Can Voya Tap Into New Growth Opportunities Through Blue Owl Alliance?

Voya Financial VOYA, a leading health, wealth, and investment company, has partnered with Blue Owl OWL, a top alternative asset manager redefining private markets, to develop innovative private market investment solutions tailored for defined contribution retirement plans. This strategic collaboration introduces expanded investment options for retirement plan participants, empowering them to build more diversified portfolios and pursue stronger long-term retirement outcomes.

Blue Owl and Voya are set to kick off their partnership by jointly designing collective investment trusts (CITs) that integrate private market strategies from both firms. These investment vehicles will be available through advisor-led accounts on Voya’s retirement platform, as well as through target date strategies managed by Voya Investment Management (Voya IM).

This move is expected to be a win-win, as it aligns both firms’ goals of delivering consistent income, managing downside risk, and expanding access to alternative investments for retirement savers. It brings together Blue Owl’s private markets expertise with Voya IM’s asset management and distribution strengths, including in insurance-based channels.

The partnership is expected to benefit Voya by opening new revenue streams through the introduction of private market investment products, and can help Voya grow its assets under management (AUM) by attracting new retirement plans and institutional clients seeking access to alternative investments. Additionally, by leveraging Blue Owl’s capabilities, Voya can broaden its distribution footprint and reach new client segments, particularly in the retirement and insurance asset management spaces.

Voya and Blue Owl are also looking to expand their collaboration beyond retirement solutions by working together in the insurance asset management space. As part of this broader effort, Voya plans to leverage Blue Owl’s capabilities in direct lending and private credit, specifically in investment-grade asset-backed financing. In parallel, Blue Owl intends to offer its insurance clients access to Voya’s expertise in fixed income strategies across both public and private investment-grade corporate credit.

VOYA’s YTD Price Performance

In the year-to-date period, shares of Voya have gained 6.6% outperforming the industry average.

Zacks Rank & Key Picks

VOYA currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

Some better-ranked stocks in the  Life Insurance space are Jackson Financial JXN and Sun Life Financial Inc. SLF. While Jackson Financial sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), Sun Life Financial carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate forJackson’s current-year earnings is pegged at $19.31 per share, implying 2.8% year-over-year growth. Jackson surpassed estimates in two of the last four quarters, while missing in the other two, the average surprise being 6%. The consensus estimate for JXN’s current-year revenues is pegged at $7.1 billion.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate forSunLife’s current-year earnings is pegged at $5.30 per share, implying 9.1% year-over-year growth. Sun Life surpassed estimates in three of the last four reported quarters while missing once, the average surprise being 2.5%. The consensus estimate for SLF’s current-year revenues is pegged at $29.8 billion.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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