À cours connu

À cours connu or known price arbitrage is a clause provided in some life insurance wrapper (or life insurance bond) investment schemes previously issued by some French insurers to their preferred clients which allows the investors to retroactively switch investments in their portfolio at the closing prices from the previous week, shielding them from market volatility.[1][2]

History

À cours connu contracts were issued by some French insurers in the 1980s and early 1990s as an incentive to preferred customers, notably L'Abeille Vie, subsequently acquired by Aviva.[3][4]

At the time the contracts were issued, the advantage conferred by these à cours connu clauses was limited due to the delays in the publication of information regarding stock prices and the time needed to communicate with brokers and process trades. With the advent of instantaneous online information and communication, however, the contracts can be seen as "can’t lose" or a "magic ticket".[5][6] The estimated value of such a contract has been estimated as being close to Euro 1 billion.[7]

With the development of technology and instant access to market prices, these contracts become a danger to insurance companies' assets. Virtually all insurance giants, including Axa and AGF started to renegotiate or purchase the contracts back from their clients, except Aviva which had purchased Abeille Vie in 2002.[8][9]

Aviva has attempted to dispute the validity and interpretation of the à cours connu clause.[10] Aviva drastically decreased the list of authorized investments in the contracts refused to execute the investment orders of clients/investors litigation.[11]

Some holders of the à cours connu contracts agreed to surrender them while others, including Max-Hervé George, have refused and continue to insist that their investments are managed according to the terms, resulting in protracted litigation which, to date, has consistently found against Aviva and upheld the validity of the contract terms.[12]

Contract terms

The à cours connu clause allows investors to retroactively switch their investments at the closing prices from the previous week. Effectively this allowed policyholders to observe the actual performance of markets over a week and then, with the benefit of hindsight, change the placement of their investments in funds at the known prices that had prevailed the previous week, thus profiting from any rise and avoiding any falls in investment value.[13]

References
  1. "La vérité sur les clients millionnaires d'Aviva". Challenges (in French). 2015-04-15. Retrieved 2022-02-18.
  2. "Devenir millionnaire avec une assurance vie : ces contrats qui pourrissent la vie d'Aviva". VotreArgent.fr (in French). 2015-04-30. Retrieved 2022-02-18.
  3. "Contrats d'assurance vie à cours connus : un piège financier pour Aviva France" (in French). 2021-03-10. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  4. Costello, Miles. "Aviva looking leaner and meaner". ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 2022-02-18.
  5. McCrum, Dan (2015-02-27). "Meet the man who could own Aviva France". Financial Times. Retrieved 2022-02-18.
  6. "General Insurance Article - Aviva and the number of Fixed Price Arbitrage Contracts".
  7. Costello, Miles. "Aviva looking leaner and meaner". ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 2022-02-18.
  8. "Arbitrage Discovered". Bloomberg L.P. 2015-02-27. Archived from the original on 2017-12-01. Retrieved 2017-11-23.
  9. "L'Abeille Compagnies d'Assurances - Heritage - Aviva plc". heritage.aviva.com. Archived from the original on 2017-12-01. Retrieved 2017-11-23.
  10. "Aviva France fights back against "golden ticket" contract giving one". The Independent. 2015-03-03. Retrieved 2022-02-18.
  11. "Les contrats "à cours connus" sur la sellette". Le Monde.fr (in French). 2005-11-05. Retrieved 2022-02-18.
  12. Griffiths, Miles Costello, Patrick Hosking, Katherine. "'Golden ticket' threat to Aviva's French sell-off". ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 2022-02-18.
  13. McCrum, Dan (2015-02-27). "Meet the man who could own Aviva France". Financial Times. Retrieved 2022-02-18.
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