King Ridge Capital Advisors LLC, the specialist insurance-linked securities (ILS) investment manager, has launched its awaited UCITS exchange traded catastrophe bond fund (ETF) in partnership with UCITS ETF white-label platform provider HANetf, with the strategy already having a designated lead market maker in place.This makes the KRC Cat Bond UCITS ETF fund, which trades under a ticker symbol of CATB, the first catastrophe bond ever to have a designated lead market maker from its launch, which should help in developing liquidity for the exchange traded investment strategy.As we reported recently, , the Xetra electronic trading venue operated by the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, the Borsa Italiana, and the London Stock Exchange.With today’s official launch, the UCITS cat bond fund is set to be available in USD and GBP currencies through the London listing, EUR through Xetra, and the Borsa Italiana.

It is the first UCITS ETF fund structure that will provide investors access to the returns of the catastrophe bond market, by investing into a diversified portfolio of natural disaster exposed catastrophe bonds.The goal is to create an alternative source of income for investors that is largely uncorrelated with traditional financial and capital markets, offering diversification for multi-asset and fixed income portfolios.King Ridge Capital Advisors will actively manage the KRC Cat Bond UCITS ETF portfolio, adopting a disciplined approach to create a portfolio well-diversified using analytics driven underwriting and thorough the assessment of features from perils, to sponsors, triggers, risk level and liquidity.

The cat bond ETF will also adopt strict limits on peril, region and sponsor concentration, seeking to construct a resilient portfolio that can continue to deliver returns even when individual regions of the world experience catastrophe losses.Importantly, the KRC Cat Bond UCITS ETF will have market making support from London-based specialist Goldenberg Hehmeyer LLP (GHCO), as its designated lead market maker, Artemis has learned.Goldenberg Hehmeyer is a liquidity provider that specialises in exchange-traded products, working alongside asset managers and the exchanges that list investment products to facilitate trading and grow the ecosystem around them.

We are not aware of a single catastrophe bond fund in the history of the market that has had a designated lead market maker from the launch, so this first UCITS ETF fund is breaking new ground here and it will be interested to see how it assists with liquidity and trading.Having a market maker, especially in the early stages for an exchange traded investment fund is viewed as important and can help in building the initial levels of trading activity and traction, by providing additional confidence to investors and helping facilitate efficient trading and growth.As such, this is a key differentiator and it will be interesting to watch how this first UCITS cat bond ETF in Europe trades and scales over time.

Rick Pagnani, CEO & Lead Portfolio Manager, King Ridge Capital Advisors, commented on the news, “Bringing Europe its first cat bond ETF is about more than breaking new ground – it’s about giving investors a fresh way to build resilient portfolios.Cat bonds stand apart because they’re driven by nature, not markets, and that makes them a powerful diversifier.We’re excited to open the door to this innovative strategy and help folks invest in something that matters.” Hector McNeil, Co-Founder and Co-CEO of HANetf, added, “We are delighted to bring Europe’s first catastrophe bond ETF to market.

The launch of CATB reflects HANetf’s commitment to expanding investor access to specialist asset classes through high-quality partners.Catastrophe bonds have grown into an important segment of global fixed income, offering return drivers that are fundamentally different from traditional markets.In an environment where investors are seeking uncorrelated income and robust diversification, this type of exposure can play a meaningful role in portfolio construction.

“Partnering with King Ridge Capital brings deep expertise in insurance-linked securities and catastrophe risk analysis to the product.Their disciplined, analytically driven approach aligns with our mission to deliver thoughtfully designed, institutionally managed products to investors across Europe.We are pleased to support innovation in this space and to broaden the range of tools available to investors.”.

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