Brookfield’s BPA market entry will increase choice for DB schemes
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Alternatives manager Brookfield is entering the UK buy-in and buyout market with a new entity. Brookfield Wealth Solutions will operate under the Blumont Annuity UK brand and said on Monday it expects to begin operations “later in the first quarter”, subject to final regulatory approvals.
Blumont’s market entry brings the number of insurers bidding for buy-in and buyout deals to a record high of 11, after Utmost, Royal London and M&G have all entered or re-entered the market recently.
Sachin Shah, the chief executive of Brookfield Wealth Solutions, said: “We are thrilled to launch Brookfield Wealth Solutions in the UK. With more than $140bn (£75.9bn) in total assets, we look forward to serving the retirement needs of UK pensioners for the long term.”
Brookfield expects more than £500bn of demand for pension buyouts over the next decade, saying the UK represents a significant growth opportunity.
Blumont’s market entry brings the number of insurers bidding for buy-in and buyout deals to a record high of 11, after Utmost, Royal London and M&G have all entered or re-entered the market recently.
Sachin Shah, the chief executive of Brookfield Wealth Solutions, said: “We are thrilled to launch Brookfield Wealth Solutions in the UK. With more than $140bn (£75.9bn) in total assets, we look forward to serving the retirement needs of UK pensioners for the long term.”
Brookfield expects more than £500bn of demand for pension buyouts over the next decade, saying the UK represents a significant growth opportunity.
Shelly Beard, managing director in WTW’s pension transactions team, said: “It’s predicted to be a very busy year for bulk annuities in 2025 and another new insurer is very welcome in terms of capacity and competition.”
Charlie Finch, partner at consultancy LCP, said Brookfield's market entry is welcome news for schemes, noting that it will be the first new bulk annuity insurer to be authorised since Rothesay in 2007.
Charlie Finch, partner at consultancy LCP, said Brookfield's market entry is welcome news for schemes, noting that it will be the first new bulk annuity insurer to be authorised since Rothesay in 2007.
“We expect Blumont to have deep capacity, building on their track record in the US and Canadian markets, with significant capital to deploy. This will bring welcome additional competition to the UK marketplace and help to continue the favourable buy-in pricing our clients have benefited from over H2 2024 and 2025 to date.”
Brookfield Wealth Solutions was spun out of Brookfield Corporation in June 2021. In practice, this is the second time the Canadian firm with over $1tn (£808bn) in total AuM accesses the UK’s risk transfer market as last year, Utmost Life and Pensions announced its first deal. Utmost Group’s owner is Oaktree Capital Management, which is in turn majority-owned by Brookfield.
Brookfield Wealth Solutions was spun out of Brookfield Corporation in June 2021. In practice, this is the second time the Canadian firm with over $1tn (£808bn) in total AuM accesses the UK’s risk transfer market as last year, Utmost Life and Pensions announced its first deal. Utmost Group’s owner is Oaktree Capital Management, which is in turn majority-owned by Brookfield.
Uzma Nazir, formerly head of origination structuring at Pension Insurance Corporation, is the chief origination officer at Blumont and is building the new team along with Brookfield Wealth Solutions managing director, Thomas Olunloyo.
