Lombard International: Who Holds the Business Now
The answer in 30 seconds. Lombard International no longer exists as an insurance carrier. The business was split in two and both halves have been sold and renamed. The European business is now Utmost Luxembourg S.A.; the US and Bermuda business is now Axcelus Financial.
Why this matters. They are now separate companies with different owners, different balance sheets, different regulators and different ratings. A policy issued by the old Luxembourg company and one issued by the old US company no longer sit under the same group in any sense.
Most relevant for. Existing policyholders; advisers whose files still name Lombard International; anyone running diligence on a proposal that references the brand.
Where this fits. Part of our provider research. The full analysis follows below.
Lombard International was, for two decades, among the most recognisable names in private placement life insurance. It is still one of the most searched. It is also, as of 2026, a brand that no longer attaches to any operating insurer — and the advisers still searching for it are frequently unaware of that.
This profile traces what happened, identifies the entities that now hold the business, and sets out what is verifiable about each from primary sources.
The ownership chain
The business passed through three ownerships in a decade before being broken up.
- Until 2014 — owned by Friends Provident, later Friends Life Group.
- October 2014 — sold to funds managed by The Blackstone Group. Friends Life Group’s 2014 Annual Report records completion of “the disposal of the Lombard business to the Blackstone Group”, treated as a discontinued operation.
- November 2023 — the US and Bermuda business was sold to an affiliate of BroadRiver Asset Management, L.P., and rebranded Axcelus Financial in January 2024.
- 31 December 2024 — the European business was acquired by Utmost Group plc. Integration completed and the company was rebranded Utmost Luxembourg in November 2025; the legal name change from Lombard International Assurance S.A. took effect on 20 October 2025.
Blackstone no longer holds any interest in either half.
The European business: Utmost Luxembourg S.A.
Legal entity. Utmost Luxembourg S.A., formerly Lombard International Assurance S.A., Luxembourg trade register B37604, registered at 4 rue Lou Hemmer, L-1748 Senningerberg. It appears under its current name on the Commissariat aux Assurances register of Luxembourg life insurers.
Regulator. Commissariat aux Assurances (CAA), Luxembourg. Policyholder assets fall under the Luxembourg regime described in our Triangle of Security analysis: assets representing technical provisions must be deposited with a CAA-approved bank under a tripartite agreement, and policyholders hold a first-ranking claim over that pool.
Ownership. Utmost Group plc, whose parent Utmost Topco Limited is, per the group’s Solvency and Financial Condition Report for the year ended 31 December 2025, “part-owned by the Founders (15.1%) and by OCM Utmost Holdings Ltd, owned by Oaktree funds (84.9%)”.
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Request your copy →Rating. Fitch Insurer Financial Strength A+, Outlook Stable, affirmed 15 October 2025. Utmost Group plc itself carries a Long-Term Issuer Default Rating of A, Stable. We found no rating from A.M. Best, S&P or Moody’s for the Luxembourg entity — Fitch appears to be its sole rating agency.
Scale. The last standalone solvency report, for Lombard International Assurance Holdings S.à r.l. at 31 December 2024, records assets under administration of €54.5 billion at holding level and €53.0 billion at insurer level, with SCR coverage of 136.9% and 135.6% respectively. No standalone report for Utmost Luxembourg S.A. at 31 December 2025 has been published; at group level Utmost reports £116 billion of assets under administration and 167% solvency coverage.
Who it serves. Utmost Wealth Solutions publishes market pages for Belgium, Finland, France, Hong Kong, Italy, Luxembourg, Mexico, Norway, Portugal, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom, plus expatriate and Middle East propositions. There is no US market page and no indication that the entity serves US persons. A US-taxpayer case can no longer be placed with the former Lombard Luxembourg carrier.
The US and Bermuda business: Axcelus Financial
Legal entities. Axcelus Financial Life Insurance Company (Pennsylvania), formerly Lombard International Life Assurance Company; Axcelus Financial Life Insurance Company of New York (NAIC code 73059); and in Bermuda, Axcelus Financial Life Ltd., Axcelus Financial Global Insurance Ltd. and Axcelus Financial Life Insurance Company (Bermuda) Ltd.
Regulators. Pennsylvania Insurance Department and the New York State Department of Financial Services for the US entities; the Bermuda Monetary Authority for the Bermuda companies.
Ownership. Ultimate parent BroadRiver Asset Management, L.P.
Rating. A.M. Best’s Global Credit Rating Monitor of September 2025 shows the three Bermuda entities at Financial Strength Rating A- (Excellent), Long-Term ICR a-, Outlook Stable. The carrier states an A- rating as of 26 November 2025 without an entity breakdown. We could not locate an A.M. Best rating page or press release under the new US entity names, and found no S&P, Moody’s or Fitch rating for any Axcelus entity — treat those three as unrated.
