Top tier ILS managers recorded a combined assets under management of $94.2bn as of July, an increase of 3% from $91.3bn in January, according to a survey conducted by Insurance Insider ILS.
This is slightly slower than the 4.4% growth posted by the $2bn+ group in the second half of 2024, when returns typically accumulate faster. But the outcome is a little stronger than expansion over the same period a year earlier, which came to 1.2%.
Despite the impact of California wildfire losses in Q1, which made H1 2025 the costliest for disaster losses since 2011, the ILS market has benefitted from continued inflows into the cat bond segment and higher baseline rates and returns since the 2023 market reset.
The number of ILS managers in the top group, those with more than $2bn in assets, increased to 20, up from 18 as of January.
New entrants to the list included Aspen, with AuM of $2.2bn, reported on a one-quarter lag, up from $2.0bn at the start of 2025.
Also on the list was Amundi, up to $2.8bn from $2.3bn in January – making it the fastest-growing in the peer group. (At the time January’s survey was conducted, Amundi had reported its AuM as $2.0bn, which was subsequently updated).
The Victory Pioneer Cat Bond Fund surpassed $1.1bn in AuM as of 7 July, Insurance Insider ILS previously reported.
Another of the faster growers in the top group over the first half was Tangency Capital, which added $400mn to reach $2.7bn, followed by Aspen, Neuberger Berman and Scor Investment Partners on 10% growth.
Fermat remained in top spot, although its AuM dipped below $10.0bn to $9.7bn.
This came as the ILS manager’s relationship with GAM officially came to an end in May, with Swiss Re Insurance-Linked Advisors Corporation brought in as co-investment manager of GAM’s ILS fund range.
However, Fermat’s own-branded UCITS Cat Bond Fund reached $1.58bn in AuM at the end of May, nearly tripling a year on from its launch.
At the same time, AuM in the GAM Star Cat Bond Fund fell to $1.8bn in May, down from $1.92bn in April, when the change was announced.
Twelve Securis ranked third with AuM of $7.6bn, rising from $7.2bn in February after the merger of the two ILS managers was confirmed.
The Twelve Cat Bond Fund surpassed $4.0bn in AuM as of June, becoming the first UCITS strategy cat bond fund to reach that milestone.
Combined assets of UCITS cat bond fund managers continued an upward trajectory, rising 11% to $14.0bn as of 11 July, up from $12.6bn as of January 3, according to Plenum data tracked by Insurance Insider ILS.
RenaissanceRe remained in second place, with a 2% increase in AuM from January to $7.9bn from $7.8bn.
Nephila and Schroders remained in fourth and fifth place respectively, although they have not yet disclosed their most recent AuM figures.
Start-ups boost ILS managers with sub-$2.0bn in AuM
Among ILS managers with under $2.0bn in AuM to respond to the survey, new or recent start-ups experienced notable growth, albeit from lower bases.
Cedar Trace, formerly Mereo Advisors, reported a notable H1 increase as it got underway, growing by 67% to $500mn.
The ILS manager continues to align its operations with Mereo Insurance, the Class 3B Bermudian reinsurer launched in February with Brian Duperreault as chair.
Fellow new participant Perren Re reported a ~13% increase in its AuM to $450mn, the midpoint from the given range.
Icosa Investments reported 90% growth in AuM and has reached ~$570mn some 18 months on from its launch in January 2024.
Plenum Investments built on the 22% growth it achieved from July 2024 to January 2025, adding a further $170mn in AuM to reach $1.24bn.
Axa IM, Man Group, Tokio Marine AM, Quantedge and Agile were among the other managers to report double-digit percent AuM growth.
Including other known ILS investors with broader-brush estimates of AuM, the broader ILS universe held $114.9bn in AuM, according to survey data compiled by Insurance Insider ILS, up 4% over the first half from $110.8bn and 13% from $102bn this time last year.
Click here for Insurance Insider ILS’s online ILS directory including data back to 2013 and lists of other known ILS investors for which AuM figures are not available.