Independent Life

Independent Life

Independent Life was founded by Donald J. Herrema, James D. Atkins, and Michael A. Upchurch in Fort Worth, Texas, operating as an insurance holding company structured around Independent Life Insurance Company. The founding team brought together operational insurance expertise and an investment mandate that diverges from the typical insurer's heavy allocation to public bonds. The firm is closely tied to Luther King Capital Management (LKCM), which houses LKCM Headwater Investments, the primary private equity vehicle through which Independent Life deploys its general account assets. The firm's investment strategy centers on using insurance float — primarily from life insurance policies and structured settlement annuities — to fund private equity commitments. Asset classes include middle-market private equity, private credit, and real estate. LKCM Headwater Investments serves as the dedicated sponsor, targeting control and minority positions in founder-led businesses across North America. The structured settlement book is further supported through a partnership with Dominion Assignment Company, which facilitates international settlement solutions. This liability-driven approach matches long-duration insurance obligations with equally long-duration, higher-yielding private assets. Independent Life maintains a lean operational model from its Fort Worth headquarters, with the three founders holding overlapping executive and investment roles. Donald Herrema serves as Vice Chair and Interim CEO of the insurance group while simultaneously acting as CIO, a dual-hat structure that centralizes investment decisions. Herrema is also a member of the Young Presidents' Organization (YPO), and the firm is active in the National Structured Settlements Trade Association (NSSTA). The relationship with LKCM provides institutional-grade deal sourcing and portfolio management without requiring a large internal investment staff. Structurally, Independent Life reverses the more common model where a private equity firm acquires an insurance company to capture its float. Here, the insurance entity was purpose-built as the origination engine, with the private equity sponsor functioning as the affiliated asset manager. This architecture gives Independent Life a permanent capital base that is not subject to fund cycles or external redemptions — a genuine structural advantage that allows the firm to hold assets across market cycles without forced selling.