higher yields have improved prospective returns.
We are more cautious where valuations leave little margin for error, particularly in lower-quality credit. The answer is not a wholesale move into or out of an asset class. It is about allocating risk where the prospective return is attractive after allowing for downside risk, liquidity, capital and costs, and reducing exposure where that is not the case.
LV’s nomination submission highlighted its diversification strategies – what are the do’s and don’ts in this area?
The first 'do' is to diversify across genuinely different sources of risk and return, rather than simply increasing the number of holdings. Start with the customer's objective and risk appetite, give each allocation a clear role, and consider how the portfolio could behave in stressed conditions. Liquidity, concentration and currency exposure matter alongside expected return.
The main 'don't' is diversification for its own sake. Adding complexity, an illiquid asset or another manager is not automatically beneficial. It is also important not to judge a long-term allocation over too short a period: the discipline is to distinguish between temporary underperformance that is consistent with the strategy and evidence that the original investment case has weakened.
"It's not about adding complexity for its own sake, but building resilient portfolios that can perform across different market environments."
Successful diversification starts with having exposure to a range of different assets and markets rather than relying too heavily on any single source of return. The key is to ensure diversification is purposeful and aligned to customers' objectives and risk profiles. It's not about adding complexity for its own sake, but building resilient portfolios that can perform across different market environments.
Looking forward, what are some of the changes and trends you’re expecting to see in the market?
I expect markets to remain shaped by several broad trends. Interest rates are likely to be higher and more volatile than in the decade before the pandemic. Geopolitics, fiscal pressures, energy security, and changing supply chains will continue to influence inflation and asset prices.
"We also expect investors to place greater emphasis on geographic diversification as growth, demographics and supply chains evolve."
Technological investment, particularly around AI, data infrastructure and power, should remain an important source of growth and capital expenditure. The opportunity is broader than a small group of technology companies, although current valuations and market concentration make selectivity important. We also expect investors to place greater emphasis on geographic diversification as growth, demographics and supply chains evolve.
For insurers, regulation, sustainability, liquidity and the quality of liability matching will all continue to shape capital allocation. Overall, I expect a market with good opportunities but less uniform returns. Diversification, active asset allocation, strong manager oversight and the ability to look through short-term volatility will continue to be essential.
- Life Insurance
- Adam Ruddle
- LV=
- Insurance Investor Awards
- investment strategy
- market volatility
- mutual insurance
