Blackstone Hires Former Federal Insurance Office Head

By Allison Bell

News March 19, 2018 at 07:24 PM

Share & Print

Blackstone L.P. has hired Michael McRaith, the former, and first, director of the Federal Insurance Office (FIO) to be a managing director at its new Blackstone Insurance Solutions unit.

Blackstone named Chris Blunt, a former president of New York Life Investments Group, to be the chief executive officer of the unit earlier this year. McRaith will report to Blunt, Blackstone says.

Blackstone, a New York-based company best known as a private equity firm, started the insurance solutions unit in an effort to get work managing assets for both life insurers and property-casualty insurers.

Blackstone now manages $430 billion in assets, including $22 billion for Fidelity & Guaranty Life.

The company has said it will help insurers cope with low yields on bonds from high-rated companies by helping them invest assets in private equity funds, real estate, hedge funds, infrastructure deals and other alternative assets.

McRaith has a bachelor's degree from Indiana University, a law degree from Loyola University of Chicago, and 15 years of experience as a lawyer in private practice.

From 2005 through 2011, he was director of the Illinois Department of Insurance.

He served as the FIO director, in the administration of former President Barack Obama, from 2011 through 2017.

— Read McRaith Testifies Before House on ThinkAdvisor.

— Connect with ThinkAdvisor Life/Health on Facebook and Twitter.