Expert calls & investor briefings
A focused discussion of company results, sector developments or the assumptions behind an investment case.
Arrange a conversationGordon Aitken · Independent insurance analyst
Understanding insurance.
Seeing the value.
Independent research and consulting on UK and European life insurers and pension funds. I explain the economics behind the accounts, and what they mean for investors and businesses.
30+ years of sector experienceInsurance, investment and capital markets
Actuarial depth, explained clearlyFrom capital generation to valuation
A view from both sides of the tableBuy side, sell side and investor relations
New this week
Latest from Aitken Advisory.
Who is winning the war for UK savings?
Pensions, platforms and the fee that lasts 55 years: how the UK savings industry is sorting itself into winners and losers.
Read on Substack
St. James’s Place: priced below the private market
SJP against the deal table, its peers and its own management, with a dated watch list ahead of the Q3 statement and the Budget.
View report on Payhip
The fee that lasts 55 years
The video version of the savings article: who gathers the assets, who keeps them, and what that means for the share prices.
Watch on YouTubeWork with me
Specialist knowledge.
Direct access.
I provide paid consulting to insurance companies and to asset managers analysing listed insurance shares.
Bespoke research & analysis
Independent work on life insurance markets, business valuation, capital generation and competitive positioning.
Discuss your briefStrategy & ongoing support
Sector expertise for a specific project or a continuing dialogue on bulk annuities, capital deployment and market strategy.
Explore working togetherIndependent research
Look beyond the headline numbers.
What do the numbers tell us?
Cash generation, capital allocation and the assumptions behind the market’s valuation of UK and European life insurers.
Start with the essentialsFollow the pension promise.
How pension obligations are funded, what changes when an insurer takes them on, and where the risks and returns sit.
Explore the introductory guideWhy do buyers see different value?
The economics of insurance ownership, private capital’s interest in the sector and the opportunities public markets may overlook.
Begin reading on SubstackPaid research
The analysis behind the argument.
St. James’s Place: priced below the private market
Adviser departures, net flows against Quilter and Rathbones, a private-market valuation of the book with and without a control premium, and what would change my view.
£295Single-user licence
View report on Payhip
Better to travel than to arrive: why UK life insurers now fall on results day
My analysis of 65 results announcements across five UK life insurers, with European comparisons, statistical tests and the workings behind the conclusions.
£295Single-user licence
View report on PayhipTeam and enterprise licences are also available. See Payhip for current pricing and licence terms.
The Insurance Black Box on YouTube
Watch my analysis.
Who is winning the war for UK savings?
The fee that lasts 55 years: how pensions, platforms and advisers compete for the same pool of savings, and which business models are winning. More analysis and short explainers on the channel.
Watch my videosAbout Gordon Aitken
Three decades inside the insurance sector.
Actuary, analyst, author and founder of Aitken Advisory.
Connect on LinkedInI have spent my career understanding how life insurers make money, where their risks sit and how investors should interpret their accounts.
My experience spans the buy side and sell side at BlackRock, Credit Suisse, JPMorgan and RBC Capital Markets, where I was Managing Director and Head of European Insurance. I also served as Investor Relations Director at Standard Life.
Today, I bring that experience to independent research and consulting. My aim is to make a complex sector understandable, without losing the detail that matters.
Qualified actuaryStatistics backgroundUK & European life insurance
Books by Gordon Aitken
The longer view.
My thinking on the businesses, accounts and market perceptions that shape insurance investing.
Breaking Down the Insurance Black Box
A plain-English guide to life insurers, pensions and the financial mechanics behind an often misunderstood sector.
View on AmazonThe Professional Buyer: How Private Capital Found the Value Public Markets Forgot
Why private capital sees value in life insurers that public markets overlook, explained for the generalist reader.
View on AmazonGet in touch
What would you like to understand?
For consulting, investor briefings, speaking engagements or research enquiries, email me with a little background on what you have in mind.
gordon@aitkenadvisory.com