Swisscanto launches debut UCITS catastrophe bond fund strategy with $25m AUM

Swisscanto Asset Management International S.A. has launched its first UCITS catastrophe bond fund under Luxembourg Law, the Swisscanto (LU) Bond Fund Cat Bonds, debuting with just over US $25 million in assets under management (AUM).

According to the announcement, the fund will invest exclusively in standardised, tradable cat bonds to provide qualified investors with focused, liquid, and transparent access to insurance risk premiums.

The strategy is embedded in the risk and governance framework of Zürcher Kantonalbank, Switzerland’s second-largest asset manager and the investment manager for Swisscanto funds.

The fund will be run by a dedicated cat bond team led by Senior Portfolio Manager Karl Ruzsics, who joined Zürcher Kantonalbank’s Fixed Income department in 2022, alongside Deputy Portfolio Manager Jamil Bouallai, both of whom bring strong quantitative backgrounds considered well-suited for the cat bond market.

Furthermore, Swisscanto noted that the fund features a risk model specifically designed for catastrophe bonds.

As well as this, the fund will also allow qualified investors to access a diversified portfolio with an attractive risk-return profile.

“Given the turbulent market environment, the special properties of cat bonds are coming into particular focus: the returns on these bonds – which enable insurance companies to hedge insurance risks such as hurricanes, floods or earthquakes – depend on these specific insurance events and are less driven by general market developments,” Swisscanto explained.

“As a result, cat bonds typically exhibit low correlation with traditional asset classes such as equities and corporate bonds. They can therefore help to bring greater stability to an investment portfolio during periods of market volatility,” the firm continued.

Maurizio Pedrini, designated Head of Fixed Income, commented on the launch: “We are bringing modern fixed-income expertise to a specialised niche. We combine an established risk model with an active relative-value approach to create a diversified portfolio with attractive return potential.”

UCITS cat bond funds continue to grow in number, with this now making it 21 active UCITS catastrophe bond fund strategies in the market.

When we last reported on UCITS cat bond fund AUM as a group, they had approaching $20.5 billion as of April 30th 2026, a significant component of the overall cat bond market and a figure that we expect to continue growing over time.