AIG strikes partnership with CVC in $3.5 billion credit, secondaries push (updated)

American International

19/01/2026 09:36

Adds background in paragraphs 7 and 8

AIG to allocate $2 billion to CVC's credit platform

CVC to launch private equity secondaries platform with $1.5 billion from AIG

Partnership highlights insurers' push for higher-yielding private credit

By Ashish Tiwari

Jan 19 - (The Insurer) - AIG and CVC have agreed an investment partnership that will steer up to $3.5 billion of AIG capital into CVC-managed credit and private equity secondaries strategies, the companies said on Monday.

Under the deal, AIG plans to allocate up to $2 billion to separately managed accounts (SMAs) and funds run by CVC's credit platform, with an initial $1 billion expected to be deployed through 2026.

"The SMAs will provide AIG with tailored access to diversified private and liquid credit strategies aligned with its regulatory, capital efficiency and investment return objectives," the insurer said.

Separately, private markets firm CVC will launch a private equity secondaries "evergreen" platform seeded by AIG, which will contribute up to $1.5 billion from its existing private equity portfolio.

A private equity secondaries platform is a strategy that buys and sells existing stakes in private equity funds or portfolios from other investors, rather than making new investments from scratch.

The seed portfolio is intended to give the vehicle immediate scale, while helping AIG transition and manage legacy private equity holdings more efficiently.

The agreement is the latest tie-up between an alternative asset manager and an insurance firm in the fast-growing industry of private markets. British insurer Legal & General  last year agreed to a partnership with Blackstone  that will give its annuities business access to investment-grade credit assets.

Other finance firms have also been vying for a larger foothold in the private credit market, with some such as Citi , UBS  and Capital Group similarly partnering with existing players like Apollo  General Atlantic and KKR .

CVC CEO Rob Lucas said the partnership is an endorsement of the firm's ability to build customised, capital-efficient solutions for large insurers and provides a foundation for its evergreen secondaries offering.

"The SMA component demonstrates the depth of our credit platform and our capability to deliver bespoke, capital-efficient solutions for insurers worldwide," Lucas added.

AIG CEO Peter Zaffino said the partnership "supports AIG’s strategy of actively managing our investment portfolio while working with best-in-class partners to access differentiated opportunities".

The tie-up highlights a push by insurers to strike long-term partnerships with investment managers to access higher-yielding private credit, while meeting balance sheet constraints such as liquidity needs and capital charges.

AIG has pursued similar partnerships in recent years, including a 2022 arrangement with BlackRock to manage a large portion of its assets, and a 2021 deal with Blackstone tied to AIG's then life and retirement business.

In October 2025, the insurer also announced a long-term strategic investment in specialty insurer Convex alongside an underwriting quota-share arrangement, and said it would invest $2 billion of new fee-generating assets under management in Onex's PE and credit strategies, consistent with its investment guidelines.

According to its latest annual report, AIG's net investment income increased in 2024, benefiting from reallocating toward higher-yield fixed maturities and loans. "Going forward, our investment strategy will continue to focus on reinvesting assets at higher yields, including increasing our asset allocation to private credit at attractive spreads," the insurer said.

Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. The companies said they expect to explore additional areas of collaboration over time.