Among the top insurers with ETF holdings, USAA Insurance Group held $1.6 billion in ETF assets, including large positions in Vanguard Short-Term Bond ETF (NYSEArca: BSV), iShares Core MSCI EAFE ETF (NYSEArca: IEFA) and SPDR S&P 500 ETF (NYSEArca: SPY).
“Insurance companies owned $15.4 billion of exchange traded funds in their general accounts at the end of 2015, up from $14.1 billion in 2014 and $13.0 billion in 2013, according to National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) data gathered by S&P Global Market Intelligence. Insurance companies only hold 1.3 percent of their surplus as regards policyholders in ETFs, but usage has become prevalent and is likely to increase given the wide array of low-cost passive products that can support both broad and narrow investment strategies,” said S&P Capital IQ in a note out earlier this year.
USAA has about $1.6 billion allocated to ETFs, according to Bloomberg.
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