MultiStrat targets “significant growth” after deploying $1.75bn in casualty ILS

MultiStrat, a specialist underwriter, and reinsurance investment facilitator with a focus on helping investors access returns from casualty risks through insurance-linked securities (ILS) arrangements has deployed $1.75 billion of investor capital through its deals so far and is targeting further “significant growth” this year.

Having reached the 10 year anniversary of its formation, MultiStrat is building for the future and has made a number of key hires in its capital markets, underwriting, and operations divisions.

In addition, the company has continued to invest in advanced data, insurance and investment pricing, and portfolio optimisation capabilities, in order to facilitate its future growth ambitions.

MultiStrat has now underwritten and placed more than 50 single and multiclass transactions since its launch in 2014, the company revealed today.

In total, MultiStrat has deployed $1.75 billion in capital for investors to its transactions.

Notably, more than $500 million in premium has been underwritten for deals for a single alternative asset manager, while there are also multiple single transactions in excess of $100 million in premium the firm has entered into.

The company is focused on underwriting largely medium and long-duration casualty coverages, with collateral structured using investor capital as both single transactions and diversified pools.

MultiStrat has also advised on the formation and servicing of a range of segregated accounts, cells and other structures, to suit specific cedant, carrier and investor requirements.

“MultiStrat is a proven innovator of ILS Casualty,” explained Bob Forness, Chief Executive Officer of MultiStrat. “MultiStrat has been steadily growing for a number of years, scaling its operation, and building an industry standard for the use of collateralized casualty reinsurance. We are proud of what MultiStrat has accomplished since its first ILS Casualty transaction in 2017 and look forward to collaborating further with brokers on attractive reinsurance opportunities, and with investors on diversified opportunities to participate in this growing alternative asset class.”

Through the end of 2023 and into 2024, MultiStrat has been particularly busy hiring new expertise for its teams and building out its capabilities.

The investor relations team, which is based primarily in New York, has been strengthened with:

• John Stelwagon as Senior Managing Director, with 30 years of experience in debt capital markets, including leverage finance, distressed debt, CLOs, credit derivatives and structured products.
• Greg Komansky as a Managing Director, with 25 years of quantitative experience spanning asset management, portfolio construction, and quantitative trading, including the creation of JP Morgan’s Global Quantitative Program Trading Product (APTO) and CitiGroup Asset Management’s Global Smart Beta and a Dynamically Hedged SPX fund.
• Jason Berkson as an Associate with prior experience covering banks and insurance companies in the Debt Capital Markets group of HSBC.
• Ben Friedberg as an Associate with experience in Asset-Backed Securities and Warehouse Lending for Citigroup Global Markets, and previously with OneMain Financial and Ernst & Young.

MultiStrat has also added the following hires to its underwriting team based in Bermuda:

• Kier James as Vice President and Senior Underwriter, with more than 13 years of experience in ILS and reinsurance, most recently with Everest Re (Bermuda) and a Bermuda-licensed attorney.
• Maryam Abdullah as Senior Actuarial Consultant with more than 20 years of actuarial and 10 years of broker experience specializing in structured and capital relief transactions for Guy Carpenter, Acrisure and as Head of Capital for Capsicum Re (Gallagher Re).
• Heejae Cho as a Senior Underwriting and Actuarial Consultant with 20 years of experience as an actuary and underwriter, previously at Arch and AXA XL.
• Ian Oakley as a market consultant with 40 years of experience in reinsurance and claims, most recently as Head of Programs for DTW Syndicate, and previously Head of Casualty Reinsurance at Renaissance Re Syndicate 1458.

Finally, for MultiStrat’s operations team which is based in the US and Bermuda, new hires include:

• Jamie Lamberson as Treasurer with over 11 years of experience in reinsurance accounting, client relationship management, risk management and operational leadership.
• Johnny Ringold as a reinsurance and claims consultant with almost 20 years of experience, previously with Fidelis and Lancashire.

“Building a collateralized reinsurance specialist for cedents and investors has taken time but is now ready to scale,” explained Forness. “As an innovator in a new asset class, MultiStrat has successfully solved many challenges, including an initial soft market and low investment yield environment in casualty, continual education needs of investors, new designs for collateral and investments, and, more recently, improved collateral transparency. Our company has a proven track record and is excited for our next chapter.”

“The ILS space is continuing to grow and expand into different risk classes, providing more opportunities for institutional investors looking for total insurance and investment returns through high frequency, low severity business,” added Jim Robinson, CEO of MultiStrat’s capital arm.

Multi-Strat was acquired by Canopius Group back in 2020 and operates as a separate, specialty division of that company today.