10-K: Annual report pursuant to Section 13 and 15(d)
Published on March 16, 2017
UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION | ||||||||||
Washington, D.C. 20549 | ||||||||||
FORM 10-K | ||||||||||
x |
ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 |
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For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2016 | ||||||||||
OR | ||||||||||
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TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 |
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001-37963 |
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(Commission file number) | ||||||||||
ATHENE HOLDING LTD. | ||||||||||
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter) | ||||||||||
Bermuda |
98-0630022 |
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(State or other jurisdiction of |
(I.R.S. Employer |
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incorporation or organization) |
Identification Number) |
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96 Pitts Bay Road | ||||||||||
Pembroke, HM08, Bermuda | ||||||||||
(441) 279-8400 | ||||||||||
(Address, including zip code, and telephone number, including area code, of registrant’s principal executive offices) | ||||||||||
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act: | ||||||||||
Title of each class |
Name of exchange on which registered |
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Class A Common Shares, par value $0.001 |
New York Stock Exchange |
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Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act. Yes ¨ No x
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Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Act. Yes ¨ No x
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Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports) and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes x No ¨
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Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically and posted on its corporate Web site, if any, every Interactive Data File required to be submitted and posted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit and post such files). Yes x No o
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Indicate by check mark if disclosure of delinquent filers pursuant to Item 405 of Regulation S-K (§229.405 of this chapter) is not contained herein, and will not be contained, to the best of the registrant's knowledge, in definitive proxy or information statements incorporated by reference in Part II of this Form 10-K or any amendment to this Form 10-K. ¨
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Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer or a smaller reporting company. See definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer” and “smaller reporting company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act. | ||||||||||
Large accelerated filer ¨
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Accelerated filer ¨
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Non-accelerated filer x (Do not check if a smaller reporting company)
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Smaller reporting company ¨
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Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act). Yes o No x
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As of June 30, 2016, the last business day of the registrant's most recently completed second fiscal quarter, there was no public market for the registrant's common equity. | ||||||||||
The number of shares of each class of our common stock outstanding is set forth in the table below, as of March 1, 2017: |
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Class A common shares |
77,410,448 |
Class M-2 common shares |
1,005,625 |
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Class B common shares |
111,852,897 |
Class M-3 common shares |
1,293,200 |
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Class M-1 common shares |
3,445,767 |
Class M-4 common shares |
5,348,992 |
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
PART I
PART II
PART III
PART IV
ATHENE HOLDING LTD.
GLOSSARY OF SELECTED TERMS
Unless otherwise indicated in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, the following terms have the meanings set forth below:
Athene Holding Ltd. and Related Entities
Term or Acronym |
Definition |
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A-A Mortgage |
A-A Mortgage Opportunities, LP |
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AAA |
AP Alternative Assets, L.P. |
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AAA Investor |
AAA Guarantor – Athene, L.P. |
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AADE |
Athene Annuity & Life Assurance Company, formerly known as Liberty Life Insurance Company, the parent insurance company of our U.S. insurance subsidiaries |
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AAIA |
Athene Annuity and Life Company, formerly known as Aviva Life and Annuity Company |
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AAM |
Athene Asset Management, L.P. |
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AAME |
Apollo Asset Management Europe, LLP (together with certain of its affiliates) |
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AANY |
Athene Annuity & Life Assurance Company of New York |
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AD |
Athene Deutschland GmbH, formerly known as Delta Lloyd Deutschland AG |
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ADKG |
Athene Deutschland Holding GmbH & Co. KG |
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AGS |
Apollo Global Securities, LLC |
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AHL |
Athene Holding Ltd. |
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ALACNY |
Aviva Life and Annuity Company of New York, now known as ALICNY |
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ALIC |
Athene Life Insurance Company |
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ALICNY |
Athene Life Insurance Company of New York, formerly known as ALACNY |
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ALRe |
Athene Life Re Ltd. |
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ALV |
Athene Lebensversicherung AG, formerly known as Delta Lloyd Lebensversicherung AG |
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AmeriHome |
AmeriHome Mortgage Company, LLC |
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AMTG |
Apollo Residential Mortgage, Inc. |
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APK |
Athene Pensionskasse AG, formerly known as Delta Lloyd Pensionskasse AG |
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Apollo |
Apollo Global Management, LLC |
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Apollo Group |
(1) Apollo, (2) the AAA Investor, (3) any investment fund or other collective investment vehicle whose general partner or managing member is owned, directly or indirectly, by Apollo or one or more of Apollo’s subsidiaries, (4) BRH Holdings GP, Ltd. and its shareholders and (5) any affiliate of any of the foregoing (except that AHL and its subsidiaries and employees of AHL, its subsidiaries or AAM are not members of the Apollo Group) |
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ARI |
Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance, Inc. |
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Athene USA |
Athene USA Corporation, formerly known as Aviva USA Corporation |
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DLD |
Delta Lloyd Deutschland AG, now known as Athene Deutschland GmbH |
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German Group Companies |
Athene Deutschland GmbH, Athene Deutschland Holding GmbH & Co. KG, Athene Deutschland Verwaltungs GmbH, Athene Lebensversicherung AG and Athene Pensionskasse AG |
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Liberty Life |
Liberty Life Insurance Corporation |
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Luxembourg subsidiary |
Athene Real Estate Management Company s.a.r.l, formerly known as Delta Lloyd Real Estate Management Company s.a.r.l |
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MidCap |
MidCap FinCo Limited |
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MidCap Financial |
MidCap Financial Holdings, LLC |
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MidCap Holdings |
MidCap FinCo Holdings Limited |
ATHENE HOLDING LTD.
Certain Terms & Acronyms
Term or Acronym |
Definition |
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ABS |
Asset-backed securities |
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ACL |
Authorized control level RBC as defined by the model created by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners |
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ALM |
Asset liability management |
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AUM |
Assets under management |
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Alternative investments |
Alternative investments, including investment funds, CLO equity positions and certain other debt instruments considered to be equity-like |
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Base of earnings |
Earnings generated from our results of operations and the underlying profitability drivers of our business |
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Bermuda capital |
The capital of ALRe calculated under U.S. statutory accounting principles, including that for policyholder reserve liabilities which are subjected to U.S. cash flow testing requirements, but excluding certain items that do not exist under our applicable Bermuda requirements, such as interest maintenance reserves. |
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Block reinsurance |
A transaction in which the ceding company cedes all or a portion of a block of previously issued annuity contracts through a reinsurance agreement |
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BMA |
Bermuda Monetary Authority |
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BSCR |
Bermuda Solvency Capital Requirement |
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CAGR |
Compound annual growth rate |
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CAL |
Company action level RBC as defined by the model created by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners |
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CLO |
Collateralized loan obligation |
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CMBS |
Commercial mortgage-backed securities |
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CML |
Commercial mortgage loans |
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Capital ratio |
Ratios calculated (1) with respect to our U.S. insurance subsidiaries, by reference to RBC, (2) with respect to ALRe, by reference to BSCR, and (3) with respect to our German Group Companies, by reference to SCR |
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Cost of crediting |
The interest credited to the policyholders on our fixed annuities, including, with respect to our FIAs, option costs |
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DAC |
Deferred acquisition costs |
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Deferred annuities |
FIAs, annual reset annuities and MYGAs |
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DSI |
Deferred sales inducement |
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Excess capital |
Capital in excess of the level management believes is needed to support our current operating strategy |
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FIA |
Fixed indexed annuity, which is an insurance contract that earns interest at a crediting rate based on a specified index on a tax-deferred basis |
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Fixed annuities |
FIAs together with fixed rate annuities |
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Fixed rate annuity |
Fixed rate annuity is an insurance contract that offers tax-deferred growth and the opportunity to produce a guaranteed stream of retirement income for the lifetime of its policyholder |
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Flow reinsurance |
A transaction in which the ceding company cedes a portion of newly issued policies to the reinsurer |
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GLWB |
Guaranteed living withdrawal benefits |
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GMDB |
Guaranteed minimum death benefits |
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IID |
Iowa Insurance Division |
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IMA |
Investment management agreement |
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IMO |
Independent marketing organization |
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IMR |
Interest maintenance reserve, which is a reserve required by U.S. statutory accounting principles to accumulate realized gains and losses resulting from fluctuations in interest rates |
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Invested assets |
The sum of (a) total investments on the consolidated balance sheet with AFS securities at amortized cost, excluding derivatives, (b) cash and cash equivalents and restricted cash, (c) investments in related parties, (d) accrued investment income, (e) consolidated variable interest entities' assets, liabilities and noncontrolling interest and (f) policy loans ceded (which offset the direct policy loans in total investments). Invested assets also excludes assets associated with funds withheld liabilities related to business exited through reinsurance agreements and derivative collateral (offsetting the related cash positions). |
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Investment margin |
Investment margin applies to deferred annuities and is the excess of our net investment earned rate over the cost of crediting to our policyholders |
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IRIS |
Insurance Regulatory Information System |
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LIMRA |
Life Insurance and Market Research Association |
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MCR |
Minimum capital requirements |
ATHENE HOLDING LTD.
Term or Acronym |
Definition |
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MMS |
Minimum margin of solvency |
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Modco |
Modified coinsurance |
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MVA |
Market value adjustment |
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MYGA |
Multi-year guaranteed annuity |
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NAIC |
National Association of Insurance Commissioners |
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Net investment earned rate |
Income from our invested assets divided by the average invested assets for the relevant period. |
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North America Accounts |
The invested assets in our U.S. and Bermuda accounts owned by us or in accounts supporting reinsurance ceded to our subsidiaries by third-party insurers |
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NYSDFS |
New York State Department of Financial Services |
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OTTI |
Other-than-temporary impairment |
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Payout annuities |
Annuities with a current cash payment component, which consist primarily of SPIAs, supplemental contracts and structured settlements |
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Policy loan |
A loan to a policyholder under the terms of, and which is secured by, a policyholder’s policy |
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RBC |
Risk-based capital |
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Reserve liabilities |
The sum of (a) interest sensitive contract liabilities, (b) future policy benefits, (c) dividends payable to policyholders, and (d) other policy claims and benefits, offset by reinsurance recoverables, excluding policy loans ceded. Reserve liabilities also includes the reserves related to assumed modco agreements in order to appropriately match the costs incurred in the consolidated statements of income with the liabilities. Reserve liabilities is net of the ceded liabilities to third-party reinsurers as the costs of the liabilities are passed to such reinsurers and therefore we have no net economic exposure to such liabilities, assuming our reinsurance counterparties perform under our agreements. |
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Rider reserves |
Guaranteed living withdrawal benefits and guaranteed minimum death benefits reserves |
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RMBS |
Residential mortgage-backed securities |
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RML |
Residential mortgage loan |
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Sales |
All money paid into an individual annuity, including money paid into new contracts with initial purchase occurring in the specified period and existing contracts with initial purchase occurring prior to the specified period (excluding internal transfers) |
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SPIA |
Single premium immediate annuity |
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Surplus assets |
Assets in excess of policyholder obligations, determined in accordance with the applicable domiciliary jurisdiction’s statutory accounting principles |
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TAC |
Total adjusted capital as defined by the model created by the NAIC |
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Total return |
A measure of the historical performance of a portfolio computed using the modified Dietz method, which divides the total gain or loss in value of the portfolio, net of external flows, by the average value of the portfolio over the period of measurement |
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U.S. RBC Ratio |
The CAL RBC ratio for AADE, our parent U.S. insurance company |
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VIE |
Variable interest entity |
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VOBA |
Value of business acquired |
As used in this Form 10-K, unless the context otherwise indicates, any reference to "Athene," "our Company," "the Company," "us," "we" and "our" refer to Athene Holding Ltd. together with its consolidated subsidiaries and any reference to "AHL" refers to Athene Holding Ltd. only.
Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements in this Annual Report on Form 10-K (report), other than purely historical information, including estimates, projections, statements relating to our business plans, objectives and expected operating results and the assumptions upon which those statements are based are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended.
You can identify forward-looking statements by the fact that they do not relate strictly to historical or current facts. These statements may include words such as “anticipate,” “estimate,” “expect,” “project,” “plan,” “intend,” “seek,” “assume,” “believe,” “may,” “will,” “should,” “could,” “would,” “likely” and other words and terms of similar meaning, including the negative of these or similar words and terms, in connection with any discussion of the timing or nature of future operating or financial performance or other events. However, not all forward-looking statements contain these identifying words. Forward-looking statements appear in a number of places throughout and give our current expectations and projections relating to our financial condition, results of operations, plans, strategies, objectives, future performance, business and other matters.
We caution you that forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and that our actual consolidated results of operations, financial condition and liquidity may differ materially from those made in or suggested by the forward-looking statements contained in this report. There can be no assurance that actual developments will be those anticipated by us. In addition, even if our consolidated results of operations, financial condition and liquidity are consistent with the forward-looking statements contained in this report, those results or developments may not be indicative of results or developments in subsequent periods. A number of important factors could cause actual results or conditions to differ materially from those contained or implied by the forward-looking statements, including the risks discussed in Item 1A. Risk Factors. Factors that could cause actual results or conditions to differ from those reflected in the forward-looking statements contained in this report include:
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the accuracy of management’s assumptions and estimates; |
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variability in the amount of statutory capital that our insurance and reinsurance subsidiaries have; |
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interest rate fluctuations; |
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our potential need for additional capital in the future and the potential unavailability of such capital to us on favorable terms or at all; |
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the activities of our competitors and our ability to grow our retail business in a highly competitive environment; |
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the impact of general economic conditions on our ability to sell our products and the fair value of our investments; |
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our ability to successfully acquire new companies or businesses and/or integrate such acquisitions into our existing framework; |
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downgrades, potential downgrades or other negative actions by rating agencies; |
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our dependence on key executives and inability to attract qualified personnel, or the potential loss of Bermudian personnel as a result of Bermuda employment restrictions; |
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market and credit risks that could diminish the value of our investments; |
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foreign currency fluctuations; |
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changes in consumer perception regarding the desirability of annuities as retirement savings products; |
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introduction of the proposed European Union financial transaction tax; |
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potential litigation (including class action litigation), enforcement investigations or regulatory scrutiny against us and our subsidiaries, which we may be required to defend against or respond to; |
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the impact of new accounting rules or changes to existing accounting rules on our business; |
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interruption or other operational failures in telecommunication and information technology and other operating systems, as well as our ability to maintain the security of those systems; |
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the termination by Athene Asset Management, L.P. (AAM) or Apollo Asset Management Europe, LLP (AAME) of its investment management or advisory agreements with us and limitations on our ability to terminate such arrangements; |
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AAM’s or AAME’s dependence on key executives and inability to attract qualified personnel; |
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increased regulation or scrutiny of alternative investment advisers and certain trading methods; |
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potential changes to regulations affecting, among other things, transactions with our affiliates, the ability of our subsidiaries to make dividend payments or distributions to us, acquisitions by or of us, minimum capitalization and statutory reserve requirements for insurance companies and fiduciary obligations on parties who distribute our products; |
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suspension or revocation of our subsidiaries’ insurance and reinsurance licenses; |
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Athene Holding Ltd. (AHL) or Athene Life Re Ltd. (ALRe) becoming subject to U.S. federal income taxation; |
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adverse changes in U.S. tax law; |
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our being subject to U.S. withholding tax under Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act; |
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our potential inability to pay dividends or distributions; and |
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other risks and factors listed under Item 1A. Risk Factors.
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6
We caution you that the important factors referenced above may not be exhaustive. In addition, we cannot assure you that we will realize the results or developments we expect or anticipate or, even if substantially realized, that they will result in the consequences or affect us or our operations in the way we expect or anticipate. In light of these risks, you should not place undue reliance upon any forward-looking statements contained in this report. The forward-looking statements included in this report are made only as of the date hereof. We undertake no obligation, except as may be required by law, to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Comparisons of results for current and any prior periods are not intended to express any future trends, or indications of future performance, unless expressed as such, and should only be viewed as historical data.
7
PART I
Item 1. Business
Index to Business
8
Overview
We are a leading retirement services company that issues, reinsures and acquires retirement savings products designed for the increasing number of individuals and institutions seeking to fund retirement needs. We generate attractive financial results for our policyholders and shareholders by combining our two core competencies of (1) sourcing long-term, generally illiquid liabilities and (2) investing in a high quality investment portfolio, which takes advantage of the illiquid nature of our liabilities. Our steady and significant base of earnings generates capital that we opportunistically invest across our business to source attractively-priced liabilities and capitalize on opportunities. Our differentiated investment strategy benefits from our strategic relationship with Apollo Global Management, LLC (Apollo) and its indirect subsidiary, AAM. AAM provides a full suite of services for our investment portfolio, including direct investment management, asset allocation, mergers and acquisition asset diligence and certain operational support services, including investment compliance, tax, legal and risk management support. Our relationship with Apollo and AAM also provides us with access to Apollo’s investment professionals across the world as well as Apollo’s global asset management infrastructure that, as of December 31, 2016, supported more than $191 billion of assets under management (AUM) across a broad array of asset classes. We are led by a highly skilled management team with extensive industry experience. We are based in Bermuda with our U.S. subsidiaries’ headquarters located in Iowa.
We began operating in 2009 when the burdens of the financial crisis and resulting capital demands caused many companies to exit the retirement market, creating the need for a well-capitalized company with an experienced management team to fill the void. Taking advantage of this market dislocation, we have been able to acquire substantial blocks of long-duration liabilities and reinvest the related investments to produce profitable returns. We have been able to generate strong financial returns in a multi-year low rate environment. We believe we have fewer legacy liability issues than our peers given that all of our retail and flow reinsurance liabilities were underwritten after the financial crisis, and the majority of the liabilities we acquired through our acquisitions and block reinsurance were acquired at a discount to book value.
We have established a significant base of earnings and, as of December 31, 2016, have an expected annual investment margin of 2-3% over the 7.8 year weighted-average life of our deferred annuities, which make up a substantial portion of our reserve liabilities. Even as we have grown to $72.4 billion in investments, including related parties, $71.8 billion in invested assets and $86.7 billion of total assets as of December 31, 2016, we have continued to approach both sides of the balance sheet with an opportunistic mindset because we believe quickly identifying and capitalizing on market dislocations allows us to generate attractive, risk-adjusted returns for our shareholders. Further, our multiple distribution channels support growing origination across market environments and better enable us to achieve continued balance sheet growth while maintaining attractive profitability. We believe that in a typical market environment, we will be able to profitably grow through our organic channels, including retail, flow reinsurance and institutional products. In more challenging market environments, we believe that we will see additional opportunities to grow through our inorganic channels, including acquisitions and block reinsurance, due to market stress during those periods. We are diligent in setting our return targets based on market conditions and risks inherent to our products offered and acquisitions or block reinsurance transactions. In general, we may accept lower returns on products which may provide more certain return characteristics, such as funding agreements, and we may require higher returns for products or transactions where there is more inherent risk in meeting our return targets, such as with acquisitions. Generally, we target mid-teen returns for sources of organic growth and higher returns for sources of inorganic growth. If we are unable to source liabilities with our desired return profile in one of our channels, we generally will not sacrifice profitability solely for the sake of increasing market share and instead we will typically focus on our other channels to identify growth opportunities that meet our preferred risk and return profile.
As a result of our focus on issuing, reinsuring and acquiring attractively-priced liabilities, our differentiated investment strategy and our significant scale, for the year ended December 31, 2016, in our Retirement Services segment described below, we generated an investment margin on deferred annuities of 2.77% and an operating ROE excluding AOCI of 19.1%. We currently maintain what we believe to be high capital ratios for our rating and hold more than $1.5 billion of capital in excess of the level we believe is needed to support our current operating strategy, and view this excess as strategic capital available to reinvest into organic and inorganic growth opportunities. Because we hold this strategic capital to implement our opportunistic strategy and to enable us to explore deployment opportunities as they arise, and because we are investing for future growth, our consolidated ROE for the year ended December 31, 2016 was 13.1%, and our consolidated operating ROE excluding AOCI for the same period was 12.5%, in each case, without the benefit of any financial leverage or capital return through dividends or share buyback programs. On a consolidated basis, for the year ended December 31, 2016, we generated net income available to AHL shareholders of $805 million, and operating income, net of tax, of $760 million. Investment margin, operating income, net of tax, and operating ROE excluding AOCI are not calculated in accordance with GAAP. See Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Key Operating and Non-GAAP Measures for additional discussions regarding non-GAAP measures.
As of December 31, 2016, we had $6.9 billion of total AHL shareholders’ equity and $6.5 billion of total AHL shareholders’ equity excluding AOCI. Our top-level U.S. insurance subsidiary, Athene Annuity & Life Assurance Company (AADE), had a U.S. RBC ratio of 478% and ALRe had a Bermuda Solvency Capital Requirement (BSCR) ratio of 228%, each as of December 31, 2016. Our ALRe RBC ratio, which is used in evaluating our capital position and the amount of capital needed to support our Retirement Services segment, was 529% as of December 31, 2016, when applying the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) RBC factors. Our main insurance subsidiaries are rated A- for financial strength by each of S&P and Fitch, each with a stable outlook, and by A.M. Best, with a positive outlook. AHL has a counterparty credit rating of BBB from S&P and an issuer default rating of BBB from Fitch, each with a stable outlook, and an issuer credit rating of bbb- from A.M. Best, with a positive outlook. See Financial Strength Ratings. We currently have no financial leverage, and have an undrawn $1.0 billion credit facility in place to provide an additional liquidity cushion in challenging economic or business environments or to provide additional capital support.
