Blackstone Insurance Solutions expanding both their reach and team

Blackstone further built out its insurance division with two fresh hires this week, as insurance clients are drawn to the firm’s suite of credit products.

The New York-based firm has seen particular interest in “esoteric” investment-grade asset-based securities alongside mortgage loans and private credit and structured credit strategies, a source familiar with the situation told Private Debt Investor.

The firm is continuing to make senior hires in its Blackstone Insurance Solutions (BIS) group, which is a key part of the asset management behemoth’s plan to reach $1 trillion in assets under management by 2026.

Earlier this week, Blackstone announced the hire of Tsana Nobles as the chief risk officer at BIS. She will focus on the assessment and analysis of insurance and investment risk. From 2010-17, Nobles held a similar position at Axis Capital. Right before Blackstone, she was head of global strategies at XL Caitlin.

In addition, Blackstone announced the hire of Molly Sheinberg to lead BIS’s marketing efforts. Prior to her new position, she was an executive director in JP Morgan’s Global Fixed Income Insurance Solutions Group.

Blackstone formed BIS in January 2018 to give insurance companies access to all asset classes. BIS has an investment deal with Fidelity and Guaranty Life to oversee $22 billion of its assets, as well as a $20 billion commitment from a sovereign investor.

Chris Blunt, the former president of New York Life’s investment group, joined Blackstone as a senior managing director and chief executive of the business since the beginning.

Blackstone also internally transferred Martin Smith from evaluating firmwide new business initiatives to focus on BIS. In his current role, he is a senior managing director and chief operating officer at BIS.