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Leading Swiss cat bond investment manager Clariden Leu has re-opened its flagship cat bond fund to new investments following strong ILS issuance in the second half of the year.

ILS stalwart USAA is revisiting the capital markets with its second Residential Re transaction this year, opening the season for Q4 US wind issuance and testing investor appetite for the peak perils.

Investment bank Goldman Sachs has completed a $200mn note issue to purchase mortality cover on a block of US life insurance policies.

Broker Tullett Prebon and German exchange Deutsche Borse hope to have real quotes for over-the-counter (OTC) longevity swaps by early next year after collaborating on indicative pricing sheets for the instruments.

New cat bond sponsor American Family Mutual Insurance finalised pricing on its $100mn Mariah Re transaction yesterday (2 November), with a spread 1 percent below the lower end of initial price guidance, Trading Risk understands.

Ratings agency Standard & Poor's (S&P) has posted a stable outlook on State Farm and RenRe's $100mn joint venture sidecar-style transaction Top Layer Re, on the back of a recent action on State Farm.

French insurer Axa's latest cat bond, Calypso Capital, has closed at almost double initial targets, offering EUR275mn of European wind exposure to ILS investors.

The Life & Longevity Markets Association (LLMA) has launched a set of standardised pricing documents as part of its mission to create a liquid longevity risk market.

Hedge fund Fortress Investment Group is in exclusive talks to buy a $6.2bn life settlements portfolio from Belgian bank KBC, according to reports.

Hedge fund Blue Mountains is understood to be involved in the launch of a $500mn Bermudian reinsurance and retro start-up, Flex Re.

Two hedge fund-backed property and casualty (P&C) start-ups are close to defying the soft market by looking to launch later this year, according to (re)insurance entrepreneur Don Kramer.

Cat bond investors will be exposed to an unhealthy concentration of risk if the conservative policy of using Treasury Money Market (TMM) funds as collateral becomes standard, says Niklaus Hilti, Credit Suisse Asset Management's insurance-linked strategies head.