AlphaCat, the Bermuda-based investment advisor in insurance-linked securities (ILS) and other property catastrophe reinsurance investments, has appointed Bernard Van der Stichele as portfolio manager.
Van der Stichele brings 15 years of institutional investment experience, and joins from AQR Capital Management, where he served as vice president.
Before this, he was a senior investment analyst at the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, where he is credited with developing the group’s first direct ILS investment strategy.
In his new role, Van der Stichele will report to AlphaCat CEO Lixin Zeng.
Zeng said: “We are delighted to welcome Bernard Van der Stichele to the AlphaCat team. With his impressive track-record and extensive knowledge of insurance-linked securities and reinsurance asset classes, we are confident that he will add tremendous value to AlphaCat.”
AlphaCat is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Validus Holdings, a holdings company for reinsurance and insurance operating companies.
In addition to Van der Stichele’s appointment, Chris Silvester, Validus Services’ executive vice president and head of US property underwriting, is set to take on additional responsibilities, taking the lead on AlphaCat’s business lead origination
Silvester will continue to report to Jeff Clements, executive vice president and chief underwriting officer.
Clements said: “As a proven business development leader, we look forward to having Chris Silvester further strengthen our offerings.”
