Integral ILS gets investment from New Holland Capital

Integral ILS Ltd., the start-up insurance-linked securities (ILS) fund manager launched by industry execs Richard Lowther and Lixin Zeng, has announced a second cornerstone investor for its new catastrophe reinsurance focused strategy, with long-time ILS investor New Holland Capital making a commitment to the firm.

integral-ils-launch-image-logoWith the new commitment from New Holland Capital, Integral ILS now has $600 million of commitments from investors backing its ILS fund strategies, the company said today.

Back in November, Integral ILS had announced its first investor commitment, after it secured an allocation from Canadian pension giant the Public Sector Pension Investment Board (PSP Investments).

Now, the company has attracted alternative investments specialist New Holland Capital on-board.

New Holland Capital manages around $20 billion of assets for the likes of the Netherlands APG pension fund. There’s a strong chance this allocation to Integral may be on behalf of that pension investor, as a result.

Integral said that with this new commitment, its investor funds committed have now reached $600 million, a strong start to the new ILS fund managers activities.

We understand that the $600 million includes an unspecified number of additional smaller allocations from investors that are as yet unnamed.

The new investment from alternative asset specialist New Holland Capital provides an additional “validation” of the Integral ILS “unique fund model”, the ILS manager said.

Alongside the seed investment commitment, New Holland Capital is also set to provide Integral with strategic support as it ramps up its operations.

Integral ILS believes its operating model represents a “foundational evolution in the management of Insurance-Linked Strategies.”

The company said that the combination of its in-house risk origination capabilities and the already announced strategic partnerships with global reinsurance firm TransRe and insurance origination and distribution specialist AmWINS, means that Integral has “comprehensive and scalable access to the insurance value-chain.”

“The ILS market is ripe for change,” Lixin Zeng, Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Integral explained. “Our evolved model will allow us to be true fiduciaries to our investors while maintaining ideal market access.”

“New Holland is an extremely sophisticated, long-term player in the ILS market and has been a standards-setter in the alternative investment arena. We are thrilled to have them as a partner as we continue to grow,” added Richard Lowther, Integral Co-Founder and Managing Partner. “This investment represents a validation of our vision, and we look forward to partnering with New Holland to deliver attractive returns.”

“Lixin and Richard have deep experience and a long-standing track record in the ILS industry,” New Holland Capital CEO Scott Radke said. “Integral’s partnerships give it broad access to risk, and its investor focus allows it to truly differentiate its offering from competitors.”

Differentiation is key at this time, with the ILS market largely recovered from recent years of catastrophe losses and now looking set to expand, while investor interest in the ILS asset class is particularly high right now.

That doesn’t mean securing investor commitments is any easier though, as most large institutions have become far more knowledgeable about ILS over the last few years, meaning the questions they ask are increasingly pertinent and in need of strong and strategic answers.

Integral has clearly done a good job of answering them and has set itself up for a strong first full-year of operations as a result.

Integral ILS is listed in our Insurance-Linked Securities Investment Managers & Funds Directory.

Integral ILS gets investment from New Holland Capital was published by: www.Artemis.bm
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