Pagnani & Manghnani launch ILS manager King Ridge. Will portfolio manage first cat bond ETF

King Ridge Capital Advisors LLC has been launched as a new insurance-linked securities (ILS) investment manager by sector specialists Rick Pagnani and Vijay Manghnani, Artemis understands. We’ve learned that the new company has already reached a sub-advisory agreement to take on portfolio management duties for the awaited first catastrophe bond ETF.

King Ridge Capital Advisors LLC is the latest entrant to the insurance-linked securities (ILS) investment management marketplace and comes with a particularly strong pedigree thanks to its two founders.

Rick Pagnani has worked in insurance-linked securities (ILS) and managing third-party reinsurance capital for over a decade, having been the founding CEO at Everest’s Mt. Logan Re collateralized strategy and later having joined giant asset manager PIMCO to build-out ILS strategies at the firm. Earlier in his career, Pagnani held roles at brokers and reinsurers, with a focus on the intersection of reinsurance and capital markets.

Vijay Manghnani also worked in PIMCO’s ILS team as a founding member, prior to which he worked in chief actuary, catastrophe analytics and underwriting roles at the likes of Newport Re, AIG and ACE. Earlier in his career, Manghnani also worked in weather risk management, as a climatologist and trader.

Also joining King Ridge Capital Advisors is an executive that formerly worked in sales and distribution as a VP at investment giant Fidelity, named Neil Hause, Artemis has learned.

King Ridge Capital Advisers has been launched as a multi-strategy ILS platform, with a goal to both revolutionise risk transfer and access to insurance-linked assets for investors.

Property and casualty insurance and reinsurance will be the main focus, but more broadly than the catastrophe risks that are most typically seen, as King Ridge intends to work across those and also specialty and casualty lines of business.

In addition, the new company will look to deliver capital optimisation solutions and reinsurance transformation services for clients, we understand.

The goal is to deliver a suite of ILS solutions and investment options, all with low correlation to broader financial markets. While also providing services such as sub-advisory for other asset managers and hedge funds.

Advanced modelling solutions and technologies such as artificial intelligence are set to be harnessed, while there will also be a strong focus on climate and catastrophe risk management. As well as a trading focus, to deliver optimised portfolios and return potential for investor clients.

We’ve also learned that King Ridge Capital Advisors LLC has signed an agreement to become the sub-adviser to the awaited Brookmont Catastrophic Bond ETF, a new and soon to be launched exchange-traded fund strategy that will have a focus on the catastrophe bond and insurance-linked securities (ILS) asset class.

As sub-adviser to the Brookmont Catastrophic Bond ETF, King Ridge will effectively act as the portfolio manager for the strategy.

Established by Brookmont Capital Management, LLC, the Catastrophic Bond ETF is expected to be actively managed and will have a ticker symbol of ROAR, with the ETF destined to be traded on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) once all details are finalised.

With ROAR set to have shares that can be traded directly on the NYSE, it is the first catastrophe bond focused strategy to be exchange-listed and traded, meaning liquidity opportunities for investors are set to be far more frequent than we see with most cat bond investment fund strategies.

With a stock exchange listing, the cat bond ETF will also potentially be more accessible to the growing range of investors we see exploring the ILS asset class as well. Other mutual ILS fund strategies tend to only be available via registered investment advisors.

As we’ve reported before, the Brookmont Catastrophic Bond ETF will attempt to invest at least 80% of its assets in catastrophe bonds, but can also allocate to certain other reinsurance related assets as well.

As we’d also explained in that earlier report, the catastrophe bond ETF will have what has been (up to now) an unnamed sub-adviser, acting as a portfolio manager to the cat bond ETF strategy, while Brookmont will be the investment adviser for the ETF strategy.

Now, we’ve learned that King Ridge Capital Advisors LLC will be that sub-adviser to the cat bond ETF, which is this new ILS investment management firm launched by Pagnani and Manghnani.

We understand that the cat bond ETF is still awaiting its final filings and registration before its launch, which are expected in the first-quarter of 2025.

With King Ridge Capital Advisors set to manage the portfolio, the ETF will have access to all the cat bond and ILS expertise, as well as trading capabilities it requires.

While, for King Ridge, this first sub-advisory agreement can give the new ILS manager a head-start and a differentiated entry point into the market.