Key Takeaways
- Geography: United States.
Analysis
1823 Partners (US) LLC, a newly launched insurance-first asset management firm, has officially opened its doors with a multi-billion-dollar mandate from JAB Insurance US Holdings. The firm will focus on private market strategies including real estate, asset-backed finance, credit, and insurance solutions.
The firm is led by Anant Bhalla as Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer. Bhalla, a veteran insurance executive, is known for pioneering insurance-focused investing at American Equity Investment Life Holding (AEL).
1823 Partners is a Registered Investment Adviser with headquarters in Miami and an office in New York. The firm targets both independent insurance companies and institutional clients with strategies designed to match policyholder liabilities with high-quality long-duration assets.
According to Bhalla, “We seek to generate predictable, durable cash flows with strong risk-adjusted returns. We are backing real promises with real assets across public fixed income and bespoke private market opportunities.”
Key hires at launch include:
- James Hamalainen – Partner & COO; formerly with AEL and Brighthouse Financial
- Ashok Vishnubhakta – Partner, Commercial Credit; previously with Allstate and GE Capital
- Pankil Doshi – Partner, Commercial Real Estate; ex-Cerberus and Deutsche Bank
- Chris Bauer – MD, Fixed-Income Trading; ex-Black Diamond Capital
- Stuart Perowne – MD, Equity Trading; ex-Citigroup and Lazard
- Shawn Pierce – MD, Asset-Backed Finance; formerly with Columbia Threadneedle
- Steven Zhou – MD, Derivatives; formerly with Lord Abbett and J.P. Morgan
Bhalla emphasized the platform’s ability to source “off-market investment opportunities” due to the strength of its insurance clients and team. The firm is targeting a build-out to around 60 professionals by year-end, with direct investment capabilities across core private credit and real asset verticals.
1823 Partners enters a growing market of specialized managers targeting insurance balance sheets. Recent moves in the sector include:
- Apollo and Athora scaling their insurance credit platforms in Europe.
- Brookfield Reinsurance launching new mandates focused on real estate-backed insurance portfolios.
- Kuvare Asset Management expanding partnerships with middle-market insurers.
The new firm’s mission — “One Team, One Dream” — reflects its ambition to bridge insurance capital and real economy borrowers through bespoke, long-term investment solutions.