Insurance Investment Outsourcing Surpasses $5.5 Trillion as Private Markets and Global Expansion Reshape the Industry
IIOR Shows Record Outsourced Insurance AUM, Private Assets Near $1 Trillion, and Europe Emerging as a Global Growth Engine
Clearwater Analytics (NYSE:CWAN) today released the 2026 Insurance Investment Outsourcing Report (IIOR), produced in partnership with DCS Financial Consulting. The report captures $5.5 trillion in third-party general account insurance assets under management across 96 asset managers, a 23% increase year-over-year and a 65% increase since 2021, alongside $1.8 trillion in assets under advisement across 12 investment consultants. The findings point to an outsourcing market that has become larger, more global, and materially more complex.
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The 2026 IIOR reveals defining trends reshaping insurance investment management:
Private Markets Cross a Threshold. Third-party private insurance AUM has more than doubled since 2021, reaching $947 billion and approaching one-third of outsourced insurance allocations alongside public assets. Insurers have moved steadily beyond traditional private placements into middle-market lending, infrastructure debt, and structured credit, and 67% of participating managers now offer private fixed income capabilities alongside their public strategies.
Europe Rewrites the Map. Europe and the UK represent a major and expanding force in insurance outsourcing, with reported AUM growing 32% year-over-year and more than doubling since 2021, from $1.0 trillion to $2.1 trillion, reflecting both organic growth and broader manager participation in the IIOR. Europe and the UK now account for 38% of total outsourced insurance AUM. On a percentage basis, APAC and offshore markets grew even faster year-over-year, each significantly outpacing North America's still-solid 12% gain. The findings reflect an outsourcing market that is no longer centered primarily in North America. Managers are increasingly winning mandates through global scale, regional specialization, or both.
"The 2026 IIOR captures a transformation that no single number can fully convey. Private markets have crossed a threshold, Europe has reshaped the map, and the sophistication this industry now demands across asset classes, geographies, and regulatory environments is compounding," said Sandeep Sahai, Chief Executive Officer of Clearwater Analytics. "We believe the power of partnership is what allows insurers and their managers to move with the confidence this moment requires. We invite you to read the full report and see what this transformation means for your business."
"What the 2026 IIOR makes clear is that insurance outsourcing is the prevailing model for how insurers deploy capital globally," said Steve Doire, owner of DCS Financial Consulting and Strategic Advisor to Clearwater Analytics. "The near doubling of consultant AUA in two years tells you that insurers are engaging experts to build and manage increasingly diverse and complex strategic investment programs. The European surge is equally significant. This market has moved well beyond North American dominance, and the managers best positioned for what comes next are those who recognized this global shift and invested in the capability and presence to win across regions."
A More Competitive Market Takes Shape
The growth of the IIOR reflects the growth of the market itself. What began as a report covering 40 participants now includes 108 managers and consultants and $5.5 trillion in assets under management. Over the past decade, the top 10 managers' share of total AUM has declined from 70% to 59%, showing that more firms are competing for insurance mandates. Specialized and mid-sized managers are gaining ground through insurance expertise, private markets capabilities, and regional strength. Consultant AUA has also nearly doubled in two years, as insurers turn to outside expertise to help manage more complex investment programs.
What the Report Covers
The 2026 IIOR includes 96 asset manager profiles, 12 investment consultant profiles, global and regional rankings, and data on asset allocations, client types, and regional growth across major insurance investment markets. Together, these findings provide a clear view of where insurance assets are being managed, which firms are gaining share, and how the market is changing. The report is produced with DCS Financial Consulting, with Institutional Investor serving as industry engagement partner.
About DCS Financial Consulting
DCS Financial Consulting is a leading advisory firm specializing in insurance investment strategy for both asset managers and insurers. Steve Doire, owner and founder, fundamentally transformed the IIOR nearly a decade ago and has led it ever since.
About CWAN
Clearwater Analytics (NYSE:CWAN) is transforming investment management with the industry's most comprehensive cloud-native platform for institutional investors across global public and private markets. While legacy systems create risk, inefficiency, and data fragmentation, CWAN's single-instance, multi-tenant architecture delivers real-time data and AI-driven insights throughout the investment lifecycle. The platform eliminates information silos by integrating portfolio management, trading, investment accounting, reconciliation, regulatory reporting, performance, compliance, and risk analytics in one unified system. Serving leading insurers, asset managers, hedge funds, banks, corporations, and governments, CWAN supports over $10 trillion in assets globally. Learn more at www.cwan.com.
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Claudia Cahill, Head of Communications and PR | +1 208-433-1200 | press@cwan.com