Markel CATCo Investment Management

A schedule has now been set for the beginning of the share buy-backs for the listed retrocessional reinsurance investment fund operated by Markel CATCo Investment Management, with a portion of the shares of the CATCo Reinsurance Opportunities Fund set to be repurchased in September.

Markel Corporation has no intention of emulating the well-known CATCo retrocession products within the new retro insurance-linked securities (ILS) platform the firm intends to launch for the end of the year.

Revenues earned through the operations of its insurance-linked securities (ILS) manager Nephila Capital have helped to offset costs related to Markel CATCo in the second-quarter and first-half of the year for owner Markel Corporation.

Markel Corporation said it is launching a new retrocessional reinsurance insurance-linked securities (ILS) fund platform, while at the same time announcing a winding down of the existing Markel CATCo fund operations.

After having reported further loss creep that dented the net asset value’s of its listed retrocessional reinsurance fund shares in May, the CATCo Reinsurance Opportunities Fund shows that premiums are still set to flow as its share classes returned up to 1.3% in June.

Markel Corporation has reached the point where it can put the two lawsuits from the ex-CEO’s of its Markel CATCo Investment Management unit behind it, having agreed terms to settle or close the cases.

The continued loss creep that has affected reinsurance markets this year has hit the listed retrocessional reinsurance investment fund operated by Markel CATCo Investment Management, resulting in a decline of -18% in both share classes of the ILS fund in May.

Markel CATCo Investment Management has increased its specific loss reserves for catastrophe events from both 2017 and 2018 again, further denting the net asset values of the shares of its CATCo Reinsurance Opportunities Fund.

The CATCo Reinsurance Opportunities Fund, Markel CATCo Investment Management’s stock exchange listed retrocession focused investment fund, has experienced a second consecutive month of positive returns for April, but the shares are still discounted well below the latest NAV’s.

Markel Corporation is still unsure when it will be able to begin raising new funds for future investment strategies operated by its Markel CATCo asset management unit, according to the firms Co-CEO Richard Whitt III.