Scale. The carrier reports assets under administration of “$18B+ … as of December 31, 2025”, against $13 billion at the end of 2023.
Who it serves. The US entities serve US taxpayers — family offices, high and ultra-high-net-worth families and US institutions. The Bermuda entities state the opposite exclusion explicitly: their products “may not be sold in the United States, nor to citizens or residents of the United States, nor to residents of Bermuda.” Available asset classes cited for the Bermuda platform include private credit, real estate, infrastructure, natural resources, US private markets and hedge funds.
Regulatory record
CAA administrative fine, €1,682,000. By decision dated 10 January 2024, published 20 March 2024, the Commissariat aux Assurances fined Lombard International Assurance S.A. €1,682,000 for anti-money-laundering and counter-terrorist-financing control failures. The decision cites ten categories of breach, including the absence of an overall money-laundering risk assessment, a non-compliant risk-scoring methodology, insufficient customer due diligence, inadequate enhanced due diligence on tax-compliance risk, system deficiencies preventing detection of suspicious transactions, failure to report suspicions promptly to the Financial Intelligence Unit, and insufficient compliance resourcing. The decision is published on the CAA’s sanctions register.
Context matters here in both directions. The conduct pre-dates the Utmost acquisition and relates to the period under Blackstone ownership. But it speaks directly to the control environment of the book Utmost acquired, and it is the kind of finding that a buyer of a Luxembourg policy is entitled to weigh. We found no CAA sanction against Utmost Luxembourg S.A. under its current name; the CAA register runs to July 2026.
New York DFS examination. A report dated 2 May 2022 covering 2016–2020 cited three violations at Lombard International Life Assurance Company of New York: a shortfall in required audit committee membership, late filing of a notice of election of directors, and failure to record board authorisation of investment purchases and sales at 17 of 19 meetings. These are corporate-governance findings. No monetary penalty was recorded, and no conduct or solvency findings were made.
Reported Italian investigation. Trade press reported in July 2021 that Milan prosecutors and the Guardia di Finanza were investigating the Luxembourg company over allegedly undisclosed income, and reported in July 2022 that the matter had been closed by settlement on undisclosed terms. We were unable to locate any primary Italian judicial or prosecutorial document, and we report this as unverified.
We found no regulatory action, sanction or litigation against any Axcelus entity or against BroadRiver, and no rating downgrade or negative outlook on either side of the split.
What is not disclosed
Neither business publishes a PPLI minimum premium, a charge schedule, an approved custodian list or an investment-manager panel. The €125,000 and €250,000 figures that appear in Utmost’s published material are, respectively, the CAA’s regulatory floor for using a dedicated fund and the minimum for a packaged Luxembourg retail contract — neither is a PPLI minimum and neither should be quoted as one. Pricing in this market is established through a proposal process, not from published material.
One further development to watch
Bloomberg reported in February 2026 that Oaktree was weighing a sale or initial public offering of Utmost Group. We located no confirming announcement from Utmost or Oaktree and report it as unverified — but a further change of ownership is possible, which would make this the fourth in twelve years for a business that already sits under different owners on either side of the Atlantic. For a multi-decade contract, ownership stability is a legitimate diligence question, and this lineage illustrates why.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Lombard International still exist?
No. The name no longer attaches to any operating insurer. The European business is Utmost Luxembourg S.A.; the US and Bermuda business is Axcelus Financial. They are separately owned.
What happens to an existing Lombard policy?
A rename does not change the contract; the policy continues with the same legal entity under its new name. What does change is the group behind it, and therefore the parent covenant, the rating and the strategy. Policyholders should confirm in writing which entity now carries their contract and which regulator supervises it.
Who owns Utmost Luxembourg?
Utmost Group plc, whose parent is 84.9% owned by funds managed by Oaktree Capital and 15.1% by the group’s founders, per Utmost’s 2025 Solvency and Financial Condition Report.
Can a US taxpayer use the former Lombard Luxembourg company?
On the published evidence, no. Utmost publishes no US market proposition. US-compliant business from this lineage now sits with Axcelus in Pennsylvania and New York — a different owner and a different balance sheet.
Last reviewed 19 August 2026, from regulator registers, Solvency and Financial Condition Reports, ratings-agency publications and carrier disclosures. PPLI.com is independent: we do not sell insurance, represent any carrier, or receive commission from any provider named here. Educational only; not legal, tax or insurance advice. Request a confidential consultation.
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