Aon launches new team to expand capital access amidst challenging economic environment

Re/insurance broker Aon has launched a new team in its reinsurance solutions business that will identify and deliver additional sources of capacity to clients, with the aim of assisting them to lower their cost of capital, reduce volatility, and seize new opportunities for growth.

The new capital partners team, which will be focused on building global investor relationships, will initially bring third-party property catastrophe capacity to clients in London, Bermuda, Europe and Asia. The team will then expand its capabilities into other business lines and regions.

The team will work with expertise from across the group – especially its Aon Securities and Capital Advisory teams – in order to develop what it believes will be a "compelling proposition for investors" that addresses clients’ holistic business requirements.

In addition to their existing roles, Richard Wheeler will become head of capital partners, supported by Anshuman Srivastava as deputy head, both reporting to Nick Frankland, UK CEO of reinsurance solutions, and Paul Schultz, CEO of Aon Securities.

Frankland said: “Capital Partners has been formed to help us to unite our extensive global resources in capital raising and thereby deliver new opportunities to our clients. Alongside Aon Securities’ ILS capability, and Capital Advisory’s Funds at Lloyd’s (FAL) reinsurance capital raising expertise, it will give us another dimension to our investor access.”

Schultz added: “Sourcing capital in its various forms is complex and challenging, particularly in the evolving economic environment. Through innovative capital discussions, the Capital Partners team has been established to support its clients with capacity from a wider investor base, distributed globally across different classes of investors. Working with Aon Securities and Capital Advisory, the team will be responsible for the development and attraction of all forms of third-party and alternative capital into the reinsurance sector.”

Andy Marcell, global CEO of reinsurance solutions, said: “Matching capital to risk in an efficient and effective manner requires firms to employ more resources than ever before. Uniting our capabilities through this new initiative will help to provide these resources in order that our clients can better access global capital, improve their resilience and realise their growth ambitions.”