Falcon Private Bank launches a third, higher risk/return, ILS fund

Swiss private banking firm Falcon Private Bank has announced the recent launch of its third insurance-linked securities (ILS) fund, the Twelve-Falcon Insurance Opportunities Fund, a UCITS format higher risk/return catastrophe bond investment strategy.

With the launch of the Twelve-Falcon Insurance Opportunities Fund, offering a higher risk and reward cat bond strategy, Falcon Private Bank aims to complement its existing investment offerings in ILS, which include a conservative fund, a balanced fund and private mandates.

The new cat bond fund will be managed by Zurich-based specialist ILS and reinsurance investment manager Twelve Capital. Twelve Capital agreed a transaction with Falcon Private Bank in June 2013 which saw it take on the investment management of the Falcon insurance-linked securities (ILS) business and investment funds.

Falcon Private Bank launched the Falcon Cat Bond Fund in 2005, serving as a conservative entry point to cat bond investing, followed by its balanced strategy, the Twelve-Falcon Insurance Linked Strategy Fund (UCITS) in 2010, which is now well established with $180m assets.

The new fund, the Twelve-Falcon Insurance Opportunities Fund, is its highest risk/return ILS strategy to date, which Falcon says completes its offering of low-correlation investment opportunities. The new fund offers potential investors a flexible scheme for allocation and while still a 100% cat bond strategy it is less restrictive in terms of the investment mandate, compared to the other funds, allowing higher returns to be achieved.

Eduardo Leemann, CEO of Falcon Private Bank, commented on the launch of the new fund; ”We are proud to further strengthen our partnership with Twelve Capital as we continue to build an impressive, innovative and tailored ILS offering for our clients.”

Dr. Urs Ramseier, Chairman of the Board of Directors at Twelve Capital, added; “We are delighted to manage this exciting investment strategy on behalf of Falcon Private Bank. It will satisfy those investors, wishing to obtain extra yield from this asset class. The Twelve-Falcon Insurance Opportunities Fund complements our existing offering of ILS and insurance funds and mandates whilst demonstrating the broad investment expertise of our team.”