Sumitomo Life Plans to Invest $1.9 Billion in Private Credit

Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. is considering allocating about ¥300 billion ($1.9 billion) on private credit in the fiscal year starting April, in the latest push by a Japanese financial firm into alternative assets to boost returns.

The Osaka-based insurer has been gradually increasing its private credit holdings, and “we’ve accumulated considerable expertise,” said the firm’s chief executive officer, Yukinori Takada. The asset class is attractive because “it offers the prospect of high spreads,” he said in an interview.