Insurance companies are a dumping ground for private investments, especially those that are “affiliated” with or owned by private equity firms.
“There are risks to policyholders,” explains Heather Gillers in The Wall Street Journal: “Asset managers could impose excessive fees on affiliated insurers or stash underperforming, hard-to-sell assets on insurance company balance sheets. Athene and other insurers with large affiliated asset portfolios say they maintain strict controls to ensure they purchase only investments aligned with policyholders’ interests. Security Benefit said all transactions with affiliates are conducted on ‘arm’s-length, market consistent terms.’”
“Insurers report as ‘affiliated’ debt or equity of an affiliate as well as investments sold by an affiliate but backed by a third party,” writes Gillers. “In 2025, they reported $413 billion worth, according to insurance ratings firm AM Best, twice as much as in 2020.
According to AM Best, that’s only 7% of life and annuity insurers’ $6 trillion in investments. But here’s the kicker. At private-equity linked insurers that The WSJ tracked, the share was between 10% and 30%. In other words, this is the dumping ground for private investments that “hopefully” work out.
Action Line: Private equity and credit are coming for more than just your 401(k). They have entrenched themselves in pensions, endowments, and insurance company balance sheets that could have an impact on your life. Next, they’ll be in your 401(k). Investors need to be ready to deal with this new asset class hitting their retirement savings. When you want help doing an IRA rollover, email me at ejsmith@yoursurvivalguy.com.
Read the entire series here.
