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NEW YORK--([ BUSINESS WIRE ])--Southport Lane, a New York-based private equity firm, has appointed Jim McNichols Chief Actuarial Officer of its reinsurance group, Southport Re. In this new position, McNichols will be responsible for supporting reinsurance underwriting and directing quantitative risk analytics, as well as leading Southport Reas enterprise-wide risk management processes.

"The Southport platform was developed to operate within specific volatility parameters, and Jim will be crucial in achieving that goal as we grow."

Before joining Southport Re, McNichols served as a Consulting Actuary for Aon (NYSE:AON), leading dynamic risk modeling projects for insurance companies and large corporations. McNicholsa role included providing advice on risk pricing, capital structures, maximizing risk-adjusted returns and asset-liability portfolio optimization. Prior to Aon, McNichols held several executive positions at XL Capital, including Chief Actuary and Chief Operating Officer of the Financial Guaranty Division.

aJimas ability to synthesize insurance risk and capital market risk, combined with his modeling expertise, will be critically important in creating a profitable insurance and reinsurance platform,a said Glenn Weber, CEO of Southport Re. aThe Southport platform was developed to operate within specific volatility parameters, and Jim will be crucial in achieving that goal as we grow.a

McNichols has published actuarial papers on a wide range of topics, including reserve variability, financial guarantee risks, derivatives and modeling foreign exchange and commodities. He recently collaborated with a former Aon colleague for a Casualty Actuarial Society eForum - Summer 2012 paper, Stochastic GBM Methods for Modeling Market Prices.

McNichols holds a BS from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign with a Major in Psychology and Minor in Financial Mathematics. He received his Associate of the Casualty Actuarial Society in 1988 and is a member of both the American Academy of Actuaries and International Actuarial Association.

ABOUT SOUTHPORT LANE

Southport Lane is a private equity firm founded in 2010 with a concentration in active investments in insurance and reinsurance companies. Among the firmas portfolio investments is Southport Re, the platform for Alternative Risk Transfer reinsurance activities. The firm is headquartered at 350 Madison Avenue and has total capital commitments in excess of $1 billion.