Episode summary
Lincoln Financial's Jayson Bronchetti - the role of insurance companies in private markets
Alt Goes Mainstream
· · Hosts: Michael Sidgmore · Guests: Jayson Bronchetti
Summary
Lincoln Financial’s Jayson Bronchetti argues that insurance companies have become natural private markets investors because they run an asset-liability management framework, not because private assets are automatically riskier or more attractive. He says insurers can hold illiquid assets when their liabilities are long-dated, and that this logic has expanded beyond traditional private placements into private credit, infrastructure, royalties, and private equity.
Bronchetti says the bigger shift is that alternative asset managers now see insurers as full-stack capital providers and as partners for distribution, product design, and market access. Lincoln’s $120 billion general account and broader $300 billion platform give it room to seed strategies, work with best-in-class managers, and bring products to the wealth channel through its 500-plus wholesalers and deep adviser relationships.
He also sees product structure as critical: illiquid strategies need the right wrapper, whether evergreen, interval, tender offer, or CIT structures, or else too much return gets lost. Looking ahead, he thinks private markets will increasingly enter retirement and insurance products, with strategy choice driven by the liability profile of the underlying product.
Key takeaways
- Bronchetti says insurers are well suited to private markets because their liabilities are defined and can be matched with long-duration assets.
- He says Lincoln’s $120 billion general account already has over half in private strategies, many of them credit-oriented.
- Bronchetti says manager diligence starts with performance, downside protection, and evidence of real sourcing edge over multiple cycles.
- He says product structure matters as much as strategy because illiquid assets need the right wrapper to avoid wasting return.
- Bronchetti expects private markets to become a bigger part of retirement and insurance products over the next five to 10 years.
Notable quotes
“private markets aren't one big monolithic asset class and you know less liquid doesn't necessarily mean more risk”
“we run a multi-manager platform. So we work with some of the best and brightest alts managers and traditional managers all across the globe”
“it doesn't do any good for us to take, for example, an illlquid strategy and put it in a very liquid wrapper”
“I think if it's a long duration life insurance product, you're more inclined to have things like a private equity strategy or an infrastructure strategy”
How the episode opens
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We're going mainream. From Wall Street to Melrose Avenue. We're going mainream.
venture capitalists to athletes to creators to the person who has collected trading cards in a collision of culture and finance. Welcome back to the YLO's mainstream podcast. Today's episode is with the CIO of an insurance company responsible for more than 300 billion in assets and has a major focus on private markets.
Lincoln Financial EVP and CIO Jason Bronetti and I sat down recently at Lincoln Financials headquarters in Rner, Pennsylvania to discuss the increasing involvement of insurance companies in private markets. Jason, who is a member of Lincoln Financials senior management committee and serves as the primary investment officer to Lincoln's board of directors on all investment related matters, is responsible for more than $300 billion in assets across the general account portfolio and the separate account mutual fund complex. He's the chairman of the board of directors of the Lincoln Variable Insurance Product Trust family of over 100 mutual funds and he's also on the board of the Lincoln Financial Foundation.
Fresh off recent partnerships with Bane Capital and Partners Group on private markets investment products and Bane Capital taking a stake in Lincoln's business, Jason and I had a fascinating conversation about how insurance companies can approach private markets and how they can build unique and differentiated partnerships with asset managers. We discussed the evolving role of insurance companies as LPs in private markets. Why asset and liability matching is a critical framework for allocating to private markets.
How the general account of an insurance company creates interesting opportunities for strategic relationships and partnerships with alternative asset managers. The benefit of having a business that works with financial adviserss and individuals.
From the episode’s captions: roughly the first two minutes, lightly cleaned. Keep watching on YouTube →
Topics
- insurance private markets
- limited partner strategy
- asset liability matching
- private markets partnerships
- financial advisor distribution
Companies and tickers mentioned
- LNC
- Lincoln Financial
- Bain Capital
- Partners Group
Watch the episode
Summary, takeaways and quote selection by Octagon. Quotes are short excerpts; the full conversation is in the episode.
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Alt Goes Mainstream, this episode and its artwork belong to Michael Sidgmore. Octagon is not affiliated with the show; this page is an independent summary.
