American Family Life Assurance Company of Columbus

Eric Kirsch serves as Executive Vice President and Global Chief Investment Officer, overseeing Aflac Global Investments from the firm's New York office. Kirsch joined Aflac in 2011 from JP Morgan Asset Management and reports directly to CEO Dan Amos. The investment team manages approximately $100 billion in general account assets, with allocation authority delegated across fixed income, real estate, and private credit sleeves.

Aflac Japan underwrites the majority of the company's premiums in yen, while the general account invests principally in dollar-denominated assets. This mismatch requires continuous hedging of yen-dollar currency exposure through cross-currency swaps and forwards. The structural result is that Aflac's investment team must evaluate every asset not only for its standalone return profile but for its post-hedge yield pickup or cost — a discipline few US-domiciled insurers face to the same degree.

The general account allocates across investment-grade corporate bonds, US Treasury and agency securities, Japanese government bonds, commercial real estate equity and mortgage loans, and private credit. The firm also operates a securities lending program that reinvests loan collateral in short-duration global instruments. Aflac has historically avoided large equity concentrations, reflecting the liability-driven nature of its insurance book.