Thrivent’s dividend has doubled since 2021, giving clients a record $590M payout this year

Thrivent has more than doubled its dividend since 2021, and its clients will split a record $441 million this year and see $149 million in policy enhancements.

Most of the Fortune 500 company’s 2 million clients, including 200,000 in Minnesota, will see the payout on policy anniversary dates in 2026.

The Minneapolis-based financial services company credits disciplined financial management and strong stock market returns.

Thrivent particularly was able to take advantage of changes in the markets during and after the COVID pandemic, said David Royal, the company’s chief financial and investment officer.

“We’ve done that in the past, I think we did that to the greatest degree during COVID,” Royal said.

Thrivent also benefited from private equity investments in 2020.

“That was one of our biggest years in history of private equity commitments,” Royal said. The private equity portfolio is now worth $8.5 billion.

One reason, Royal said, is that Thrivent did not lean on the commercial real estate market, which tanked after the pandemic as downtown towers and office parks struggled.

In early October Thrivent bolstered its private equity capabilities when it signed a $2 billion agreement with Toronto-based alternative asset manager, Dawson Partners, to further grow its private equity and co-investment strategies.

Thrivent also converted its credit union into a new full-service digital bank this year allowing it to provide more banking services to its clients. Thrivent initially applied for a bank charter four years ago and in 2024 it was awarded the fist industrial loan company charter since 2020.

Thrivent is a nonprofit fraternal benefit organization that provides financial services, annuity products and life and health insurance policies.

Thrivent, which has had a dividend since 1913, grew out of organizations that managed money for Lutheran groups.