9
We operate our core business strategies out of one reportable segment, Retirement Services. In addition to Retirement Services, we report certain other operations in Corporate and Other. Retirement Services is comprised of our U.S. and Bermuda operations, which issue and reinsure retirement savings products and institutional products. Retirement Services has retail operations, which provide annuity retirement solutions to our policyholders. Retirement Services also has reinsurance operations, which reinsure multi-year guaranteed annuities (MYGA), fixed indexed annuities (FIA), traditional one year guarantee fixed deferred annuities, immediate annuities and institutional products from our reinsurance partners. In addition, our funding agreement backed notes (FABN) program is included in our Retirement Services segment. Corporate and Other includes certain other operations related to our corporate activities and our German operations, which is primarily comprised of participating long-duration savings products. In addition to our German operations, included in Corporate and Other are corporate allocated expenses, merger and acquisition costs, debt costs, certain integration and restructuring costs, certain stock-based compensation and intersegment eliminations. In Corporate and Other we also hold more than $1.5 billion of capital in excess of the level of capital we hold in Retirement Services to support our operating strategy.
We believe we hold a sufficient amount of capital in our Retirement Services segment to support our core operating strategies. This level of capital may fluctuate depending on the mix of both our assets and our liabilities, and also reflects the level of capital needed to support or improve our current ratings as well as our risk appetite based on our internal risk models. The level of capital we currently allocate to our Corporate non-reportable segment is our U.S. subsidiaries’ statutory capital in excess of a U.S. RBC ratio of 400%, as well as the Bermuda capital for ALRe in excess of 400% RBC when also applying NAIC RBC factors. We view this excess as strategic capital, which we expect to deploy for additional organic and inorganic growth opportunities as well as expect to contribute to ratings improvements over time. We manage our capital to levels which we believe would remain consistent with our current ratings in a recessionary environment. For additional information regarding our segments, including financial information related thereto, refer to Note 19 – Segment Information to the consolidated financial statements.
We have developed organic and inorganic channels to address the retirement services market and grow our assets and liabilities. By focusing on the retirement services market, we believe that we will benefit from several demographic and economic trends, including the increasing number of retirees in the United States, the lack of tax advantaged alternatives for people trying to save for retirement and expectations of a rising interest rate environment. To date, most of our products sold and acquired have been fixed annuities, which offer people saving for retirement a product that is tax advantaged, has a minimum guaranteed rate of return or minimum cash value, and provides protection against investment loss. Our policies often include surrender charges (86% of our deferred annuity products, as of December 31, 2016) or market value adjustments (MVA) (73% of our deferred annuity products, as of December 31, 2016), both of which increase persistency and protect our ability to meet our obligations to policyholders.
Our organic channels have provided deposits of $8.8 billion, $3.9 billion and $2.9 billion for the years ended December 31, 2016, 2015 and 2014, respectively. Withdrawals on our deferred annuities were $4.2 billion, $4.4 billion and $4.4 billion for the years ended December 31, 2016, 2015 and 2014, respectively. While there can be no assurance that we will meet our growth targets, we believe that our new deposits should continue to significantly surpass our withdrawals as we continue to grow our retail and flow reinsurance channels. Absent any significant unexpected market conditions or regulatory impacts and assuming we can meet our pricing targets, we believe that with our ratings and the strong growth in our organic channel in 2016, new deposits from our organic channels and withdrawal experience with respect to our deferred annuities should be similar in the near-to-mid-term to our 2016 production and withdrawal experience, respectively. Within our organic channels, we have focused on developing a diverse suite of products that allow us to meet our risk and return profiles, even in today’s low rate environment. As a result, not only were we able to deliver strong organic growth in 2016, but we were able to do so without sacrificing profitability. Going forward, we believe the 2015 upgrade of our financial strength ratings to A- by each of S&P, Fitch and A.M. Best, as well as our 2016 outlook upgrade to positive by A.M. Best and our recent FIA and MYGA new product launches will continue to enable us to increase penetration in our existing organic channels and access new markets within our retail channel, such as selling through financial institutions. This increased penetration will allow us to source additional volumes of profitably underwritten liabilities. Our organic channels currently include:
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Retail, from which we provide retirement solutions to our policyholders primarily through approximately 60 independent marketing organizations (IMO). Within our retail channel we had fixed annuity sales of $5.3 billion, $2.5 billion and $2.5 billion for the years ended December 31, 2016, 2015 and 2014, respectively.
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• |
Flow reinsurance, which provides a diversified channel for us to source long-term liabilities with attractive crediting rates. Within our flow reinsurance channel, we generated $3.5 billion, $1.1 billion and $349 million in deposits for the years ended December 31, 2016, 2015 and 2014, respectively.
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Institutional products, which include funding agreements and pension risk transfer transactions. In October 2015, we sold a $250 million funding agreement in our inaugural transaction under our FABN program and, in the first quarter of 2017, we sold funding agreements in the aggregate principal amount of $650 million under our FABN program. We are pursuing pension risk transfer transactions in 2017.
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Our inorganic channels, including acquisitions and block reinsurance, have contributed significantly to our growth. We believe our internal acquisitions team, with support from Apollo, has an industry-leading ability to source, underwrite and expeditiously close transactions, which makes us a competitive counterparty for acquisition or block reinsurance transactions. We are highly selective in the transactions that we pursue; ultimately closing only those that are well aligned with our core competencies and pricing discipline. Since our inception, we have evaluated a significant number of merger and acquisition opportunities and have closed on five acquisitions. In connection with our five acquisitions through December 31, 2016, we sourced reserve liabilities backed by approximately $65.9 billion in total assets (net of $9.3 billion in assets
10
ceded through reinsurance). The aggregate purchase price of our acquisitions was less than the aggregate statutory book value of the businesses acquired.
We have sourced a high quality portfolio of invested assets. Because we have remained disciplined in underwriting attractively priced liabilities, we have the ability to invest in a broad range of high quality assets and generate attractive earnings. As of December 31, 2016, approximately 93.2% of our AFS fixed maturity securities, including related parties, were rated NAIC 1 or NAIC 2, the two highest credit rating designations under the NAIC’S criteria (with investments of our German operations rated by applying NRSRO equivalent ratings to map NAIC ratings). In addition to our core fixed income portfolio, we opportunistically allocate 5-10% of our portfolio to alternative investments where we primarily focus on fixed income-like, cash flow-based investments. For instance, our alternative investment positions include significant equity stakes in two asset platforms that originate high quality credit assets (such as residential mortgage loans (RML), leveraged loans and mortgage servicing rights) that are well aligned with our investment strategy. Our relationship with AAM and Apollo allows us to take advantage of our generally illiquid liability profile and identify asset opportunities with an emphasis on earning incremental yield by taking liquidity risk and complexity risk, rather than assuming solely credit risk. While alternative investments are a relatively small portion of our overall portfolio, our alternative investments strategy has been an important driver of returns. In general, we target returns for alternative investments of 10% or higher on an internal rate of return (IRR) basis over the expected lives of such investments.
Through our efficient corporate structure and operations, we believe we have built a cost-effective platform to support our growth opportunities. We believe our fixed operating cost structure supports our ability to maintain an attractive financial profile across market environments. Additionally, we believe we have designed our platform to be highly scalable and support growth without significant incremental investment in infrastructure, which allows us to scale our business production up or down because of our cost-effective platform. As a result, we believe we will be able to convert a significant portion of our new business spread into operating income.
Relationship with Apollo
We have a strategic relationship with Apollo which allows us to leverage the scale of its asset management platform. Apollo’s indirect subsidiary, AAM, serves as our investment manager. In addition to co-founding the Company, Apollo assists us in identifying and capitalizing on acquisition opportunities that have been critical to our ability to significantly grow our business. The Apollo Group consists of (1) Apollo,
(2) AAA Guarantor - Athene, L.P. (AAA Investor), (3) any investment fund or other collective investment vehicle whose general partner or managing member is owned, directly or indirectly, by Apollo or one or more of Apollo’s subsidiaries, (4) BRH Holdings GP, Ltd. and its shareholders and (5) any affiliate of any of the foregoing (except that AHL and its subsidiaries and employees of AHL, its subsidiaries or AAM are not members of the Apollo Group). Members of the Apollo Group are significant owners of our common shares and Apollo employees serve on our board of directors. We expect our strategic relationship with Apollo to continue for the foreseeable future. See Item 13. Certain Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director Independence.
The Apollo Group controls and is expected to continue to control 45% of the total voting power of AHL and five of our 13 directors are employees of or consultants to Apollo and our Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and Chief Investment Officer is a dual employee of both AHL and AAM. Further, our bye-laws generally limit the voting power of our Class A common shares (and certain other of our voting securities) such that no person owns (or is treated as owning) more than 9.9% of the total voting power of our common shares (with certain exceptions).
Competitive Strengths
We believe the following strengths will allow us to capitalize on the growth prospects for our business:
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Ideal Platform to Capitalize on Positive Demographic and Market Trends. We have designed our products to capitalize on the growing need for retirement savings solutions. Our products provide protection against market downturns and offer interest which compounds on a tax-deferred basis until funds are distributed. Many of our products also provide the potential to earn interest based on the performance of a market index. These features provide distinct advantages over traditional savings vehicles such as bank CDs and variable annuities. Despite a challenging interest rate environment, we have been able to profitably source $5.3 billion of fixed annuity products through our retail channel in 2016 by leveraging our product design capabilities, our investment acumen, which allows us to invest at appropriate investment margins, and our scalable operating platform. We offer prudent product features at attractive prices. If investment rates increase due to a rise in interest rates or widening credit spreads, we would be able to offer higher crediting rates, which we believe would generate additional demand for our products and therefore increased sales. Even in a long-term low rate environment, we believe our underwriting expertise and ability to find and compete in areas of the market that are rationally priced will allow us to maintain strong operating results. For example, in prior years, our retail operations have generally not competed aggressively in the guaranteed income rider segment as we historically believed that such riders were not priced within our pricing discipline. However, recently, competitors have been issuing annuities with what we believe are more rationally-priced lifetime income benefit features. In the current environment, we believe that we can grow our retail sales by offering competitive guaranteed income rates while earning an attractive return.
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Multiple Distribution Channels. We have four dedicated distribution channels to capitalize on retirement services opportunities across market environments and grow our liabilities. Our key distribution channels are retail, reinsurance (including flow and block reinsurance), institutional products (focused on the sale of funding agreements and pension risk transfer transactions) and acquisitions. We intend to maintain a presence within each of these distribution channels with the ability to underwrite liabilities. However, we do not have any market share targets across our organization, which we believe provides us flexibility to respond to changing market conditions in one or more channels and to opportunistically grow liabilities that generate our desired levels of profitability. In a rising interest rate environment, we believe we will be able to profitably increase the volume of our retail, flow reinsurance and institutional product sales and we believe we will see increased acquisition and block reinsurance opportunities in more challenging market environments. We are diligent in setting our return targets based on market conditions and risks inherent to our products offered and acquisitions or block reinsurance transactions. In general, we may accept lower returns on products which may provide more certain return characteristics, such as FABN, and we may require higher returns for products or transactions where there is more inherent risk in meeting our return targets, such as with acquisitions. If market conditions or risks inherent to a product or transaction create return profiles that are not acceptable to us, we generally will not sacrifice our profitability merely to facilitate growth.
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• |
Superior and Unique Investment Capabilities. We believe our relationships with AAM and Apollo provide access to superior and unique investment capabilities that allow us to invest a portion of our assets in securities that earn us incremental yield by taking liquidity risk and complexity risk, capitalizing on our long-dated and persistent liability profile to prudently achieve higher net investment earned rates, rather than assuming solely credit risk. Our investing capabilities support our ability to sell fixed annuities profitably and to price acquisitions competitively while meeting our return targets. Through AAM, we have access to more than 100 investment and operations professionals who are highly familiar with our business objectives and funding structure. This enables AAM to customize asset allocations and select investments for us that are most appropriate for our business. In addition, our strategic relationship with Apollo provides us with access to Apollo’s broad credit and alternative investment platforms and allows us to leverage the scale, sourcing and investing capabilities, and infrastructure of an asset manager with more than $191 billion of AUM, which includes approximately $71.8 billion of our invested assets as of December 31, 2016. Apollo’s global asset sourcing capabilities in a diverse array of asset classes provide AAM with the opportunity to capitalize on attractive investments for us.
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In each of our U.S. acquisitions, we have successfully reinvested our acquired investment portfolio with the objective of achieving higher returns than were achieved on such investments prior to the acquisition. For example, we have reinvested a substantial portion of the investment portfolio acquired in our acquisition of Aviva USA, which contributed to the increase in fixed income and other net investment earned rates on this block of business to 4.12% for the year ended December 31, 2015 from 3.50% (on an annualized basis) for the fourth quarter of 2013.
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Apollo and AAM work collaboratively to identify and quickly capitalize on opportunities in various asset classes. For example, we were an early investor in distressed non-agency residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS) during 2009 and 2010, prior to the strong recovery of that market in later years. By the end of 2010, we had acquired a portfolio of $448 million (approximately 24% of our total invested assets at such time) of non-agency RMBS at discounts to par, well in advance of the significant price improvements in these investments. Today, RMBS continues to represent an important asset class within our investment portfolio. As of December 31, 2016, 14.8% of our invested assets were invested in RMBS, with such securities having an amortized book price of 84% of aggregate par value.
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• |
AAM selects investments and develops investment strategies prior to our purchase in accordance with our investment limits, and works in concert with our risk management team to stress-test the underwritten assets and asset classes under various negative scenarios. For the years ended December 31, 2016 and 2015, our other-than-temporary impairment (OTTI) as a percentage of our average invested assets was 4 and 5 basis points, respectively.
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◦ |
We also have access to expertise and capabilities to directly originate a wide range of asset classes through AAM and Apollo. Direct origination allows the selection of assets that meet our liability profile and the sourcing of better quality investments. |
• |
Efficient Corporate Platform to Support Profitability. We believe we have designed an efficient corporate platform to support our portfolio of $71.0 billion of reserve liabilities as of December 31, 2016. Over the 7.8 year weighted average life of our deferred annuities, we expect to generate an annual investment margin of 2-3%.
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In addition, our corporate platform enables us to be highly scalable and allows us to onboard incremental business without significant additional investment in infrastructure and with low incremental fixed operating cost. As a result, we believe we should be able to convert a significant portion of incremental net investment income from additional invested assets and liabilities into operating income.
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Strength of Balance Sheet. We believe the strength of our balance sheet provides confidence to our policyholders and business partners and positions us for continued growth. We presently hold over $1.5 billion in excess capital and have no financial leverage. We maintain what we believe to be high capital ratios for our rating, with our top level insurance subsidiary, AADE, having a U.S. RBC ratio of 478% and ALRe having a BSCR ratio of 228%, each as of December 31, 2016. Our ALRe RBC ratio was 529% as of December 31, 2016, when applying the NAIC RBC factors. To further reinforce our strong liquidity profile, we have access to a $1.0 billion revolving credit facility that is currently undrawn. Our invested assets comprise what we believe to be a highly rated and well diversified portfolio. As of December 31, 2016, approximately 93.2% of our AFS fixed maturity securities, including related parties, were rated NAIC 1 or NAIC 2. These assets are managed against what we believe to be prudently underwritten liabilities, which were, in each case, priced by us after the financial crisis.
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• |
Robust Risk Management. We have established a comprehensive enterprise risk management (ERM) framework and risk management controls throughout our organization, which are further supported by AAM’s and Apollo’s own risk management capabilities that are intended to help us maintain our continued financial strength. We manage our business, capital and liquidity profile with the objective of withstanding severe adverse shocks, such as the 2007-2008 financial crisis, while maintaining a meaningful buffer above regulatory minimums and above certain capital thresholds to meet our desired credit ratings. Risk management is embedded in all of our business decisions and processes, including acquisitions, asset purchases, product design and underwriting, liquidity and liability management. Certain of the key attributes of our risk management profile are:
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We maintain a risk committee of the board of directors charged with the oversight of the development and implementation of systems and processes designed to identify, manage and mitigate reasonably foreseeable material risks and with the duty to assist our board of directors and our other board committees with fulfilling their oversight responsibilities for our risk management function. |
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We believe that we underwrite liabilities and manage new product development prudently. Further, we believe that our strong fixed annuity underwriting provides us with long-dated and persistent liabilities, which we believe are priced at desirable levels to enable us to achieve attractive, risk-adjusted returns. |
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We believe we have designed our asset liability management (ALM) procedures to protect the Company, within limits, against significant changes in interest rates. |
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As of December 31, 2016, approximately 86% of our deferred annuity products had surrender charges and 73% had MVAs, each of which provide stability to our reserve liabilities.
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As of December 31, 2016, 29% of our invested assets were floating rate investments which would allow us the flexibility to quickly increase our crediting rates in a rising interest rate environment, if desired.
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We believe that we maintain an appropriate amount of assets that could be quickly liquidated, if needed, and have an additional liquidity cushion through a $1.0 billion revolving credit facility, which is undrawn as of the date hereof.
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We believe we hold a high-quality portfolio, with approximately 93.2% of our AFS fixed maturity securities, including related parties, rated as NAIC 1 or NAIC 2 as of December 31, 2016 (with investments of our German operations rated by applying NRSRO equivalent ratings to map NAIC ratings).
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AAM evaluates our structured securities at the time of acquisition using AAM’s proprietary credit models. |
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Even during periods of moderate economic stress, based on our modeled estimates, we maintain what we believe to be an appropriate amount of liquidity to invest in opportunities as they arise. |
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Highly Experienced Management Team with Demonstrable Track Record. Our highly successful, entrepreneurial senior management team has extensive experience in building companies, insurance operations, and investment management. We have assembled a management team of individuals who bring strong capabilities and experience to each facet of running our company. We are led by three well known and well respected industry executives with an average of 30 years of experience. James R. Belardi, our Chairman and founder, spent the majority of his career as the President of SunAmerica Life Insurance Company and Chief Investment Officer of American International Group, Inc. (AIG) Retirement Services, Inc. William J. Wheeler, our President, served as President of the Americas Group and Chief Financial Officer at MetLife Inc. (MetLife) prior to joining our company, and Martin P. Klein, our Chief Financial Officer, was previously Chief Financial Officer of Genworth Financial, Inc. Our management team oversees the Company’s activities and its day-to-day management, including through various committees designed to manage our strategic initiatives, risk appetite and investment portfolio.
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Growth Strategy
The key components of our growth strategy are as follows:
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Continue Organic Growth by Expanding Our Distribution Channels. We plan to grow organically by expanding our retail, reinsurance and institutional product distribution channels. We believe that we have the right people, infrastructure and scale to position us for continued growth. We aim to grow our retail channel in the United States by deepening our relationships with our approximately 60 IMOs and approximately 28,000 independent agents. Our strong financial position and capital efficient products allow us to be a dependable partner with IMOs and consistently write new business. We work with our IMOs to develop customized, and at times exclusive, products that help drive sales.
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We expect our retail channel to continue to benefit from the ratings upgrade in 2015, our improving credit profile and recent product launches. We believe this should support growth in sales at our desired cost of crediting through increased volumes via current IMOs and access to new distribution channels, including small to mid-sized banks and regional broker-dealers. We are implementing the necessary technology platform, hiring and training a specialized sales force, and have created products to capture new potential distribution opportunities.
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Our reinsurance channel also benefited from the 2015 ratings upgrade. We target reinsurance business consistent with our preferred liability characteristics, and as such, reinsurance provides another opportunistic channel for us to source long-term liabilities with attractive crediting rates. For the years ended December 31, 2016, 2015 and 2014 we generated deposits through our flow reinsurance channel of $3.5 billion, $1.1 billion and $349 million, respectively. We expect to grow this channel further as we continue to add new partners, some of which prefer to do business with higher rated counterparties such as us.
In addition, after having sold our first funding agreement under our FABN program in 2015, we sold additional funding agreements in the first quarter of 2017 and expect to grow our institutional products channel over time. We are pursuing pension risk transfer transactions in 2017.
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Pursue Attractive Acquisitions. We plan to continue leveraging our expertise in sourcing and evaluating transactions to grow our business profitably. From our founding through December 31, 2016, we have grown to $71.8 billion in invested assets and $71.0 billion in reserve liabilities, primarily through acquisitions and block reinsurance transactions. We believe that our demonstrated ability to successfully consummate complex transactions, as well as our relationship with Apollo, provide us with distinct advantages relative to other acquirers and reinsurance companies. Furthermore, our business has achieved sufficient scale to provide meaningful operational synergies for the businesses and blocks of business that we acquire. Consequently, we believe we are often sought out by companies looking to transact in the acquisitions and block reinsurance markets.
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In furtherance of our strategy of growth through acquisitions, we routinely review and conduct investigations of potential acquisitions of business or blocks of business, some of which may be material. When we believe a favorable opportunity exists, we seek to enter into discussions with target companies or sellers regarding the possibility of such acquisitions. At any given time, we may be in discussions with one or more counterparties. There can be no assurances that any such negotiations will lead to definitive agreements, or if such agreements are reached, that any transactions would be consummated.
