Principal & CIO Ethan Powell Breaks Down Hurricane Melissa for Planet Money Podcast

Brookmont Principal & CIO Ethan Powell recently joined the NPR Planet Money podcast to talk about Hurricane Melissa and its impact on the catastrophe bond market.

Catastrophe bonds are issued with the intent to provide a type of reinsurance, and aim to help offset the potential losses that can be caused by large-scale natural disasters - like Hurricane Melissa. These events can quickly and unexpectedly cause billions of dollars in insured losses.

Cat bonds also offer investors a type of alternative investment opportunity as the bondholders seek to generate income and seek returns that have been historically uncorrelated with traditional fixed income asset classes.

Tune in to the Planet Money podcast, “How Hurricanes Became a Hot Investment”, to learn more about how catastrophe bonds got their start, the impact of Hurricane Melissa, and a discussion of new threats that catastrophe bonds could seek to address in the future.

In this podcast, Ethan breaks down the Brookmont philosophy behind investing in cat bonds, including how they could bring diversification, offer opportunities outside of economic swings and allow capital to play a role in society.  

Also, be sure to check out our upcoming blog post about Hurricane Melissa, and the key takeaways that we think will influence the catastrophe bond market going forward. In January, we’ll also break down our 2026 predictions, including how climate change will influence market growth and more. 

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