Onex Deepens Insurance Ties While Recycling Capital From Private Equity

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• Onex (TSX:ONEX) has completed the acquisition of Convex Group Ltd. in partnership with AIG.

• The company has added Jay Cohen, an insurance industry expert, to its board of directors.

• Onex has reported progress in multi asset continuation vehicles and private equity realization activity.

For investors following TSX:ONEX, these moves come as the company continues to operate across private equity, credit, and insurance related investments. The acquisition of Convex Group, alongside AIG, and the addition of an experienced insurance executive to the board reflect the role of insurance and risk businesses within the broader investment ecosystem. At the same time, activity in continuation vehicles and realizations reflects ongoing focus on managing and exiting existing assets.

These developments may influence how you think about Onex’s mix of fee related income, exposure to insurance, and approach to returning capital from private equity funds over time. The rest of this article walks through what each announcement could mean for Onex’s business profile, risk considerations, and potential implications for long term shareholders.

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📰 Beyond the headline: 1 risk and 3 things going right for Onex that every investor should see.

The Convex acquisition and AIG partnership push Onex further into specialty insurance, an area where scale, underwriting discipline, and access to capital matter. Convex is already described as contributing strong underwriting profitability, improved return on equity, and premium growth, so full consolidation can increase both fee-related and insurance earnings exposure. At the same time, Q1 2026 revenue of US$187 million and net income of US$129 million were lower than the US$211 million and US$168 million reported a year earlier, which shows that headline profit can move around even when specific platforms are performing well. The US$1.6b multi-asset continuation vehicle and US$317 million realized from continuation structures, together with the planned sale of Emerald Holding, point to active portfolio management and additional capital being recycled back to Onex and its investors. Bringing in insurance veteran Jay Cohen adds sector-specific oversight at board level as the insurance business becomes a larger contributor. For you as a shareholder, this bundle of moves ties Onex more closely to insurance peers such as Fairfax Financial and Brookfield Reinsurance, while still leaning on private equity realizations and credit to support fee income.

The Risks and Rewards Investors Should Consider

• ⚠️ Earnings per share from continuing operations declined from US$2.36 to US$1.76 year on year in Q1 2026, so profitability remains sensitive to market conditions and realization timing.

• ⚠️ A larger focus on specialty insurance and credit links Onex more tightly to underwriting risk, catastrophe events, and credit cycles, which can create periods of earnings volatility.

• 🎁 Convex delivered strong underwriting profitability, improved return on equity, and premium growth, and is described as a key near term contributor to shareholder value within Onex.

• 🎁 The US$1.6b continuation vehicle, US$317 million of realization proceeds, and progress on the Emerald sale suggest ongoing liquidity from private equity assets and support for capital returns, including the declared CAD0.10 quarterly dividend.

What To Watch Going Forward

From here, focus on how Convex performs across future underwriting periods, including combined ratio trends and return on equity, and how AIG’s US$2b commitment flows into fee-generating strategies. Track whether continuation vehicles and realizations continue to generate proceeds at a similar pace, and how that shows up in distributable earnings and cash available for buybacks or dividends. It is also worth watching how the credit platform grows fee-paying assets under management through collateralized loan obligations and other products, given recent market volatility. Finally, monitor how Onex balances its mix of insurance, private equity, and credit relative to peers such as Blackstone and KKR, and whether earnings become more consistent across cycles.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.

Companies discussed in this article include ONEX.TO.

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