Europe

Should You Be Worried About Political Risk? (Hint: Insurers Are)

Investors expect populism to shape market returns, and experts say the phenomenon is here to stay no matter what happens in the French election.

Marine Le Pen
Photographer: Marlene Awaad/Bloomberg

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By Brandon Kochkodin and Sonali Basak

April 13, 2017 at 4:01 AM UTC

This article is for subscribers only.

This article is part of the April 21, 2017 issue of Markets.

Evan Freely has been insuring global risks for years—through the 2008 market meltdown, the 2002 crisis in Argentina, and the 1993 downturn in Venezuela.

Yet turmoil now seems to be coming at a more rapid pace than he’s seen before. “I’m more concerned today about political risk than ever,” says Freely, the global head of political risk and credit specialties at Marsh & McLennan Cos., the world’s largest insurance broker.