Markel CATCo hits $3.7bn reinsurance linked assets under management

Reinsurance and retrocession linked investment manager Markel CATCo has raised and deployed around $500m of new capital this year, growing its assets under management from $3.2 billion to $3.7 billion by July 1st 2016 a near 16% increase in AuM so far this year.

Markel CATCo Investment Management Ltd., the Bermuda headquartered reinsurance and retrocession linked fund manager, has been steadily growing its assets under management over the years since its launch, but has been careful to match inflows with opportunities to deploy capacity, always ensuring it is fully deployed in order to maximise its returns for investors.

In the highly competitive retrocession market particularly, discipline shown by ILS funds such as Markel CATCo’s has helped to slow down the price declines in the last twelve months. However this greater stabilisation of prices has clearly not slowed demand for coverage, enabling Markel CATCo to continue on its growth path.

Some of the new assets under management raised during recent months can be attributed to the continued inflows into the London and Bermuda stock exchange listed CATCo Reinsurance Opportunities Fund Ltd., which has raised some small amounts this year.

But the majority of the roughly $500m added over the course of the first seven months of 2016 has likely been into the reinsurance linked investment managers other, less public, ILS funds and private mandates.

The increase in assets under management matched increasing demand for Markel CATCo’s products, enabling the manager to maintain its fully deployed status through the mid-year reinsurance and retrocession renewals, despite the increased capacity available.

As opportunities allow we would assume that Markel CATCo now sits in a strong position to raise additional funds, meaning the manager could pass the $4 billion mark for the end of the year.

Investors will be keen to access the returns possible from the type of business Marker CATCo underwrites, as well as being attracted to its prudent growth strategy of always matching inflows with market opportunities.

With $3.7 billion of reinsurance linked assets under management, Markel CATCo is now the sixth largest ILS manager in our directory.

Also read:

– Markel CATCo establishes Canada wildfire loss reserve.

– Markel CATCo names Watson as new Chief Underwriting Officer.

– Markel CATCo raises another $10.9m for retro reinsurance fund.