Thrivent Hatches $400 Million Collateralized Fund Obligation

The private-investing arm of insurer Thrivent Financial for Lutherans has issued a $400 million collateralized fund obligation, turning to a fiscal-engineering technique rarely seen since the financial crisis ended in 2009 to generate cash from its private-equity holdings.

Minneapolis-based Thrivent Private Investments recently formed the CFO and issued notes secured by dozens of its private-equity assets, according to the company. These debt instruments have a duration of six years and pay the institutional investors that acquired them a periodic return of roughly 7.7%, generated by the sale of companies out of the underlying funds.