Swiss Re will begin co-managing GAM Investments’ $3bn insurance-linked securities ILS funds, including the GAM Star Cat Bond UCITS Fund, starting May 7.
The appointment was made through Swiss Re Insurance-Linked Investment Advisors Corp. (SRILIAC), a Swiss Re subsidiary.
Swiss Re currently manages $5bn in ILS assets across funds, sidecars, and custom structures. From May 7, it will also oversee GAM’s ILS funds, which have $3bn in assets under management.
GAM will continue to handle risk oversight, global distribution, and product development. Swiss Re will focus on investment and portfolio decisions. Both firms plan to work together on ILS-related innovation.
Swiss Re stated that investors in GAM’s ILS and catastrophe bond funds will benefit from its risk assessment and underwriting capabilities. These include access to more than 50 catastrophe risk scientists, 190 proprietary peril models, and approximately 200 terabytes of curated portfolio data.
SRILIAC is led by Mariagiovanna Guatteri, CEO and CIO, who has more than 20 years of experience in catastrophe bond portfolio management and natural catastrophe modeling.
Her responsibilities include managing Swiss Re’s proprietary ILS positions and overseeing third-party capital across ILS investment strategies.
GAM’s head of ILS, Rom Aviv, said that catastrophe bonds have continued to show strong returns and stability in volatile markets. He noted 25 years of evidence demonstrating the asset class’s ability to generate returns above risk-free rates. Aviv, who recently took on the role, has 17 years of experience in buy- and sell-side positions focused on ILS, reinsurance, and capital markets structuring.
According to an AM Best report, the ILS market reached a record $107bn in capacity at the end of 2024. This growth was supported by retained earnings and new capital inflows.
The report, developed in collaboration with Guy Carpenter, highlighted that the segment avoided major catastrophe losses for two consecutive years.
The 144A natural catastrophe bond market saw the largest expansion, ending 2024 with more than $45bn in capacity. GAM cited growing investor interest in ILS due to economic development, higher insured value concentration in risk-prone areas, changing risk exposure, and climate change.
