Artemis Live - Insurance-linked securities (ILS), catastrophe bonds (cat bonds), reinsurance

This is the first session from our Artemis ILS NYC 2022 conference, held in New York City on April 22nd, 2022.  This was the largest insurance-linked securities conference in the world since our last in Feb 2020, prior to the pandemic.  Over 200 attendees assembled in New York to hear industry expert speakers under the theme of "(Re)setting the scene", discussing the future of the insurance-linked securities (ILS) market as the COVID-19 pandemic abates and the industry adjusts to another year of catastrophe losses.  This was the first session of the conference and featured a focused discussion on the importance of the ILS asset class reducing surprises where possible, delivering transparency and keeping investors and counterparties informed.  The session was moderated by Ben Fox, Principal, Portfolio Manager, Hiscox ILS.  Participants were: Matthew Ball, Senior Director, WTW; Cory Anger, Managing Director, GC Securities; and Matthew Berdoff, Head of IR & Fundraising, Hudson Structured Capital Management.

This new Artemis Live interview from May 2022 is with Luca Albertini, CEO of specialist insurance-linked securities (ILS) investment manager Leadenhall Capital Partners.  Albertini joined us to discuss market conditions in insurance-linked securities (ILS) and catastrophe bonds, as the mid-year reinsurance renewals approach.  He explained that there are multiple forces affecting the ILS and cat bond sector, but also that the legacy effects of softened terms and conditions are important to rectify.  Albertini noted that there has been "a lot to distract investors" and allocators, with multiple external factors from the situation in Ukraine, to inflation and rate rises having knock-on effects on the ILS market this year.  But these factors have also been one driver of recent catastrophe bond spread widening, on which Albertini said, "I hope it lasts for a while, because that is an embedded higher return for the investors."  Albertini went on to discuss the upcoming reinsurance renewals, the prospects for both cat bonds and collateralized reinsurance, as well as the need for ILS fund managers to focus on the sustainability of capital.

This new Artemis Live video saw us interviewing senior executives at insurance-linked securities (ILS) and reinsurance investment manager Aeolus Capital Management, to discuss their ongoing program of climate risk research and how that is playing into investment decision-making at the firm.  Aeolus' Chief Analytics Officer, Frank Fischer and Head of Research, Dr. Pete Dailey, joined us to explain how the program of climate risk research is playing an increasingly important role for the company.  Listeners may recall Pete and Frank joining me back in November 2021 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=52HLXMpZ1tY), for an interview in which we discussed the Aeolus view on climate risk and climate change.  Fast-forward around six months and Aeolus has continued to put extensive effort into its climate risk related research, with a new paper published recently about the influence of climate change on hurricanes.  So, in this interview we got an update on the Aeolus view of climate risk, how the research is going, how these efforts are influencing the firm’s ILS decision-making and some more in-depth thoughts on the role of research information and data on risk selection and ILS portfolio management.

For this one of our sponsor showcase video interviews, for the upcoming Artemis ILS NYC 2022 conference (held April 22nd in New York City), we welcomed Shevawn Barder, CEO of AM Re Syndicate, one of our Bronze sponsors for the conference.  AM Re is a reinsurance managing general agent (MGA) and writes a diversified book of business, while leveraging capital partners support.  With the ILS market increasingly keen to access differentiated sources of risk, AM Re is also looking to partner with new and alternative capital sources, so we thought it would be interesting to hear Shevawn’s take on the market opportunity right now.  "ILS investors clearly have an appetite for program business, ILS markets are moving into program business because this market is currently hard and expected to hold for 2022 and beyond," Barder explained.  Adding that, "For 2022 we're seeking to bring in new strategic ILS partners, investors to replace lost capacity in certain lines of business and we're also expecting to launch our E&S carrier, ASI, authorised out of Arizona."

For this one of our sponsor showcase video interviews, for the upcoming Artemis ILS NYC 2022 conference (held April 22nd in New York City), we welcomed speakers from LGT ILS Partners, one of our Associate sponsors for the conference. Joining us for this conversation were Christian Bruns and Michael Stahel, two Partners and Portfolio Managers from LGT ILS Partners. The pair discussed the state of the reinsurance and insurance-linked securities (ILS) market, explaining that they are seeing positive shifts. These positive shifts are coming as the industry absorbs and digests the impacts of multiple years of high catastrophe losses, which at recent reinsurance renewal rounds have enabled LGT ILS Partners to improve its portfolios of risk. Bruns and Stahel also discussed the benefits of LGT ILS Partners' having its own rated reinsurance balance-sheet and how that adds efficiency to how they face the market. Finally, we discussed two hot topics for the ILS investment community, climate change and ESG. As ever, we’re looking at the development of the insurance-linked securities (ILS) market with one eye to the future, as is the way with Artemis’ ILS events. Event details can be found here: https://www.artemis.bm/ils-nyc-2022/

For this one of our sponsor showcase video interviews, for the upcoming Artemis ILS NYC 2022 conference (held April 22nd in New York City), we welcomed speakers from one of our Associate sponsors for the conference, global banking and broking company Truist. As ever, we’re looking at the development of the insurance-linked securities (ILS) market with one eye to the future, as is the way with Artemis’ ILS events. You can register for the event online here: https://www.artemis.bm/ils-nyc-2022/  Joining us for this conversation were Matt Gelber, Head of Insurance Investment Banking, and Andy Devries, Managing Director of Insurance Investment Banking, both from Truist Securities.  The pair discussed insurance industry capital trends, with a specific focus on how the insurance-linked securities (ILS) market has proven to be both disruptive and a source of efficient capital for ceding companies.  In addition, Gelber and Devries also explained some of the investor trends they see from their vantage point at Truist Securities and how ILS plays into those.  Truist Securities is a service mark of Truist Financial Corporation. All rights reserved. Truist Securities is the trade name for the corporate and investment banking services of Truist Financial Corporation and its subsidiaries. Securities and strategic advisory services are provided by Truist Securities, Inc., member FINRA and SIPC. Lending, financial risk management, and treasury management and payment services are offered by Truist Bank. Deposit products are offered by Truist Bank, Member FDIC.

