UPDATE 2-Travelers sees 2008 oper earnings at lower range

(Adds CFO comments at investor presentation, outlook for M&A)

NEW YORK, May 22 (Reuters) - Travelers Cos Inc (TRV.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), one of the largest U.S. property insurers, said on Thursday that a a "fine tuning" of its investment outlook gives it a bias towards the lower end of a previous forecast for operating earnings.

On April 24, the company raised its 2008 outlook for operating earnings to between $5.55 and $5.85 a share from a range of $5.45 to $5.75.

On that basis, analysts, on average, expect earnings in 2008 at $6.01 a share, according to Reuters Estimates.

Chief Financial Officer Jay Benet said at an investor presentation the company had managed to largely skirt investments that have caused other financial services companies, including some insurers, to take large write-downs.

"We take risk on the right side of the balance sheet. We don't double up on the left side of the balance sheet," Benet said of the company's investment approach.

Running through a list of troublesome assets, Benet said Travelers had "negligible exposure" to subprime mortgage-backed securities and none when it came to collateralized debt obligations, auction-rate securities and asset-backed commercial paper, among others.

Chief Executive Jay Fishman said the insurer was keeping its "eyes wide open" for potential investment opportunities, but any acquisition would be measured by its ability to increase returns for shareholders.

"We know the risks, the balance sheet risk, the people risk, the culture risk (of acquisitions)," said Chief Executive Jay Fishman, adding that Travelers would only make a bid when an acquisition that had the potential to change the "shareholder value equation" for the better.