# Modern Woodmen of America Modern Woodmen of America is an Insurance based in Rock Island, United States. ## Overview - **Organization type:** Insurance - **Headquarters:** Rock Island, United States - **Region:** North America - **Address:** 1701 1st Avenue, Rock Island, IL 61201, United States - **Founded:** 1883 - **Assets under management:** Undisclosed - **Website:** modernwoodmen.org - **LinkedIn:** https://www.linkedin.com/company/modern-woodmen-of-america ## Regulatory record - **Reports private funds:** No ## About Modern Woodmen of America is a fraternal benefit society based in Rock Island, Illinois. It offers life insurance, retirement planning, and financial planning services. The organization provides benefits and initiatives for its members, as well as employee benefits solutions for businesses. ## Sectors - Real Estate - Private Credit - Infrastructure ## People - Jerald J. Lyphout — President and CEO - Brett Van — Chief Investment Officer - Shea E. Doyle — National Secretary and Executive Vice President - Adam Schwab — Portfolio Manager, Pension and Alternative Assets - Aaron Birkland — Portfolio Manager, Private Placements ## Questions ### Who runs the investment portfolio at Modern Woodmen of America? Brett Van serves as Chief Investment Officer, leading an internal team that manages the general account and pension assets. The investment office operates from Rock Island, Illinois, and includes dedicated portfolio managers for alternative assets and private placements, Adam Schwab and Aaron Birkland respectively. The team reports to President and CEO Jerald Lyphout. ### What asset classes does Modern Woodmen invest in? The portfolio spans public fixed income, commercial mortgage loans, real estate equity, and private placements. The public-credit book is skewed toward investment-grade corporates and government securities to match insurance liabilities. On the private side, the organization directly originates commercial mortgages and participates in privately negotiated corporate debt and structured-product investments that sit between public bonds and bank loans. ### How is Modern Woodmen of America structured, and how does that affect its investment posture? Modern Woodmen is a fraternal benefit society — a tax-exempt mutual entity owned by its policyholders, not shareholders. This charter means it cannot be acquired, issues no stock, and must demonstrate community benefit through charitable programming. For the investment portfolio, the structure eliminates quarterly earnings pressure and allows the general account to hold illiquid assets through market cycles without facing redemption risk, a profile shared with very few surviving fraternal insurers in the US. ### Does Modern Woodmen manage money for external institutional investors? No. The organization manages its own general account and pension assets internally and does not operate as a third-party asset manager. Through subsidiary MWA Financial Services, it distributes retail financial products — mutual funds, variable annuities, retirement plans — but these represent third-party fund distribution rather than proprietary asset management marketed to outside institutions. ### What real estate assets does Modern Woodmen own? Public records confirm the firm holds its headquarters complex in Rock Island, Illinois, including the Home Office at 1701 1st Avenue and a separate investment office at 319 18th Street. It also owns a historic building at 1504 3rd Avenue and holds the naming rights to Modern Woodmen Park, a minor-league baseball stadium in Davenport, Iowa. The commercial mortgage portfolio is originated directly by the investment team. ## Related profiles - [Modern Wealth Management](https://altss.com/profile/modern-wealth-management) - [Molson Coors Brewing Company (UK) Pension Plan](https://altss.com/profile/molson-coors-brewing-company-uk-pension-plan) --- Updated: 2026-06-03T20:00:00.000Z Canonical page: https://altss.com/profile/modern-woodmen-of-america Maintained by Altss — https://altss.com — methodology: https://altss.com/methodology