Thrivent

NAIC#

56014

Corporate Owner & Structure

Ownership: Thrivent is a member-owned fraternal benefit society, not a publicly traded company. It has no external corporate owner or shareholders; it is owned effectively by its ~2.3 million benefit members.
Legal Name: Thrivent Financial for Lutherans.
Headquarters: Dual headquarters in Minneapolis, Minnesota and Appleton, Wisconsin.

1902: Aid Association for Lutherans (AAL) is founded in Appleton, Wisconsin.
- Founders: Albert Voecks, Gottlieb Ziegler, and William Zuehlke.
- Purpose: Created as a fraternal benefit society to provide life insurance to Lutherans, who were often uninsurable by commercial carriers at the time.
1917: Lutheran Brotherhood (LB) is founded in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
- Founders: Jacob Preus and Herman Ekern.
- Purpose: Established at a church convention to provide financial security and aid to Lutheran families.
1987: AAL begins offering banking services (credit union services) to its members.
2001: The Boards of Directors for both AAL and LB approve a merger of equals, citing shared values and the need for scale in a competitive financial market.

January 1: The merger of Aid Association for Lutherans (AAL) and Lutheran Brotherhood (LB) is officially completed.
Outcome: The combined entity is named Thrivent Financial for Lutherans. It immediately becomes the largest fraternal benefit society in the United States and a Fortune 500 company.

2013 (June): Members vote to expand the "common bond" of membership from strictly Lutherans to all Christians.
2014 (March): To reflect this broader mission, the organization shortens its marketing name to Thrivent Financial.

2015: Thrivent acquires Newman Long Term Care, a Minnesota-based long-term care insurance brokerage.
- Detail: This acquisition allowed Thrivent to bring deep long-term care expertise in-house while allowing Newman to continue distributing products from other carriers as well.

2017: Thrivent acquires the assets of Ronald Blue & Co., a prominent registered investment adviser (RIA) managing approximately $7 billion in assets.
- Detail: This was a significant move into the high-net-worth space. The acquired entity became a division of Thrivent Trust Company, creating a platform for holistic wealth management rooted in biblical principles.

2019: Launch of the Thrivent Advisor Network (TAN).
- Detail: While not a traditional "takeover," this strategic initiative created a hybrid platform to recruit and acquire independent advisor teams (RIAs) looking for a values-based partner, effectively bringing external books of business under the Thrivent umbrella.
2020: The organization rebrands its marketing name simply to Thrivent (dropping "Financial").

2021: Thrivent applies for an Industrial Loan Company (ILC) charter to form a fully independent bank.
2024 (June): Regulators (FDIC and Utah Department of Financial Institutions) approve Thrivent's application to form Thrivent Bank.
2025: Thrivent Federal Credit Union merges into Thrivent Bank.
- Detail: This merger consolidates the organization's banking operations into a single, digital-first banking subsidiary, allowing it to serve a broader national audience beyond the limitations of a credit union charter.

Thrivent Financial Annual Reports & Press Releases: For official dates of mergers and strategic initiatives.
Wisconsin Office of the Commissioner of Insurance: Regulatory filings detailing the 2002 merger of AAL and LB.
FDIC & Utah Department of Financial Institutions: Public records regarding the 2024/2025 banking charter and credit union merger.
InvestmentNews & Star Tribune: Historical business reporting on the Ronald Blue & Co. and Newman Long Term Care acquisitions.

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