Oaktree-backed insurer Utmost seeks staff for new UK bulk annuities division
LONDON, March 22 (Reuters) - British life insurer Utmost Group, part-owned by investment firm Oaktree Capital Group, is looking for staff to build up a bulk annuities division, according to three job advertisements seen by Reuters.
Three industry sources separately said Utmost planned to enter this corporate pensions insurance sector in the coming months, in what would be the third new entry in the past year into the growing and profitable market.
Utmost and Oaktree declined to comment.
Two of the advertisements were until recently on Utmost's website.
One advertisement seen by Reuters said the firm was seeking a head of bulk purchase annuity business development for Utmost Life and Pensions UK "to support the bulk annuity director to build bulk annuity capability and implement new business".
The second advertisement was seeking a bulk annuity transition manager to build a team to "support pipeline of new business".
The advertisements are no longer visible on the company's website.
A third advertisement still on the website seeks a financial actuary whose roles include involvement with "bulk purchase annuity deals".
The UK bulk annuity market - which involves insurers taking on the risk of corporate defined benefit, or final salary, pension schemes - hit a record high above 50 billion pounds ($63 billion) last year and is expected to top that this year.
Higher interest rates have made it cheaper for pensions schemes to buy the insurance, which removes pensions risk from company balance sheets.
But the cost and regulatory requirements act as barriers for new entrants to the sector, particularly for those who do not already have a UK insurance presence, industry sources say.
There are only a handful of existing providers, including FTSE-100 insurers Aviva, Legal & General and Phoenix.
Life insurer and asset manager Royal London said earlier this month it was entering the sector, while M&G said last year it had re-entered the market.
M&G said on Thursday it expected to generate 1.0-1.5 billion pounds of sales in this market per year in future.
Utmost Group operates in Britain and internationally, and focuses on buying books of life insurance business that are closed to new customers.
Utmost is owned by founders Paul Thompson and Ian Maidens, as well as by funds managed by Oaktree. Utmost had 59 billion pounds in assets under administration at June 30, 2023.
Private equity firms are also active in providing reinsurance - insurance for insurers - in the bulk annuity market, via offshore reinsurance firms.
The Bank of England has said it is likely to tighten up its supervision of this reinsurance market, because of concern about counterparty risk.
($1 = 0.7852 pounds) (Editing by Sinead Cruise and Mark Potter)
