February 2014/1

Montpelier Re has appointed Daniel Brookman as head of capital markets, confirming a move previously reported by Trading Risk

Trading Risk looks at how fund managers use modelling tools

London-based investment manager Acheron Capital and Peter Vloedman-led Anchor Risk Advisors have pulled out of the ILS market, Trading Risk understands.

ILW index posts 15.8% gain in 2013; Cavanagh calls for deeper derivatives; 2013 returns best since 2010; Falcon adds higher-return cat bond fund; Kane lists $50mn cat bond lite; Eskatos adds European exposure; Nephila 2357

RMS spin-off Praedicat has launched its CoMeta liability catastrophe model as scientists tackle the challenge of making casualty risk modellable

Adam Podlaha, head of Impact Forecasting, explains how modelling can account for 'known unknowns'

An influx of new capital into the ILS market at the start of the year caused cat bond spreads to tighten and bond prices to climb yet higher on the secondary market, according to the Aon Benfield ILS trading team.

The Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund (FHCF) said it would require lengthy commutation periods in any reinsurance cover it might seek for the 2014 hurricane season

The ILS market appetite for higher-yielding risk remains competitive but spreads on lower-risk deals may be nearing their floor, broker-dealers Munich Re Capital Markets and Swiss Re Capital Markets said in their recent ILS market updates.

Munich Re has projected that alternative reinsurance capital will grow from $44mn in 2012 to $59mn this year and up to $75mn by 2016 - representing annual growth of 14 percent over the four-year period

Aetna benefited from a shortage of life-linked risk on the ILS market as it kicked off 2014 activity with a $200mn Vitality Re issuance.

The retrocession market provided significantly more aggregate capacity during the 1 January renewals as demand for occurrence covers shrank, Credit Suisse Asset Management's head of ILS Niklaus Hilti told Trading Risk