begins trading for the first time today.

About 130 investors have put up about $5.5 million to start The Bermuda Insurance Index Fund, which tracks the Bermuda Insurance Index. The index was set up on July 15 by the Bermuda Stock Exchange and London's FTSE International.

Anne Kast of Kast Investment Management was upbeat by the response to the fund. The fund needed at least $2 million to begin trading. Response came from both small investors who put in the minimum $5,000 and others who put in six figure sums. Kast Investment co-manages the fund with Mutual Risk Management.

Since the launch of the fund was announced early last month the index has fallen about 25 percent so Mrs. Kast said investors are getting a better deal.

The US markets have been on a slide and the insurance stocks have followed suit.

The index is based on the stock market performance of ten Bermuda-based insurers and reinsurers weighted according to their market capitalisation. The fund will invest in the companies' stocks according to their weighting on the index. The fund is open to investors with a minimum of $5,000 to invest.

Mrs. Kast, president of Kast Investment, said the fund was designed to allow smaller investors a chance to participate in the performance of insurance companies with their global headquarters and senior management in Bermuda.

Rather than choosing one or two companies in which to buy, the investor can now buy into the group as a whole, owning pieces of all the companies.

The index is made up of ACE Ltd., EXEL Ltd., Annuity & Life Re, IPC Re Holdings, LaSalle Re Holdings, Mutual Risk Management, PartnerRe, RenaissanceRe Holdings, Stirling Cooke Brown Holdings, and Terra Nova (Bermuda) Holdings.