Travelers 2001 Annual Report Download - page 6

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The St. Paul Companies 2001 Annual Report4
Competitive Strengths
The St. Paul has many successful business franchises that are
well-positioned in their respective markets.
The St. Paul is known for its underwriting specialties, which
include Surety and Construction, Financial and Professional
Services, Technology and Public Sector Services. These
specialties are very good businesses that generate solid returns.
Our approach is to create a competitive advantage in serving
targeted customer groups by packaging our expertise in
underwriting, claim and risk control services. We will continue
to capitalize on this success and invest in new specialties when
profitable opportunities emerge.
Our Commercial Lines Group underwrites predominantly midsize
commercial enterprises, the largest market for commercial
insurance. During 2002, we will invest additional resources in
this segment—especially in products and services aimed at
the small commercial market. Small business owners are the
principal driver of growth in the United States, and we intend
to expand our presence significantly among these customers.
Although property-liability insurance is our primary business,
The St. Paul also owns 77 percent of Nuveen, an asset
management company with more than $68 billion in assets
under management. Nuveen specializes in serving the needs of
high net worth individual investors through financial advisors
and, with its 2001 acquisition of Symphony Asset Management,
an increasing number of institutional clients.
For many years Nuveen has provided a stable source of earnings
for The St. Paul. In 2001 it reported its seventh consecutive
year of record earnings, of which The St. Paul’s share totaled
$84.2 million after-tax. We intend to enhance and leverage
Nuveen’s strong position in the asset management business.
“We are optimistic as we look to 2002.
We have addressed the key strategic
business issues that confronted the
company, have positioned ourselves
for significant profitability and have
aggressively addressed our cost
structure. And we have done all this
with a great sense of urgency.”