Obra Capital hires Annino as Head of Longevity investments, acquires life insurer

Obra Capital, an alternative investment manager with strategies focused on insurance and reinsurance, has announced the hiring of Anthony J. Annino as Senior Managing Director and Head of Longevity investments at the firm and has also completed an acquisition that bolsters this side of its business.

Obra Capital offers investment opportunities in longevity risks through life settlements, with a range of funds and accounts managed in that sector.

Annino will be responsible for overseeing Obra Capital’s longevity investment portfolio management and strategy, reporting to Blair Wallace, President and Chief Executive Officer of Obra.

William Ketterer, the previous leader of Obra’s Longevity business, has stepped down from his role to pursue another opportunity.

Annino has joined Obra Capital from RiverRock Funds LLC, where he served as Chief Executive Officer and managed a business that oversaw multiple longevity dedicated funds, with more than 600 life-settlement policies representing approximately $340 million of face value. He also restructured internal operations and managing investor relationships.

“We’re excited for Tony to join the firm and lead our longevity business as we continue to evolve our strategy and portfolio to include life insurance in addition to life settlements,” Blair Wallace, President and Chief Executive Officer of Obra said. “Building a balanced portfolio between longevity and mortality risk requires strategic foresight, regulatory knowledge, and strong industry relationships, all of which Tony has successfully demonstrated throughout his notable career. We are grateful to Will for his contributions to Obra and wish him continued success in his next endeavor.”

Obra Capital has also announced the completion of the acquisition of Unified Life Insurance Company, a life and health insurance carrier founded in 1986 that has approximately 100,000 active policy holders, and 49 associated licenses.

The company said, “Longevity assets have an attractive profile for investors seeking uncorrelated outcomes, asymmetrical risk profiles, and predictable cash flows. Unified’s existing insurance products and operating capability provide Obra with immediate access to life insurance markets and expands its existing longevity footprint.”

With this acquisition, Obra intends to source additional blocks of life business for United Life to acquire, while also seeing the opportunity to add complementary investment opportunities including in reinsurance and primary issuance to its business.

“We are pleased to welcome the Unified team and the business and the platform they will continue to grow with Obra. Unified is a natural fit within our evolving and differentiated longevity strategy that is designed to balance longevity and mortality risk to provide investors with expected stable and resilient cash flows, lower overall portfolio volatility, and greater targeted absolute returns. We believe this is a unique offering that extends beyond traditional life settlement longevity investment approaches,” explained Blair Wallace.

Commenting on his joining the firm, Annino said, “Obra’s combination of Unified Life Insurance, a newly acquired life insurance platform, with one of the largest vertically integrated longevity-dedicated teams in the industry, makes this an exciting time to be joining the business. I am eager to capitalize on Obra’s platform and to introduce investors to its differentiated longevity strategy.”