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Expand Our Product Offering and International Presence. Our efforts to date have focused on developing and sourcing retirement savings products and we are continuing such efforts by expanding our retail product offerings. On April 11, 2016, we launched our largest new retail product initiative, whereby we: (1) enhanced our most popular accumulation product, “Performance Elite,” with two new indices, (2) announced a new MYGA product designed for the bank and broker-dealer channel and (3) introduced an income-focused product, “Ascent Pro.” With the introduction of our new MYGA product and Ascent Pro, our retail channel is now competing in a much broader segment of the overall retirement market. For the nine months ended December 31, 2016, new MYGA sales in the IMO and financial institution channels were $603 million and Ascent Pro sales were $1.3 billion.
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Additionally, while our organic growth initiatives and acquisitions have largely been focused on opportunities in the United States, our acquisition of Delta Lloyd Deutschland AG (DLD) in October 2015 demonstrated the geographic scalability of our strategy and our ability to capitalize quickly on international market environments as well. While we continue to believe that the European market provides a compelling growth opportunity to amass liabilities at one of the most favorable costs of funding in a number of years, we have come to realize that the opportunity over the next several years is larger than we initially anticipated. We have concluded that, in order to fully capitalize on this opportunity, we would need to commit capital to the European market at a level in excess of our targeted investment size, creating the need for third party capital to support growth. See further discussion on the AGER equity offering within Products–German Products below.
Recently, we have also developed our capabilities to undertake pension risk transfer transactions. Pension risk transfer transactions usually involve the issuance of a group annuity contract, sometimes through a separate account, in exchange for the transfer of pension liabilities from a terminating defined benefit plan. U.S. pension liabilities are estimated to be $2 to $3 trillion with an estimated $1 trillion of liabilities that may become available for closeout, with approximately $15 to $20 billion of expected annual closeout activity over the next several years. We are focused on medium- and large-sized deals where we believe that we can be competitive. We believe that we can leverage our sourcing expertise to underwrite these transactions and maintain our focus on writing profitable new business.
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Leverage Our Unique Relationship with Apollo and AAM. We intend to continue leveraging our unique relationship with Apollo and AAM to source high-quality assets with attractive risk-adjusted returns. Apollo’s global scale and reach provide us with broad market access across environments and geographies and allow us to actively source assets that exhibit our preferred risk and return characteristics. For instance, through our relationship with Apollo and AAM, we have indirectly invested in companies including MidCap FinCo Limited (MidCap) and AmeriHome Mortgage Company, LLC (AmeriHome). In 2013, Apollo presented us with an opportunity to fund the acquisition of MidCap, a middle-market lender focused on asset-backed loans, leveraged loans, real estate, rediscount loans and venture loans. Our equity investment in MidCap provides us with an alternative investment that meets the key characteristics we look for including an attractive risk-return profile. Our equity investment in MidCap is held indirectly through an investment fund, AAA Investment (Co-Invest VII), L.P. (CoInvest VII), of which MidCap constituted the majority of the fund's investments. CoInvest VII returned an annualized net investment earned rate of 15.15% and 15.98% for the years ended December 31, 2016 and 2015, respectively. As of December 31, 2016, our equity investment and loans to Midcap were valued at $524 million and $237 million, respectively.
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Similarly, in 2013, AAM proposed that Athene and an Apollo co-investor fund and launch AmeriHome, a mortgage lender and servicer with expertise in mortgage industry fundamentals that we believe are key to operating a successful and sustainable mortgage lender/servicer. Like our investment in MidCap, our equity investment in AmeriHome meets the key characteristics we look for in an alternative investment. Our equity investment in AmeriHome is held indirectly through an investment fund, A-A Mortgage Opportunities, LP (A-A Mortgage), and AmeriHome is currently A-A Mortgage’s only investment. Abiding by its core principles, AmeriHome has grown profitably, with A-A Mortgage returning an annualized net investment earned rate of 11.62% and 14.05% for
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the years ended December 31, 2016 and 2015, respectively. As of December 31, 2016, our equity investment in A-A Mortgage was valued at $417 million.
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Dynamic Approach to Asset Allocation during Market Dislocations. As we have done successfully in the past, we plan to fully capitalize on future market dislocations to opportunistically reposition our portfolio to capture incremental yield. For example, during 2009-2010, we reinvested a significant portion of our portfolio into RMBS. Additionally, regulatory changes in the wake of the financial crisis have made it more expensive for banks and other traditional lenders to hold certain illiquid and complex assets, notwithstanding the fact that these assets may have prudent credit characteristics. This change in demand has provided opportunities for investors to acquire high-quality assets that offer attractive returns. For example, we see emerging opportunities as banks retreat from direct mortgage lending, structured and asset-backed products, and middle-market commercial loans. We intend to maintain a flexible approach to asset allocation, which will allow us to act quickly on similar opportunities that may arise in the future across a wide variety of asset types.
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Maintain Risk Management Discipline. Our risk management strategy is to proactively manage our exposure to risks associated with interest rate duration, credit risk and structural complexity of our invested assets. We address interest rate duration and liquidity risks through managing the duration of the liabilities we source with the assets we acquire, and through ALM modeling. We assess credit risk by modeling our liquidity and capital under a range of stress scenarios. We manage the risks related to the structural complexity of our invested assets through AAM’s modeling efforts. The goal of our risk management discipline is to be able to continue growth and to achieve profitable results across various market environments.
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Products
We principally offer two product lines: annuities and funding agreements. Our primary product line is annuities and includes fixed deferred and immediate annuities. We sell funding agreements to institutional investors and investors in our FABN program.
The following summarizes our total premiums and deposits, comprised of all products deposits, which generally are not included in revenues on the consolidated statements of income, and premiums collected. Premiums and deposits by product, including those assumed through reinsurance and net of those ceded through reinsurance, are as follows:
Years ended December 31, |
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(In millions) |
2016 |
2015 |
2014 |
||||||||
Annuities |
|||||||||||
Fixed indexed annuities |
$ |
5,322 |
$ |
2,808 |
$ |
2,560 |
|||||
Fixed rate annuities |
3,565 |
883 |
323 |
||||||||
Payout annuities |
128 |
219 |
195 |
||||||||
Total annuities products |
9,015 |
3,910 |
3,078 |
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Funding agreements |
— |
250 |
— |
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Life and other (excluding German products) |
31 |
72 |
83 |
||||||||
German products |
212 |
81 |
— |
||||||||
Total premiums and deposits, net of ceded |
$ |
9,258 |
$ |
4,313 |
$ |
3,161 |
Reserve liabilities represents our policyholder liability obligations, including liabilities assumed through reinsurance and net of liabilities ceded through reinsurance, and therefore does not correspond to interest sensitive contract liabilities, future policy benefits, dividends payable to policyholders and other policy claims and benefits as disclosed on our consolidated balance sheets. Reserve liabilities includes the reserves related to assumed modified coinsurance (modco) and funds withheld agreements in order to appropriately match the costs incurred in the consolidated statements of income with the liabilities. Reserve liabilities is net of the ceded liabilities to third-party reinsurers as the costs of the liabilities are passed to such reinsurers and, therefore, we have no net economic exposure to such liabilities, assuming our reinsurance counterparties perform under our agreements. The majority of our ceded reinsurance is a result of reinsuring large blocks of life business following acquisitions.
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The following summarizes our reserve liabilities by product:
December 31, |
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(In millions, except percentages) |
2016 |
2015 |
|||||||||||
Annuities |
|||||||||||||
Fixed indexed annuities |
$ |
43,501 |
61.3 |
% |
$ |
39,594 |
60.7 |
% |
|||||
Fixed rate annuities |
13,490 |
19.0 |
% |
10,882 |
16.7 |
% |
|||||||
Payout annuities |
5,446 |
7.7 |
% |
5,708 |
8.7 |
% |
|||||||
Total annuities products |
62,437 |
88.0 |
% |
56,184 |
86.1 |
% |
|||||||
Funding agreements |
957 |
1.4 |
% |
1,451 |
2.2 |
% |
|||||||
Life and other (excluding German products) |
2,176 |
3.0 |
% |
2,094 |
3.2 |
% |
|||||||
German products |
5,381 |
7.6 |
% |
5,542 |
8.5 |
% |
|||||||
Total reserve liabilities |
$ |
70,951 |
100.0 |
% |
$ |
65,271 |
100.0 |
% |
Annuities
We offer deferred and immediate annuities, which are focused on meeting the needs and objectives of people preparing for, approaching or living in retirement. The combination of financial strength, innovative product design and an effective sales strategy enables us to compete successfully in the market and meet the evolving needs of the rapidly growing population of retirees.
Fixed Indexed Annuities – The majority of our reserve liabilities are FIAs. An FIA is a type of insurance contract in which the policyholder makes one or more premium deposits which earn interest at a crediting rate based on a specified market index on a tax deferred basis and is entitled to receive periodic or lump sum payments a specified number of years after the contract has been issued. FIAs allow policyholders the possibility of earning such interest without risk to principal, unless the contract is surrendered during a surrender charge period. A market index tracks the performance of a specific group of stocks or other assets representing a particular segment of the market, or in some cases, an entire market. Our FIAs include a provision for a minimum guaranteed surrender value calculated in accordance with applicable law, as well as death benefits as required by non-forfeiture regulations. We generally buy options on the indices to which the FIAs are tied to hedge the associated market risk. The cost of the option is priced into the overall economics of the product as an option budget.
The value to the policyholder of an FIA contract is equal to the sum of premiums paid, premium bonuses, if any, and index credits based on the change in the relevant market index, subject to a cap (a maximum rate that may be credited), spread (a credited rate determined by deducting a specific rate from the index return) and/or a participation rate (a credited rate equal to a percentage of the index return), less any fees for riders. Caps on our FIA products generally range from 2% to 5% when measured annually and 0.5% to 2% when measured monthly. Participation rates generally range from 25% to 100% of the performance of the applicable market index. Caps, spreads and participation rates can typically be reset no more frequently than annually, and in some instances no more frequently than every two to four years, at the relevant U.S. insurance subsidiary’s discretion, subject to stated policy minimums. Certain riders provide a variety of benefits, such as lifetime income or additional liquidity, for a set charge. As this charge is fixed, the policyholder may lose principal if the index credits received do not exceed the amount of such charge.
We generate FIA income from our investment margin, which is based on the difference between income earned on the investments supporting the liabilities and the interest credited to customers, and fees received for riders. For the year ended December 31, 2016, retail sales of FIA products were $4.5 billion and flow reinsurance of FIA products was $686 million. According to sales information from participating members of LIMRA, for the nine months ended September 30, 2016 (the most recent period that data is currently available), we were the 3rd largest FIA provider in the United States based on retail FIA sales. For the year ended December 31, 2015, retail sales of FIA products were $2.4 billion and flow reinsurance of FIA products was $298 million. According to sales information from participating members of LIMRA, for the year ended December 31, 2015, we were the 6th largest FIA provider in the United States based on retail FIA sales and according to information from participating members of LIMRA, as of December 31, 2015 (the most recent period that specific market share data is currently available), we were the 3rd largest FIA provider based on fixed indexed deferred annuity assets (exclusive of reinsurance).
Fixed Rate Annuities – Fixed rate annuities include annual reset annuities and MYGAs. Unlike FIAs, fixed rate annuities earn interest at a set rate (or declared crediting rate), rather than a rate that may vary based on an index. Fixed rate annual reset annuities have a crediting rate that is guaranteed for one year. After such period, we have the ability to change the crediting rate once annually to any rate at or above a guaranteed minimum rate at our discretion. MYGAs are similar to annual reset annuities except that the initial crediting rate is guaranteed for a specified number of years, rather than just one year, before it may be changed at our discretion. On April 11, 2016, we introduced our first MYGA product designed for the financial institutions channel. For the year ended December 31, 2016, we had retail sales of $6 million of annual reset annuities and $772 million of MYGAs, as well as flow reinsurance of $2.8 billion of MYGAs. For the year ended December 31, 2015, we had retail sales of $14 million of annual reset annuities and $14 million of MYGAs, as well as flow reinsurance of $830 million of MYGAs. As of December 31, 2016, crediting rates on outstanding annual reset annuities ranged from 1% to 6% and crediting rates on outstanding MYGAs ranged from 1% to 6%. As of December 31, 2016, 53% of our fixed rate annuities were set at the guaranteed minimum crediting rate.
Retirement Services cost of crediting on deferred annuities for the years ended December 31, 2016, 2015 and 2014, was 1.96%, 1.92% and 1.94%, respectively.
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Payout Annuities – Payout annuities primarily consist of single premium immediate annuities (SPIA), supplemental contracts and structured settlements. Payout annuities provide a series of periodic payments for a fixed period of time or for the life of the policyholder, based upon the policyholder’s election at the time of issuance. The amounts, frequency and length of time of the payments are fixed at the outset of the annuity contract. SPIAs are often purchased by persons at or near retirement age who desire a steady stream of payments over a future period of years. Supplemental contracts are typically created upon the conversion of a death claim or the annuitization of a deferred annuity. Structured settlements generally relate to legal settlements.
Income Riders to Fixed Annuity Products – Many of our in-force deferred annuities are issued with riders that provide guaranteed living withdrawal benefits (GLWB). Riders providing GLWB features are sometimes referred to as income riders and permit policyholders to elect to receive guaranteed payments for life from their contract without having to annuitize their policies, which provides policyholders with greater flexibility in the future. Income riders, particularly on FIAs, have become very popular among policyholders. LIMRA estimates that 62% of FIA premium for the nine months ended September 30, 2016 (the most recent period that specific market share data is currently available) included an income rider.
We broadly characterize the income riders on our deferred annuities as either guaranteed or participating. Guaranteed income riders provide policyholders with a guaranteed lifetime withdrawal amount that is determined based upon the age of the policyholder when the policy is purchased and the age of the policyholder when he or she elects lifetime income. Participating income riders tend to have lower levels of guaranteed income but policyholders have the opportunity to receive greater levels of income if the policies’ indexed crediting strategies perform well.
Our in-force block of deferred annuities contains policies with income riders that were sourced through both retail operations and acquisitions, such as the acquisition of a substantial block of policies having such riders in connection with the Aviva USA acquisition. With respect to our retail operations, we have generally not competed aggressively in the guaranteed income rider segment as we historically believed that such riders were not priced within our pricing discipline. However, recently competitors have been issuing annuities with what we believe are more rationally-priced lifetime income benefit features. In the current environment, we believe that we can grow our retail sales by offering competitive guaranteed income rates while earning an attractive spread, and on April 11, 2016, we introduced “Ascent Pro,” offering policyholders the option to select a guaranteed income rider. In connection with this product offering and others involving income riders, we sometimes use reinsurance with third parties, which assume the risks arising from such products that are in excess of our pricing tolerance. We continually monitor market rationality for opportunities to grow our business, including in the area of guaranteed income riders, taking into account what we believe to be optimal product and product feature mix.
Withdrawal Options for Deferred Annuities – After the first year following the issuance of a deferred annuity, the policyholder is typically permitted to make withdrawals up to 5% or 10% (depending on the contract) of the prior year’s value without a surrender charge or MVA, subject to certain limitations. Withdrawals in excess of the allowable amounts are assessed a surrender charge and MVA if such withdrawals are made during the surrender charge period of the policy. For the years ended December 31, 2016, 2015 and 2014, withdrawals on our deferred annuities were $4.2 billion, $4.4 billion and $4.4 billion, respectively. The surrender charge of most of our products is typically between 8% and 15% of the contract value at contract inception and generally decreases by approximately one percentage point per year during the surrender charge period. The surrender charge period of our most popular products ranges from 3 to 15 years. The average surrender charge (excluding the impact of MVAs) is 7.6% for our deferred annuities as of December 31, 2016.
At maturity, the policyholder may elect to receive proceeds in the form of a single payment or an annuity. If the annuity option is selected, the policyholder will receive a series of payments either over his or her lifetime or over a fixed number of years, depending upon the terms of the contract. Some contracts permit annuitization prior to maturity. In addition to the foregoing rights, a policyholder may also elect to purchase a guaranteed minimum withdrawal benefit rider which provides the policyholder with a guaranteed minimum withdrawal benefit for the life of the contract.
Funding Agreements
We focus on opportunistically issuing funding agreements to institutional investors at attractive prices. Funding agreements are negotiated privately between an investor and an insurance company. They are designed to provide an agreement holder with a guaranteed return of principal and periodic interest payments, while offering competitive yields and predictable returns. The interest rate can be fixed or floating. If the interest rate is a floating rate, it may be linked to the London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR), the federal funds rate or other major index.
Life and Other (Excluding German Products)
Life and other products include other retail products, including run-off or ceded business, statutory closed blocks and ceded life insurance.
German Products
Our German products include the annuity, life insurance and unit-linked products managed by the Athene Deutschland GmbH (AD), Athene Deutschland Holding GmbH & Co. KG (ADKG), Athene Deutschland Verwaltungs GmbH, Athene Lebensversicherung AG (ALV) and Athene Pensionskasse AG (APK) (collectively, German Group Companies). Our primary German product type is endowment policies, which are traditional German life insurance policies that include legally guaranteed interest, the right of policyholders to participate in certain portions of ALV's results and a death benefit. The legally guaranteed interest rate is reset annually and ranges from 1.75% to 4.00%. The policyholder
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makes one or more premium deposits and is entitled to receive periodic or lump sum payments. These policies include a provision for minimum guaranteed surrender value calculated in accordance with applicable law, as well as death benefits. In addition, AD manages unit-linked life insurance policies, in which premium deposits are invested in fund units specified by the policyholder, and which includes a death benefit the value of which is tied to the performance of the fund units in which the premium deposits are invested. AD also manages pension insurance and disability insurance.
AGER Equity Offering
While we continue to believe that the European market provides a compelling growth opportunity to amass liabilities at one of the most favorable costs of funding in a number of years, we have come to realize that the opportunity over the next several years is larger than we initially anticipated. We have concluded that, in order to fully capitalize on this opportunity, we would need to commit capital to the European market at a level in excess of our targeted investment size, creating the need for third party capital to support growth. We, together with Apollo, have undertaken a process whereby our subsidiary, AGER Bermuda Holding Ltd., a Bermuda domiciled holding company and the holding company of our German Group Companies (AGER) is seeking to raise capital as part of a private offering of its equity securities (AGER Offering) in order to pursue expansion opportunities in Europe. As a founding investor, we expect to retain a sizable equity stake in AGER. However, in the event the AGER Offering is successful, our stake in AGER will be reduced and ultimately held as an alternative investment rather than as a consolidated subsidiary. Additionally, as described in further detail below, we expect to have the opportunity to be AGER’s preferred reinsurer for spread liabilities, which will establish a new potential funding channel for our business.
Subject to the approval of a special committee of our board of directors comprised solely of disinterested directors, it is currently being proposed that Apollo and Athene will collectively commit up to €500 million in the AGER Offering. Our contribution would include the valuation of our German Group Companies at approximately €90 million (which is in line with our invested capital in our German Group Companies). This valuation of our German Group Companies will be fixed at the time of the closing of the commitments for the AGER Offering regardless of whether our German Group Companies operate at a profit or at a loss or otherwise increase or decrease in value from the time the commitments are final until the time of the capital call from AGER that results in AGER and its subsidiaries being deconsolidated from us, which may be as long as nine months or more. As a result, to the extent that our invested capital and/or fair value of our German Group Companies increases or decreases during such time period, we may incur a gain or loss upon deconsolidation.
The completion of the AGER Offering is conditioned upon obtaining (1) a sufficient amount of subscription commitments to allow AGER to take advantage of the opportunities in the European market over the next two to four years, (2) any required regulatory approvals, and (3) other customary terms and conditions. Prior to the successful completion of the AGER Offering and the initial material capital call in exchange for the issuance of new equity interests of AGER, AGER and our German Group Companies will continue to be consolidated subsidiaries of AHL. We expect the AGER Offering, if successful, to raise €1 billion or more from third parties.
In order to align the interests of Athene and AGER, upon the completion of the AGER Offering, we expect to enter into a cooperation agreement with AGER, pursuant to which, among other things, (1) we will agree not to compete with AGER in Europe (other than the United Kingdom), and (2) AGER will agree not to compete with us in the United States and the United Kingdom. Under the cooperation agreement, we would also have the right to reinsure approximately 20% of the spread business written or reinsured by any insurance or reinsurance company owned or acquired by AGER. An affiliate of Apollo is expected to act as investment adviser in regard to AGER’s investment portfolio and provide investment services and advice. Both the services Apollo provides for AGER, and the fee they receive for doing so, may differ from the existing services provided to our German Group Companies.
In the event the AGER Offering is not completed for any reason, AGER and the German Group Companies would continue to be consolidated subsidiaries of AHL.
Distribution Channels
We have developed four dedicated distribution channels: retail, reinsurance (including flow and block reinsurance), institutional products and acquisitions, which support opportunistic origination across differing market environments and which we believe enable us to achieve stable asset growth while maintaining attractive returns.
Retail
We have built a scalable platform that allows us to originate and rapidly grow our business in fixed annuity products directly from our customers in spite of today’s low-rate environment. We have developed a suite of retirement savings products, distributed through our network of approximately 28,000 independent agents in all 50 states. Sales of fixed annuities were $5.3 billion, $2.5 billion and $2.5 billion for the years ended December 31, 2016, 2015 and 2014, respectively. We expect that our upgrade to a financial strength rating of A- by each of S&P, Fitch and A.M. Best in 2015 will continue to allow us to increase our share with existing IMOs and enter into relationships with regional banks, broker-dealers and other financial institutions, resulting in a potential increase in annual sales at an attractive cost of crediting. We are focused in every aspect of our retail channel on providing high quality products and service to our policyholders and maintaining appropriate financial protection over the life of their policies.
