SKCG Group hired insurance industry veteran Wayne C Siebner (pictured) to enhance its global hedge fund and private equity fund practice. SKCG’s client roster already includes many of the industry’s largest and most recognised funds.
Siebner will serve as Senior Vice President and Manager of Executive and Professional Liability and will focus on Directors and Officers (D&O) and Errors and Omissions (E&O) Insurance. Hedge funds and asset management firms purchase this risk management tool to protect themselves from costs stemming from SEC investigations and investor lawsuits. Siebner will be joining SKCG Group at a time when lower costs and increased investor demand for this type of insurance has increased hedge funds’ interest for the product.
“Wayne’s 32 years of industry experience complements SKCG’s long history of providing sophisticated advice on D&O and E&O Insurance products and services across a broad spectrum of public, private and not-for-profit commercial and financial service industry sectors,” says Thomas Kozera, CEO of SKCG Group.
In the past two years, the cost of E&O and D&O insurance has declined by as much as 20 per cent, prompting asset managers to take advantage of the low rates. At the same time, institutional investors increasingly demand that funds they invest in be properly insured. As a result, a number of hedge funds, including some with billions in assets under management (AUM), are purchasing protection for the first time.
“Asset managers tell us that their institutional investors want stronger, more comprehensive risk management controls in place and that having comprehensive E&O/D&O coverage is an essential part of those controls. The addition of Wayne’s experience and contacts will help us enhance this key segment of our business at a time where demand for this risk management tool is on the rise,” says Richard S Canter, COO of SKCG Group.
Siebner most recently worked at Arthur J Gallagher Risk Management Services, where he held a number of managerial and business development positions, the most recent being Area Executive Vice President for their financial products, corporate accounts and marketing units. Wayne holds a Bachelors in Business Management and Finance from Hofstra University.
