Cat bond funds march on, cut post-Ian loss to 3.3%

Pure-play cat bond funds continued their march back from Hurricane Ian losses during the first two weeks of 2023, with a key dollar-denominated index advancing yet another 0.4% over the period to cut the loss since pre-Ian to 3.3%.

On two weekly gains to kick-off the year, Plenum Investment's weekly index for dollar-denominated cat bond funds hit yet another post Ian high and is now 3.5% from the post-Ian lows.

Euro- and Swiss Franc-denominated indexes are trailing the gains again in early 2023 and remain 4.28% and 4.75% below pre-Ian levels. Mark the average euro-denominated fund up 0.3% to date in 2023, ahead of a modest 0.2% gain for the franc measure.

The array of total return performance indexes, published weekly by Plenum Investments, are built on valuations of a group of 15 pure-play cat bond UCITS investment funds. Sub-indexes divvy up results by currency unit class and a classification of risk profile subject to semi-annual review.

The core indexes had been down 6.3 to 7.3% in the weeks following Hurricane Ian on assumption that the array of underlying securities would suffer notable trapped capital.

Views began to ease quite quickly. Analysts at Lane Financials have claimed that the rebound might be highly selective, traceable to the relative lack of flood damage that saved a select slice of the market but leaving some windstorm-focused cat bonds still mired in early losses.

The array of total return performance indexes, published weekly by Plenum Investments, are built on valuations of a group of 15 pure-play cat bond UCITS investment funds. Sub-indexes divvy up results by currency unit class and a classification of risk profile subject to semi-annual review.

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