Clearwater’s 2025 Insurance Investment Outsourcing Report (IIOR), developed in partnership with DCS Financial, reveals a clear trend: while public fixed income remains the foundation of insurer portfolios, allocations to private equity and other alternatives are accelerating. As insurers seek greater diversification and higher returns, alternatives have shifted from the margins into the mainstream.
The IIOR lays out significant growth in private asset investment, which now accounts for 21% of reported AUM. A nearly threefold increase from the 7% recorded back in 2015. Notably, this growth is driven by both new and repeat participants.
This shift reflects insurers’ evolving portfolio strategies and underscores their growing confidence in alternative assets. Below is a more detailed breakdown of this trend.
The Numbers
Overall, the IIOR offers data on:
- 101 participating managers and consultants
- 90 new managers, up from 70 in 2024
- $4.5T of insurance AUM reported
For privately traded assets overall:
- 77% of managers reported privately traded insurance AUM
- 21% of total reported insurance AUM is privately traded
- 33% of privately traded insurance AUM is private equity-alts
- 24% of firm-wide private AUM is privately traded insurance
In private credit, managers reported:
- 17% of fixed insurance AUM (public and private) is private fixed
- 29% of total private fixed insurance AUM is private placements
- 19% of total private fixed insurance AUM is mortgage loans
- 24% of firm-wide private fixed AUM is private fixed insurance AUM
In private equities and equity alternatives, managers reported:
- 39% of equity-alts insurance AUM (public and private) is private equity-alts
- 35% of private equity-alts insurance AUM is PE and VC
- 28% of private equity-alts insurance AUM is real estate equity
- 8% of firm-wide private equity-alts AUM is private equity-alts insurance AUM
The Rise of Insurer-Specific Investment Managers
As private investments assume a larger role in insurer portfolios, new complexities emerge across strategy, operations, and regulation. Insurers are increasingly seeking investment managers with extensive insurance knowledge and solutions purpose-built to their needs.
Insurers are no longer cautiously exploring private markets—they’re accelerating into them. As allocations increase and strategies evolve, the role of insurance-specialized managers and consultants will only grow in importance.
Download the full 2025 Insurance Investment Outsourcing Report to explore detailed benchmarks, market shifts, and how your strategy measures up.