Elementum creates CIO roles, appoints Davis to cat bonds, Barker to private ILS
Elementum Advisors, LLC has added new Chief Investment Officer (CIO) roles to its structure, with long-standing employees Jeff Davis and Paul Barker taking on investment oversight and responsibility for the catastrophe bond and collateralized reinsurance areas of the business, respectively.
The new CIO positions are a recognition of Davis and Barker’s success in leading their respective teams and developing investment strategies for Elementum’s clients, and a move that demonstrates Elementum’s focus on developing personnel, rewarding key employees, and maintaining a succession plan for leadership within the ILS manager.
Elementum Advisors, LLC, the alternative investment manager that specialises in collateralized natural catastrophe event reinsurance investments, has split the CIO responsibilities for the catastrophe bond and collateralized reinsurance investment (CRI or Private ILS) sleeves of its investment team, with this move, naming Davis CIO, Catastrophe Bonds and Barker CIO, Private ILS.
Davis and Barker will serve as the CIOs fortheir respective teams, while Barker will also continues as head of Elementum’s Bermuda office, but the company stressed that Elementum Founding Partners, John DeCaro and Tony Rettino “remain fully committed to the leadership of Elementum and the success of its investment business.”
“Both will continue to provide macro oversight and investment advice as necessary, but their focus will be concentrated on the overall management of Elementum and the continued curation of the firm’s business strategy, new product development, and capital raising initiatives,” the announcement states.
“We believe that after almost 30 years of managing ILS investment portfolios, now is the time to formally transition the leadership of Elementum’s investment process to Paul and Jeff, and that it will be in extremely strong and capable hands,”DeCaro explained. Discussing both his and Rettino’s continued involvement with the firm, he continued, “this does not alter our commitment to Elementum. In fact, we are energized by the challenge of accelerating the firm’s growth going forward which this transition allows us to do.”
Rettino added, “Paul and Jeff have enhanced our investment process and broadened the range of investment strategies we are able to offer our clients. Their dedication and success in developing deep investment teams has bolstered our confidence in this decision, which is the culmination of a deliberate succession plan we have been executing over the past several years.”
“Earning the confidence of industry pioneers like John and Tony has been both humbling and motivating,” explained Davis. “I am excited to continue working with Paul and our respective teams toward delivering best-in-class service and strong investment results for our clients. I have no doubt that this next chapter will be enriching, not only for myself and Elementum but also for our clients.”
Barker also said, “I am appreciative of this formal nod toward my efforts managing capital for Elementum’s clients, and I am grateful to John and Tony for trusting Jeff and me with the leadership of their well-built investment business. Elementum’s collaborative management style has already produced great opportunities for Jeff and I to work together, and I am excited about the prospect of deepening that synergy.”