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Reinsurance
Reinsurance is an arrangement under which an insurance company, the reinsurer, agrees to indemnify another insurance company, the ceding company or cedant, for all or a portion of the insurance risks underwritten by the ceding company. Reinsurance is designed to (1) reduce the net amount at risk on individual risks, thereby enabling the ceding company to increase the volume of business it can underwrite, as well as increase the maximum risk it can underwrite on a single risk, (2) stabilize operating results by leveling fluctuations in the ceding company’s loss experience, (3) assist the ceding company in meeting applicable regulatory requirements and (4) enhance the ceding company’s financial strength and surplus position. As mentioned above, reinsurance can also be used to acquire or sell blocks of business. In general, annuity reinsurance is executed in the form of a flow transaction or a block transaction.
We conduct the majority of our reinsurance transactions through our subsidiary, ALRe. Founded on June 9, 2009, ALRe is licensed as a Class E insurer carrying on long-term business in Bermuda; one of the largest reinsurance markets in the world by reserves, with a regulatory regime deemed equivalent to the European Union’s Directive (2009/138/EC) (Solvency II) for commercial insurers. As a fixed annuity reinsurer, ALRe partners with life and annuity insurance companies to develop solutions to their capital requirements, enhance their presence in the retirement market and improve their financial results. The specific liabilities ALRe targets to reinsure include MYGAs, FIAs, traditional one year guarantee fixed deferred annuities, immediate annuities and institutional products. ALRe only targets business consistent with our preferred liability characteristics, and as such, reinsurance provides another opportunistic channel for us to source long-term liabilities with attractive crediting rates. For various transaction-related reasons, from time to time, our U.S. insurance subsidiaries, in particular AADE, will reinsure business from third-party ceding companies and retrocede a portion of the reinsured business to ALRe. Our flow reinsurance channel generated deposits of approximately $3.5 billion, $1.1 billion and $349 million for the years ended December 31, 2016, 2015 and 2014, respectively.
ALRe has been involved in reinsurance and retrocession transactions with 16 third-party cedents. Since inception through December 31, 2016, deposits from such transactions totaled approximately $10.7 billion, inclusive of third-party cedent business that flows through AADE, split between block transactions of $3.6 billion and flow business of $7.1 billion. As of December 31, 2016, ALRe had on-going flow reinsurance and retrocession treaties involving six third-party cedents rated A- or better for a quota share of such cedents’ new deposits, including both MYGAs and FIAs. ALRe was first rated by A.M. Best, Fitch and S&P in early 2015, which we believe is helpful in establishing reinsurance relationships with third-party cedents.
In our reinsurance transactions, as opposed to acquisitions, we acquire assets and liabilities associated with a certain book of business, as opposed to the assets or stock of a target company, which allows us to acquire only that portion of the target’s business that we wish to acquire without assuming additional liabilities.
Institutional Products
Funding Agreements – We participate in a FABN program, which is a medium term note program under which funding agreements are issued to a special-purpose trust that issues marketable notes. The proceeds of the issuance of a series of notes are used by the trust to acquire a funding agreement with matching interest and maturity payment terms from AADE. The notes are underwritten and marketed by major investment banks’ broker-dealer operations and are sold to institutional investors. In 2015, we issued our first funding agreement under the FABN program in the aggregate principal amount of $250 million. The funding agreement has a carrying value of $246 million as of December 31, 2016 and matures in October 2018. In the first quarter of 2017, we issued additional funding agreements under the FABN program in the aggregate principal amount of $650 million, of which $600 million matures in January 2022 and $50 million matures in October 2018.
Athene Annuity and Life Company (AAIA) is a member of the Federal Home Loan Bank of Des Moines (FHLBDM) and Athene Life Insurance Company (ALIC) is a member of the Federal Home Loan Bank of Indianapolis (FHLBI). Each issued funding agreements to the relevant Federal Home Loan Bank (FHLB) in exchange for cash advances in an aggregate amount of $641 million outstanding, with respect to AAIA, and $50 million outstanding, with respect to ALIC, each as of December 31, 2016. We have decided to wind down the ALIC entity. In connection with that decision, we decided to withdraw our membership in the FHLBI.
Pension Risk Transfer – We have developed capabilities to undertake pension risk transfer transactions. Pension risk transfer transactions usually involve a single premium group annuity contract issued for the purpose of discharging certain pension plan liabilities. Our planned pension risk transfer annuities are nonparticipating contracts. The assets supporting the guaranteed benefits for each contract may be held in a separate account. We will fully guarantee all benefit payments as provided for in the group annuity contract. The group annuity benefits may be purchased for retired and terminated employees or employees covered under terminating or ongoing pension plans. Both immediate and deferred annuities may be purchased by a single premium at issue. There are generally no cash surrender rights, with some exceptions including certain contracts that include liabilities for cash balance pension plans or lump sums. Under GAAP, these annuity contracts are treated as general account products. We are focused on medium- and large-sized deals where we believe we can be competitive.
Acquisitions
Acquisitions are an important source of growth in our business. We have a proven ability to acquire businesses in complex transactions at terms favorable to us, manage the liabilities that we acquire and reinvest the associated assets. Through December 31, 2016, we have closed four acquisition transactions in the U.S.: Liberty Life Insurance Corporation (Liberty Life), Investors Insurance Corporation, Presidential Life Corporation and Aviva USA; and one international acquisition, DLD, collectively representing reserve liabilities backed by approximately $65.9 billion in total assets (net of $9.3 billion in assets ceded through reinsurance).
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The acquisition of Aviva USA marked a significant milestone in our history. As a result of the acquisition we grew to approximately four times our size immediately prior to the acquisition (as measured by total assets). The acquisition significantly enhanced our retail channel, increased our scale, improved our infrastructure and further demonstrated our integration abilities, in this case having successfully integrated a company with a significantly larger employee headcount and IT and operational footprint.
In October 2015, we acquired the German life insurance business of Delta Lloyd N.V., an Amsterdam-based financial services provider. The German life insurance businesses acquired have been in run-off since the beginning of 2010 by action of the predecessor owner. Accordingly, our German insurance subsidiaries do not write new life insurance business, except for a limited number of new co-insurance policies, and all distribution partner contracts have been terminated.
We plan to continue leveraging our expertise in sourcing and evaluating transactions to profitably grow our business. We believe that our demonstrated ability to source transactions, consummate complex transactions and reinvest assets into higher yielding investments as well as our relationship with Apollo provides us with distinct advantages relative to other acquirers.
In general, we seek to reinsure or otherwise dispose of those portions of the target company’s business that we do not wish to retain, if any. Our largest dispositions of such businesses are described below.
Global Atlantic
As part of our acquisition of Aviva USA, we effectuated a sale or transferred the risk of substantially all of Aviva USA’s life insurance business by reinsuring such business to affiliates of Global Atlantic. A description of the transactions is as follows:
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We entered into a 100% coinsurance and assumption agreement with Accordia. The agreement covers all open block life insurance business issued by AAIA, with the exception of enhanced guarantee universal life insurance products. Under the terms of the agreement, Accordia maintains a custody account with assets equal to or greater than an agreed-upon required statutory balance that as of December 31, 2016 was $2.9 billion. The agreement provides separate excess of loss coverage for policy liabilities of AAIA related to the former AmerUs Life Insurance Company (AmerUs) closed block (AmerUs Closed Block) that are also subject to existing reinsurance through Athene Re IV, a captive reinsurer that is a subsidiary of AAIA. As of December 31, 2016, outstanding obligations ceded pursuant to this arrangement which remained unnovated amounted to $2.8 billion in statutory reserves. We have no continuing contractual obligations with respect to policies that have been novated.
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We entered into a 100% coinsurance agreement with Accordia to cede all policy liabilities for the closed block established in connection with the demutualization of Indianapolis Life Insurance Company (ILICO), which had been previously acquired by Aviva USA. The ILICO Closed Block consists primarily of participating whole life insurance policies. Effective December 1, 2015, Accordia retroceded substantially all of the policy liabilities for the ILICO Closed Block to Ameritas Life Insurance Corp. (Ameritas). Under the terms of the retrocession agreement, Ameritas maintains a trust account with assets equal to or greater than a required statutory balance that as of December 31, 2016 was $717 million. AAIA is permitted to withdraw funds from the trust account under certain circumstances. As of December 31, 2016, outstanding obligations ceded pursuant to this arrangement amounted to $747 million in statutory reserves.
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We entered into the following coinsurance and funds withheld agreements with First Allmerica Financial Life Insurance Company (FAFLIC) to cede substantially all policy liabilities for the below described life insurance policies. |
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Athene Life Insurance Company of New York (ALICNY) entered into a 100% funds withheld coinsurance agreement with FAFLIC covering certain term and universal life policies which have reserves that are subject to financing arrangements. Under the terms of the agreement, ALICNY maintains a funds withheld account with an agreed-upon statutory balance that as of December 31, 2016 was $243 million.
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ALICNY entered into a 100% coinsurance agreement with FAFLIC covering certain term and universal life policies which have reserves that are not subject to financing arrangements. Under the terms of the agreement, FAFLIC maintains a trust account with an agreed-upon required statutory balance that as of December 31, 2016 was $309 million.
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ALICNY entered into a 100% coinsurance and assumption agreement with FAFLIC covering substantially all of ALICNY’s in-force life business that is not ceded pursuant to the agreements described in the preceding two paragraphs. Under the terms of the agreement, FAFLIC maintains a trust account with an agreed-upon required statutory balance that as of December 31, 2016 was $217 million.
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As of December 31, 2016, outstanding obligations ceded pursuant to the three FAFLIC reinsurance agreements discussed above amounted to $1.0 billion in statutory reserves.
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We continue to have the primary legal obligation to satisfy claims and obligations relating to those policies not novated to Accordia or FAFLIC. As a consequence, if Accordia or FAFLIC were unable to satisfy its reinsurance obligations on such life policies, we would be responsible for satisfying those contractual obligations reinsured by Accordia or FAFLIC, respectively. We do not maintain a security interest in the custody account discussed above, and therefore in the event of an Accordia insolvency, the assets of the custody account may be available to satisfy the
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claims of Accordia’s general creditors. In addition, in the event of an Accordia insolvency, our claims against Accordia would be subordinated to those of its policyholders. As of December 31, 2016, both Accordia and FAFLIC were rated A- by A.M. Best.
Protective Life Insurance Company (Protective)
On April 29, 2011, AADE ceded substantially all of its life and health business to Protective under a coinsurance agreement. As part of this transaction, we transferred assets backing reserves and miscellaneous other liabilities on the life and health business. The reserve assets were placed in a trust account maintained by Protective for our benefit to secure the obligations of the reinsurer of the acquired business. As of December 31, 2016, the statutory book value of assets in this trust was $1.5 billion and the outstanding obligations ceded pursuant to the arrangement amounted to $1.5 billion. In the event that Protective is unable to satisfy its reinsurance obligations with respect to the policies ceded and the trust assets prove insufficient to satisfy the resulting obligations, we would have the primary legal obligation to satisfy such deficiency. In the event of a Protective insolvency, our claim against Protective would be subordinated to those of its policyholders. As of December 31, 2016, Protective was rated A+ by A.M. Best.
Investment Management
Investment activities are an integral part of our business and our net investment income is a significant component of our total revenues. Our investment philosophy in the United States is to invest a portion of our assets in securities that earn us incremental yield by taking liquidity risk and complexity risk and capitalizing on our long-dated and persistent liability profile to prudently achieve higher net investment earned rates, rather than assuming solely credit risk. We have established a significant base of earnings and as of December 31, 2016 have an expected annual investment margin of 2-3% over the 7.8 year weighted-average life of our deferred annuities, which make up a substantial portion of our reserve liabilities. Because we have remained disciplined in underwriting attractively priced liabilities, we have the ability to invest in a broad range of high quality assets to generate attractive earnings.
Our differentiated investment strategy benefits from our strategic relationship with Apollo and its indirect subsidiary, AAM. AAM provides a full suite of services for our investment portfolio, including direct investment management, asset allocation, mergers and acquisition asset diligence and certain operational support services, including investment compliance, tax, legal and risk management support. AAM provides portfolio management services for substantially all of our invested assets (excluding our German invested assets) and currently provides direct asset selection for 81% of our investment portfolio (excluding Germany). The remaining 19% is outsourced to Apollo and its affiliates to access additional sourcing and underwriting capabilities. Substantially all of the assets subject to a sub-advisory arrangement are sub-advised by Apollo affiliates. AAM allocates portions of our asset portfolio to sub-advisors to manage based on market opportunities. AAM also provides a slate of other asset and portfolio management services to us.
Through our relationship with Apollo, AAM has identified unique investment opportunities for us. AAM’s knowledge of our funding structure and regulatory requirements allows it to design bespoke strategies and investments for our portfolio. For example, we hold a significant investment in MidCap through a consolidated investment fund managed by Apollo, together with loans made directly to MidCap. When we originally invested in MidCap Financial Holdings, LLC (MidCap Financial) in November 2013, MidCap Financial was a specialty finance company which primarily originated lending opportunities in the healthcare sector. With the assistance of Apollo, MidCap Financial entered new lending markets, raised substantial equity capital and restructured as MidCap in January 2015. MidCap represents a unique investment in an origination platform made available to us through our relationship with Apollo and, from time to time, provides us with access to assets for our investment portfolio. As of December 31, 2016, our exposure, including loaned amounts, to MidCap and its predecessor entities approximated $761 million, which represented 1% of our total invested assets and 11% of total AHL shareholders’ equity. As of December 31, 2016, the value of our equity investment in MidCap had increased by 30% since our original investment in November 2013.
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Since its inception, AAM has developed a track record for delivering sound investment returns. According to AAM, for the years ended December 31, 2016, 2015 and 2014, it generated total returns on the invested assets in our U.S. and Bermuda accounts owned by us or in accounts supporting reinsurance ceded to our subsidiaries by third-party insurers (the North America Accounts), net of management and sub-advisory fees, but gross of any other direct or indirect fees and expenses paid or payable directly or indirectly by us, of 6.41%, 3.30% and 6.82%, respectively. See Item 13. Certain Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director Independence for further discussion of fees paid or payable to Apollo and its affiliates, including AAM, and Item 1A. Risk Factors—Risks Relating to Our Investment Manager for further discussion regarding the risks inherent in historical total return figures.
Below is AAM's total return compared to the Barclays Aggregate Index and the Barclays Corporate Index. AAM has outperformed the Barclays Aggregate Index and the Barclays Corporate Index since 2009.
Note: This chart presents AAM’s total return relative to the performance of the Barclays Aggregate Index and the Barclays Corporate Index, with each index presented without any deduction for fees given that such indices are not actual portfolios managed by investment advisors. Such presentation is provided solely as an indication of the performance of fixed income strategies. No index, including the Barclays indices presented here, is directly comparable to AAM’s total return as the composition of the portfolio generating AAM’s total return inherently differs from the portfolio of securities represented by the respective index. In particular, with respect to the above presentation, the AAM total return figures reflect the performance of certain equity securities, structured securities and other asset classes not represented in either of the Barclays indices presented above. Athene’s historical results are not necessarily indicative of its future operating results. This chart is not intended to imply that AAM’s total return is correlated with the performance of either of the indices presented and AAM’s total return, and the volatility of such return, may be, and in many cases is likely to be, materially different from the performance of such indices.
We are downside focused and our asset allocations reflect the results of stress testing. Additionally, we establish what we believe are conservative risk thresholds which in turn define risk tolerance across a wide range of factors, including credit risk, liquidity risk, concentration risk and caps on specific asset classes. We protect against rising interest rates, as our assets are generally slightly shorter in effective duration than our liabilities, resulting in a risk profile that we believe could sustain substantial increases in rates over and above what is implied by current futures markets without sustaining net losses. See Hedging Program and Derivatives for further discussion. As of December 31, 2016, 29% of our invested assets were floating rate investments which would allow us the flexibility to quickly increase our crediting rates in a rising interest rate environment, if desired.
As a result of our robust combination of underwriting and investment management capabilities, we are able to achieve investment margins that provide attractive risk-adjusted returns and that provide us with a base of future earnings. We generated net investment income of $2.9 billion, $2.5 billion and $2.3 billion for the years ended December 31, 2016, 2015 and 2014, respectively. We generated consolidated net investment earned rates of 4.35%, 4.24% and 4.29% for the years ended December 31, 2016, 2015 and 2014, respectively. We believe that achieving an investment margin of 2-3% on our deferred annuities would maintain our attractive financial profile and is achievable given our underwriting and asset management capabilities. Moreover, our investing capabilities support our ability to sell fixed annuities profitably and to competitively price acquisitions while meeting our earnings expectations.
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The deep experience of the AAM investment team and Apollo’s credit portfolio managers assists us in sourcing and underwriting complex asset classes. AAM has selected a diverse array of corporate bonds and more structured, but highly rated asset classes. We also maintain holdings in floating rate and less rate-sensitive investments, including collateralized loan obligations (CLO), non-agency RMBS and various types of structured products. These asset classes permit us to earn incremental yield by assuming liquidity risk and complexity risk, rather than assuming solely credit risk.
In addition to our core fixed income portfolio, we opportunistically allocate 5-10% of our portfolio to alternative investments where we primarily focus on fixed income-like, cash flow-based investments. Our alternative investment strategy is inherently opportunistic rather than being derived from allocating a fixed percentage of assets to the asset class and the strategy is subject to internal concentration limits. Individual alternative investments are selected based on the investment’s risk-reward profile, incremental effect on diversification and potential for attractive returns due to sector and/or market dislocations. We have a strong preference for alternative investments that have the following characteristics, among others: (1) investments that constitute a direct investment or an investment in a fund with a high degree of co-investment; (2) investments with debt-like characteristics (for example, a stipulated maturity and par value), or alternatively, investments with reduced volatility when compared to pure equity; and (3) investments that have less downside risk. In general, we target returns for alternative investments of 10% or higher on an IRR basis over the expected lives of such investments.
As of December 31, 2016, 93.2% of our AFS fixed maturity securities, including related parties, were rated NAIC 1 or NAIC 2 (with investments of our German operations rated by applying NRSRO equivalent ratings to map NAIC ratings).
Our asset portfolio is managed within the limits and constraints set forth in our Investment and Credit Risk Policy. Under this policy, we set limits on investments in our portfolio by asset class, such as corporate bonds, emerging markets securities, municipal bonds, non-agency RMBS, commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS), CLO, commercial mortgage whole loans and mezzanine loans and alternative investments. We also set credit risk limits for exposure to a single issuer that vary based on ratings. In addition, our asset portfolio is constrained by its scenario-based capital ratio limit and its stressed liquidity limit.
As part of our reinvestment strategy for the investment portfolios of our acquired companies, we generally seek to reinvest assets at yields higher than the related assets being liquidated for reinvestment. We have reinvested a substantial portion of the investment portfolio acquired in our acquisition of Aviva USA, which contributed to the increase in fixed income and other net investment earned rates on this block of business to 4.12% for the year ended December 31, 2015 from 3.50% (on an annualized basis) for the fourth quarter of 2013.
In Germany, our wholly owned subsidiary, ADKG, provides investment management services to our other German Group Companies. ADKG entered into an investment advisory agreement with AAME pursuant to which AAME provides advisory services for a significant portion of our German investment portfolio.
Reserves
We establish and carry actuarially-determined reserves that are calculated to meet our future obligations, which require us to make certain assumptions regarding expenses, investment yields, mortality, morbidity and persistency, with a provision for adverse deviation as appropriate, each as of the date of issue or acquisition. The assumptions used require considerable judgment. We review overall policyholder experience at least annually and update these assumptions when deemed necessary based on additional information that becomes available. For immediate annuity products, assumptions used in the reserve calculation can only be changed if the reserve is deemed to be insufficient. For all other insurance products, current assumptions are used in the calculation of reserves. For FIAs, the aggregate initial liability is equal to the deposit received plus a bonus, if applicable, and is split into a host component and an embedded derivative component. Thereafter, the host contract accretion rate is updated each quarter so that the present value of actual and expected guaranteed cash flows is equal to the initial host value and the embedded derivative liability is recognized at fair value, with the change in fair value recorded in interest sensitive contract benefits in our consolidated statements of income. Changes in, or deviations from, the assumptions used to set our reserves can significantly affect our reserve levels and related results of operations. See Item 1A. Risk Factors—Risks Relating to Our Business for additional discussion on assumptions and estimates.
Persistency is the probability that a policy will remain in force from one period to the next. We make assumptions about persistency based on expected policyholder behavior in future periods, including full and partial contract surrenders. Policyholder behavior is influenced by a number of factors including, but not limited to, recent and current performance of the policy, contractual guarantees contained within the policy, availability of alternative products and general economic conditions.
A surrender rate is the percentage of account value surrendered by the policyholder. A lapse rate is the percentage of account value canceled by us due to nonpayment of premiums or surrender of the policy. Our surrender rate experience on our FIA products for the years ended December 31, 2016 and 2015 was within our assumed ranges. Our estimate of surrender behavior is based on assumptions reflecting actual experience and we believe that, over the duration of the policies, we may experience a wide range of policyholder behavior and market conditions.
