Assurant vs Morgan Stanley: Founders, CEOs and History

Company facts

Founders

CEOs and their tenures

Timeline: Assurant and Morgan Stanley side by side

1. 1892Assurant

   La Crosse Mutual Aid Association formed

   Assurant traces its history to the La Crosse Mutual Aid Association, established in La Crosse, Wisconsin in 1892 to provide consumers with disability insurance. No founder of the association is named in the company own histories.

2. 1910Assurant

   Licensed as Time Insurance Company

   The Wisconsin Office of the Commissioner of Insurance records Time Insurance Company, the successor to the La Crosse Mutual Aid Association, as originally licensed as an insurer in 1910.

3. 1935Morgan Stanley

   Morgan Stanley Founded

   Henry S. Morgan and Harold Stanley officially launch the top investment bank following the historic Glass-Steagall split.

4. 1978Assurant

   N.V. AMEV of the Netherlands buys Time Insurance

   Dutch insurer N.V. AMEV acquired Time Insurance Company through its US holding company, AMEV Holdings, Inc., then expanded it by buying American Security Insurance, United Family, Western Insurance Company and Superior Insurance over the next 12 years.

5. 1991Assurant

   AMEV Holdings renamed Fortis, Inc.

   After AMEV combined with VSB Groep NV in 1990 to create Fortis, the US holding company AMEV Holdings, Inc. was rebranded Fortis, Inc. in 1991. It acquired John Alden in 1998.

6. 1996Morgan Stanley

   Acquired Van Kampen American Capital

   Morgan Stanley acquired Van Kampen American Capital in 1996.

7. 1997Morgan Stanley

   Merged with Dean Witter Discover & Co

   Morgan Stanley merged with Dean Witter Discover & Co in February 1997.

8. 1999Assurant

   Fortis acquires American Bankers Insurance

   Fortis, Inc. bought American Bankers Insurance Group of Miami, adding credit insurance and specialty warranty underwriting that became the core of the modern specialty lines. Fortis sold its life insurance business to The Hartford in 2001.

9. 2004Assurant

   NYSE listing as Assurant, Inc.

   Fortis took the US business public on February 5, 2004 in a $1.76 billion initial public offering, the fourth largest of that year, and renamed it Assurant, Inc. The company was incorporated as a Delaware corporation in 2004 and trades as AIZ.

10. 2006Assurant

    Robert B. Pollock succeeds J. Kerry Clayton as CEO

    Founding chief executive J. Kerry Clayton retired on March 17, 2006 and was succeeded by Robert B. Pollock, then president and chief operating officer, who also joined the board that day.

11. 2008Morgan Stanley

    Bank Holding Company Conversion

    Facing total catastrophic collapse, the firm converts into a traditional bank holding company to survive the global financial crisis.

12. 2009Morgan Stanley

    The Smith Barney Acquisition

    then-CEO James Gorman masterminds the acquisition of Smith Barney, instantly creating a dominant retail wealth management leader.

13. 2013Assurant

    New York consent order on force-placed insurance

    Assurant, American Security Insurance Company and American Bankers Insurance Company of Florida settled a New York Department of Financial Services investigation into force-placed homeowners insurance on March 21, 2013, paying a $14 million penalty plus homeow…

14. 2015Assurant

    Exit from health insurance and employee benefits

    On June 10, 2015 Assurant announced it would leave the health insurance marketplace and wind down Assurant Health, and on September 9, 2015 it agreed to sell its employee benefits business to Sun Life for $940 million.

15. 2018Assurant

    The Warranty Group acquisition closes

    Assurant completed its purchase of The Warranty Group from TPG Capital on May 31, 2018 for a total enterprise value of about $2.5 billion, expanding vehicle service contracts and international retail protection. Assurant also sold Time Insurance in 2018.

16. 2018Morgan Stanley

    Acquired Mesa West

    Morgan Stanley acquired Mesa West in March 2018.

17. 2020Assurant

    HYLA Mobile acquisition closes

    Assurant closed its acquisition of smartphone trade-in and upgrade provider HYLA Mobile on December 1, 2020, in a transaction the company valued at about $325 million, roughly doubling its device processing volumes.

18. 2020Morgan Stanley

    E*TRADE Acquisition

    Morgan Stanley dominates the self-directed brokerage market by acquiring E*TRADE for $13 billion.

19. 2021Assurant

    Global Preneed sold to CUNA Mutual Group

    Assurant closed the sale of its prearranged funeral and final expense business to CUNA Mutual Group on August 2, 2021 for about $1.35 billion, generating roughly $1.2 billion of net proceeds, and said it intended to return about $900 million of that through sh…

20. 2021Morgan Stanley

    Acquired Eaton Vance

    Morgan Stanley acquired Eaton Vance for $7 billion. Morgan Stanley acquired Eaton Vance for about $7B, completed in March 2021, adding Parametric, Calvert, and Atlanta Capital.

21. 2022Assurant

    Keith Demmings becomes CEO and headquarters moves to Atlanta

    Keith W. Demmings became president and chief executive officer in January 2022, succeeding Alan B. Colberg, who retired at the end of 2021 after seven years in the role.

22. 2024Assurant

    iSmash acquired in the United Kingdom

    Assurant acquired UK tech repair retailer iSmash on April 4, 2024, giving it 68 drop-in repair locations in the UK under the iSmash and Pocket Geek Tech Repair banners. Assurant also sold its mainland China operations during 2024.

23. 2024Morgan Stanley

    Ted Pick Appointed CEO

    Following a competitive internal succession, Ted Pick takes the helm to heavily drive the integration strategy.

24. 2025Assurant

    FY2025 revenue of $12.81B and the OptoFidelity purchase

    Assurant reported FY2025 revenue of $12.81 billion and GAAP net income of $872.7 million, its ninth consecutive year of profitable growth, launched Assurant Home Warranty, and in October 2025 acquired OptoFidelity mobile device test automation portfolio to add…

25. 2026Assurant

    RL Circular Operations acquired in Australia and New Zealand

    In January 2026 Assurant acquired RL Circular Operations, formerly TIC Reverse Logistics, the reverse logistics division of Australia and New Zealand based TIC Group, extending its post-purchase and circular economy capabilities across Asia Pacific.

Acquisitions

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