BGC Group launches weather derivatives desk with Ernst hires

BGC Group, Inc., the global brokerage and financial technology company, has launched a new weather derivatives broking desk, with the hires of well-known weather hedging and trading specialists Nicholas and Eric Ernst.

BGC Group is perhaps better known to our readers for its foray into reinsurance with the ownership of Ed Broking.

The company eventually sold all of its insurance and reinsurance broking assets to the Ardonagh Group.

But financial market brokerage has always been a core component of the BCG Group offering and a derivatives desk perhaps sits with the firms trader mentality much better than re/insurance ever did.

The Ernst’s are extremely well-regarded in the weather derivatives space, with a long track-record in the sector.

Nicholas Ernst joins the firm as Managing Director, BGC Weather Derivatives.

Most recently, Nicholas was Managing Director, Weather Markets at TP ICAP, having joined that firm along with Eric in 2019.

Before TP ICAP, Nicholas was a Director of Weather Markets at Choice Energy, prior to which he spent 10 years as a Director of Weather and Catastrophic Risk Markets at specialist brokerage Evolution Markets.

Eric Ernst has joined BCG Group as Weather Broker.

Eric held the same role of Weather Broker at TP ICAP, before which he spent five years working as a weather derivatives broker at Choice Energy and three years in the renewable energy sector.

John Abularrage, Co-Global Head of Financial Services Brokerage at BCG Group, commented on the news, “We are excited to welcome Nicholas and Eric to BGC. They bring with them almost three decades of invaluable experience in the weather derivatives and climate risk transfer space.

“With these new hires, BGC now operates the premier weather and climate derivatives desk in the industry.”