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Mortality is the incidence of death among policyholders triggering the payment of underlying insurance benefits by the insurer. In addition, mortality also refers to the ceasing of payments on life-contingent annuities due to the death of the annuitant. We utilize a combination of actual and industry experience when setting our mortality assumptions.
We also set reserves for the guaranteed minimum benefits for some of our products. The assumptions used to establish the liabilities for our product guarantees require considerable judgment. At issue, and at each subsequent valuation, we determine the present value of the cost of guaranteed minimum benefits contained in our policies in excess of benefits that are funded by the account value. We also calculate the expected value of the future cost of providing these benefits. In making these projections, a number of assumptions are made and we update these assumptions as experience emerges, when required. We have limited experience to date on policyholder behavior for our guaranteed minimum benefit products which our acquirees began issuing in 2006, and as a result, future experience could lead to significant changes in our assumptions. If emerging experience deviates from our assumptions on utilizations of these benefits, such deviations could have a significant effect on our reserve levels and related results of operations. We periodically review these assumptions and, if necessary, update them based on additional information that becomes available. Changes in or deviations from the assumptions used can significantly affect our reserve levels and related results of operations.
To the extent actual experience differs from assumptions and estimates used to establish reserves, we may be required to increase or decrease our reserves to reflect changes in our expectations. Any such increase could cause a material increase in our liabilities and a reduction in our profitability, including operating losses and a reduction of capital.
Outsourcing
With regard to our U.S. business, we outsource some portion or all of each of the following functions to third-party service providers:
• |
hosting of financial systems; |
• |
service of existing policies; |
• |
custody; |
• |
administration of annuities issued in support of pension risk transfer transactions; |
• |
some information technology development and maintenance; and |
• |
call centers. |
We closely manage our outsourcing partners and integrate their services into our operations. We believe that outsourcing such functions allows us to focus capital and our employees on our core business operations and perform differentiating functions, such as actuarial, product development and risk management functions. In addition, we believe an outsourcing model provides predictable pricing, service levels and volume capabilities and allows us to benefit from technological developments that enhance our customer self-service and sales processes that we would not otherwise be able to take advantage of without reinvesting more of our own capital.
The majority of our new business and policy administration is handled in-house. For some closed in-force blocks of business we partner with Alliance – One Services, Inc., Concentrix Insurance Administrative Solutions Corporation and Infosys McCamish Systems, LLC to provide policy administration services. For administration of annuities issued in support of pension risk transfer transactions, we intend to use Conduent. For information technology services, we use some providers for managed services or supplemental labor, including Tata Consulting Services Limited and UST Global Inc., and use Hewlett Packard Company for data center, infrastructure and related services. For investment management services, we use AAM, AAME and Apollo. We believe that we have a good relationship with our principal outsource service providers.
Affiliated Reinsurance
Our U.S. insurance subsidiaries participate in reinsurance arrangements pursuant to which each cedes certain insurance risks to ALRe. ALRe is a fully licensed, operational and fully equity capitalized reinsurance company with third-party clients. Our U.S. insurance subsidiaries have entered into modco agreements with ALRe under which they cede to ALRe a 100% quota share of their respective obligations to repay the principal upon maturity or earlier termination and to make periodic interest payments under funding agreements issued by them. Our U.S. insurance subsidiaries have similar arrangements with ALRe with respect to substantially all of their other core business, under which generally 80% of all such business is ceded to ALRe on a modco basis. To support these internal reinsurance arrangements, ALRe holds the substantial majority of our capital with $6.1 billion of statutory capital as of December 31, 2016. ALRe had a BSCR ratio of 228% as of December 31, 2016.
Hedging Program and Derivatives
We use, and may continue to use, derivatives, including swaps, options, futures and forward contracts and reinsurance contracts to hedge risks such as current or future changes in the fair value of our assets and liabilities, current or future changes in cash flows, changes in interest rates, equity markets, currency fluctuations and changes in longevity. In particular, we purchase options and equity futures to hedge the market risk exposure inherent in our FIA products, which have crediting rates tied to certain market indices. Our hedging program is focused on hedging our economic risk exposures and reducing the variation in our realized investment margin.
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We use a combination of equity options; equity index futures; and variance, interest rate, and currency swaps to hedge the risks from the equity derivatives embedded in our FIAs. Through the use of our hedging strategy, we are able to minimize the net impact on capital and surplus of market variations affecting our embedded derivatives.
In addition to hedging the risks from embedded derivatives, we also use currency swaps and futures to hedge mismatches between the currency of our liability cash flows and our assets. Although cash-flow matching and ALM analyses are employed to manage our interest rate and funding exposures, we may also use interest rate derivatives to ensure that our net economic interest rate exposure is within our risk tolerances.
Despite utilizing sophisticated risk management tools and strategies in selecting assets as well as hedges, we remain subject to the risk that our hedging strategies may not have the desired impact on the results of operations or financial condition due to inaccuracy of management’s assumptions or estimates or to the transaction costs or execution risk associated with those strategies. See Item 1A. Risk Factors for further discussion on risks associated with hedging and derivatives.
Financial Strength Ratings
Our access to funding and our related cost of borrowing, the attractiveness of certain of our subsidiaries’ products to customers, our attractiveness as a reinsurer to potential ceding companies and requirements for derivatives collateral posting are affected by our credit ratings and insurance financial strength ratings, as well as those of our subsidiaries, which are periodically reviewed by the rating agencies. Financial strength ratings and credit ratings are important factors affecting consumer confidence in an insurer and its competitive position in marketing products as well as critical factors considered by ceding companies in selecting a reinsurer.
As of December 31, 2016, Fitch, S&P and A.M. Best had issued credit ratings, financial strength ratings and/or outlook statements regarding us, as listed below. Credit ratings represent the opinions of rating agencies regarding an entity’s ability to repay its indebtedness. Financial strength ratings represent the opinions of rating agencies regarding the financial ability of an insurer or reinsurer to meet its obligations under an insurance policy or reinsurance arrangement and generally involve quantitative and qualitative evaluations by rating agencies of a company’s financial condition and operating performance. Generally, rating agencies base their financial strength ratings upon information furnished to them by the Company and upon their own investigations, studies and assumptions. Financial strength ratings are based upon factors of concern to policyholders, agents, intermediaries and ceding companies and are not directed toward the protection of investors. Credit and financial strength ratings are not recommendations to buy, sell or hold securities and they may be revised or revoked at any time at the sole discretion of the rating organization.
Company |
A.M. Best |
S&P |
Fitch |
|||
Athene Holding Ltd. |
||||||
Issuer Credit Rating/Counterparty Credit Rating/Issuer Default Rating |
bbb- |
BBB |
BBB |
|||
Outlook |
Positive |
Stable |
Stable |
|||
Athene Life Re Ltd. |
||||||
Financial Strength Rating |
A- |
A- |
A- |
|||
Outlook |
Positive |
Stable |
Stable |
|||
Athene Annuity & Life Assurance Company |
||||||
Financial Strength Rating |
A- |
A- |
A- |
|||
Outlook |
Positive |
Stable |
Stable |
|||
Athene Annuity & Life Assurance Company of New York |
||||||
Financial Strength Rating |
A- |
A- |
A- |
|||
Outlook |
Positive |
Stable |
Stable |
|||
Athene Annuity and Life Company |
||||||
Financial Strength Rating |
A- |
A- |
A- |
|||
Outlook |
Positive |
Stable |
Stable |
|||
Athene Life Insurance Company of New York |
||||||
Financial Strength Rating |
A- |
Not Rated |
Not Rated |
|||
Outlook |
Positive |
Not Rated |
Not Rated |
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Rating Agency |
Financial Strength
Rating Scale
|
Senior Unsecured Notes
Credit Rating Scale
|
||
A.M. Best1
|
“A++” to “S” |
“aaa” to “rs” |
||
S&P2
|
“AAA” to “R” |
“AAA” to “D” |
||
Fitch3
|
“AAA” to “C” |
“AAA” to “D” |
||
1 A.M. Best’s financial strength rating is an independent opinion of an insurer’s or reinsurer’s financial strength and ability to meet its ongoing insurance policy and contract obligations. It is based on a comprehensive quantitative and qualitative evaluation of a company’s balance sheet strength, operating performance and business profile or, where appropriate, the specific nature and details of a security. The analysis may include comparisons to peers, industry standards and proprietary benchmarks as well as assessments of operating plans, philosophy, management, risk appetite and the implicit or explicit support of a parent or affiliate. A.M. Best’s long-term credit ratings reflect its assessment of the ability of an obligor to pay interest and principal in accordance with the terms of the obligation. Ratings from "aa" to "ccc" may be enhanced with a "+" (plus) or "-" (minus) to indicate whether credit quality is near the top or bottom of a category. A.M. Best’s short-term credit rating is an opinion as to the ability of the rated entity to meet its senior financial commitments on obligations maturing in generally less than one year.
| ||||
2 S&P’s insurer financial strength rating is a forward-looking opinion about the financial security characteristics of an insurance organization with respect to its ability to pay under its insurance policies and contracts in accordance with their terms. Generic rating categories range from "AAA" to "D". A "+" or "-" indicates relative strength within a generic category. An S&P credit rating is an assessment of default risk, but may incorporate an assessment of relative seniority or ultimate recovery in the event of default. Short-term issuer credit ratings reflect the obligor’s creditworthiness over a short-term time horizon.
| ||||
3 Fitch’s financial strength ratings provide an assessment of the financial strength of an insurance organization. The National Insurer Financial Strength Rating is assigned to the insurance company’s policyholder obligations, including assumed reinsurance obligations and policyholder obligations, such as guaranteed investment contracts. Within long-term and short-term ratings, a “+” or a “-” may be appended to a rating to denote relative status within major rating categories.
|
In addition to the financial strength ratings, rating agencies use an outlook statement to indicate a medium or long-term trend which, if continued, may lead to a rating change. A positive outlook indicates a rating may be raised and a negative outlook indicates a rating may be lowered. A stable outlook is assigned when ratings are not likely to be changed. Outlooks should not be confused with expected stability of the issuer’s financial or economic performance. A rating may have a stable outlook to indicate that the rating is not expected to change, but a stable outlook does not preclude a rating agency from changing a rating at any time without notice.
A.M. Best, S&P and Fitch review their ratings of insurance companies from time to time. There can be no assurance that any particular rating will continue for any given period of time or that it will not be changed or withdrawn entirely if, in their judgment, circumstances so warrant. While the degree to which ratings adjustments will affect sales and persistency is unknown, we believe if our ratings were to be negatively adjusted for any reason, we could experience a material decline in the sales of our products and the persistency of our existing business. See Item 1A. Risk Factors for further discussion about risks associated with financial strength ratings.
Competition
We operate in highly competitive markets. We face a variety of large and small industry participants, including diversified financial institutions and insurance and reinsurance companies. These companies compete in one form or another for the growing pool of retirement assets driven by a number of external factors such as the continued aging of the population and the reduction in safety nets provided by governments and private employers. In many segments, product differentiation is difficult as product development and life cycles have shortened. In addition, we have experienced pressure on fees as product unbundling and lower cost alternatives have emerged. As a result, scale and the ability to provide value-added services and build long-term relationships are important factors to compete effectively. See Item 1A. Risk Factors — Risks Relating to Our Business for further discussion on competitive risks. We believe that our leading presence in the retirement market, diverse range of capabilities and broad distribution network uniquely position us to effectively serve consumers’ increasing demand for retirement solutions, particularly in the FIA market.
We face competition in the FIA market from traditional insurance carriers such as Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America (Allianz) and American Equity Investment Life Insurance Company (AEL). Principal competitive factors for FIAs are initial crediting rates, reputation for renewal crediting action, product features, brand recognition, customer service, cost, distribution capabilities and financial strength ratings of the provider. Competition may affect, among other matters, both business growth and the pricing of our products and services. According to LIMRA, for the nine months ended September 30, 2016 (the most recent period that specific market share data is currently available), the leading two providers of FIAs were Allianz and AEL with market shares of 17.7% and 9.6%, respectively. The aggregate market share of the top ten providers of FIAs for the same period was 65.9%. For the nine months ended September 30, 2016 (the most recent period that data is currently available), we were the 3rd largest FIA provider in the United States based on retail FIA sales, and our market share for the same period was 6.9%. According to LIMRA, for the year ended December 31, 2015, the leading two providers of FIAs were Allianz and AEL with market shares of 16.0% and 12.5%, respectively. The aggregate market share of the top ten providers of FIAs for the same period was 66.0%. For the year ended December 31, 2015, we were the 6th largest FIA provider in the United States based on retail FIA sales, and our market share for the same period was 4.5%.
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Reinsurance markets are highly competitive, as well as cyclical by product and market. As a reinsurer, ALRe competes on the basis of many factors, including, among other things, financial strength, pricing and other terms and conditions of reinsurance agreements, reputation, service and experience in the types of business underwritten. The market impact of these and other factors related to reinsurance is generally not consistent across lines of business, domestic and international geographical areas and distribution channels. ALRe’s competition includes other insurance and reinsurance companies, such as Reinsurance Group of America, Incorporated and Global Atlantic.
We also face competition in the market for acquisition targets, such as profitable blocks of insurance and whole businesses. Such competition is likely to intensify as insurance businesses become more attractive acquisition targets for both other insurance companies and financial and other institutions and as the already substantial consolidation in the financial services industry continues. We believe that our demonstrated ability to source and consummate complex transactions is a competitive advantage over other similar acquirers. We also compete for potential acquisition opportunities based on a number of factors including perceived financial strength, brand recognition, reputation and the pricing we are able to offer, which, to the extent we determine to finance a transaction, is in turn dependent on our ability to do so on suitable terms.
Finally, we face strong competition within our institutional products channel. With respect to funding agreements, namely those issued in connection with our FABN program, we compete with other insurers that have active FABN programs, such as AIG and MetLife. Within the funding agreement market, we complete primarily on the basis of interest rates and term. With respect to pension risk transfer, we compete with other insurers that offer pension risk transfer annuities, such as MetLife and Prudential Financial, Inc. Within the pension risk transfer market, we compete primarily on the basis of price, underwriting and investment capabilities.
Employees
As of December 31, 2016, we had approximately 1,125 employees located in Bermuda and the United States, and approximately 200 employees located in Germany and the United Kingdom. We believe that our employee relations are good. Whereas none of our employees located in Bermuda or the United States are subject to collective bargaining agreements and we are not aware of any current efforts to implement such agreements, one of our German Group Companies, ALV, is a member of the employers’ association of insurance companies in Germany (Arbeitgeberverband der Versicherungsunternehmen in Deutschland e.V.). As such, ALV is required to apply the collective bargaining agreements entered into with the association and the relevant trade union to those employees that are members of the trade union. In addition, each of the German Group Companies applies these collective bargaining agreements based on individual agreements to most of the non-unionized staff as well. As of December 31, 2016, approximately 200 employees of our German Group Companies were directly or indirectly subject to such agreements. The collective bargaining agreements are for an indefinite term and apply as long as the relevant German Group Company is a member of the employers’ association. There are also joint local employee representative bodies for the German operations, such as works councils and an economics committee, which have statutory co-determination, information and participation rights in accordance with German laws. The German Group Companies are required to apply and comply with various collective agreements with these local employee representations, such as works agreements. Two employee representatives are members of the supervisory board of our principal German life insurance carrier, ALV.
Regulation
Our U.S. insurance subsidiaries are licensed to transact insurance business in, and are subject to regulation and supervision by, all 50 states of the United States and the District of Columbia. Our German Group Companies licensed as insurers are subject to the relevant laws and regulations applicable to insurers in Germany, including but not limited to the German Insurance Supervision Act (Versicherungsaufsichtsgesetz (VAG)), and ALRe, a Bermuda domiciled insurer, is subject to regulation and supervision by the Bermuda Monetary Authority (BMA) and compliance with all applicable Bermuda law and Bermuda insurance statutes and regulations, including but not limited to Bermuda's Insurance Act 1978 (Bermuda Insurance Act). Our U.S. insurance subsidiaries are licensed, regulated and supervised in all jurisdictions where they conduct insurance business. The extent of such regulation varies, however; most jurisdictions have regulations and laws that require insurers and agents to be licensed and set standards of solvency and business conduct to be maintained by the insurer. Additionally, state statutes and regulations often require state approval of policy forms, policy language, rates and in some instances, marketing materials. Most states’ statutes and regulations prescribe permitted types and concentrations of investments. Our U.S. insurance subsidiaries are required to file detailed annual financial statements with supervisory agencies in each of the jurisdictions in which they transact an insurance business.
From time to time, in the ordinary course of business and like others in the insurance and financial services industries, our U.S. insurance subsidiaries receive requests for information from government agencies in connection with such agencies’ regulatory or investigatory authority. Such requests can include market conduct examinations, subpoenas or demand letters for documents to assist the government in audits or investigations. Each such subsidiary reviews such requests and notices and takes appropriate action. Our U.S. insurance subsidiaries have been subject to certain requests for information and investigations in the past and could be subject to them in the future.
27
United States
General
Each of our U.S. insurance subsidiaries is organized and domiciled in one of the following states: Delaware, Iowa, or New York (each, an Athene Domiciliary State) and is also licensed in such state as an insurer. The insurance department of each Athene Domiciliary State regulates the applicable U.S. insurance subsidiary, and each U.S. insurance subsidiary is regulated by each of the insurance regulators in the other states where such company is authorized to transact insurance business. The primary purpose of such regulatory supervision is to protect policyholders rather than holders of any securities, such as the AHL common shares.
In addition, as part of our acquisition of Aviva USA, we acquired a special purpose insurance company, Athene Re IV, which is a subsidiary of AAIA. Athene Re IV is domiciled in Vermont and provides reinsurance to AAIA in order to facilitate the reserve financing associated with a closed block of policies resulting from the demutualization of a prior insurance company currently part of AAIA. As part of the acquisition of AAIA, the liabilities associated with such closed block of insurance policies, including any exposure to payments due from such special purpose insurance company subsidiary, were reinsured to Accordia. We do not write business that requires the use of captive reinsurers. The substantial majority of all policyholder obligations written or held by our insurance subsidiaries are reinsured to ALRe, a fully licensed, operational and fully equity capitalized reinsurance company with third-party clients. For more information on our reinsurance structures, see Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.
Generally, insurance products underwritten by our U.S. insurance subsidiaries must be approved by the insurance regulators in each state in which they are sold. Those products are also substantially affected by federal and state tax laws. For example, changes in tax law could reduce or eliminate the tax-deferred accumulation of interest credited on the premiums paid by the holders of annuities and life insurance products, which could make such products less attractive to potential purchasers. A shift away from annuity products could reduce the investment income that our U.S. insurance subsidiaries earn on premiums or deposits received from the sale of such products, as well as the assets upon which our U.S. insurance subsidiaries earn income. In addition, certain insurance policies may also be subject to the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (as amended, ERISA).
State insurance authorities have broad administrative powers over our U.S. insurance subsidiaries with respect to all aspects of their insurance business including: (1) licensing to transact business; (2) licensing of producers; (3) prescribing which assets and liabilities are to be considered in determining statutory surplus; (4) regulating premium rates for certain insurance products; (5) approving policy forms and certain related materials; (6) determining whether a reasonable basis exists as to the suitability of the annuity purchase recommendations producers make; (7) regulating unfair trade and claims practices; (8) establishing reserve requirements, solvency standards and minimum capital requirements (MCR); (9) regulating the amount of dividends that may be paid in any year; (10) regulating the availability of reinsurance or other substitute financing solutions, the terms thereof and the ability of an insurer to take credit on its financial statements for insurance ceded to reinsurers or other substitute financing solutions; (11) fixing maximum interest rates on life insurance policy loans, minimum crediting rates on accumulation products and minimum allowable surrender values; (12) regulating the type, amounts and valuations of investments permitted; (13) setting parameters for transactions with affiliates; and (14) regulating other matters.
The rates, forms, terms and conditions of our U.S. insurance subsidiaries’ reinsurance agreements with unaffiliated third parties generally are not directly subject to regulation by any state insurance department in the United States. This contrasts with primary insurance where, as discussed above, the policy forms and premium rates are generally regulated by state insurance departments.
From time to time, increased scrutiny has been placed upon the U.S. insurance regulatory framework, and a number of state legislatures have considered or enacted legislative measures that alter, and in many cases increase, state authority to regulate insurance and reinsurance companies. In addition to legislative initiatives of this type, the NAIC and state insurance regulators are regularly involved in a process of reexamining existing laws and regulations and their application to insurance and reinsurance companies.
Furthermore, while the federal government in most contexts currently does not directly regulate the insurance business, federal legislation and administrative policies in a number of areas, such as employee benefits regulation, age, sex and disability-based discrimination, financial services regulation and federal taxation, can significantly affect the insurance business. It is not possible to predict the future impact of changing regulation on the operations of Athene. See Item 1A. Risk Factors.
NAIC
The NAIC is an organization, the mandate of which is to benefit state insurance regulatory authorities and consumers by promulgating model insurance laws and regulations for adoption by the states. The NAIC also provides standardized insurance industry accounting and reporting guidance through the NAIC Accounting Manual. However, model insurance laws and regulations are only effective when adopted by the states, and statutory accounting and reporting principles continue to be established by individual state laws, regulations and permitted practices. Changes to the NAIC Accounting Manual or modifications by the various state insurance departments may affect the statutory capital and surplus of our U.S. insurance subsidiaries. AHL has entered into capital maintenance agreements with each of its material U.S. insurance subsidiaries, pursuant to which AHL agrees to provide capital to the subsidiary to the extent that the capital of the subsidiary falls below a specified threshold as set with the applicable subsidiary’s domestic regulator.
