Investor Series EP02 - Insurance Coffee House: Insurance Investment, M&A, Value Creation & Technology-Enabled Growth - Robert Salamon, Managing Partner & Anthony Recine, Managing Director (BHMS Investments)

On this episode of the Insurance Coffee House, Nick Hoadley is joined by Robert Salamon, Co-Founder and Managing Partner, and Anthony Recine, Managing Director, Investments, at BHMS Investments, a Connecticut-based private investment firm focused on the North American lower middle market.

Robert explains how BHMS has evolved since he co-founded the firm in 2010. While its team and investment capacity have grown, the firm has maintained a concentrated, high-conviction approach centred on service-oriented businesses, active partnerships with management teams and the conservative use of leverage.

Anthony reflects on joining BHMS in 2016 as the firm prepared to raise its first institutional fund. He discusses how the firm’s experience and resources have developed while its approach to selecting investments, constructing its funds and working with management teams has remained consistent.

The conversation explores how insurance became a significant area of focus for BHMS. Robert explains why insurance brokerage initially stood out as an attractive investment opportunity, with strong customer retention, recurring revenue, clear value across the supply chain and significant scope for consolidation.

BHMS made its first insurance brokerage investment in 2011 and continued building experience through investments including The Hilb Group, PCF Insurance Services, Inszone Insurance Services and King Risk Partners. Over time, the firm’s understanding of the wider insurance ecosystem led it into insurance business process outsourcing, MGAs and technology-enabled insurance platforms.

Nick, Robert and Anthony discuss how BHMS has refined its investment strategy as competition and capital entering the insurance sector have increased. Robert explains why the firm does not simply follow the areas attracting the most private equity interest. Instead, it looks for opportunities where its existing knowledge can provide an advantage and where there remains a clear, executable path to value creation.

They also examine how BHMS’s approach to insurance brokerage has developed from traditional aggregation strategies towards more integrated operating models. Robert explains why integration can allow a business to pursue smaller acquisition targets, access a more fragmented part of the market and reduce its reliance on sellers remaining with the organisation over the long term.

Anthony discusses what BHMS looks for in prospective management partners. Alongside an attractive industry an