Cohn Financial Group

What Cohn Financial Group does

Cohn Financial Group, LLC (CFG) is a Phoenix-based insurance advisory firm founded in 1987 that specializes in Private Placement Life Insurance (PPLI), Private Placement Variable Annuity (PPVA), and complex life insurance and executive benefit solutions for high-net-worth and ultra-high-net-worth individuals, family offices, registered investment advisors, and Fortune 1000 corporate clients. The firm has been a Member Firm of M Financial Group since 1990, which provides access to proprietary insurance and annuity products and reinsurance arrangements unavailable on standard retail terms, and has operated as a subsidiary of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. since February 2015.

The practice delivers its services through a consultative, relationship-led model in which advisors and case designers work alongside clients' attorneys, accountants, and investment professionals to design, place, and manage bespoke life insurance and annuity portfolios. Reported scope of work includes portfolios exceeding $500 million in aggregate face value and 54 pricing improvements on in-force policies that have generated over $200 million in cost reductions for existing policyholders, indicating a meaningful in-force management book alongside new production. Core product lines span PPLI, PPVA, Custom Life Insurance Portfolios, Executive Life Insurance, Supplemental Disability Insurance, Long-term Care Insurance, and non-qualified retirement plans.

Revenue is generated through insurance carrier commissions on placed policies, advisory fees for ongoing policy and case management, and licensing royalties associated with proprietary products accessed through the M Financial Group ecosystem. Pricing is customized and quote-based rather than published, with contracts typically running on multi-year terms aligned to the long-duration nature of life insurance and annuity placements. The practice is domestic US, anchored in Phoenix/Scottsdale, with no disclosed international operations.

Name

Cohn Financial Group

Legal name

Cohn Financial Group, LLC

Website

http://www.cfgllc.com/

Company type

Private

Founded year

1987

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

5,001–10,000 employees

Short description

Cohn Financial Group is a Phoenix-based insurance advisory firm, founded 1987 and a subsidiary of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co., that designs and manages Private Placement Life Insurance, Private Placement Variable Annuities, and executive benefits for HNW/UHNW individuals, family offices, RIAs, and Fortune 1000 companies through its M Financial Group membership.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Phoenix

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Insurance Advisory and Commission Revenue: Cohn Financial Group generates revenue through insurance advisory services and commissions from life insurance and annuity products. Services are offered through M Holdings Securities, Inc., a registered broker/dealer and investment advisor. The firm specializes in complex life insurance planning including Private Placement Life Insurance (PPLI) and annuities.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Cohn Financial Group is an independent life insurance distributor and advisor that designs, places, and services sophisticated life insurance and annuity solutions for high-net-worth and ultra-high-net-worth clients. Its core offerings include Private Placement Life Insurance (PPLI), Private Placement Variable Annuities (PPVA), customized life insurance portfolios, policy reviews, and ongoing policy administration, with a parallel executive benefits and corporate solutions practice covering executive life, supplemental disability, long-term care and non-qualified retirement plans.

Product overview

Cohn Financial Group (CFG) is a financial services firm specializing in complex life insurance planning for high net worth individuals, families, and businesses. The company operates as a unified platform offering life insurance and wealth management solutions, primarily organized around Private Placement Life Insurance (PPLI) and Private Placement Variable Annuity (PPVA) products for accredited investors, along with Custom Life Insurance Portfolios for traditional coverage. The core product suite includes Executive Benefits and Corporate Solutions such as Executive Life Insurance, Supplemental Disability Insurance, Long-term Care Insurance, and Non-qualified Retirement Plans. CFG delivers these through ongoing Life Insurance Administration and Servicing, including policy reviews and performance reporting. The firm was established in 1987, acquired by Gallagher in 2015, and has been a Member Firm of M Financial Group since 1990.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Private Placement Life Insurance (PPLI) Tax-efficient investment vehicle featuring a death benefit, structured to allow investors to defer or eliminate income tax on tax-inefficient alternative investments. Available exclusively to Accredited Investors and Qualified Purchasers.
• Private Placement Variable Annuity (PPVA) Variable annuity structured as a private placement, offering tax-deferred investment features similar to PPLI for qualified affluent individuals and entities.
• Life Insurance Planning Sophisticated life insurance solutions serving as income tax planning strategies for high net worth individuals and businesses, providing income tax-free death benefits and flexible financial vehicles for wealth preservation and transfer.
• Custom Life Insurance Portfolios Designed and implemented customized life insurance portfolios to meet specific client needs for estate planning, multi-generational wealth transfer, and tax-free investing, structured to provide competitive pricing, flexibility, and stability.
• Life Insurance Reviews Consulting engagements providing in-depth, third-party assessments of existing life insurance policies to evaluate alignment with current objectives, covering ownership, funding, pricing, and product design.
• Life Insurance Administration and Servicing Ongoing policy servicing including scheduled performance reporting and access to professional staff for policy information and complex transaction guidance.
• Executive Life Insurance Executive benefit plans providing appropriate death benefit coverage for highly compensated employees, supplementing basic group term life insurance.
• Supplemental Disability Insurance Disability insurance plans that optimize cost with group LTD plans while providing full 60% income replacement coverage for the executive group, with portable policies and rate guarantees.
• Long-term Care Insurance Wealth insurance protecting against rising long-term care costs, available as standalone LTCi, executive LTCi funding, cash value life insurance with LTCi rider, or life insurance/LTCi hybrid policies.
• Non-qualified Retirement Plans Customizable retirement benefit solutions for high-income earners that fill gaps in qualified plans, with flexible pre- or post-tax contributions, investment options, and distribution amounts.
• Specialized Executive Insurance Customized insurance strategies for executives including aviation insurance, kidnap and ransom coverage, temporary medical coverage for foreign travel, fine art coverage, excess liability, and Directors and Officers Liability insurance.