For this one of our sponsor showcase video interviews, for the upcoming Artemis ILS NYC 2022 conference (held April 22nd in New York City), we welcomed speakers from one of our Associate sponsors for the conference, global law-firm Mayer Brown. As ever, we’re looking at the development of the insurance-linked securities (ILS) market with one eye to the future, as is the way with Artemis’ ILS events. You can register for the event online here: https://www.artemis.bm/ils-nyc-2022/  Joining us for this conversation were Steve Rooney, Partner and Co-leader of Mayer Brown's Global Insurance Industry Group; Ricky Spitzer and Colin Scgall, both Partner's in the Global Insurance Industry Group of the law firm.  The trio highlighted some trends they are watching in insurance-linked securities (ILS), in terms of still converging reinsurance and capital market activities, as well as in certain structures such as catastrophe bonds and reinsurance sidecars.  They also discussed the emergence of new domiciles for ILS issuance, such as Singapore, Hong Kong and London, highlighting what is working, and where there is more work to do.  Finally, the three legal executives explained some of the opportunities they see for the ILS market, including environmental, social and governance (ESG), new sponsor entrants and new uses of cat bonds to support humanitarian goals.

For this one of our sponsor showcase video interviews, for the upcoming Artemis ILS NYC 2022 conference (held April 22nd in New York City), we welcomed Tom Mackay, Senior Vice President and Vivian Ly, Client Relationship Manager, both from one of our Silver sponsors for the conference, global banking group HSBC.  As ever, we’re looking at the development of the insurance-linked securities (ILS) market with one eye to the future, as is the way with Artemis’ ILS events. You can register for the event online here: https://www.artemis.bm/ils-nyc-2022/  HSBC is one of the largest banking groups in the world and offers a range of services that are used within ILS transactions, not least escrow and corporate trust, as well as adjacently across the insurance and reinsurance world.  But with its global scale, it’s always interesting to hear the views of a major player in finance on a niche sector like insurance-linked securities.  Tom and Vivian discussed a range of issues with us, but one highlight of the interview is HSBC's expectation that the importance of environmental, social & governance (ESG) will grow for the ILS market and cascade through to the service provider level as well.

For this one of our sponsor showcase video interviews, for the upcoming Artemis ILS NYC 2022 conference (held April 22nd in New York City), we welcomed Stephan Ruoff, Global Head of Insurance-Linked Securities (ILS) and Mark Gibson, Head of Products and Solutions ILS, both from specialist investment manager Schroders Capital, one of our Gold sponsors for the conference. As ever, we’re looking at the development of the insurance-linked securities (ILS) market with one eye to the future, as is the way with Artemis’ ILS events. You can register for the event online here: https://www.artemis.bm/ils-nyc-2022/  Speaking to one of the key themes of our upcoming conference, Stephan Ruoff explained the need for the ILS industry to work on providing more predictable outcomes to its investors.  "As an industry we've not done too well over the last five years at creating predictable outcomes, so we need to change that and come back to things like underwriting, structuring, analytics and have these properly set, so that our investors can rely on these predictable outcomes," Ruoff said.  Ruoff explained that delivering on investor expectations is more important than growth for ILS managers.  Mark Gibson further explained the need for the ILS asset class to be increasingly accessible.  "That means providing diverse investment products or strategies for investors to tap into. We have a range of funds already, but we intend to keep broadening that range of funds, so that there's choice," Gibson said.  Listen to the full interview for the pair's thoughts on growth opportunities in the ILS market and the importance of ESG for the asset class.

For this one of our sponsor showcase video interviews, for the upcoming Artemis ILS NYC 2022 conference (held April 22nd in New York City), we welcomed Rob Hauff, Portfolio Manager at Vesttoo, one of our Gold sponsors for the conference. As ever, we’re looking at the development of the insurance-linked securities (ILS) market with one eye to the future, as is the way with Artemis’ ILS events. You can register for the event online here: https://www.artemis.bm/ils-nyc-2022/  Vesttoo is seeking to deliver investors a differentiated type and source of insurance-linked returns, with a non-catastrophe risk focus, innovative investor access points and the use of advanced technology to aid in modelling and structuring risks and investment opportunities.  Hauff joined us to discuss how Vesttoo is helping to unlock new categories of risk for investors, through its work in creating artificial intelligence risk models and the recently developed Insurance Linked Program, or ILP.  "Vesttoo's ultimate strategy is to become the marketplace where the need for reinsurance capacity marries up with the capital markets," Hauff explained.  Adding that, "I think it's possible that as the reach improves, with the introduction of lower-volatility instruments that we offer, we could generate more consistent returns over-time and reach a broader audience of investors."