MORE ASIAN NAMES WANTED, SAYS HAMPDEN AGENCIES HEAD

Lloyd’s has fewer than 20 Asian Names out of 2,000 still active at Lloyd’s, according to Nigel Hanbury, head of Hampden Agencies Ltd, and it needs more. Speaking in Hong Kong, Mr Hanbury said that “when you are rich, you need to spread your money among different asset classes”. Hampden Agencies is the larger of two agents for private investors in Lloyd’s. Mr Hanbury said that Lloyd’s should be attractive because insurance risks are not correlated with stocks. “It’s a genuinely alternative asset class”, Mr Hanbury claimed. He noted that, while 80% of Lloyd’s business is international, only 20% of its capital is provided by investors abroad. Meanwhile, Mr Hanbury said that investors obtained returns on capital of 25% on average between 2002 and 2004. In 2005 there was a loss of 6.5%, but he anticipated a return of about 40% for 2006.