Rosh Capital preparing for investment-oriented reinsurer launch

Rosh Capital Management, LP is exploring the viability of launching a total return reinsurance platform to be based in Bermuda. The approach will be to integrate a multi-manager asset strategy with both prospective and retrospective underwriting solutions, to meet demand within the current underwriting environment.

The investment-oriented approach to reinsurance, sometimes termed total-return or hedge fund strategy, sees what is usually an alternative asset manager or hedge fund looking to enter reinsurance in order to access the premium float to inject into its asset management strategies.

There have been a number of attempts at making this strategy successful, but often it involved a less profitable reinsurance underwriting side of the business being supported by a volatile investment side, leading to wild swings in performance.

Rosh Capital aims to underwrite a suite of solutions designed at addressing both retrospective and prospective issues on books of liability risks, including general and umbrella, professional risks such as D&O and E&O, as well as workers compensation.

The intention is to help clients return to profitable underwriting, by leveraging Rosh Capital’s analytics, underwriting and investment prowess, to create reinsurance capital solutions designed to take the volatility out of underperforming books.

Michael Jacobs, founder and CEO of Rosh Capital Management, has a long history in the alternative investments space and building institutional grade multi-billion asset management platforms, including Fundamental Advisors LP.

In the Rosh reinsurance venture, Jacobs is joined by Joel Livingston, formerly the Chief Underwriting Officer of Arch Re US.

Livingston will be the CEO and CUO of Rosh Capital Holdings Ltd., the Bermuda based reinsurance entity.

Prior to his time at Arch, Livingston spent fourteen years at Alterra Reinsurance, Harbor Point Re and Chubb Re, before which he spent time at Centre Re in Bermuda, Transamerica and General Re.

Also joining the Rosh Capital Holdings team is Kenneth Kurtzman, COO and Chief Risk Officer. Kurtzman was Chief Risk Officer and Head of Investor Relations at Platinum Underwriters Holdings Ltd from 2006 to its acquisition by RenRe in 2015. He was also Head of Casualty Underwriting at Swiss Re Underwriters Agency Inc. from 2004 to 2006.

Lissa Rosenthal joins Rosh Capital as Chief Investment Officer, from her previous role as a Director at Credit Suisse Asset Management where she was focused on hedge funds, funds of funds, private equity, and liquid alternatives.

Rosh Capital has a team with plenty of experience and the key will now be in both the capital raise and then the execution of the strategy.

We understand that Rosh hopes to have its reinsurance venture ready for launch by the end of the year, likely to take advantage of the availability of underwriting opportunities around the January 2019 renewals.

However, the type of niche reinsurance capital protection tools it wants to underwrite could find demand all through the year, as these retrospective portfolio covers can help a re/insurer client at any time of the year.

Key to the success of Rosh’s investment-oriented reinsurance strategy will be the ability of the firm to match liabilities and assets cleverly, in order to support its underwriting, capital needs and provide attractive returns to its clients.

The investment-oriented reinsurance strategy shows no signs of losing its attraction, but has perhaps found its most effective home within larger re/insurer entities where it adds a new level of efficiency to the firms reinsurance arrangements, such as ABR Re at Chubb, Watford Re at Arch and Harrington Re at AXIS.

The results of stand-alone investment-oriented, hedge fund backed and total-return reinsurance ventures have not been as impressive of late. So it will be interesting to see how Rosh Capital Holdings fares, with its twist on the strategy.