After Weak Earnings MetLife, AIG Point To Poor Hedge Fund Performance

Its poor hedge fund performance that major insurers are pointing to after weak earnings numbers have been reported.

When the largest U.S. insurers reported earnings recently, it wasn’t sales or operating expenses that were scrutinized. It was poor hedge fund performance, the whipping boy de jour, that was cited to as causation for earnings woes.

Poor hedge fund performance: MetLife investment income down by $109 million

When MetLife Inc, the largest U.S. life insurer, surprised analysts to the downside, reporting performance that fell far short of expectations, it was paltry returns among hedge funds and bonds that were most to blame.

Many hedge funds, particularly large, big names that tend to draw investments...