Milwaukee-based
Trusted Fraternal Life plans to merge with Minnesota-based
Catholic United Financial in a deal that would make it the sixth largest fraternal in the country.
“We’ve been collaborating with Catholic United Financial on various initiatives for years and this merger is a natural next step. It is also evidence of Trusted Fraternal Life’s purpose—to facilitate consolidation in the fraternal sector while preserving unique identities and traditions and achieving the necessary scale to be relevant, to compete, and to grow,” said
John Borgen, president and CEO of Trusted Fraternal Life.
Trusted Fraternal was created by Catholic Financial Life to be the home for a growing family of fraternal brands. The organization already includes Catholic Financial Life and Degree of Honor. Pending approvals, it would
also add Michigan-based Woman’s Life Insurance Society and Catholic United Financial.
The result would be an organization with nearly $3 billion in assets and more than 215,000 members.
The idea behind creating Trusted Fraternal Life was to allow fraternal organizations to consolidate while maintaining their brand identity, mission, history and traditions.
“That is inherently appealing,” Borgen said. “We all know this is a business of economies of scale, and you need those economies to be relevant, to compete and to grow.”
Borgen had some conversations with other fraternal organizations about joining Trusted Fraternal prior to announcing the new structure, but he said there has been a lot of interest since the strategy was announced earlier this year.
Catholic United was one of the organizations Borgen spoke to ahead of the formation of Trusted Fraternal. Catholic Financial Life and Catholic United already partner on
a joint venture called Coventus Now, a shared technology and services platform started in 2019. Borgen and Michael Ahles, his counterpart at Catholic United, also sit on industry boards together, which helped kickoff their conversations last fall and the two sides were able to sign a letter of intent by early 2024.
“This merger reinforces our shared values and dedication to growing our business while engaging more people to live financially secure, purposeful lives,” said Ahles, president, CEO and board chair of Catholic United Financial. “Joining forces with Trusted Fraternal Life allows the Catholic United Financial brand, volunteer network, and Catholic community efforts to continue for future generations.”
The deal is expected to be complete by Jan. 1, pending approval by Catholic United delegates and regulators.
With two mergers in the works, Borgen said Trusted Fraternal has clear priorities for the next 18 to 24 months. Those include realizing the vision of the Coventus Now joint venture, expanding to reach 49 states and integrating Women’s Life and Catholic United into the organization.
“Our plate is full, our priorities are crystal clear, and we have the financial resources necessary to procure the human resources to be successful,” he said.
Trusted Fraternal is currently adding staff to its IT teams. Borgen said as it builds out the family of brands the organization will need to add marketing, communications and sales talent.