28
Some of the NAIC pronouncements, particularly as they affect accounting issues, take effect automatically in the various states without affirmative action by the states. Statutes, regulations and interpretations may be applied with retroactive impact, particularly in areas such as accounting and reserve requirements. Also, regulatory actions with prospective impact can potentially have a significant impact on currently sold products. The NAIC continues to work to reform state regulation in various areas, including comprehensive reforms relating to life insurance reserves.
Pursuant to its “Solvency Modernization Initiative,” the NAIC reviewed the U.S. financial regulatory system and all aspects of financial regulation affecting insurance companies. Though broad in scope, the Solvency Modernization Initiative focused on: (1) capital requirements; (2) corporate governance and risk management; (3) group supervision; (4) statutory accounting and financial reporting; and (5) reinsurance. This initiative has resulted in the recent adoption by the NAIC of the Own Risk and Solvency Assessment (ORSA) Model Act, which has been enacted by a number of states, including Delaware, Iowa and New York, and requires insurance companies to assess the adequacy of their and their group’s risk management and current and future solvency position. Under the ORSA Model Act, certain insurers must undertake an internal risk management review no less often than annually (but also at any time when there are significant changes to the risk profile of the insurer or its insurance group), in accordance with the NAIC’s ORSA Guidance Manual, and prepare an ORSA Report assessing the adequacy of the insurer’s risk management and capital in light of its current and future business plans. The ORSA Report is required to be filed with a company’s lead state regulator and made available to other domiciliary regulators within the holding company system. As of December 31, 2016, we were in compliance with all ORSA Report filing requirements.
In December 2012, the NAIC approved a new valuation manual containing a principle-based approach to life insurance company reserves. Principle-based reserving is designed to tailor the reserving process to specific products in an effort to create a principle-based modeling approach to reserving rather than the factor-based approach historically employed. Pursuant to the NAIC’s Standard Valuation Law (SVL), a minimum of 42 states representing at least 76% of total life insurance premiums written in the United States must pass legislation substantially similar to the SVL for the SVL to become operative as an NAIC model law. As of July 1, 2016, these minimum threshold requirements have been satisfied such that the SVL is now operative, and principle-based reserving became effective prospectively on January 1, 2017. Delaware and Iowa have each adopted a form of the SVL. New York is expected to adopt a form of the SVL in January 2018.
In November 2014, the NAIC adopted the Corporate Governance Annual Disclosure Model Act and Model Regulation (together, the Corporate Governance Model Act), which requires an insurer to provide an annual disclosure regarding its corporate governance practices to its lead state and/or domestic regulator. As adopted by the NAIC, the requirements of the Corporate Governance Model Act were intended to be effective January 1, 2016, with the first annual disclosure due by June 1, 2016. The Corporate Governance Model Act must be adopted by the individual states for the new requirements to apply, and specifically in Delaware, Iowa and New York for the changes to apply to our U.S. insurance subsidiaries. Iowa has adopted a form of the Corporate Governance Annual Disclosure Model Act, and the first corporate governance annual disclosure under that law was due on June 1, 2016. Neither Delaware nor New York has adopted the Corporate Governance Model Act, and it is not possible to predict whether Delaware and/or New York may adopt the Corporate Governance Model Act in the future; however, the NAIC is seeking to make the Corporate Governance Model Act part of its accreditation standards for state solvency regulation, which may motivate states to adopt the Corporate Governance Model Act.
Insurance Holding Company Regulation
Each direct and indirect parent of our U.S. insurance subsidiaries (including AHL) is subject to the insurance holding company laws of each of the Athene Domiciliary States. These laws generally require an insurance holding company and insurers that are members of such holding company system to register with their U.S. insurance regulators and to file certain reports with those authorities, including information concerning their capital structure, ownership, financial condition, certain intercompany transactions and general business operations. Generally, under these laws, transactions between our U.S. insurance subsidiaries and their affiliates, including any reinsurance transactions, must be fair and reasonable and, if material or of a specified category, require prior notice and approval or non-disapproval by the insurance department of each applicable Athene Domiciliary State.
29
Most states, including each of the Athene Domiciliary States, have insurance laws that require regulatory approval of a direct or indirect change of control of an insurer, which would include a change of control of its holding company. Laws such as these prevent any person from acquiring direct or indirect control of any of our U.S. insurance subsidiaries or their holding companies unless that person has filed a statement with specified information with the commissioner or director of the insurance department of the applicable Athene Domiciliary State (each, a Commissioner) and has obtained the Commissioner’s prior approval. Under most states’ statutes, including those of each of the Athene Domiciliary States, acquiring 10% or more of a voting interest in an insurance company or its parent company is presumptively considered a change of control, although such presumption may be rebutted. Accordingly, any person who acquires 10% or more of a voting interest in a direct or indirect parent of any of our U.S. insurance subsidiaries (or AHL) without the prior approval of the Commissioner of the applicable Athene Domiciliary State will be in violation of the applicable Athene Domiciliary State’s law and may be subject to injunctive action requiring the disposition or seizure of those securities by the Commissioner or prohibiting the voting of those securities and to other actions determined by the Commissioner. Further, a willful violation of these laws is punishable in each Athene Domiciliary State as a criminal offense. In addition, the Model Insurance Holding Company System Regulatory Act (Amended Holding Company Model Act) requires any controlling person of a U.S. insurer seeking to divest its controlling interest in the insurance company to file with the relevant insurance commissioner a confidential notice of the proposed divestiture at least thirty days prior to the cessation of control (unless a person acquiring control from the divesting party has filed notice of the proposed acquisition of control with the Commissioner). After receipt of the notice, the Commissioner must determine those instances in which the parties seeking to divest or to acquire a controlling interest will be required to file for or obtain approval of the transaction. These laws may discourage potential acquisition proposals and may delay, deter or prevent an acquisition of control of a direct or indirect parent of any of our U.S. insurance subsidiaries (including AHL) (in particular through an unsolicited transaction), even if the shareholders of such parent consider such transaction to be desirable. Our bye-laws include limitations on the voting power exercisable by shareholders of the Company other than the Apollo Group so that certain persons or groups (Control Groups) are deemed not to hold more than 9.9% of the total voting power conferred by our shares.
Holding company system regulations currently in effect in New York require prospective acquirers of New York domiciled insurers to provide detailed disclosure with respect to intended changes to the business operations of the insurer, and expressly authorize the New York State Department of Financial Services (NYSDFS) to impose additional conditions on such acquisitions. Pursuant to these regulations, the NYSDFS may limit the changes that the acquirer may make to the insurer’s business operations for a specified period of time following the acquisition without the NYSDFS’ prior approval. In particular, the regulation provides the NYSDFS with the specific authority to require acquirers of New York domiciled life insurers to post assets in a trust account for the benefit of the target company’s policyholders. In making such determination, the NYSDFS may consider whether the acquirer is, or is controlled by or under common control with, an investment manager such as Apollo. The NAIC’s former Private Equity Issues Working Group, which was formed to develop best practice recommendations relating to acquisitions of control of insurance or reinsurance companies by private equity and hedge funds, adopted narrative guidance for state insurance examiners to consider in reviewing applications for an acquisition of an insurer. Such guidance has been adopted by the NAIC and is included in the 2015 Annual/2016 Quarterly edition of the NAIC’s Financial Analysis Handbook.
Although Athene Re IV is not subject to insurance holding company laws, the Vermont insurance regulator may use all or a part of the holding company law framework described above in determining whether to approve a proposed change of control.
In December 2010, the NAIC adopted the Amended Holding Company Model Act. The Amended Holding Company Model Act introduces the concept of “enterprise risk” within an insurance holding company system and imposes more extensive informational requirements on parents and other affiliates of licensed insurers or reinsurers, with the purpose of protecting the licensed companies from enterprise risk, including requiring an annual enterprise risk report by each ultimate controlling person identifying the material risks within the insurance holding company system that could pose enterprise risk to the licensed companies. An enterprise risk is an activity or event involving affiliates of an insurer that could have a material adverse effect on the insurer or the insurer’s holding company system. The Amended Holding Company Model Act must be adopted by the individual states for the new requirements to apply. Iowa, Delaware and New York have each adopted a form of the Amended Holding Company Model Act.
In December 2014, the NAIC adopted additional amendments to the Amended Holding Company Model Act for consideration by the various states that address the authority of an insurance commissioner to act as the group-wide supervisor for an internationally active insurance group or to acknowledge the authority of another regulatory official, from another jurisdiction, to so act. These changes to the Amended Holding Company Model Act must be enacted by the individual states before they will become effective, and specifically in Delaware, Iowa and New York for the changes to apply to our U.S. insurance subsidiaries. Delaware has adopted a form of these changes to the Amended Holding Company Model Act, and Iowa has adopted similar provisions under a predecessor statute. It is not possible to predict with any degree of certainty the additional capital requirements, compliance costs or other burdens these changes may impose in the future.
In addition, the NAIC has adopted a revised Suitability in Annuity Transactions Model Regulation (SAT), which places new responsibilities upon issuing insurance companies with respect to the suitability of annuity sales, including responsibilities for training agents. Many states, including Iowa, Delaware and New York, have already enacted laws and/or regulations based on SAT, thus imposing suitability standards with respect to sales of FIAs and variable annuities. The NYSDFS recently issued a circulated letter emphasizing insurers' obligations under laws and regulations based on SAT when replacing a deferred annuity contract with an immediate annuity contract. Future changes in such laws and regulations, including those that may result from any delay, repeal or modification of the DOL fiduciary rule, could adversely impact the way we market and sell our annuity products.
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Restrictions on Dividends and Other Distributions
Current law of two of the Athene Domiciliary States, Delaware and Iowa, permits the payment of dividends or distributions which, together with dividends or distributions paid during the preceding twelve months do not exceed the greater of (a) 10% of the insurer’s surplus as regards policyholders as of the immediately preceding year end or (b) the net gain from operations of the insurer for the preceding twelve-month period ending as of the immediately preceding year end. Current law of New York permits the payment of dividends or distributions which, together with dividends or distributions paid during any calendar year, (1) do not exceed the greater of (a) 10% of the insurer’s surplus as regards policyholders as of the end of the immediately preceding calendar year or (b) the net gain from operations of the insurer for the immediately preceding calendar year, not including realized capital gains, not to exceed 30% of the insurer’s surplus as regards policyholders as of the end of the immediately preceding calendar year or (2) do not exceed the lesser of (a) 10% of the insurer’s surplus as regards policyholders as of the end of the immediately preceding calendar year or (b) the net gain from operations of the insurer for the immediately preceding calendar year, not including realized capital gains. Any proposed dividend in excess of these amounts is considered an extraordinary dividend or extraordinary distribution and may not be paid until it has been approved, or a 30-day waiting period has passed during which it has not been disapproved, by the Commissioner. Additionally, under current law of the Athene Domiciliary States, AAIA may only pay dividends from the insurer’s earned profits on its business, which shall not include contributed capital or contributed surplus, and AADE may only pay dividends from that part of its available and accumulated surplus funds which is derived from realized net operating profits on its business and realized capital gains, and ALICNY may only pay dividends pursuant to the "greater of" standard described above from that part of its positive unassigned funds, excluding 85% of the change in net unrealized capital gains or losses less capital gains tax, for the immediately preceding calendar year. Further, as a condition to each of the NYSDFS’ and Iowa Insurance Division's (IID) approval of Athene’s acquisition of Aviva Life and Annuity Company of New York (ALACNY, now ALICNY) and AAIA, respectively, in connection with the broader Aviva USA acquisition, Athene agreed not to cause ALACNY or AAIA to declare, distribute or pay any dividend for five years from the date of acquisition of control of ALACNY or AAIA without the prior written consent of the NYSDFS or the IID, as applicable. The Athene Domiciliary States’ insurance laws and regulations also require that each of our U.S. insurance subsidiaries’ surplus as regards policyholders following any dividend or distribution be reasonable in relation to such U.S. insurance subsidiary’s outstanding liabilities and adequate to meet its financial needs.
Credit for Reinsurance Ceded
The ability of a ceding insurer to take reserve and capital credit for the reinsurance purchased from reinsurance companies is a significant component of reinsurance regulation. Typically, a ceding insurer will only enter into a reinsurance agreement if it can obtain credit on its statutory basis financial statements against its reserves (report lower net reserves) and/or toward its MCR (the denominator in its RBC calculation) for the reinsurance ceded to the reinsurer. With respect to U.S.-domiciled ceding companies, credit is usually granted when the reinsurer is licensed or accredited in the state where the ceding company is domiciled. States also generally permit ceding insurers to take credit for reinsurance if the reinsurer: (1) is domiciled in a state with a credit for reinsurance law that is substantially similar to the credit for reinsurance law in the ceding insurer’s state of domicile, and (2) meets certain financial requirements. Credit for reinsurance purchased from a reinsurer that does not meet the foregoing conditions is generally allowed to the extent that such reinsurer secures its obligations with qualified collateral.
ALRe has provided, and may in the future provide, reinsurance to our U.S. insurance subsidiaries in the normal course of business. Our U.S. insurance subsidiaries have entered into modco agreements with ALRe under which they will cede to ALRe a 100% quota share of their respective obligations to repay the principal upon maturity or earlier termination and to make periodic interest payments under funding agreements issued by them. Our U.S. insurance subsidiaries have similar arrangements with ALRe with respect to substantially all of their other core business, under which between 80% and 100% of all such business is ceded to ALRe on a modco basis, net of third party reinsurance. ALRe is not licensed, accredited or approved in any state in the United States and, consequently, ALRe must collateralize its obligations to our U.S. insurance subsidiaries or any third-party cedant in order for any of our U.S. insurance subsidiaries or any third-party cedant to obtain credit against its reserves on its statutory basis financial statements (unless the basis for such reinsurance transaction is modco). ALRe is domiciled in Bermuda, one of the largest reinsurance markets in the world by reserves with a regulatory regime deemed by the European Commission (EC) in November 2015 to be equivalent to the European Union (EU) Solvency II. The delegated act granting Bermuda equivalency under Solvency II was approved by the European Parliament and Council in March 2016.
The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010 (Dodd-Frank Act) provides that only the state in which a ceding insurer is domiciled may regulate the financial statement credit for reinsurance taken by that ceding insurer; other states are no longer able to require additional collateral from unauthorized reinsurers or otherwise impose their own credit for reinsurance laws on ceding insurers that are licensed, but not domiciled, in such other states.
In November 2011, the NAIC adopted amendments to its Credit for Reinsurance Model Law and Regulation to implement reinsurance collateral reform. Under the amended Credit for Reinsurance Model Law and Regulation, collateral requirements may be reduced from 100% for unauthorized or non-accredited reinsurers meeting certain criteria as to financial strength and reliability that are domiciled in jurisdictions that are found to have strong systems of insurance regulation (each, a “Qualified Jurisdiction”). Once a state legislature enacts the amendments to the Credit for Reinsurance Model Law and Regulation and the standards become operative in that state, such reinsurers will be eligible to apply for “certified reinsurer” status and reinsurers that become so certified will be permitted to post collateral at reduced levels in that state. The new collateral levels will apply on a prospective basis only. The NAIC recently made the reinsurance collateral reform provisions of the amended Credit for Reinsurance Model Law and Regulation an accreditation standard. Delaware and Iowa have adopted the reduced collateral requirements under the Credit for Reinsurance Model Law and Regulation, and New York has adopted the reduced collateral requirements under a predecessor statute.
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In December 2014, the NAIC approved Bermuda as a “Qualified Jurisdiction,” effective January 1, 2015, with respect to certain classes of insurers, including Class E insurers such as ALRe. The recognition of Bermuda as a Qualified Jurisdiction permits ALRe to apply for “certified reinsurer” status with the ability (if so certified) to post reduced collateral for coverage provided by ALRe to ceding insurers in the United States (including our U.S. insurance subsidiaries). The amount of collateral required to be posted by insurers with this designation varies based upon the insurers’ credit rating. ALRe is not currently certified to post reduced collateral in any state.
Statutory Investment Valuation Reserves
Life insurance companies domiciled in the U.S. are required to establish an asset valuation reserve (AVR) to stabilize statutory policyholder surplus from fluctuations in the market value of investments. The AVR consists of two components: (1) a “default component” for possible credit-related losses on fixed maturity investments and (2) an “equity component” for possible market-value losses on all types of equity investments, including real estate-related investments. Although future additions to the AVR will reduce the future statutory capital and surplus of our U.S. insurance subsidiaries, we do not believe that the impact under current regulations of such reserve requirements will materially affect our U.S. insurance subsidiaries. Insurers domiciled in the U.S. also are required to establish an interest maintenance reserve (IMR) for net realized capital gains and losses, net of tax, on fixed maturity investments where such gains and losses are attributable to changes in interest rates, as opposed to credit-related causes. The IMR is required to be amortized into statutory earnings on a basis reflecting the remaining period to maturity of the fixed maturity securities. These reserves are required by state insurance regulatory authorities to be established as liabilities on a life insurer’s statutory financial statements and may also be included in the liabilities assumed by our U.S. insurance subsidiaries pursuant to their reinsurance agreements with U.S.-based life insurer ceding companies.
Policy and Contract Reserve Adequacy Analysis
The Athene Domiciliary States and other states have adopted laws and regulations with respect to policy and contract reserve sufficiency. Under applicable insurance laws, our U.S. insurance subsidiaries are each required to annually conduct an analysis of the adequacy of all life insurance and annuity statutory reserves. A qualified actuary appointed by each such subsidiary’s board must submit an opinion annually for each such subsidiary which states that the statutory reserves make adequate provision, according to accepted actuarial standards of practice, for the anticipated cash flows resulting from the contractual obligations and related expenses of such subsidiary. The adequacy of the statutory reserves is considered in light of the assets held by such U.S. insurance subsidiary with respect to such reserves and related actuarial items, including, but not limited to, the investment earnings on such assets and the consideration anticipated to be received and retained under the related policies and contracts. At a minimum, such testing is done over a number of economic scenarios prescribed by the states, with the scenarios designed to stress anticipated cash flows for higher and/or lower future levels of interest rates. Our U.S. insurance subsidiaries may find it necessary to increase reserves, which may decrease their statutory surplus, in order to pass additional cash flow testing requirements.
U.S. Statutory Reports and Regulatory Examinations
Our U.S. insurance subsidiaries are required to file detailed annual reports, including financial statements, in accordance with prescribed statutory accounting rules, with regulatory officials in the jurisdictions in which they conduct business. In addition, each U.S. insurance subsidiary is required to file quarterly reports prepared on the same basis, though with considerably less detail.
As part of their routine regulatory oversight process, state insurance departments conduct periodic detailed examinations, generally once every three to five years, of the books, records, accounts and operations of insurance companies that are domiciled in their states. Examinations are generally carried out in cooperation with the insurance departments of other, non-domiciliary states under guidelines promulgated by the NAIC. There are currently no such examinations ongoing.
Vermont insurance laws and regulations applicable to Athene Re IV require it to file financial statements with the Commissioner of the Insurance Division of the Vermont Department of Financial Regulation. Additionally, Athene Re IV is subject to periodic financial examinations by the Insurance Division of the Vermont Department of Financial Regulation. The Vermont Department of Financial Regulation recently completed an examination of Athene Re IV for the period from January 1, 2011 through December 31, 2014. The final report was issued on September 21, 2016. There were no issues noted in the report.
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Market Conduct Regulation
State insurance laws and regulations include numerous provisions governing the marketplace activities of insurers, including provisions governing claims settlement practices, the form and content of disclosure to consumers, illustrations, advertising, sales and complaint process practices. State regulatory authorities generally enforce these provisions through periodic market conduct examinations. In addition, our U.S. insurance subsidiaries must file, and in many jurisdictions and for some lines of business obtain regulatory approval for, rates and forms relating to the insurance written in the jurisdictions in which they operate. Our U.S. insurance subsidiaries are currently undergoing the following market conduct examinations, each in the ordinary course of business: (1) the Missouri Department of Insurance, Financial Institutions & Professional Registration is conducting a market conduct examination of AAIA, (2) the NYSDFS is conducting a triennial examination of AANY, (3) the Wisconsin Office of the Commissioner of Insurance is conducting a general market conduct examination of AAIA, (4) the New York Office of the State Comptroller is conducting an audit of AANY and ALICNY regarding abandoned property, (5) the State of Connecticut Insurance Department is conducting an examination survey of the market conduct practices of AAIA and (6) the State of Massachusetts is conducting a limited scope market conduct examination of AAIA. The California Department of Insurance is completing a review of the rating and underwriting practices of AAIA, AADE and AANY.
State insurance regulators have been scrutinizing claims settlement practices of insurance companies with regard to payment of death benefits. Through their authority to regulate market conduct, including claims settlement practices, state insurance regulators have been examining the use by insurance companies of the U.S. Social Security Administration’s Social Security Death Index (Death Master File) to identify deceased persons and the processes by which insurance companies search for beneficiaries of life and annuity contracts. In particular, these regulators have been looking at how insurance companies handle unreported deaths, maturity of life insurance and annuity contracts, and contracts that have exceeded limiting age to determine if the companies are appropriately identifying when death benefits or other payments under the contracts should be made. Several states have enacted new laws or adopted new regulations mandating the use by insurance companies of the Death Master File or other similar databases to identify deceased persons and more rigorous processes to find beneficiaries. The NAIC currently is developing a new model law to address the issue of unclaimed benefits.
