ILS will enhance institutional client portfolios: Neuberger Berman

The addition of insurance-linked securities (ILS) investment expertise, through the recently announced acquisition of the Cartesian Re ILS operations, is expected to “enhance” the institutional client portfolios offered by asset manager Neuberger Berman Group.

Neuberger Berman, a private asset manager with around $315 billion of assets, announced that it has acquired the insurance-linked securities (ILS) and collateralized reinsurance investment management entities of the Cartesian Capital Group last week.

The deal sees the Cartesian Re ILS asset management unit of Cartesian Capital and the units reinsurance and segregated accounts vehicle Iris Re acquired by Neuberger Berman for an undisclosed fee.

The new ILS investment management unit within Neuberger Berman will be called NB Insurance-Linked Strategies, while its affiliated Bermuda reinsurance vehicle Iris Re is being renamed to NB Reinsurance Ltd. In addition, former owner Cartesian Capital Group is set to work with Neuberger Berman as it delivers ILS services and investment opportunities globally.

Speaking to Artemis, Cedric Drui, Managing Director at Neuberger Berman and part of the Cartesian Re team before the acquisition, explained that the addition of ILS expertise is expected to benefit the asset managers client base.

“Neuberger Berman’s institutional client portfolios can be enhanced with the addition of a dedicated insurance-linked team. We knew risk management is central to Neuberger’s principles, and has been the core principle of our own investment philosophy since inception almost 10 years ago,” Drui explained.

That suggests business as usual for the investors backing the former-Cartesian ILS and reinsurance linked investment portfolios and the Neuberger Berman investor-base will benefit from the decade of ILS expertise the team has acquired.

On top of this the breadth of resources and sophistication in asset management available to the NB ILS team will be significant, given the scale of Neuberger Berman.

Drui said, “We’re excited to access the world-class analytics and research, including big data, that complements our existing suite of proprietary analytics and helps with decision making, ultimately benefiting our investors.”

In addition the NB Insurance-Linked Strategies team will benefit from access to the broad investor base of Neuberger Berman, providing them with many more options for raising fresh capital and bringing new investors into their ILS strategies.