RenaissanceRe Holdings has launched RenaissanceRe Medici UCITS Fund, an Irish-domiciled property catastrophe bond fund.
The fund operates as a sub-fund of RenaissanceRe Medici ICAV and is designed to provide European and global investors with access to the company’s catastrophe bond investment strategy within a European-regulated UCITS structure.
The Capital Partners team at RenaissanceRe will serve as the investment manager for Medici UCITS, which is intended to complement the company’s existing catastrophe bond fund, RenaissanceRe Medici Fund Ltd. Both funds share similar investment guidelines and risk appetites.
Medici UCITS launched with US$340 million in total capital, including a US$140 million co-investment from RenaissanceRe alongside contributions from new and existing partners.
The fund will not be consolidated into RenaissanceRe’s financial results, but it will generate fee income, and its co-investment will be recorded at fair value in the company’s consolidated financial statements. Medici UCITS is regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland.
Ross Curtis (pictured above), executive vice president and chief portfolio officer at RenaissanceRe, said the fund will offer third-party investors a new investment option while providing protection to clients.
Over the past year, the catastrophe bond market has experienced significant growth, reaching new milestones in issuance and total market size.
In 2024, the cat bond market witnessed record-breaking activity, with new issuances totaling approximately US$17.7 billion, surpassing previous records. This surge in issuance expanded the total outstanding cat bond market to nearly US$50 billion by the end of the year.
The increased investor demand for alternative risk transfer solutions, coupled with insurers seeking to manage escalating risks from climate-related disasters, contributed to this growth.
A $1.4 billion transaction in Texas was one of the largest cat bonds issued during the previous year, with this transaction providing substantial coverage for multiple perils in Texas.
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