Meredith Whitney returns, this time managing money at an insurance company

Running a hedge fund didn't work out for Meredith Whitney, once one of the most famous banking analysts in the U.S. So she's starting fresh at a Bermuda-based insurer. Ms. Whitney has begun at Arch Capital Group Ltd., where she's overseeing an equity portfolio that had about $800 million under management at the end of September, Preston Hutchings, the company's chief investment officer, said in an interview. Arch, which writes property-and-casualty insurance and reinsurance, has been led by chief executive Constantine Iordanou since 2003. The firm had more than $15 billion of investments as of the end of September. She'll oversee a portfolio with money allocated to about eight managers, including JPMorgan Chase & Co. and BlackRock Inc., Mr. Hutchings said. Its investments include U.S. and Asian stocks. (More: Meredith Whitney says she's done managing other people's money) “Her task is to essentially manage the managers,” Mr. Hutchings said. “It's not S&P focused, it's a little more varied than that.” Ms. Whitney did not immediately respond to email and phone messages.