Nephila unveils new weather risk transfer unit NCx; names CEO

Nephila Holdings is expanding its weather and ESG-driven business with the launch of a new specialty division, Nephila Climate (NCx).

Nephila Holdings is the parent company of Nephila Capital, an investment manager specialising in reinsurance and weather-related risk.

NCx will be dedicated to weather risk transfer and climate resilience products. Richard Oduntan, the head of Nephila's weather risk investment team, has been named CEO of NCx.

"We are proud to have been early believers in climate-driven investments, developing the initial market for weather risk transfer and creating an opportunity for investors in a way which makes for a more sustainable economy," said Barney Schauble, chairman of Nephila Climate, in a Jan. 30 press release.

The company stated that according to Factset, nearly half of the companies in the S&P 500 cited weather as negatively impacting earnings in third quarter earnings calls in 2017.

Oduntan commented: "NCx stands at the intersection of two trends: steadily increasing interest in weather risk transfer alternatives from companies and intermediaries around the world, and the investment community's collective push to develop products aligned with impact and sustainable investing goals. NCx will also satisfy a growing demand from investors for additional non-correlated returns."

Nephila offers a broad range of investment products including insurance-linked securities, catastrophe bonds, insurance swaps, and private transactions.

NCx will benefit from the relationships of Nephila Holdings, but is also seeking external partners interested in exploring climate-related investment initiatives. NCx will continue to scale its existing offerings and offer adjacent products for renewable energy, energy markets, agriculture and other sectors. In addition, it will also seek to develop weather-linked credit products to aid the financing of renewable energy projects and also help commercial and government entities manage climate resilience risks due to weather volatility and extreme weather in sectors including logistics and transportation, construction, mining and minerals, food and agriculture, hospitality and retail.

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