World’s First Catastrophe-Bond ETF Falters in ‘Crazy’ Market (1)

The world’s first-ever exchange-traded fund based on catastrophe bonds has failed to get the seed capital it expected after launching on the eve of the Trump administration’s tariff war.

“Some of our seed capital investors are sitting on the sidelines because the market turmoil has taken people’s eyes off new asset classes,” said Ethan Powell, chief investment officer of Texas-based Brookmont Capital Management LLC, which oversees the fund. “It’s a crazy environment,” and “we don’t want to be too pushy right now.”

The Brookmont Catastrophic Bond ETF (Ticker: ILS US), which began trading on the New York Stock ...