Chief Investment Officer Forum 2026

As geopolitical fragmentation, fiscal pressures and AI reshape the investment landscape, the Geneva Association’s 2026 Chief Investment Officer Forum brought together insurance CIOs to explore what these shifts mean for investment risks and opportunities.
A central topic throughout the Forum was navigating a less predictable financial system as uncertainty becomes increasingly structural. For insurers, this requires reassessing strategies related to capital markets, inflation, diversification and economic growth to sustain long-term performance.
 

Investors must prepare for a world in which economic and political considerations are increasingly intertwined, and national security plays a larger role in policy and investment decisions.
Financial sanctions, changing trade relationships and regulatory divergence have introduced new sources of uncertainty that can affect liquidity, market access and asset pricing. These shifts prompt greater emphasis on stress testing, scenario analysis, enhanced due diligence and portfolio resilience.

The implications for insurers extend beyond market volatility: fragmentation can affect capital flows, cross-border risk-sharing and the benefits of international diversification. While fragmentation is already visible in areas such as sovereign debt markets and payment systems, global financial markets remain deeply interconnected. However, insurers must prepare for a more complex environment.
 

Antoine Gosset-Grainville, Chairman of the Board of Directors, AXA

Neil Moge, CIO, Prudential plc; Justin Muzinich, CEO of Muzinich & Co, Former U.S. Deputy Secretary of the Treasury; Jochen Mayer, Head of Investment Strategies and CIO Reinsurance, Munich Re; Jean-Baptiste Tricot, CIO, AXA

The growing interaction between fiscal policy, government borrowing and financial markets is increasingly relevant for CIOs. Against this backdrop, insurers are adapting to an environment characterised by structurally higher interest rates and potentially more persistent and volatile inflation.

Even where fiscal dominance is not viewed as an immediate threat, fiscal developments must be incorporated more explicitly into investment decision-making and risk management frameworks. Fiscal developments should be monitored closely, alongside traditional macroeconomic indicators, as part of a broader effort to navigate a more politicised financial environment.
 

Eric Leeper, Paul Goodloe McIntire Professor in Economics, University of Virginia

Chuck Scully, CIO, MetLife; Keisuke Kawasaki, CIO, Nippon Life; Carole de Rozières, Chief Asset Owner Officer, SCOR; Eric Leeper, Paul Goodloe McIntire Professor in Economics, University of Virginia

AI is reshaping economies, financial markets and investment opportunities. AI has the potential to alter industries and productivity in ways that extend far beyond previous waves of technological innovation.

There are significant capital requirements associated with AI infrastructure, including data centres, computing capacity and energy systems. These investment needs are contributing to growing competition for capital across the public and private sectors. While AI is expected to generate substantial economic benefits over time, considerable uncertainty remains around the pace and distribution of those gains. 

The potential for volatility emerges as markets seek to price both the opportunities and risks associated with rapid technological change. The interconnected nature of emerging AI ecosystems – including supply-chain dependencies, concentrated technology providers and correlated exposures – may create new forms of systemic risk that investors will need to monitor carefully.  
 

Raphaëlle d’Ornano, Founder, Decoding Discontinuity

Stephen Jones, Global CIO, Aegon; Raphaëlle d’Ornano, Founder, Decoding Discontinuity; Luca Cetrano, CIO, Generali; David Tremblay, CIO, Intact Financial

AI is also being incorporated into investment functions across the insurance industry, with AI likely to augment rather than replace investment professionals. The greatest opportunities are in improving decision-making, identifying opportunities more efficiently and reducing operational burdens associated with routine tasks and reporting.

Successful implementation depends not only on technological capability but on data quality, governance frameworks and organisational processes. Proprietary data is a particularly important strategic asset. Insurers possess extensive historical information that may provide a competitive advantage as AI adoption accelerates. However, technology alone is unlikely to create sustained value. Human judgement, experience and domain expertise remain essential, especially as the volume of AI-generated information continues to grow. 

The interconnected developments facing CIOs are reshaping economic outcomes, market dynamics and investment opportunities. Insurers must remain adaptable as new risks emerge, financial conditions evolve and technological change accelerates while maintaining strong asset-liability management, rigorous risk governance and long-term strategic thinking.
 

Kai-Uwe Schanz, Director CIO Forum, Geneva Association

Martin Zingg, CIO, Swiss Re; George Sivulka, Founder & CEO, Hebbia; Patrizio Urciuoli, Co-President, Liberty Mutual Investments