PGGM promotes Sfaif to Director, Credit & Insurance Linked Investments

PGGM, the Dutch pension fund investment manager and the largest end-investor in the insurance-linked securities (ILS) space, has promoted its employee Youssef Sfaif to the role of Director, Credit & Insurance Linked Investments.

Sfaif has a background in insurance and reinsurance having begun his career on the actuarial side for a broker and then an underwriter, before moving into the insurance-linked securities (ILS) investing space in 2017.

He joined PGGM at the mid-point of that year as an Investment Manager focused on Credit and ILS investing, before being promoted to Associate Director in early 2018.

In the time Sfaif has worked with PGGM the group has significantly grown its ILS and reinsurance portfolio as the investor looked to increase its assets on behalf of the PFZW pension it allocates for.

As of the end of 2019, PGGM’s ILS portfolio increased in size to roughly US $6.5 billion of assets and the range of reinsurance and ILS fund manager partners the company allocates to expanded to ten.

Sfaif has been promoted to Director, Credit & Insurance Linked Investments as of January this year, a position that sees him with senior investment management responsibilities for the origination, structuring and execution of ILS investments, across vehicles from sidecars, to ILS funds and other reinsurance joint-venture or partnership arrangements.

Sfaif’s insurance and reinsurance focused career began at broker Marsh in 2011, where he worked as a risk financing consultant, helping to structure and arrange complex risk transfer arrangements for clients.

He then moved on to work at French reinsurance company SCOR as a marketing actuary focused on alternative solutions, where he helped to structure tailor-made reinsurance products for SCOR Global P&C clients.

Also read: PGGM added $355m to Vermeer Re investment in 2019, to hit target $1bn cap.