TP ICAP expands into weather derivatives broking with Ernst hires

TP ICAP group, the world’s largest interdealer broker, has a new offering of weather derivatives, having hired two experienced weather risk market professionals in Nicholas and Eric Ernst.

ICAP Energy LLC, which is the energy and commodities focused division of TP ICAP has hired the pair to run a new ICAP Weather Derivatives desk.

Nicholas Ernst is an award-winning broker who has specialised in the weather derivatives and risk transfer space for 17 years.

He joins ICAP as Managing Director, Weather Markets, coming from his most recent role as Director of Weather Markets at Choice Energy.

Prior to that, Nicholas Ernst spent 10 years as a Director of Weather and Catastrophic Risk Markets at specialist brokerage Evolution Markets.

Eric Ernst joins ICAP as a Weather Broker, from his most recent role that saw him spend five years at Choice Energy. Prior to that Eric spent three years in the renewable energy sector.

Gregory Holtgrave, Head of ICAP Americas Energy & Commodities, commented on the hires, “This is an exciting time for ICAP Energy & Commodities. The appointments of Nicholas and Eric show our commitment to expand and explore new opportunities across the global energy and commodities space. I’d like to welcome them to their new roles, and I look forward to working closely with them as we build out this new offering.”

Of course, TP ICAP are well-known in the insurance-linked securities (ILS) space, having a prolific broking desk focused on catastrophe bonds and other tradable ILS instruments.

Adding this weather derivatives specialism means the broker-dealer may now have two desks that some ILS funds want to trade with, given the appetite of some ILS funds to write weather derivatives and weather risk deals.