The former co-heads of the reinsurance and risk-linked securities team of Stark Investments, a multi-strategy hedge fund, have spun off to launch an independent investment manager focused on collateralized natural event reinsurance.
The Chicago-based investment manager is named Elementum Advisors and is owned by founding principals Anthony Rettino and John DeCaro and principal and chief operating officer Michael France.
The remaining former members of Starks reinsurance and risk-linked securities team, Jacob Weber and Nicholas Jagoda, will also be part of the venture.
Additionally, Elementum has hired Benjamin Somers to be its head of business development and investor relations. Somers was a former member of Stark’s business development team and was an institutional client adviser with JPMorgan Asset Management prior to Stark.
Elementum commenced operations on 1 December 2009, slightly more than four years after the team joined Stark from Cochran Caronia (now known as FPK Cochran Caronia Waller).
Elementum’s investment capabilities across the traditional collateralized reinsurance, catastrophe bond and exchange-traded derivatives markets will be centered on the assumption of natural event risk, with little, if any, emphasis on life securitizations or weather derivatives.
The firm will manage or sub-advise at inception significant assets invested across the natural event collateralized reinsurance and catastrophe bond universes, including assuming management of certain former Stark funds after receiving investor consent on 30 November 30. The transition provides greater access for Elementum to institutional investors interested in collateralized reinsurance.
“We are appreciative of the time we have spent working within a high quality institutional asset management organisation, and are looking forward to utilizing that experience to serve our clients at Elementum,” says DeCaro. “We are pleased to be able to continue the relationship with Stark as we move forward and grow, states Mr. Rettino. We also look forward to our continuing relationships with other valued long-term investors and our brokers and counterparties.”
