Markel CATCo Investment Management

In the last quarter of record, revenues earned from its flagship insurance-linked securities (ILS) operation Nephila Capital rose for parent Markel Corporation, but assets under management at Nephila Capital declined heavily in Q3, dropping by $500 million to $9.3 billion by the end of September.

Investors in the Markel CATCo Investment Management retrocessional reinsurance investment funds now stand to receive as much as 18.5% more in capital return, on the back of the updated and improved buyout terms.

Markel CATCo Investment Management said this morning that it has received a “substantial level of investor support” for its proposed buyout transaction to speed the winding up of its retrocessional reinsurance investment funds and has updated the terms to be more favourable, in response to investor feedback it seems.

The CATCo Reinsurance Opportunities Fund Ltd., the listed, retrocession focused insurance-linked securities (ILS) fund strategy managed by Markel CATCo Investment Management, has again seen its net asset value (NAV) rise after another reduction in catastrophe loss reserves, this time from the 2018 California wildfires.

Pension Insurance Corporation plc (PIC) announced just now that it intends to try and put together an investor group to challenge retrocessional reinsurance investment manager Markel CATCo’s proposed buyout scheme, saying that it believes it will “drastically undervalue the interests of investors.”

Markel CATCo Investment Management, the in run-off retrocessional reinsurance manager of insurance-linked securities (ILS) funds, is to be the subject of Chapter 15 bankruptcy proceedings, with filings made in the United States that have also disclosed Danish pension fund investor PKA A/S as a major holder.

United States governmental authorities have concluded their investigations into retrocessional reinsurance investment manager Markel CATCo this week, with no action set to be taken.

Having announced this morning that a proposal has been made to investors to speed the running-off and return of capital of the Markel CATCo retrocessional reinsurance investment funds, the half-year report of the manager’s public fund suggests further wildfire subrogation related recoveries are possible.

A new proposal from Markel CATCo Investment Management and Markel Corporation seeks to speed the return of capital from the CATCo retrocessional reinsurance investment funds to investors, while avoiding any complications to the ongoing running-off from legal claims made.

The retrocessional reinsurance investment portfolio constructed by Markel’s CATCo Investment Management is continuing to develop more favourably than had originally been expected, with the firm reporting a reduction of claims in relation to catastrophe events from 2017.