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2026 AIF Insurance Investors’ Forum

2026 AIF Insurance Investors' Forum and AIF Institute Insurance Investing Symposium

June 2 | Harvard Club | New York City

AIF invites you to join us for the 2026 AIF Insurance Investors’ Forum and the AIF Institute Insurance Investing Symposium, which will be held June 2 at The Harvard Club in New York City.

The Forum is a full day of in-depth programming geared toward institutional investment professionals deploying the capital of insurance companies globally.

Agenda to be released soon

Agenda at a Glance

Tuesday, June 2

7:30 a.m.

Registration and Continental Breakfast

7:50–8:00 a.m.

Welcome Remarks and Introductions

8:00–8:50 a.m.

Navigating the Evolving NAIC Landscape: Regulatory Developments and Their Implications for Insurance Investors

  • Amnon Levy, CEO, Bridgeway Analytics

  • Anji Li, Senior Vice President, Insurance Analytics, Neuberger Berman

9:05–10:00 a.m.

Real Estate Roundtable

Session Leader:

  • Drew Iadanza, Managing Director, StepStone Group Real Estate

Session Participants:

  • Larissa Belova, CIO, US Real Estate, UBS Asset Management

  • Matt Drummond, Senior Managing Director, Head of High Yield Strategies, ACORE Capital

  • Gregory Eudicone, Managing Director, Barings

  • Jayanth Ganesan, Investment Manager, Legal & General

  • Seray Incoglu, Portfolio Manager, Commercial Real Estate, PIMCO

  • Jeffrey Shuster, Portfolio Manager, LaSalle Value Partners US

10:15–11:00 a.m.

Infrastructure Roundtable

Session Leader:

  • Thomas Lynch, Managing Director, Cliffwater

Session Participants:

  • Siddharth Chakravarty, Vice President of Investments, CoAction Speciality Insurance

  • Jeff DeBlock, Managing Director, Private Infrastructure, CBRE Investment Management

  • Andrew Glenn, Executive Director, Morgan Stanley Infrastructure Partners

  • Mina Nazemi, Head of Diversified Alternative Equity, Barings

11:15 a.m.–12:15 p.m.

Private Credit Roundtable: Direct Lending

Session Leader:

  • Joe Nankof, Partner, NEPC

Session Participants:

  • Zeshan Ashfaque, Senior Managing Director, Man US Direct Lending

  • Scott Gudmandson, Director, Investments, 17Capital

  • John Hennig, Managing Director, Alternatives, Arch Capital Group

  • Curtis Lueker, Managing Director, Direct Lending, Marathon Asset Management

  • Sengal Selassie, CEO and Founder, Brightwood Capital

  • Dan Spinner, Senior Principal, Portfolio Manager, Eagle Point Credit Management

12:15–2:00 p.m.

Luncheon Presentation, Polling, and Group Discussion

  • Jared Klyman, Global Head of Insurance Asset Management, Goldman Sachs

  • Mike Siegel, Partner, Head of Insurance Asset Management and Liquidity Solutions, Goldman Sachs

2:15–3:15 p.m.

Private Credit Roundtable: Opportunistic and Specialized Strategies

Session Leader:

  • Richard Grimm, Head of Global Credit and Managing Director, Cambridge Associates

Session Participants:

  • Maria Boyazny, Founder and CEO, MB Global Partners

  • Greg Braylovskiy, Managing Director,
Sourcing, Strategic Value Partners

  • Tom Glover, Managing Director, Crescent Capital Group

  • Tamir Kazaz, Managing Partner, Co-CIO, Torchlight Investors

  • Nicholas Rifino, Managing Director, Cerberus Asset Backed Opportunities

  • Nick Turgeon, Portfolio Manager and Global Head of Asset-Based Finance, Aperture Investors

3:30–4:15 p.m.

