Insurers Join Forces To Make Historic Investment In Communities Of Color

The American Council of Life Insurers (ACLI) today announced the formation of a groundbreaking, nonprofit investment partnership to exponentially expand the industry’s capability to help close the racial wealth gap and drive upward mobility in communities of color.

The nonprofit investment partnership will support community development with a focus on sustainable, affordable housing.

The partnership will be an ACLI affiliate making high quality investments that align with state regulations governing life insurance company investments to generate competitive market rate returns.

There is no specific dollar amount attached to the effort, an ACLI spokesman said this morning.

ACLI Chairman Scott Davison, President & CEO of OneAmerica, and ACLI President & CEO Susan Neely, unveiled the investment partnership at the DEI: Expanding Opportunities in Insurance conference.

“ACLI and America’s life insurance companies are committed to harnessing the capital strength of the life insurance sector to enhance impact investments and help make housing affordable and sustainable in underserved communities,” Davison said.

“Our aim is to establish an investment ecosystem that empowers life insurers to partner with philanthropy, private capital and government-sponsored entities to meet fundamental needs of underserved communities, especially communities of color, beginning with affordable housing,” he said.

“This investment partnership was borne through ACLI’s Economic Empowerment and Racial Equity (EERE) initiative , launched in 2020. We said then that the fight to end racial inequity would be an ongoing effort. Economic conditions in underserved communities will not be remedied overnight. This partnership demonstrates we’re in this fight for the long run.

“What life insurers bring is our well-established expertise in making longer term investments, with all our due diligence, in a way that makes a difference for people and communities,” Neely said.

“The partnership will provide a way for companies already investing in communities and affordable housing to amplify their efforts. It will also provide a way for companies that have wanted to invest in positive social change but have fewer resources in this area to invest powerfully and profitably,” Neely said

“With an inadequate supply of affordable housing, we are laying a strong foundation for significant, long-term contributions to advancing racial equity in America,” Davison added.

Founding Partners (36):

AIG
Allianz
American Family
Ameritas
Boston Mutual
Canada Life
CNO Financial
Equitable
F&G
Genworth
Global Atlantic
Guardian
Hannover Re
John Hancock
Lincoln
MassMutual
Modern Woodmen
National Life
Nationwide
New York Life
Northwestern Mutual
OneAmerica
Pacific Life
Principal
Protective
Prudential
Resolution Life
Sammons Financial
Securian Financial
Symetra
Thrivent
TIAA
Transamerica
Unum
USAA
UTG