Vida rebrands to Obra Capital, launches Insurance Special Situations strategy

Alternatives and re/insurance focused investment firm Vida Capital has been rebranded as Obra Capital and has added a new strategy of relevance to our readers, called Insurance Special Situations investing and it includes a specialty reinsurance focus.

Obra Capital, as it’s now named, has nearly $4 billion in assets under management and always had a focus on investing into alternative strategies in the insurance and reinsurance space.

The company has long had a specialism in longevity and mortality investing, including life settlements and other insurance and reinsurance related opportunities.

The investment manager has also dabbled in insurance-linked securities (ILS) in recent years as well, not least after it became a joint-venture partner in the now shuttered insurance-linked securities (ILS) and collateralized reinsurance investment manager Merion Square Capital LLC.

Longevity related investments, in longevity risk through life settlements, longevity swaps and annuities, are combined with mortality linked insurance and reinsurance instruments such as closed block life deals, mortality swaps and contingent structured settlements, will remain core to Obra Capital.

But the new strategy of Insurance Special Situations marks a bit of an expansion of the insurance-linked investment remit for the asset manager, with investments to be made in assets including disintermediated credit structures, collateralized financings, financial receivables and specialty reinsurance.

The Insurance Special Situations strategy at Obra Capital will be led by Head of Structured Credit, Peter Polanskyj who joined the firm in 2022, alongside the Director and lead for Special Situations, Joseph Hwang who had been at Vida since 2018.

Obra said that this new strategy will target “uncorrelated asymmetric and differentiated risk-adjusted returns” for investors, through the provision of “customized, solution-based capital and sophisticated structuring to finance and insurance-related opportunities.”

“Our business has evolved dramatically in recent years, including an expansion of the asset management solutions we offer, enhancements to our in-depth cross-asset approach and considerable additions to our leadership and management teams,” Blair Wallace, President & Chief Executive Officer commented.

“With our diversified scope of in-house capabilities, we can more deeply engage with a range of global investors and customize opportunities and capital solutions that fit their mandates and risk profiles. We are focused on measuring risk versus reward, working to protect investment principal while structuring investments for asymmetric returns, and offering strategies that we believe meet the targeted objectives of our sophisticated investors.”