Cat bond fund news

Price adjustments to catastrophe bonds exposed to the California wildfires drove the overall yield of the catastrophe bond market higher in January 2025, to end the month back in double-digit territory, at 10.34% in USD, according to the latest data from Plenum Investments.

The launch yesterday of the Lumyna – Twelve Capital Parametric ILS Fund, a dedicated parametric insurance and insurance-linked securities (ILS) investment strategy managed by ILS manager Twelve Capital, is a “breakthrough” in the parametric space and provides “capacity for profitable growth”, senior execs at GC&C and Descartes Underwriting said.

Twelve Capital, the Zurich-headquartered insurance-linked securities (ILS) and reinsurance investment manager, has launched its first parametric ILS fund, working with Lumyna Investments for infrastructure and distribution, and parametric specialist Descartes Underwriting alongside Generali’s Global Corporate & Commercial arm for origination.

RenaissanceRe, the Bermuda based reinsurance company and third-party capital manager, has reported raising almost $238 million in additional third-party capital from investors for some of its ILS structures in time for the 1/1 renewal season, while over the course of 2024 investors benefited from strong earnings from joint-ventures and ILS funds.

The Los Angeles, California wildfires have had a minimal effect on the Plenum CAT Bond UCITS Fund Indices, as the write-downs in value of exposed positions for the sector manifest largely in reduced gains being made, although resulting in a very slight decline for the Index representing the lower-risk cohort of catastrophe bond funds.

Analysts at Fitch Ratings have said that any realised catastrophe bond losses from the Los Angeles wildfires are expected to be small, however these are not anticipated to impede cat bond market issuance.

A definitive prospectus has now been filed with the SEC for the Brookmont Catastrophic Bond ETF, a new exchange traded fund strategy that will be predominantly focused on the catastrophe bond and insurance-linked securities (ILS) asset class.

Amundi US Investment Management has reported that its Pioneer CAT Bond Fund strategy delivered a 14.27% return in the year to October 31st 2024, while assets under management in the strategy have continued to expand through the end of the year.

Fermat Capital Management, the specialist manager of catastrophe bond and insurance-linked securities (ILS) investments, has launched a new range of commingled ILS strategies already supporting around $2 billion in assets, as well as two key hires to its global investor relations team.

Stone Ridge Asset Management, the New York based alternative risk premia focused investment manager, appears to have taken the strongest action in terms of marking down its mutual catastrophe bond and insurance-linked securities (ILS) funds on potential exposure to the California wildfires, while most other strategies in the market have barely moved.