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Catastrophe bonds don’t offer very high yields. Usually between 2 and 5 percent above treasuries, if no catastrophes happen. They have a similar return as high
by occamrazor 6y ago
Catastrophe bonds don’t offer very high yields. Usually between 2 and 5 percent above treasuries, if no catastrophes happen. They have a similar return as high yield bonds, with the advantage that the losses are generally uncorrelated with the returns of other financial assets.
Cat bond investors usually have large portfolios of other bonds, and are mostly insurance companies and pension funds who want to marginally improve their results without increasing volatility.
There are however situations where a cat bond investor can make a lot of money: live catastrophes. For example, if a hurricane is on its way to Florida, cat bonds covering Florida insurers will trade at a deep discount. If the hurricane changes its course and doesn’t make a landfall, their price goes back to par. A skilled (or lucky) investor could double their capital in a few days.
- logicslave 6y agoI call out cat bond investors because I used to work at a bond fund. Never seen so much money made so discreetly and often reliably. Highly leveraged reinsurance bets that often have constant payouts.