Navigating Strategic Growth and Innovation in the Insurance Sector

Joe Steidl is a senior Business Development Professional with over 15 years of experience engaging UK and European institutional investors and consultants. Based in London, Steidl leads Invesco’s distribution across the UK Insurance market. Previously, he was Partner, Head of EMEA distribution at Research Affiliates for nine years. Before this, Steidl spent eight years at MSCI in numerous roles focused on sales and risk consulting, covering the Nordic and UK markets.

He holds a Bachelor of Commerce (with Honours) degree in Economics and Financial Management from Rhodes University. Steidl is also a CFA Charterholder and holds the Financial Risk Manager designation.

In an exclusive interview with Insurance Business Review Europe, he shared his invaluable insights into the industry's future, including challenges and possible solutions.

Strengthening Invesco’s UK Insurance Strategy

I joined Invesco in November 2024, and over the past five months, I have focused on strategic planning and gaining a comprehensive understanding of our capabilities. Invesco is a large, multifaceted organisation with a strong foundation across various asset classes. Understanding what those capabilities are and which align well with the insurance market was an important starting point for me. It helped me begin to shape a plan for the insurance business at Invesco, particularly in the UK.

After meeting many of our insurance contacts and clients across the UK, I am working on a longer-term, three- to five-year strategic plan to guide how we engage with the UK insurance market. That is probably one of my main goals since joining—in the area of strategic planning.

Another important aspect of my role is developing and rebuilding the team by bringing in a couple of new roles. We have already onboarded one person through an internal transfer—a fantastic individual who has been with Invesco for 28 years. He brings deep investment expertise and strong connections across the firm, and he joined us in January as part of the UK insurance team. When considering team development, it’s essential to recognise how broadly insurance spans across the market. My role has been ensuring we stay well-connected and coordinated across teams—whether with our global insurance colleagues, the DC team, consultant relations, or the solutions team. These teams have frequent interactions with insurance clients and play a critical role.

Current Challenges in the Insurance Market

One of the most significant developments in the UK insurance space right now is the ongoing pension risk transfer (PRT). It’s a dynamic and growing part of the market where liabilities from well-funded defined benefit pension schemes are being shifted onto insurance company balance sheets. We expect approximately £50 to £60 billion in liabilities to move this way—a considerable transformation happening at a significant scale.

This presents an opportunity and a challenge. While insurers gain new liabilities, the difficulty lies in finding suitable, scalable assets to match them. The market increasingly turns toward private asset classes to enhance yield and improve pricing competitiveness. However, sourcing and deploying these assets at scale is complex, especially given their limited availability.

Innovation requires momentum, and staying adaptive is essential. It is vital to continue seeking new ideas, refining your approach, and finding ever-better ways to support your clients, your team, and your organisation's broader goals.

This shift is forcing all stakeholders—including Invesco—to think more creatively and innovatively about supporting insurers through this process.

One of the most encouraging aspects of Invesco, which I have experienced firsthand, is the organisation’s openness to collaboration. We have already established internal working groups that bring together teams from structured investments, private credit, leveraged loans, real estate debt and solutions to co-create investment strategies aligned with insurance client needs.

We have also seen promising parallels between this collaborative spirit and innovations within the banking sector— particularly in digitalisation. Invesco’s digital team has made great strides in co-creating engagement tools for clients, and I see this as a model for how we can support insurers as they modernise their digital infrastructure and retail outreach.

Innovations Set to Influence the Insurance Industry

One emerging trend that could significantly shape the future of insurance is the increasing demand for product customisation. In markets like the U.S., advisors already embrace tools like fractional trading, direct indexing, and custom SMA portfolios. These enable investors to construct highly tailored investment solutions without being constrained by traditional product wrappers.

While we haven't yet seen the same level of adoption in the UK, the logic of customisation is beginning to gain traction. For example, could there be a world where life insurance products could evolve to become more flexible, adapting dynamically to changes in an individual’s wealth and financial needs. Rather than purchasing a static policy, clients could engage with solutions that respond in real-time to their changing circumstances, blending insurance and wealth management into a single, more integrated offering.

This vision of insurance as a fluid, responsive component of holistic financial planning—presents a significant opportunity for innovation, particularly when paired with advancements in digital technology and data analytics.

Timeless Principles for Tomorrow’s Investors

If I could offer one key piece of advice to emerging professionals in our industry, it would be to nurture their network. Professional relationships are among the most valuable long-term assets you can cultivate. Like the compounding interest in a well-managed pension plan, connections established early in your career can yield significant returns over time. Many individuals you engage with today will eventually become influential decision-makers, strategic partners, or trusted collaborators.

Equally important is maintaining a mindset of curiosity and a commitment to continuous learning. Through formal certifications or experiential development, a dedication to growth will keep individuals engaged and well-positioned for advancement. Where possible, embrace internal mobility— pursuing new challenges within your organisation can broaden your perspective and enhance your capabilities.

For those already well-established in the field, a word of caution would be to resist the lure of complacency. Innovation requires momentum, and staying adaptive is essential. It is vital to continue seeking new ideas, refining your approach, and finding ever-better ways to support your clients, your team, and your organisation's broader goals.