Named customers3 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• M Holdings Securities, Inc.coreTechnology or Integration · 1 February 2015Securities and Investment Advisory Services are offered through M Holdings Securities, Inc., a registered broker/dealer and investment advisor, Member FINRA/SIPC. This partnership enables CFG to offer securities-based financial products and advisory services.
• M Financial GroupcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCohn Financial Group has been a Member Firm of M Financial since 1990. Through this membership, CFG has access to proprietary products with lower cost structures specifically priced for high net worth clients. M Financial Group is one of the nation's premier financial services firms, serving ultra-affluent individuals and Fortune 1000 companies. The partnership provides access to over 40 exclusive and proprietary products, better pricing through collective buying power, and in-force management with 54 pricing improvements equating to over $200 million in cost reductions.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Prudential Financial: Prudential is a major life insurance carrier with significant presence in PPLI, executive benefits, and group life insurance markets. It offers overlapping capabilities to CFG's HNW and corporate clients through direct distribution and through specialty distributors like CFG.
• Pacific Life: Pacific Life is a major life insurance and annuity carrier that provides PPLI products and other sophisticated life insurance solutions used by CFG and other specialty distributors. Olivia Smith's prior experience at Pacific Life highlights the carrier-distributor relationship in the PPLI ecosystem.
• Northwestern Mutual: Northwestern Mutual is one of the largest U.S. life insurance providers with extensive wealth management and high-net-worth planning capabilities. Bryan Haas's prior experience at Northwestern Mutual reflects its role as a major carrier and competitor in the advanced life insurance space.
• Lincoln Financial Group: Lincoln Financial offers life insurance, executive benefits, and wealth solutions targeting high-net-worth individuals and corporate clients. Its group life and executive benefits divisions compete with CFG's corporate solutions practice area.
• New York Life: New York Life is a Fortune 100 mutual life insurance company serving high-net-worth and corporate markets with policy administration and case management capabilities. Meredith Galentine's prior experience at New York Life illustrates the firm's role as a key carrier in the HNW life insurance ecosystem.

Direct peers

• Lion Street: Lion Street is a network of independent insurance and financial services firms specializing in sophisticated life insurance and wealth transfer solutions for ultra-affluent clients—directly comparable to CFG's HNW/UHNW value proposition and target market.
• M Financial Group: M Financial is the consortium of 155 independent member firms that CFG has belonged to since 1990. It provides the same proprietary products, collective buying power, and in-force pricing improvement capabilities that CFG leverages; member firms often compete for the same UHNW PPLI and executive benefits business.
• Annexus Group: Annexus (formerly Annexus Financial Group) is a specialty distributor focused on fixed index annuities and life insurance products including PPLI-adjacent solutions. Brian Deane's prior experience at Annexus illustrates direct competitive overlap in the advanced life insurance and annuity distribution space.
• Highland Capital Brokerage: Highland Capital Brokerage is a specialty life insurance brokerage focused on advanced case design, estate planning, and business-owned life insurance for affluent and corporate clients. It competes with CFG for advanced life insurance case design mandates.
• Ash Brokerage: Ash Brokerage is a leading insurance brokerage specializing in advanced life insurance case design for financial professionals and high-net-worth clients. Senior Case Designer Bryan Haas joined CFG from Ash, evidencing direct competition for advanced case design talent and clients.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/1072931

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles12 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Cohn Financial Group