In 2013, prior to our acquisition of Aviva USA, it entered into multi-state settlement agreements with the insurance regulators and treasurers for 48 states in connection with certain of its subsidiaries’ use of the Death Master File. As part of the settlement, AAIA and its subsidiary ALICNY agreed to pay a $4 million assessment for examination, compliance and monitoring costs without admitting any liability or wrongdoing, and further agreed to adopt policies and procedures reasonably designed to ensure timely payment of valid claims to beneficiaries in accordance with insurance laws and to timely report and remit unclaimed proceeds to the appropriate states in connection with unpaid property laws. Our U.S. insurance subsidiaries could continue to be subject to risks related to unpaid benefits, the Death Master File, and the procedures required by the prior multi-state settlement as they relate to our annuity business. Furthermore, administrative challenges associated with implementing the procedures described above may make compliance with the multi-state settlement and applicable law difficult and could have a material and adverse effect on our results of operations. AADE is currently undergoing a multi-state unclaimed property examination led by Verus Financial, on behalf of California, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Louisiana, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee and Texas. Further, AADE is also a defendant in a lawsuit filed by the West Virginia Treasurer, State of West Virginia ex rel. John D. Perdue v. Liberty Life Ins. Co., Case No. 12-C-419, pursuant to which the Treasurer alleges that Liberty Life, now known as AADE, failed to adopt reasonable procedures, such as using the Death Master File, to identify deceased insureds with unpaid death benefits and timely escheat those unclaimed benefits to the state. The Treasurer accordingly seeks to recover unpaid death benefits, statutory interest and penalties.
Another area of focus by state insurance regulators has been on the use of third-party administrators (TPAs) to administer insurance policies. Our U.S. insurance subsidiaries rely on TPAs to service certain annuity and life insurance policies and have experienced increased service and administration complaints related to the conversion and administration of the Aviva USA life insurance policies reinsured to affiliates of Global Atlantic by the TPA retained by such Global Atlantic affiliates to provide services on such policies, as well as on certain annuity policies that were on Aviva USA’s life systems that were also converted to and are being administered by the same TPA. As a result of these increased complaints and service-related issues, our U.S. insurance subsidiaries may be subject to increased regulatory scrutiny, including fines and penalties, and policyholder litigation.
Capital Requirements
Regulators of each state have discretionary authority in connection with our U.S. insurance subsidiaries’ continued licensing to limit or prohibit sales to policyholders within their respective states if, in their judgment, the regulators determine that such entities have not maintained the required level of minimum surplus or capital or that the further transaction of business would be hazardous to policyholders.
In order to enhance the regulation of insurers’ solvency, the NAIC adopted a model law to implement RBC requirements for life, health and property and casualty insurance and reinsurance companies. All states have adopted the NAIC’s model law or a substantively similar law. The NAIC Risk-Based Capital for Insurers Model Act requires life insurance companies to submit an annual report (the Risk-Based Capital Report), which compares an insurer’s total adjusted capital (TAC) to its authorized control level RBC (ACL), each such term as defined pursuant to applicable state law. A company’s RBC is calculated by using a specified formula that applies factors to various risks inherent in the insurer’s operations, including risks attributable to its assets, underwriting experience, interest rates and other business expenses. The factors are higher for those items deemed to have greater underlying risk and lower for items deemed to have less underlying risk. Statutory RBC is measured on two bases, with ACL calculated as one-half company action level RBC (CAL). Regulators typically use ACL in assessing companies and reviewing solvency requirements. Companies themselves typically report and are compared using the CAL standard.
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The Risk-Based Capital Report is used by regulators to set in motion appropriate regulatory actions relating to insurers that show indications of weak or deteriorating conditions. RBC is an additional standard for MCR that insurers must meet to avoid being placed in rehabilitation or liquidation by regulators. The annual Risk-Based Capital Report, and the information contained therein, is not intended by the NAIC as a means to rank insurers.
RBC is a method of measuring the level of capital appropriate for an insurance company to support its overall business operations, in light of its size and risk profile. It provides a means of assessing capital adequacy, where the degree of risk taken by the insurer is the primary determinant. The value of an insurer’s TAC in relation to its RBC, together with its trend in its TAC, is used as a basis for determining regulatory action that a state insurance regulator may be authorized or required to take with respect to an insurer. The four action levels include:
1. |
CAL: The insurer is required to submit a plan for corrective action when its TAC is equal to or less than 200% of ACL; |
2. |
Regulatory Action Level: The insurer is required to submit a plan for corrective action and is subject to examination, analysis and specific corrective action when its TAC is equal to or less than 150% of ACL; |
3. |
ACL: Regulators may place the insurer under regulatory control when its TAC is equal to or less than 100% of ACL; and |
4. |
Mandatory Control Level: Regulators are required to place the insurer under regulatory control when its TAC is equal to or less than 70% of ACL. |
TAC and RBC are calculated annually by insurers, as of December 31 of each year. As of December 31, 2016, each of our U.S. insurance subsidiaries’ TAC was significantly in excess of the levels that would prompt regulatory action under the laws of the Athene Domiciliary States. As of December 31, 2016, our U.S. RBC ratio was 478%. The calculation of RBC requires certain judgments to be made, and, accordingly, our U.S. insurance subsidiaries’ current RBC may be greater or less than the RBC calculated as of any date of determination.
Under U.S. statutory accounting principles (SAP), our U.S. domiciled subsidiaries defer the portion of realized capital gains and losses on fixed maturity securities attributable to changes in the general level of interest rates into an IMR. The IMR amortizes into future year statutory operating results based on a formula prescribed by the NAIC. The IMR provides a buffer to our statutory capital and surplus in the event we have to sell securities in an unrealized loss position. As of December 31, 2016 and 2015, our aggregate IMR balance was $217 million and $238 million, respectively.
Insurance Regulatory Information System Ratios
The NAIC has established the Insurance Regulatory Information System (IRIS) to assist state insurance departments in their oversight of the financial condition of insurance companies operating in their respective states. IRIS is a series of financial ratios calculated by the NAIC based on financial information submitted by insurers on an annual basis. Each ratio has an established “usual range” of results. The NAIC shares the IRIS ratios calculated for each insurer with the interested state insurance departments. Generally, an insurance company will be required to explain ratios that fall outside the usual range, and may be subject to regulatory scrutiny and action if one or more of its ratios fall outside the specified ranges. None of our U.S. insurance subsidiaries are currently subject to non-ordinary course regulatory scrutiny based on their IRIS ratios.
Regulation of Investments
Each of our U.S. insurance subsidiaries is subject to laws and regulations in each Athene Domiciliary State that require diversification of its investment portfolio and limit the amounts of investments in certain asset categories, such as below-investment grade fixed income securities, real estate-related equity, partnerships, other equity investments, derivatives and alternative investments. Failure to comply with these laws and regulations would cause investments exceeding regulatory limitations to be treated as non-admitted assets for purposes of measuring statutory surplus and, in some instances, could require the divestiture of such non-qualifying investments. Accordingly, the investment laws in the Athene Domiciliary States could prevent our U.S. insurance subsidiaries from pursuing investment opportunities which they believe are beneficial to their shareholders, which could in turn preclude Athene from realizing its investment objectives. We believe that the investments our U.S. insurance subsidiaries have made are in compliance, in all material respects, with such laws and regulations as of December 31, 2016.
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Guaranty Associations
All 50 states and the District of Columbia have insurance guaranty fund laws requiring insurance companies doing business within those jurisdictions to participate in guaranty associations. Guaranty associations are organized to cover, subject to limits, contractual obligations under insurance policies issued by life insurance companies which later become impaired or insolvent. These associations levy assessments, up to prescribed limits, on each member insurer doing business in a particular state on the basis of their proportionate share of the premiums written by all member insurers in the lines of business in which the impaired or insolvent insurer previously engaged. Most states limit assessments in any year to 2% of the insurer’s average annual premium for the three years preceding the calendar year in which the impaired insurer became impaired or insolvent. Some states permit member insurers to recover assessments paid through full or partial premium tax offsets, usually over a period of years. Assessments levied against our U.S. insurance subsidiaries by guaranty associations during each of the past five years have not been material. While Athene cannot accurately predict the amount of future assessments or future insolvencies of competitors which would lead to such assessments, Athene believes that assessments with respect to pending insurance company impairments and insolvencies will not have a material effect on Athene’s financial condition or results of operations.
Federal Oversight
Although the insurance business in the United States is primarily regulated by the states, federal initiatives can affect the businesses of our U.S. insurance subsidiaries in a variety of ways. From time to time, federal measures are proposed which may significantly affect the insurance business. These areas include financial services regulation, securities regulation, derivatives regulation, pension regulation, money laundering, privacy regulation, taxation and the economic and trade sanctions implemented by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). OFAC maintains and enforces economic sanctions against certain foreign countries and groups and prohibits U.S. persons from engaging in certain transactions with certain persons or entities. OFAC has imposed civil penalties on persons, including insurance and reinsurance companies, arising from violations of its economic sanctions program. In addition, various forms of direct and indirect federal regulation of insurance have been proposed from time to time, including proposals for the establishment of an optional federal charter for insurance companies.
Title I of the Dodd-Frank Act established the Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC), which has authority to designate non-bank financial companies as systemically important financial institutions (SIFIs), thereby subjecting them to enhanced prudential standards and supervision by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Federal Reserve). The prudential standards for non-bank SIFIs include enhanced RBC requirements, leverage limits, liquidity requirements, single counterparty exposure limits, governance requirements for risk management, stress test requirements, special debt-to-equity limits for certain companies, early remediation procedures, and recovery and resolution planning. Athene USA Corporation (Athene USA) and certain of our U.S. insurance subsidiaries may be above the initial quantitative threshold for treatment as a non-bank SIFI (total consolidated assets of $50 billion). If the FSOC were to determine that Athene USA or any of our U.S. subsidiaries is a non-bank SIFI, such entity would become subject to certain of these enhanced prudential standards.
The Dodd-Frank Act, which effected the most far-reaching overhaul of financial regulation in the U.S. in decades, established the Federal Insurance Office within the U.S. Department of the Treasury (Treasury Department). While currently not having a general supervisory or regulatory authority over the business of insurance, the Director of the Federal Insurance Office performs various functions with respect to insurance, including serving as a non-voting member of the FSOC and making recommendations to the FSOC regarding non-bank financial companies to be designated as SIFIs. The Federal Insurance Office has been charged with providing reports to the U.S. Congress on (1) the global reinsurance market (provided in January 2015), (2) modernization of U.S. insurance regulation and possible federal involvement in supervision of insurance group holding companies (provided in December 2013) and (3) state regulators’ ability to access reinsurance information (provided in November 2013). Such reports could ultimately lead to changes in the regulation of insurers and reinsurers in the United States, including insurance group holding companies.
The Dodd-Frank Act also authorizes the Federal Insurance Office to assist the Secretary of the Treasury Department in negotiating covered agreements. A covered agreement is an agreement between the United States and one or more foreign governments, authorities or regulatory entities, regarding prudential measures with respect to insurance or reinsurance. The Federal Insurance Office is further charged with determining, in accordance with the procedures and standards established under the Dodd-Frank Act, whether state laws are preempted by a covered agreement. Pursuant to this authority, as of January 13, 2017, the Treasury Department and the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative have negotiated a covered agreement with the European Union (Covered Agreement) to address, among other things, reinsurance collateral requirements. The Covered Agreement remains subject to the U.S. and the European Union completing their respective internal requirements and procedures necessary for the Covered Agreement to take effect with respect to each party. As such, it is uncertain when, if ever, the Covered Agreement will take effect.
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FIAs
In recent years, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and state securities regulators have questioned whether FIAs, such as those sold by our U.S. insurance subsidiaries, should be treated as securities under the federal and state securities laws rather than as insurance products exempted from such laws. On December 17, 2008, the SEC voted to approve Rule 151A, and apply federal securities oversight to FIAs issued on or after January 12, 2011. Under the Dodd-Frank Act, annuities that meet specific requirements are specifically exempted from being treated as securities by the SEC. We expect that the types of FIAs our U.S. insurance subsidiaries sell will meet applicable requirements for exemption from treatment as securities and therefore will remain exempt from being treated as securities by the SEC and state securities regulators. However, there can be no assurance that federal or state securities laws or state insurance laws and regulations will not be amended or interpreted to impose further requirements on FIAs. Treatment of these products as securities would require additional registration and licensing of these products and the agents selling them, as well as cause our U.S. insurance subsidiaries to seek new or additional marketing relationships for these products, any of which may impose significant restrictions on their ability to conduct business as currently operated. On July 12, 2010, the District of Columbia Circuit Court of Appeals vacated Rule 151A.
Unclaimed Property Laws
Each of our U.S. insurance subsidiaries is subject to the laws and regulations of states and other jurisdictions concerning the identification, reporting and escheatment of abandoned or unclaimed money or property. State treasurers, controllers and revenue departments have been scrutinizing escheatment practices of life insurance companies with regard to unclaimed life insurance and annuity death benefits. As with state insurance regulators, state revenue authorities have been looking at how life insurance companies handle unreported deaths, maturity of life insurance and annuity contracts, and contracts that have exceeded limiting age to determine if the companies are appropriately determining when death benefits or other payments under the contracts should be treated as unclaimed property. State treasurers, controllers and revenue departments have audited life insurance companies, required escheatments and imposed interest penalties on amounts escheated for failure to escheat death benefits or other contract benefits when beneficiaries could not be found at the expiration of statutory dormancy periods.
Regulation of OTC Derivatives
We use derivatives to mitigate a wide range of risks in connection with our businesses, including options purchased to hedge the derivatives embedded in the FIAs that we have issued, and swaps, futures and/or options may be used to manage the impact of increased benefit exposures from our annuity products that offer guaranteed benefits. Title VII of the Dodd-Frank Act creates a comprehensive framework for the federal oversight and regulation of the OTC derivatives market and entities, such as us, that participate in the market and requires U.S. regulators to promulgate rules and regulations implementing its provisions. Regulations have been finalized and implemented in many areas and are being finalized for implementation in others.
The Dodd-Frank Act divides the regulatory responsibility for swaps in the United States between the SEC and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). The CFTC regulates swaps and swap entities, and the SEC regulates security-based swaps and security based swap entities. The CFTC and the SEC have jointly finalized certain regulations under the Dodd-Frank Act, including critical rulemakings on the definitions of “swap,” “security-based swap,” “swap dealer,” “security-based swap dealer,” “major swap participant” and “major security-based swap participant.” In addition, the CFTC has substantially finalized its required rulemaking under the Dodd-Frank Act, including regulations relating to the registration and regulation of swap dealers, major swap participants and swap execution facilities, reporting, recordkeeping, mandatory clearing and mandatory on-facility trade execution. The SEC has yet to implement its regulatory regime for security-based swaps and market participants transacting in security-based swaps, including security-based swap dealers and major security-based swap participants subject to the SEC’s oversight. As a result of this bifurcation and the different pace at which the agencies have promulgated and implemented regulations, different transactions are subject to different levels of regulation.
The Dodd-Frank Act and the CFTC rules thereunder require us, in connection with certain swap transactions, to comply with mandatory clearing and on-facility trade execution requirements, and it is anticipated that the types of swaps subject to these requirements will be expanded over time. In addition, new regulations require us to comply with mandatory minimum margin requirements for uncleared swaps and, in some instances, uncleared security-based swaps. Uncleared swap variation margin regulations issued by U.S. bank prudential regulators, the CFTC and regulators in certain other jurisdictions, such as the European Union and Canada, are scheduled to take effect on March 1, 2017. These regulations require market participants to enter into agreements consistent with the requirements thereunder and a failure to do so could result in trading disruptions. Derivative clearing requirements and mandatory margin requirements could increase the cost of our risk mitigation and could have other implications. For example, increased margin requirements, combined with netting restrictions and restrictions on securities that qualify as eligible collateral, could reduce our liquidity and require increased holdings of cash and highly liquid securities with lower yields causing a reduction in income. In addition, the requirement that certain trades be centrally cleared through clearinghouses subjects us to documentation that is significantly more counterparty-favorable and may entitle counterparties to unilaterally change such terms as trading limits and the amount of margin required. The ability of any such counterparty to take such actions could create trading disruptions and liquidity concerns. Finally, the requirement that certain trades be centrally cleared through clearinghouses concentrates counterparty risk in both clearinghouses and clearing members. The failure of a clearinghouse could have a significant impact on the financial system. Even if a clearinghouse does not fail, large losses could force significant capital calls on clearinghouse members during a financial crisis, which could lead clearinghouse members to default. Because clearinghouses are still developing and the related bankruptcy process is untested, it is difficult to anticipate or identify all actual risks related to the default of a clearinghouse.
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The Dodd-Frank Act and new regulations thereunder and similar regulations issued by non-U.S. jurisdictions that may indirectly apply to us could significantly increase the cost of derivative contracts, reduce the availability of derivatives to protect against risks we encounter, reduce our ability to monetize or restructure our existing derivative contracts, and increase our credit risk exposure. If we reduce our use of derivatives as a result of the Dodd-Frank Act and the regulations thereunder and other similar regulations, our results of operations may become more volatile and our cash flows may be less predictable which could adversely affect our financial performance. Additionally, we have always been subject to the risk that hedging and other management procedures might prove ineffective in reducing the risks to which insurance policies expose us or that unanticipated policyholder behavior or mortality, combined with adverse market events, could produce economic losses beyond the scope of the risk management techniques employed. Any such losses could be increased by the increased cost of entering into derivatives and the reduced availability of customized derivatives that might result from the implementation of the Dodd-Frank Act.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, the future of Title VII of the Dodd-Frank Act and the related regulations implemented by the CFTC and the SEC and their impact on us remain uncertain and unpredictable, particularly in light of actions taken by the Trump administration. On February 3, 2017, President Trump signed an Executive Order that establishes core principles for regulating the U.S. financial system and provides a framework for comprehensive change to current financial regulation, and on February 24, 2017, President Trump also signed an Executive Order that requires federal agencies to designate a “Regulatory Reform Officer” and a “Regulatory Reform Task Force” to evaluate existing regulations and make recommendations to repeal, replace or modify regulations that, among others, inhibit job creation, are ineffective or impose costs that exceed benefits. At this point it is difficult to predict the impact of these Executive Orders on Title VII of the Dodd-Frank Act, derivatives regulatory schemes in other jurisdictions and our derivatives activities.
Consumer Protection Laws and Privacy and Data Security Regulation
Numerous other federal and state laws also affect Athene’s earnings and activities, including federal and state consumer protection laws. As part of the Dodd-Frank Act, Congress established the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) to supervise and regulate institutions that provide certain financial products and services to consumers. Although the consumer financial services subject to the CFPB’s jurisdiction generally exclude insurance business of the kind in which our U.S. insurance subsidiaries engage, the CFPB does have authority to regulate non-insurance consumer services which are offered by issuers of securities in our U.S. insurance subsidiaries’ investment portfolio.
Federal and state laws and regulations require financial institutions, including insurers, to protect the security and confidentiality of nonpublic personal information, including certain health-related and customer information, and to notify customers and other individuals about their policies and practices relating to their collection and disclosure of health-related and customer information and their practices relating to protecting the security and confidentiality of that information. State laws regulate use and disclosure of Social Security numbers and federal and state laws require notice to affected individuals, law enforcement, regulators and others if there is a breach of the security of certain nonpublic personal information, including Social Security numbers. In addition, state laws and regulations restrict the disclosure of the medical record and health status information obtained by insurers.
Federal and state lawmakers and regulatory bodies may be expected to consider additional or more detailed regulation regarding these subjects and the privacy and security of nonpublic personal information. Furthermore, the issues surrounding data security and the safeguarding of consumers’ protected information are under increasing regulatory scrutiny by state and federal regulators, particularly in light of the number and severity of recent U.S. companies’ data breaches. The Federal Trade Commission, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Federal Communications Commission, the NYSDFS and the NAIC have undertaken various studies, reports and actions regarding data security for entities under their respective supervision. Some states have recently enacted new insurance laws that require certain regulated entities to implement and maintain comprehensive information security programs to safeguard the personal information of insureds and enrollees.
The NAIC recently instituted a 50-state market conduct examination of multiple insurers that were the subject of separate data breaches. The NAIC also has created a Cybersecurity Task Force to look into various data security issues. In June 2015, the NAIC adopted a guidance document that sets forth twelve principles for effective insurance regulation of cybersecurity risks based on similar regulatory guidance adopted by the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association. In December 2015, the NAIC adopted the “Roadmap for Cybersecurity Consumer Protections”, which describes the protections to which the NAIC believes consumers should be entitled from their insurance companies, agents and other businesses concerning the collection and maintenance of consumers’ personal information, as well as what consumers should expect when such information has been involved in a data breach. In March 2016, the NAIC’s Cybersecurity Task Force exposed for public comment a draft of a new model law addressing cybersecurity, which is intended to establish the exclusive standards for data security and breaches applicable to insurance licensees in states adopting such law. After receiving input from industry groups and regulators, a second draft of the model law was published for comment. If adopted in its current form, upon the occurrence of a data breach, the model law could subject us to two separate and different data breach legal frameworks, depending on the state in which the breach is deemed to have occurred, as many states have pre-existing and broadly applicable privacy laws and regulations presently in effect. We cannot predict the effect or the compliance costs if state and federal regulators pursue investigations and increase the regulatory requirements for the security of protected information.
