The American Council of Life Insurers and its member companies recently unveiled a groundbreaking impact investment initiative that will support community development throughout the United States with an emphasis on sustainable, affordable housing.
The initiative’s founding member companies include many of the nation’s biggest life insurers as well as several smaller firms. Some of our larger members are already engaged in similar investment initiatives on their own. For smaller ACLI members, however, our initiative will be a new opportunity for them to invest and partner on large-scale projects with a financing network. And for all participants, we expect it will be a gamechanger, thanks to the scale of investment financing that the partners will bring together to the market.
ACLI Chairman Scott Davison serves as President & CEO of OneAmerica in Indianapolis. He considers his company to be in the “mid-major category”: big enough to make significant investments, but not at the level of larger founding members.
“We can do some of those things, but not at the scale,” Davison said at the DEI: Expanding Opportunities in Insurance conference. “But we do it together (and) it just becomes more efficient. And we like to say in our industry, unity is our superpower.”
So far 39 ACLI members have joined our initiative as founding partners. And as the financing network begins to take shape, we expect that number will grow. As Sheila Davidson, executive vice president and chief administrative officer of New York Life said, “There’s something to be said for, ‘Wow, you know, all these companies are doing this. I want to do it, too.’ So I think it’s a snowball effect.”
And we expect that effect will be felt all across the country. Our founding members are headquartered in many different states, which will help us seek out diverse investment opportunities from coast-to-coast. In addition, we will be partnering with philanthropic organizations, private capital firms and government-sponsored entities.
Unified with our financing network partners, America’s life insurers will be working to address the needs of low-income communities on a scale that is unequaled by any single entity or sector.
Susan K. Neely was President and CEO of the American Council of Life Insurers (ACLI), the nation’s leading trade association determined to help families live better lives by achieving financial security and certainty. As president and CEO, Neely drove public policy and advocacy on behalf of ACLI’s member companies that represent 93 percent of industry assets and serve 90 million families. She is CEO Emeritus through December, 2024.
