COLUMBUS, Ga., Sept. 19, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Aflac Incorporated
announced today that it has hired Eric M.
Kirsch to lead its global investment management function as
a member of its executive management team. Kirsch will join
Aflac on November 1, 2011 as first
senior vice president; global chief investment officer and will be
responsible for management of Aflac's $93
billion investment portfolio and its team of more than 50
investment professionals. Kirsch will coordinate the
company's investment efforts through a newly established
Manhattan-based office. However,
the company will continue to maintain the vast majority of its
investment resources in Columbus,
Georgia and Tokyo, Japan.
Current Chief Investment Officer W.
Jeremy "Jerry" Jeffery will serve as senior vice president,
Fixed Income Investments.
Kirsch brings extensive strategic investment experience to
Aflac. He most recently served as managing director and
global head of insurance asset management, including portfolio
management, insurance advisory services and distribution at Goldman
Sachs Asset Management (GSAM). Kirsch was recruited by GSAM
to create a dedicated global insurance business. In that capacity,
he managed a global team of over 55 professionals and was
instrumental in elevating GSAM's reputation as a top insurance
asset manager. Prior to joining Goldman Sachs, he spent 27
combined years at Deutsche Asset Management (DeAM) and Bankers
Trust Company, most recently serving as managing director and
global head of insurance asset management. At DeAM, Kirsch was
responsible for a staff of over 100 people including teams in
North America, Europe and Asia and oversaw total insurance assets of
more than $150 billion while a member
of the Global Operating Committee of DeAM. Prior to this,
Kirsch served as managing director and head of North America Fixed
Income, responsible for more than $150
billion of assets across institutional and retail clients
and multiple fixed income investment strategies. He also previously
served as vice president and stable value portfolio manager at
Bankers Trust Company. Kirsch received a bachelor of business
administration in business and finance from Baruch College in 1984, and a master's of business
administration from Pace University in
1988. He earned his CFA designation in 1990.
Commenting on his new position at Aflac, Kirsch said: "I am
excited about the opportunity to lead Aflac's investment team and
to build on the company's strong foundation of prudent asset and
liability management. Clearly, income-oriented investors face
challenges in the current interest rate environment and Aflac has
significant cash flows to invest. However, I believe that we
can maintain a favorable risk profile to the portfolio, while
improving returns by exploring new, yet appropriate asset classes.
We also anticipate as part of a strategic review engaging external
asset management firms to provide investment management services
for up to 10% of our portfolio as a means of diversifying risk and
enhancing our intellectual capital. My objective is for Aflac to be
recognized as a world-class investment organization that pays
particular attention to the needs of the insurance operation
through effective ALM and capital adequacy and also to the
expectations of shareholders through investment income growth."
Aflac Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Daniel P. Amos added, "After an extensive
search, I am very pleased to announce that Eric has accepted the
opportunity to manage our global investment area. We remain
proud of our long-term investment track record and the strength of
our balance sheet. But the world has changed dramatically
since the emergence of the financial crisis. There is no
doubt that investing is a much more complex activity than it was
just a few years ago. As such, it's critically important that
we continue to invest in our global investment department and
enhance our capabilities. And I believe that investment
begins with people. Eric brings extensive investment
experience to our company and more importantly, he brings a track
record of vision and success. I'm very excited to be working
with Eric and I look forward to his contributions to the investment
function and to the continued success of our company."
ABOUT AFLAC
When a policyholder gets sick or hurt, Aflac pays cash benefits
fast. For more than 55 years, Aflac insurance policies have given
policyholders the opportunity to focus on recovery, not financial
stress. In the United States,
Aflac is the number one provider of guaranteed-renewable insurance.
In Japan, Aflac is the number one
life insurance company in terms of individual policies in force.
Aflac insurance products provide protection to more than 50 million
people worldwide. For five consecutive years, Aflac has been
recognized by Ethisphere magazine as one of the World's Most
Ethical Companies and by Forbes magazine as one of America's
Best-Managed Companies in the Insurance category. In 2011,
Fortune magazine recognized Aflac as one of the 100 Best
Companies to Work For in America for the thirteenth consecutive
year. Also, Fortune magazine included Aflac on its list of
Most Admired Companies for the tenth time in 2011. Aflac
Incorporated is a Fortune 500 company listed on the New York Stock
Exchange under the symbol AFL. To find out more about Aflac, visit
aflac.com or aflacenespanol.com.
FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION
The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 provides
a "safe harbor" to encourage companies to provide prospective
information, so long as those informational statements are
identified as forward-looking and are accompanied by meaningful
cautionary statements identifying important factors that could
cause actual results to differ materially from those included in
the forward-looking statements. We desire to take advantage of
these provisions. This document contains cautionary statements
identifying important factors that could cause actual results to
differ materially from those projected herein, and in any other
statements made by company officials in communications with the
financial community and contained in documents filed with the
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Forward-looking statements are not based on historical
information and relate to future operations, strategies, financial
results or other developments. Furthermore, forward-looking
information is subject to numerous assumptions, risks and
uncertainties. In particular, statements containing words such as
"expect," "anticipate," "believe," "goal," "objective," "may,"
"should," "estimate," "intends," "projects," "will," "assumes,"
"potential," "target" or similar words as well as specific
projections of future results, generally qualify as
forward-looking. Aflac undertakes no obligation to update such
forward-looking statements. We caution readers that the following
factors, in addition to other factors mentioned from time to time,
could cause actual results to differ materially from those
contemplated by the forward-looking statements: difficult
conditions in global capital markets and the economy generally;
governmental actions for the purpose of stabilizing the financial
markets; defaults and downgrades in certain securities in our
investment portfolio; impairment of financial institutions; credit
and other risks associated with Aflac's investment in perpetual
securities; differing judgments applied to investment valuations;
subjective determinations of amount of impairments taken on our
investments; realization of unrealized losses; limited availability
of acceptable yen-denominated investments; concentration of our
investments in any particular sector or issuer; concentration of
business in Japan; ongoing changes
in our industry; exposure to significant financial and capital
markets risk; fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates;
significant changes in investment yield rates; deviations in actual
experience from pricing and reserving assumptions; subsidiaries'
ability to pay dividends to the Parent Company; changes in law or
regulation by governmental authorities; ability to attract and
retain qualified sales associates and employees; ability to
continue to develop and implement improvements in information
technology systems; changes in U.S. and/or Japanese accounting
standards; decreases in our financial strength or debt ratings;
level and outcome of litigation; ability to effectively manage key
executive succession; catastrophic events including, but not
necessarily limited to, tornadoes, hurricanes, earthquakes,
tsunamis, and radiological disasters; and failure of internal
controls or corporate governance policies and procedures.
Analyst and investor contact – Robin Y.
Wilkey, 706.596.3264 or 800.235.2667 FAX:
706.324.6330, or rwilkey@aflac.com
Media contact – Laura Kane,
706.596.3493, FAX: 706.320.2288, or lkane@aflac.com
SOURCE Aflac Incorporated