What the doctor ordered.

• Position: NC TREND: Triangle Region

Doctors complain a lot about insurance companies, so they might as well own one. In North Carolina, they do: Raleigh-based Medical Mutual Insurance sells medical malpractice insurance to about 12,000 doctors in 37 states, earning $37 million in 2014, according to its most recent annual report. Now the 41-year-old company is getting more aggressive, completing its biggest acquisition in January and starting Sharp Vue Capital, a subsidiary to manage money for the company and its doctor-owners.

N.C. Budget Director Lee Roberts left state government in January to join Sharp Vue. Medical Mutual's investments totaled $438 million at the end of 2014. About 10 institutional investors now manage those assets, including First Citizens Bank, Morgan Stanley and Wells Fargo. The goal is to shift asset management to Sharp Vue over time, CEO Dale Jenkins says. "Our whole goal is to help physicians in a variety of ways, and many were saying, 'We would like you to do more.'" Roberts, who had the state...