Private Credit: From Acquisitions to Partnerships—Asset Managers’ Growing Role With Life/Annuity Insurers

KBRA last wrote about the expansion of asset manager participation in the life/annuity space in early 2022, focusing on the challenges faced by insurers, different solutions offered by private equity and alternative asset managers (PE/AAM), and the resulting growth in mergers and acquisitions (M&A) and reinsurance activity (see Private Equity Investment in the Life/Annuity Market Is Here to Stay). Activity during that period also included acquired insurers and start-ups that were transformed into fast-growing annuity writers fueled by higher new business volumes. Since then, the types of transaction structures between investment firms and life/annuity insurers, participant profiles, and strategic rationales have broadened. KBRA believes these arrangements will continue to evolve, likely supporting long-term stability within the…