Insurance-linked investments

There’s always been a lot of discussion about just how much of their capital an institutional investor like a pension fund should allocate to an asset class like insurance-linked securities (ILS), but research from asset manager Schroders suggests that up to 5% remains the sweet spot.

Markel CATCo Investment Management has begun returning capital to shareholding investors in its listed retrocessional reinsurance investment fund, with almost $16 million set to be returns by way of an interim dividend.

Insurance-linked securities (ILS) funds are generally delivering strong returns to their investors so far during the seasonal peak of premium allocation, when the risk-linked return contribution tends to be at its highest.

Artex Risk Solutions is set to acquire Horseshoe, the Bermuda-headquartered specialist ILS, insurance or reinsurance management and fund administration, servicing, and risk transformation specialist, creating a dominant ILS service firm that will operate under the Horseshoe brand.

The acquisition of Vida Capital, Inc., the alternative investment manager and joint-venture partner in insurance-linked securities (ILS) asset manager Merion Square Capital LLC, has now been completed.

Amundi Pioneer Investment Management’s dedicated insurance-linked securities (ILS) mutual investment fund strategy, the Pioneer ILS Interval Fund, saw its net assets shrink by over 6% in the last quarter of record, but encouragingly the gap between the cost of its investments and their value narrowed again.

Following the first successful catastrophe risk transaction to use the Tullett Prebon owned Insurance Linked Notes (ILN) platform, $10 million of insurance-linked securities (ILS) have now been listed on the Bermuda Stock Exchange (BSX).

Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty (AGCS) has announced the promotion of Hyeji Kang as its new Global Head of Reinsurance and Catastrophe Risk Management as incumbent Bernhard Arbogast is set to retire.

The Tullett Prebon owned Insurance Linked Notes (ILN) platform has successfully completed its first issuance and settlement of catastrophe risk linked notes, in a transaction involving at least one ILS fund manager in LGT ILS Partners.

Hudson Structured has invested in another insurance technology firm, helping Columbus Ohio based commercial insurance technology firm Bold Penguin complete a $32 Million Series B funding round.