ICOLI Demystified: Unlocking Capital-Efficient Access to Alternative Investments

Insurance-owned life insurance (ICOLI) is gaining traction among institutional insurance investors — but clarity hasn’t kept pace with adoption. This session brings together leading voices across the ecosystem to demystify how these programs work in practice, from strategic rationale and policy design to underwriting, carrier selection, and asset allocation.

Session Leader:

  • Mike Pagano, Partner, Head of Global Insurance Client Management, Apollo Global Management

Session Participants:

  • Brett Bickford, Managing Director, Aksia

  • Matt Henebry, Senior Managing Principal, Institutional Insurance Group (IIG)

  • John Hillman, Partner, Head of Tax Advantaged Investing, Apollo Global Management

  • Matthew Schimming, Corporate Vice President, Field Director – Institutional Markets, New York Life Insurance Company

4:30–5:15 p.m.

Senior Investor Roundtable: Navigating Volatility, Regulation, and Portfolio Construction in a New Investment Era

Session Leader:

  • Jean Paul Sursock, Managing Director, Neuberger Berman

Session Participants:

  • William Bell, CIO Alternatives, Arch Capital

  • Lori Finlay, CIO, Unum

  • Leslie Vargas, Senior Vice President, Prudential Financial

  • Joe Wittrock, CIO, Security Benefit Life and Partner, Head of Retirement Solutions, Eldridge Capital Management

5:30–6:30 p.m.

Closing Reception

2026 AIF Insurance Investors' Forum and AIF Institute Insurance Investing Symposium Participant List

Investor, Consultant and Finance Academic Participants

Aflac Global
Ksenija Jovanovic, Managing Director, Head of PE and RE

Aksia
Brett Bickford, Managing Director

Albourne
Arabella Wuchek, Partner

American Family
Yoshiko Inoue, Managing Director, Asset Allocation

Arch Capital Group
William Bell, CIO, Alternatives

Brown University
Kwame Campbell, Trustee

Cambridge Associates
Richard Grimm, Head of Global Credit
Dan Lax, Investment Director

Cliffwater LLC
Thomas Lynch , Senior Managing Director

CoAction Specialty Insurance Company
Siddharth Chakravarty, VP of Investments

Corebridge Financial
Weiqun Li, Director

Daiichi Life North America
Albert Avarzed , Vice President
Shota Sato, Vice President

Equitable Holdings
Christine Wang, Vice President, Alternatives

Everest Global
Anthony Grandolfo, CIO

GE Aerospace – ERAC
John Gao, Head of Investment Risk Management
AJ Spiros, Senior Risk Manager, Investment Portfolio

GE Insurance
Halie Gates, Senior Investment Analyst

Guardian Life
Isaac Lowenbraun, Head of FIxed income

Kuvare
Ira Kaplan, Head of Asset Management

Korea Post
Won Lee, Head of NY Office

Legal & General
Jayanth Ganesan, Investment Manager

Liberty Mutual Investments
Won Jae Jung, Director

NEPC
Matt Maleri, Partner, Head of Insurance
Joseph Nankof, Partner

New York Life Insurance
Tom Rhee, Senior Director
Matthew Schimming, Corporate Vice President, Field Director – Institutional Markets 
Amrita Tiwari, Investment Analytics

Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation
Cavan Wilk, Fixed Income Portfolio Allocator

Prudential Financial
Leslie Vargas, Senior Vice President, Global Investment Strategy

Risk & Regulatory Consulting
Edward Toy, Director

Security Benefit Life
Joe Wittrock, CIO

Selective Insurance
Drew Cohen, Senior Investment Analyst 

Shelter Insurance

Matt Pitzer, Managing Director

StepStone Group Real Estate
Drew Iadanza, Managing Director

Unum
Lori Finlay, CIO

Venerable
Ryan Pagano, AVP, Senior Portfolio Manager

Voya Investment Management
Owen Joiner, Senior Insurance Portfolio Manager

White Mountains Advisors
Henry McKenna, AVP – Investments

Wilshire Advisors
Bradley Baker, Managing Director

Zurich Alternative Asset Management
Jason Lee, Director