AP2 ILS portfolio rises to $1.1bn, exceeds long-term return expectations in 2024
AP2, or Andra AP-fonden, a Swedish state pension fund that is one of the largest in Europe at SEK 459 billion under management, saw its insurance-linked securities (ILS) allocation rise in value to around US $1.1 billion by the end of 2024, with the ILS asset class exceeding its long-term return expectations last year. AP2 […]
IDB to support LatAm & Caribbean countries on cat bonds & cat swaps
The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) has announced plans to support Latin American and Caribbean nations in issuing catastrophe bonds and swaps, as part of a broader initiative aimed at strengthening financial resilience against natural disasters. This comes as the IDB recently launched its Ready and Resilient Americas program, a regional effort designed to improve disaster […]
UCITS cat bond funds average 1.38% return for Q1 2025. Low-risk strategies led the way
The average return of UCITS catastrophe bond fund strategies was 1.38% for the first-quarter of 2025, according to the Plenum CAT Bond UCITS Fund Indices. But lower-risk cat bond funds led the way by averaging 1.50% for the period as a group, as they generally had less exposure to the California wildfire cat bond mark-downs. March […]
City of Zurich Pension gets 9.2% return from ILS, allocates to Tangency Capital & Integral
The City of Zurich Pension Fund has continued to expand its activities as an investor in insurance-linked securities (ILS), growing the size of its investment to now in excess of US $1.15 billion, while adding new allocations to ILS managers Integral ILS and Tangency Capital in the last year. When we last reported on the City […]
Peak Re adds China / India parametric quake to second Black Kite Re catastrophe bond
Hong Kong headquartered global reinsurance company Peak Re is back in the catastrophe bond market, with a target to secure $50 million or more in retrocession from this Black Kite Re Limited (Series 2025-1) issuance across a broader range of perils than its first cat bond covered. Peak Re’s debut catastrophe bond in 2022 secured the company […]
UCITS catastrophe bond funds grew 11% to record-high $15.3bn AUM in Q1 2025
Catastrophe bond funds in the UCITS format accelerated their growth in the first-quarter of 2025, with cat bond assets under management across the now seventeen UCITS cat bond fund strategies growing 11% to reach a new record-high of just under $15.3 billion. UCITS catastrophe bond funds had been growing strongly last year, hitting a new high […]
Alternative capital the main source of inflow to reinsurance in 2024: Gallagher Re
As alternative reinsurance capital, from catastrophe bonds and other non-life insurance-linked securities (ILS) structures, grew to a new high of US $114 billion by the end of 2024, Gallagher Re notes that it was the main source of capital inflow to the reinsurance market last year. While traditional reinsurance capital also grew in 2024, to […]
Cat bonds stable & resilient amid tariff financial market volatility: Fund managers
Catastrophe bonds are once again showing their value as a source of portfolio stability, with specialist cat bond fund managers Plenum Investments and Icosa Investments AG highlighting the sector’s calm performance despite growing volatility in broader financial markets tied to U.S. tariff tensions and macroeconomic uncertainty. In separate updates, both Plenum Investments and Icosa Investments […]
Hong Kong government can encourage investors by allocating to ILS products, says FSDC
As Hong Kong continues to focus on developing insurance-linked securities (ILS) as a key market segment, a position paper from advisory body the Financial Services Development Council states that further integrating ILS products into its own investment portfolios would help the government encourage investors to consider allocating to the asset class. So far there have […]
Cat bond market yield stable at 10.43%, as seasonality and demand compete in March
The opposing forces of seasonality and demand continued to drive the overall yield of the catastrophe bond market sideways through March, ending the month at 10.43% so remaining relatively flat over the period, according to the latest data from Plenum Investments. Recall that, back in late 2024, high-demand for catastrophe bond investments had compressed risk spreads somewhat […]