At first glance, the evolution of insurance asset–liability management (ALM) appears to be driven by new forces: private markets, advanced analytics, and increasingly sophisticated modeling techniques. In reality, many of the changes underway reflect a return to first principles—aligning asset cash flows directly with liability obligations.
Leading insurers are now leveraging modern technology to model both asset and liability cash flows under multiple economic scenarios. By explicitly recognizing uncertainty on both sides of the balance sheet, scenario-based modeling provides a clearer view of how assets and liabilities interact across a wide range of outcomes. These insights allow firms to design portfolios that balance income, capital efficiency, liquidity, and downside risk.
In this way, ALM is reconnecting with its original purpose, but with far greater analytical precision than was previously possible.
About the Authors
Emily Wilson
Director
Emily is a Director at Alpha based in Boston. She is responsible for our North American insurance segment strategy and specializes in overseeing programs with our Investments Practice. She brings 20 years of buy-side experience, including 16 years at Wellington Management Company, where she was a Managing Director on the Investment Platform. She has experience in designing operating models, developing and rationalizing technology solutions for investors, business strategy, budget management, and leading organizations through change. Her experience includes over a decade specializing in Fixed Income, including specialized solutions for insurance companies and other clients with multi-faceted objectives.
Conor Ryan
Director
Conor is a Director based in Pittsburgh. He is a management consultant and platform strategist with over a decade of experience advising asset managers, asset owners, and insurers on front-to-back transformation initiatives. Most recently at Deloitte, he partnered with senior executives and investment teams to address complex platform, data, and operating model challenges across public and private markets, and with complex instruments. He has deep experience in investment platforms including Aladdin, CRD/Alpha, and SimCorp.