Aeolus makes raft of leadership promotions

Aeolus Capital Management Ltd., the Bermuda based reinsurance and insurance-linked securities (ILS) focused investment fund manager, has made a raft of leadership promotions within its business, as a natural progression following the 2017 buy-in of investment manager Elliott Management Corporation.

Aeolus, which manages over $4 billion of reinsurance linked ILS assets on behalf of institutional investors around the world, has rearranged its leadership to create a structure to support recent growth and to create a platform for future development of the business.

Key among the changes announced are Managing Partner and Co-Head of Portfolio Management Andrew Bernstein becoming Chief Executive Officer of Aeolus, while Chris Grasso (Managing Partner and Co-Head of Portfolio Management) and Trevor Jones (Managing Partner), will become Co-Chairmen.

Since early 2017 when Elliott bought into the firm, Bernstein, Grasso and Jones made up a Management Committee at Aeolus, overseeing day-to-day operations and strategic leadership of the company.

Aeolus said that the Management Committee’s function will remain unchanged following these announcements, while Bernstein and Grasso will also continue to serve as the firm’s Co-Heads of Portfolio Management.

Frank Fischer (Partner and Chief Analytics Officer) who has been with Aeolus since 2006, has also been elected to the Board of Directors, effective immediately, reflecting the key leadership role he plays within the firm,

Henry Kingham (Portfolio Manager) and Daina Casling (General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer) have both been made partners in recognition of their contribution to the firm since joining in 2017 and 2018, respectively.

Kingham and Casling join a partnership of eight individuals, which also includes Evan Winters (Partner and Portfolio Manager) and Jason McAlpine (Partner, Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer), both of who became partner in 2015 and 2016, respectively.

Aeolus has been majority-owned by entities controlled by investor Elliott Management Corporation and the Operating Principals of Wand Partners since 2017 and this support has helped Aeolus strengthen its franchise.

The company has been able to deliver attractive returns despite challenging market conditions, diversifying and grow its investor base, and met the coverage needs of its trading partners within the reinsurance and retrocession markets.

These leadership promotions and the expansion of the partnership are designed to allow Aeolus to consolidate and expand upon its position in the sector, at a time when it sees what it calls an “increasingly attractive market environment.”

For the Aeolus business, delivering an improved and more robust operational structure will help it to deliver on growth, its promises to cedents and investors, as well as offer its growing staff more opportunities for working their way through the ranks going forwards.

As such the announcement should be viewed as Aeolus setting out its stall and ambition to create a larger and increasingly important business in the ILS and reinsurance marketplace.