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National Life Group Pension Plan
The National Life Group Pension Plan operates as the retirement trust for employees of the Montpelier, Vermont-based National Life Group. The plan sits within...
National Life Group Pension Plan
The National Life Group Pension Plan operates as the retirement trust for employees of the Montpelier, Vermont-based National Life Group. The plan sits within a mutual insurance organization whose operating subsidiaries include National Life Insurance Company and Life Insurance Company of the Southwest. Mehran Assadi serves as Chairman, CEO, and President of the sponsoring entity. The pension's investment posture reflects a blend of fixed-income ballast and opportunistic direct credit and real estate exposure. The plan participates in Monroe Capital's MRCC Senior Loan Fund joint venture, targeting middle-market direct lending. In real assets, it partners with CrossHarbor Capital Partners on industrial real estate debt financing, with known exposure to a Sun Belt industrial portfolio spanning Fort Worth, Houston, Jacksonville, and Savannah. Additional holdings include the Clear Lake commercial properties in Houston and The Clair residential asset in Montclair, New Jersey. The plan's most significant disclosed commitment involves a $4.9 billion reinsurance transaction and joint venture with 26North, the platform founded by Apollo Global Management co-founder Josh Harris (per public record, 2023-2024). This partnership signals a pension fund comfortable with complex, capital-intensive structured transactions alongside top-tier institutional counterparties. The plan also holds diversified public-market positions through global balanced index strategies, mortgage-backed securities, and housing tax credits. Structurally, the National Life Group Pension Plan operates as a captive corporate pension within a mutual insurance enterprise — a governance architecture that prioritizes long-duration liability matching. Unlike public plans subject to FOIA and political cycles, this vehicle answers to a single corporate sponsor and its fiduciary board, allowing for measured participation in private credit and real asset strategies that require patience and relationship-driven sourcing (per the firm's official communications).
General information
Firm type
Pension Fund
Year founded
1848
Location
Region
North America
Country
United States
City
Montpelier
Corporate office
Montpelier, VT, United States
Principals
Mehran Assadi
Chairman, CEO, and President of National Life Group
Sector focus
Frequently asked questions
Who runs investment decisions at the National Life Group Pension Plan?
Oversight ultimately falls under National Life Group Chairman, CEO, and President Mehran Assadi. Day-to-day investment management is delegated to internal treasury and investment staff, with the plan's trustees holding fiduciary responsibility for asset allocation and manager selection.
What is the plan's relationship with 26North?
The National Life Group Pension Plan and its sponsoring entity participated in a $4.9 billion reinsurance transaction structured as a joint venture with 26North, the investment firm founded by Apollo Global Management co-founder Josh Harris (per public record). This transaction transfers a block of insurance liabilities alongside dedicated investment assets.
How is the plan related to National Life Group?
The plan is the corporate defined-benefit pension trust for employees of National Life Group, a mutual insurance holding company headquartered in Montpelier, Vermont. It is a single-sponsor plan, governed separately from the general account assets of the insurance operating companies.
Does the plan commit to external private funds or invest directly?
The plan does both. It participates in the MRCC Senior Loan Fund joint venture with Monroe Capital for direct lending exposure, co-invests with CrossHarbor Capital Partners on industrial real estate debt, and holds direct commercial and residential real estate assets in Texas and New Jersey.
What asset classes does the plan target?
Known allocations span private credit through the Monroe Capital senior loan joint venture, industrial real estate debt via CrossHarbor, direct-owned commercial and multifamily real estate, structured reinsurance with 26North, and liquid public-market exposure through global balanced index strategies and mortgage-backed securities.
Where does the plan's funding come from?
As a corporate defined-benefit pension, the trust is funded by employer contributions from National Life Group's operating subsidiaries — primarily National Life Insurance Company and Life Insurance Company of the Southwest — alongside investment returns on plan assets.
Is the plan's AUM publicly disclosed?
No. National Life Group does not separately report the pension plan's assets under management in public filings. The plan's footprint is inferred through disclosed transaction sizes and partnership structures rather than a published total.
Profile maintained by Altss using OSINT (open-source intelligence), regulatory filings, licensed data partners, and verified direct submissions. Read the methodology. Last updated: . Continuous refresh with full update cycles at least every 30 days.
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