U.S. mutual fund business is a multi-trillion industry with total net assets of US dollars 11,120.73 billion as of 2009. The share of equity funds in the industry increased from 323 funds in 1970 to 4,659 funds in 2009 with total net assets of US dollars 4,957.58 billion. The mutual fund industry manages about 20 percent of U.S. household financial assets with approximately 90 million U.S. investors currently owning mutual fund shares.
The prospect of global climate change presents challenges to all sectors of society. Property insurance and reinsurance companies primarily in Europe and Japan were among the first companies to recognize their exposure to losses due to climate change. This effort has evolved into an international initiative with the support of over 70 insurance companies worldwide and the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP). To date, an insurance industry initiative sponsored by the DOE and EPA through the Center for Building Sciences has worked to inform U.S. property/casualty insurers about the benefits of energy efficiency and the UNEP effort.
Other recent efforts include seminars sponsored by the National Renewable Energies Laboratory and the National Association of Independent Insurers on Solar Energy and the Insurance Industry. This report identifies and discusses global climate change risks for the life/health insurance community and the potential opportunities for partnership with the life/health insurance community to address the causes and impacts of global climate change. The report will consider the prospects for constructive engagement with the life insurance industry separately from the health industry. Since managed care has resulted in significant reorganization among health insurers and integration of insurers with health care providers, this report also considers partnership opportunities with health care providers.
Real estate booms and busts can have far-reaching consequences. These booms are generally accompanied by fast credit growth and sharp increases in leverage, and when the bust comes, debt overhang and deleveraging spirals can threaten financial and macroeconomic stability. These dangers notwithstanding, the traditional policy approach to real estate booms has been one of “benign neglect”. This was based on two main premises. First, the belief that, as for other asset prices, it is extremely difficult to identify unsustainable real estate booms, or “bubbles” (sharp price increases not justified by fundamentals), in a timely manner. Second, the notion that the distortions associated with preventing a boom outweigh the costs of cleaning up after a bust. The recent crisis has challenged (at least the second of) these assumptions.
