Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company (MassMutual) and Barings, one of the world's leading investment managers and subsidiary of MassMutual, announced plans to transition MassMutual's Direct Private Investments (DPI), a leading fund finance provider, and MassMutual Asset Finance (MMAF), an equipment finance company, to Barings. The transition, which will occur in the second quarter of 2023, will enable the businesses to scale their investment strategies with access to additional third-party institutional investors through Barings' global platform, while enabling Barings to provide a broadened set of complementary investment solutions to its clients.

"We are excited to welcome DPI and MMAF to Barings as we continue to expand our multi-strategy capabilities across public and private asset classes to meet the unique needs of insurance companies and other institutional investors," said Mike Freno, Chairman and CEO of Barings. "We will continue to partner closely with MassMutual to seek out opportunities to create scale, develop our offerings, and unlock value across our platform."

DPI provides customized proprietary secured loans to private capital managers and funds backed by a range of private capital assets. The team has originated more than $35 billion in private direct investments since inception and will continue to serve its borrowers with the same standards of confidentiality.

MMAF originates, underwrites, funds and manages large ticket capital equipment transactions throughout the United States. Since inception, MMAF has funded more than $20 billion in new equipment purchases.

"Both the DPI and MMAF teams have seen tremendous growth and success in the market with differentiating asset strategies," said Eric Partlan, incoming Chief Investment Officer of MassMutual. "By joining Barings and having access to its institutional-quality platform, these teams will be better positioned to continue sourcing high-quality assets and expanding their offerings to third-party investors, ultimately bolstering MassMutual's efforts to generate long-term value for our policyowners."

DPI and MMAF will report to Barings' President, Eric Lloyd, who oversees a diverse set of organizations, including cross-asset investment teams. The structure will enable the businesses to leverage the experience, capabilities, and relationships across the Barings platform, while remaining a separate business unit.