Fermat Capital Management not given advance notice of GAM partnership termination
Fermat Capital Management, the specialist catastrophe bond and insurance-linked securities (ILS) investment manager, has told Artemis that the firm was not consulted on the termination of its investment management partnership with GAM.
As we reported early this morning, GAM Investments announced a change to its ILS offering, as it has agreed that Swiss Re Insurance-Linked Investment Advisors Corporation (SRILIAC), a registered investment adviser subsidiary of global reinsurance company Swiss Re, will take on co-investment management and portfolio management duties for the GAM range of catastrophe bond and insurance-linked securities (ILS) funds.
That includes the GAM Star Cat Bond Fund UCITS strategy, which remains one of the largest cat bond fund strategies in the marketplace.
Fermat Capital Management began its relationship with GAM back in 2004, since when those strategies have grown considerably and the range of cat bond and ILS funds has delivered returns typically within the top-tier performers of the ILS marketplace, for comparable strategies over the long-term.
Now, Fermat Capital Management has explained to Artemis that the first it heard of this change was when it received a letter today terminating its partnership agreement with GAM.
Dr. John Seo, Co-Founder and Managing Director, Fermat Capital Management explained, “Fermat was not informed, consulted, or given any advance notice of this decision by GAM.
“After more than two decades of managing these funds with discipline and integrity, we find this sudden and unilateral announcement deeply troubling—not just for us, but for our clients, who have expressed understandable alarm.
“We remain committed to delivering the same high-quality strategy through the GAM funds, and our own Fermat commingled fund platform, which already has over USD $3bn in total AUM.
“We will continue to act with transparency and stability, as we always have. Our focus remains, as it has for over 25 years, on protecting the interests of our investors.”
Fermat launched its new range of commingled ILS strategies in 2024 and by January this year they already supported around $2 billion in assets, but have since grown to over $3 billion.
Fermat had also launched its own-branded UCITS catastrophe bond fund back in 2024, since when it has also established a casualty insurance-linked securities (ILS) business, as the company expanded its range of insurance-linked investment offerings.
