Pagnani & Manghnani launch ILS manager King Ridge. Will portfolio manage first cat bond ETF

King Ridge Capital Advisors LLC has been launched as a new entrant in the insurance-linked securities (ILS) investment space by industry experts Rick Pagnani and Vijay Manghnani, according to Artemis. The newly formed firm has already entered into a sub-advisory agreement to assume portfolio management responsibilities for the much-anticipated inaugural catastrophe bond exchange-traded fund (ETF).

Both co-founders bring significant sector experience to King Ridge. Rick Pagnani has worked in ILS and managed third-party reinsurance capital for over a decade, having served as the founding CEO of Everest’s Mt. Logan Re collateralized platform and later joining PIMCO to develop its ILS strategies. Earlier in his career, he held positions at major brokers and reinsurers, focusing on reinsurance and capital markets convergence. 

Vijay Manghnani also worked on PIMCO’s ILS team as a founding member and previously held senior actuarial, catastrophe analytics, and underwriting roles at Newport Re, AIG, and ACE. His background also includes stints in weather risk management, climatology, and trading.

In addition, King Ridge Capital Advisors has brought on board former Fidelity VP of sales and distribution, Neil Hause, further strengthening the team’s credentials. The new firm positions itself as a multi-strategy ILS platform designed to enhance risk transfer mechanisms and improve investor access to insurance-linked assets. 

While property and casualty lines will be the primary focus—including both traditional catastrophe exposures and specialty or casualty business—King Ridge also plans to offer capital optimization solutions and reinsurance transformation services to its clients. The broader goal is to provide low-correlation investment solutions that can serve as a sub-advisory resource for asset managers and hedge funds.

A key component of King Ridge’s strategy involves advanced modeling and the use of artificial intelligence, coupled with a strong focus on climate and catastrophe risk management. A trading-oriented approach is intended to optimize portfolios and deliver strong potential returns for investors.

Through its sub-advisory agreement, King Ridge will act as portfolio manager for the upcoming Brookmont Catastrophic Bond ETF. Launched by Brookmont Capital Management, LLC, the actively managed ETF will trade on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) under the ticker symbol ROAR once all regulatory and registration steps are completed—expected in the first quarter of 2025. Designed to invest at least 80% of its assets in catastrophe bonds, the ETF may also allocate to other insurance-linked or reinsurance-related products. Its NYSE listing will enable daily trading, which stands in contrast to many existing cat bond fund strategies that tend to have more limited liquidity and availability.

By joining forces with Brookmont, King Ridge gains an advantageous entry point into the ILS market, while the ETF itself will benefit from the firm’s extensive cat bond expertise and robust trading capabilities. This partnership underscores King Ridge’s ambition to become a leader in the insurance-linked securities arena, as it seeks to broaden investor participation in a growing asset class through innovative vehicles like an exchange-traded fund.