In addition to the NAIC’s proposed model law, state lawmakers and regulatory bodies may consider additional or more detailed regulation regarding these subjects and the privacy and security of nonpublic personal information. The NYSDFS recently published a new regulation entitled Cybersecurity Requirements for Financial Services Companies (23 NYCRR 500), which became effective on March 1, 2017, with ongoing compliance deadlines over the next 24 months. We are in the process of updating processes and procedures to comply with the new requirements. We cannot predict the effect or the amount of compliance costs that will be incurred if state and federal regulators pursue investigations and increase the regulatory requirements for the security of protected information.
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Further, the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act of 1999, which implemented fundamental changes in the regulation of the financial services industry in the United States, includes privacy requirements for financial institutions, including obligations to protect and safeguard consumers’ nonpublic personal information and records, and limitations on the re-disclosure and re-use of such information.
Finally, our investment in a limited partnership which is in the business of originating RML, as well as our direct investment in any residential or other mortgage loans, may expose us to various environmental and other regulation. For example, to the extent that we hold whole mortgage loans as part of our investment portfolio, we may be responsible for certain tax payments or subject to liabilities under the federal Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act of 1980. Additionally, we may be subject to regulation by the CFPB as a mortgage holder or property owner. We are currently unable to predict the impact of such regulation on our business.
Broker-dealers
Our securities operations, principally conducted by our limited purpose SEC-registered broker-dealer, Athene Securities, LLC, are subject to federal and state securities and related laws, and are regulated principally by the SEC, state securities authorities and FINRA. Athene Securities, LLC does not hold customer funds or safekeep customer securities or otherwise engage in any securities transactions. Athene Securities, LLC was the principal underwriter of a block of variable annuity contracts which has been closed to new investors since 2002. The closed block of variable annuity contracts was issued by a predecessor of AAIA. Athene Securities, LLC continues to receive concessions on those variable annuity contracts. Athene Securities, LLC also provides supervisory oversight to Athene employees who are registered representatives.
Employees or personnel registered with Athene Securities, LLC are subject to the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (Exchange Act) and to regulation and examination by the SEC, FINRA and state securities commissioners. The SEC and other governmental agencies and self-regulatory organizations, as well as state securities commissions in the United States, have the power to conduct administrative proceedings that can result in censure, fines, cease-and-desist orders or suspension, termination or limitation of the activities of the regulated entity or its employees.
As a registered broker-dealer and member of various self-regulatory organizations, Athene Securities, LLC is subject to the SEC’s net capital rule, which specifies the minimum level of net capital a broker-dealer is required to maintain and requires a minimum part of its assets to be kept in relatively liquid form. These net capital requirements are designed to measure the financial soundness and liquidity of broker-dealers. The net capital rule imposes certain requirements that may have the effect of preventing a broker-dealer from distributing or withdrawing capital and may require that prior notice to the regulators be provided prior to making capital withdrawals. Compliance with net capital requirements could limit operations that require the intensive use of capital, such as trading activities and underwriting, and may limit the ability of our broker-dealer subsidiaries to pay dividends to us.
ERISA
We also may be subject to regulation by the DOL when providing a variety of products and services to employee benefit plans governed by ERISA. ERISA is a comprehensive federal statute that applies to U.S. employee benefit plans sponsored by private employers and labor unions. Plans subject to ERISA include pension and profit sharing plans and welfare plans, including health, life and disability plans. Among other things, ERISA imposes reporting and disclosure obligations, prescribes standards of conduct that apply to plan fiduciaries and prohibits transactions known as “prohibited transactions,” such as conflict-of-interest transactions, self-dealing and certain transactions between a benefit plan and a “party in interest.” ERISA also provides for a scheme of civil and criminal penalties and enforcement. Our insurance businesses provide services to employee benefit plans subject to ERISA. We are also subject to ERISA’s prohibited transaction rules for transactions with ERISA plans, which may affect our ability to, or the terms upon which we may, enter into transactions with those plans, even in businesses unrelated to those giving rise to “party in interest” status. The applicable provisions of ERISA and the U.S. Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (Internal Revenue Code) are subject to enforcement by the DOL, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the U.S. Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation. Severe penalties are imposed for breach of duties under ERISA.
On April 6, 2016, the DOL issued a new regulation more broadly defining the circumstances under which a person is considered to be a fiduciary by reason of giving investment advice or recommendations to an employee benefit plan or a plan’s participants or to individual retirement account (IRA) holders. In addition to releasing the investment advice regulation, the DOL: (1) issued a new prohibited transaction class exemption referred to as the “Best Interest Contract Exemption” (BICE), to be used in connection with the sale of FIAs or variable annuities, and (2) updated the previous prohibited transaction class exemption 84-24, to be used in connection with the sale of traditional fixed rate annuities. To satisfy the requirements under the BICE, a “Financial Institution” (defined under the exemption as a registered investment adviser, bank, registered broker-dealer, or insurance company) must, among other things, accept fiduciary responsibility for the recommendations of the producer and, in the case of a retirement investor that is an IRA, enter into a contract with the IRA. To assist in understanding the regulation, the DOL, on October 27, 2016, issued its first in a series of frequently asked questions followed by its second series on January 13, 2017, responding to questions submitted by various retirement market participants impacted by the regulation. The frequently asked questions, among other things, clarified that an insurance-only licensed producer can meet the best interest requirements even though he or she is limited to selling insurance products. In addition, the DOL clarified that an insurance carrier that acts as a Financial Institution will only act as such with respect to the sale of that insurance carrier’s products. The DOL issued the Proposed Best Interest Contract Exemption for Insurance Intermediaries on January 19, 2017, in an attempt to provide a separate exemption for IMOs to act as Financial Institutions for the sale of insurance products. The proposed rule sets forth various requirements, including a minimum annual premium volume requirement and reserve or errors and omissions coverage requirements, limiting the availability of the exemption to only very large IMOs in the industry. The rule was subject to a comment period that ended on February 21, 2017.
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On February 3, 2017, the President of the United States issued an executive memorandum directing the DOL to examine the fiduciary rule to determine whether the fiduciary rule has harmed or is likely to cause harm to investors by limiting access to certain retirement products or related financial advice, whether the fiduciary rule has resulted in dislocations in the retirement services industry that may adversely affect investors or retirees, or whether the fiduciary rule is likely to cause increased litigation and increased costs for investors and retirees. In direct response to the memorandum, the acting secretary of the DOL stated that the DOL will consider its legal options to delay the applicability date of the rule in order to comply with the memorandum. The DOL has published a proposed amendment to the fiduciary rule that will delay the applicability date for 60 days to allow the DOL to fully review the rule in light of the executive memorandum. The DOL has provided a 15-day comment period to respond to the proposed delay and it is anticipated it will issue the final rule officially delaying the applicability date in late March. In addition to the 15-day comment period for the delay itself, the DOL has opened a 45-day comment period to collect responses to the questions raised in the executive memorandum. We anticipate a delay, with a possible replacement of the rule that is less burdensome but still requires sales to be in the best interest of clients. However, until the rule is officially delayed, we continue to move forward in preparation for the April 10, 2017 applicability date.
While there remains significant uncertainty regarding our distributors’ response to the DOL’s regulation and our distributors’ ability to meet the requirement of the BICE, we believe many of our producers have a path to an entity capable of being a Financial Institution because the IMOs with which they are affiliated have a broker-dealer or registered investment adviser or because such producers are otherwise a registered representative of a broker-dealer that could sign the contract required by the BICE. In June 2016 we undertook a review of our producer relationships and estimated that approximately 84% of our retail sales of FIAs are through producers with a path to a Financial Institution under the regulation. While we cannot confirm this figure with certainty, we have used this assumption in preparing for implementation of the regulation. The following table summarizes the percentages of our new deposits for the year ended December 31, 2016, by various categories we believe are relevant to understanding the impact of the DOL regulation on our business.
Reinsured
Qualified
Deposits
|
Reinsured
Non-
Qualified
Deposits
|
Retail Non-
Qualified
Deposits
|
Retail MYGA
Qualified
Deposits
(84-24)
|
Retail FIA
Qualified
Deposits
|
15% |
24% |
20% |
4% |
37% |
Rule does not apply to reinsurers directly but may affect cedants’ volumes and risks |
Rule does not apply to non-qualified sales |
Rule does not apply to non-qualified sales |
Sales must satisfy 84-24 exemption |
Sales must satisfy BICE exemption; estimated that 84% of such sales (or 31% of total deposits) have a path to a Financial Institution |
Given the uncertainty surrounding our distributors’ response to the DOL regulation, we are preparing to act as the Financial Institution for sales of our FIAs, subject to various conditions and qualifications, for a transitional period, during which our current distributors do not have access or the ability to be a Financial Institution with respect to sales of FIAs. In the event that we must serve as the Financial Institution, we expect to adjust the compensation paid to producers on the sales of our FIAs to compensate us for various compliance costs incurred in acting as the Financial Institution, as well as for the additional risk associated with such fiduciary sales.
We cannot predict with any certainty the impact of the regulation and exemptions, but the regulation and exemptions could alter the way our products and services are marketed and sold, particularly to purchasers of IRAs and individual retirement annuities. If implemented in its current form, the DOL regulation could have an adverse effect on our ability to write new business.
The SEC also has indicated that it may propose rules creating a uniform standard of conduct applicable to broker-dealers and investment advisers, which, if adopted, may affect the distribution of our products. Should the SEC rules, if adopted, not align with the finalized DOL regulations related to conflicts of interest in the provision of investment advice, the distribution of our products could be further complicated. The DOL has also issued a number of regulations recently, and may issue similar additional regulations, that increase the level of disclosure that must be provided to plan sponsors and participants. These ERISA disclosure requirements will likely increase the regulatory and compliance burden on us, resulting in increased costs.
Bermuda
General
The Bermuda Insurance Act regulates the insurance business of ALRe, and provides that no person may carry on any insurance business in or from within Bermuda unless registered as an insurer under the Bermuda Insurance Act by the BMA. The BMA is required by the Bermuda Insurance Act to determine whether the applicant is a fit and proper body to be engaged in the insurance business and, in particular, whether it has, or has available to it, adequate knowledge and expertise to operate an insurance business. See also Fit and Proper Controllers below.
The continued registration of an insurer is subject to the insurer complying with the terms of its registration and such other conditions as the BMA may impose from time to time. The Bermuda Insurance Act also grants to the BMA powers to supervise, investigate and intervene in the affairs of insurance companies.
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The Bermuda Insurance Act imposes on Bermuda insurance companies solvency standards as well as auditing and reporting requirements. Certain significant aspects of the Bermuda insurance regulatory framework are set forth below.
Classification of Insurers
The Bermuda Insurance Act distinguishes between insurers carrying on long-term business, insurers carrying on special purpose business and insurers carrying on general business. Long-term business is generally defined as life, annuity and accident and health insurance, while general business broadly includes all types of insurance that are not long-term business (property and casualty business). Special purpose business is fully funded insurance business approved by the BMA to be written by a company registered as a Special Purpose Insurer. There are five classifications of insurers carrying on long-term business, ranging from Class A insurers (pure captives) to Class E insurers (larger commercial carriers). Class A insurers are subject to the lightest regulation and Class E insurers are subject to the strictest regulation.
ALRe, which is incorporated to carry on long-term business, is registered as a Class E insurer which is the license class for long-term insurers and reinsurers with total assets of more than $500 million that are not registrable as a single-parent or multi-owner long-term captive insurer or reinsurer. ALRe is not licensed to carry on general business and has not sought authorization as a reinsurer or approval as an accredited reinsurer in any state or jurisdiction of the United States. Consequently, in order for its ceding companies to receive statutory reserve or RBC credit for the reinsurance provided by ALRe, ALRe typically structures its reinsurance transactions in one of three ways: (1) coinsurance, where ALRe’s liabilities to ceding companies in connection with reinsurance transactions are secured by assets held in trust for the benefit of the applicable ceding company, (2) funds withheld, where, although ALRe recognizes an insurance reserve liability, the assets to secure such liabilities are held and maintained by the applicable ceding company, or (3) modco, where both the insurance reserves and assets supporting the reserves are retained by the applicable ceding company.
Cancellation of Insurer’s Registration
The BMA could revoke or suspend ALRe’s license in circumstances in which (1) it is shown that false, misleading or inaccurate information has been supplied to the BMA by ALRe or on its behalf for the purposes of any provision of the Bermuda Insurance Act, (2) ALRe has ceased to carry on business, (3) ALRe has persistently failed to pay fees due under the Bermuda Insurance Act, (4) ALRe has been shown to have not complied with a condition attached to its registration or with a requirement made of it under the Bermuda Insurance Act, (5) ALRe is convicted of an offense against a provision of the Bermuda Insurance Act or (6) ALRe is, in the opinion of the BMA, found not to have been carrying on business in accordance with sound insurance principles.
Head Office and Principal Representative
An insurer is required to establish and maintain its head and principal office in Bermuda, which requires certain officers and a director to reside in Bermuda, and to appoint and maintain a principal representative in Bermuda. For the purpose of the Bermuda Insurance Act, the ALRe principal representative is Zachary Jones and his principal office for these purposes is AHL’s Bermuda office. It is the duty of the principal representative to forthwith notify the BMA where the principal representative believes there is a likelihood of the insurer becoming insolvent or that a reportable “event” has, to the principal representative’s knowledge, occurred or is believed to have occurred. Examples of such a reportable “event” include failure by the insurer to comply substantially with a condition imposed upon the insurer by the BMA relating to a solvency margin or other ratio or a significant loss which is likely to cause the insurer to fail to comply with its Enhanced Capital Requirement (ECR), as discussed below.
Public Disclosure
The Bermuda Insurance Act provides the BMA with powers to set standards on public disclosure. Using this power, the BMA requires all commercial insurers and insurance groups to prepare and publish a Financial Condition Report on their website. According to the BMA’s guiding principles on public disclosure, an obligation to disclose exists only if it would not compromise competitive advantage and confidentiality. The BMA has discretion in granting exemptions.
Independent Approved Auditor
Insurers must appoint an independent auditor who will annually audit and report on the insurer’s financial statements (Bermuda Financial Statements) prepared under GAAP or International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) and statutory financial returns, each of which are required to be filed annually with the BMA. The auditor must be approved by the BMA as the independent auditor of the insurer.
Approved Actuary
Long-term insurers must appoint an actuary approved by the BMA. In order to be approved, the actuary must be a member in good standing of either the Canadian Institute of Actuaries, the Casualty Actuarial Society, the Institute of Actuaries of Australia, the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries (for the United Kingdom (UK)), the Society of Actuaries, the American Academy of Actuaries or a member of an actuarial body recognized by the BMA. Additionally, the actuary must be qualified to provide an opinion in accordance with the requirements of the Bermuda Insurance Act.
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A Class E insurer is required to submit annually an opinion of its approved actuary with its capital and solvency return. The approved actuary’s opinion must state, among other things, whether or not the aggregate amount of technical provisions shown in the statutory economic balance sheet as of the end of the relevant financial year meets the requirements of the Bermuda Insurance Act and makes reasonable provision for the total technical provisions of the insurer under the terms of its insurance contracts and agreements.
Non-insurance Business
Pursuant to an amendment to the Bermuda Insurance Act, after a grandfathered period ending on December 31, 2016, as a Class E insurer, ALRe will not be permitted to engage in non-insurance business unless that non-insurance business is ancillary to its core business. Non-insurance business means any business other than insurance business and includes carrying on investment business, managing an investment fund as operator, carrying on business as a fund administrator, carrying on banking business, underwriting debt or securities or otherwise engaging in investment banking, engaging in commercial or industrial activities and carrying on the business of management, sales or leasing of real property.
Annual Financial Statements, Annual Statutory Financial Return and Annual Capital and Solvency Return
Class E insurers must file annual Bermuda Financial Statements and statutory financial returns within four months of the end of each fiscal year. The Bermuda Insurance Act prescribes rules for the preparation and substance of statutory financial returns (which include, in statutory form, an insurer information sheet, an auditor's report, a balance sheet, income statement, a statement of capital and surplus and notes thereto). The statutory financial returns include detailed information and analysis regarding premiums, claims, reinsurance and investments of the insurer.
A Class E insurer is required to file with the BMA its Bermuda Financial Statements and a statutory financial return no later than four months after its financial year end (unless specifically extended). The statutory financial return includes, among other matters, a report of the approved independent auditor on the statutory financial returns of the insurer.
In addition, each year a Class E insurer is required to file with the BMA a capital and solvency return along with its annual statutory financial return. The prescribed form of capital and solvency return comprises the insurer’s BSCR model or an approved internal capital model in lieu thereof, a schedule of fixed income and equity investments by BSCR rating, a schedule of funds held by ceding reinsurers in segregated accounts/trusts by BSCR rating, a schedule of long-term premiums written by line of business, a schedule of risk management, a schedule of fixed income securities, a schedule of long-term business data, a schedule of long-term variable annuity guarantees data and reconciliation, a schedule of long-term variable annuity guarantees - internal capital model, a schedule of eligible capital, a schedule of commercial insurer’s solvency self-assessment (CISSA), a statutory economic balance sheet, the approved actuary’s opinion, a schedule of particulars of ceded reinsurance, a schedule of cash and cash equivalents counterparty analysis, a schedule of currency risk, a schedule of concentration risk and a schedule of anti-money laundering assessment.
Neither the statutory financial return nor the capital and solvency return is available for public inspection.
Minimum Margin of Solvency (MMS), ECR and Restrictions on Dividends and Distributions
Class E insurers must at all times maintain an MMS and an ECR in accordance with the provisions of the Bermuda Insurance Act. Each year the insurer is required to file with the BMA a capital and solvency return within four months of its relevant financial year end (unless specifically extended). The Bermuda Insurance Act mandates certain actions and filings with the BMA if an insurer fails to meet and/or maintain its ECR or MMS including the filing of a written report detailing the circumstances giving rise to the failure and the manner and time within which the insurer intends to rectify the failure.
An insurer is prohibited from declaring or paying a dividend if in breach of its ECR or MMS or if the declaration or payment of such dividend would cause such a breach. Where an insurer fails to meet its MMS on the last day of any financial year, it is prohibited from declaring or paying any dividends during the next financial year without the approval of the BMA. Under the Bermuda Insurance Act, ALRe is prohibited from paying a dividend in an amount exceeding 25% of the prior year’s total statutory capital and surplus, unless at least two members of ALRe’s board of directors and its principal representative sign and submit to the BMA an affidavit attesting that a dividend in excess of this amount would not cause ALRe to fail to meet its relevant margins. In certain instances, ALRe would also be required to provide prior notice to the BMA in advance of the payment of dividends. In the event that such an affidavit is submitted to the BMA in accordance with the Bermuda Insurance Act, and further subject to ALRe meeting its MMS and ECR, ALRe is permitted to distribute up to the sum of 100% of statutory surplus and an amount less than 15% of its total statutory capital. Distributions in excess of this amount require the approval of the BMA. Further, ALRe must obtain the BMA’s prior approval before reducing its total statutory capital as shown in its previous financial year statutory balance sheet by 15% or more. ALRe is also required to obtain a certification from its approved actuary prior to declaring or paying any dividends and such certificate will not be given unless the value of its long-term business assets exceeds its long-term business liabilities, as certified by its approved actuary, by the amount of the dividend and at least the MMS. These restrictions on declaring or paying dividends and distributions under the Bermuda Insurance Act are in addition to those under Bermuda's Companies Act 1981 (the Companies Act) which apply to all Bermuda companies.
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At the time of filing its statutory financial statements, a Class E insurer is also required to deliver to the BMA a declaration of compliance, in such form and with such content as may be prescribed by the BMA, declaring whether or not the Class E insurer has, with respect to the preceding financial year (1) complied with all requirements of the minimum criteria applicable to it; (2) complied with the MMS as at its financial year end; (3) complied with the applicable enhanced capital requirements as at its financial year end; and (4) complied with applicable conditions, directions and restrictions imposed on, or approvals granted to, the Class E insurer. The declaration of compliance is required to be signed by two directors of the Class E insurer and if the Class E insurer has failed to comply with any of the requirements referenced in (1) through (4) above or observe any limitations, restrictions or conditions imposed upon the issuance of its license, if applicable, the Class E insurer will be required to provide the BMA with particulars of such failure in writing. A Class E insurer shall be liable to civil penalty by way of a fine for failure to comply with a duty imposed on it in connection with the delivery of the declaration of compliance.
The MMS that a Class E insurer is required to maintain with respect to its long-term business is the greater of (1) $8 million, (2) 2% of the first $500 million of assets plus 1.5% of assets above $500 million (assets for this purpose are defined as the total assets reported in the insurer’s statutory balance sheet on Line 15, Column C in the relevant year less the aggregate of the amounts held in a segregated account reported on Lines 13(b) and (c) Column C) or (3) 25% of the ECR as reported at the end of the relevant year. We are well above each of these MMS requirements.
The BMA has embedded an economic balance sheet (EBS) framework as part of the Capital and Solvency Return that forms the basis for an insurer’s ECR. The premise underlying the EBS framework is the idea that assets and liabilities should be valued on a consistent economic basis. Under the Bermuda Regulatory Framework there are two solvency calculations: (1) a Class E Insurer must have total statutory capital and surplus as reported on the insurer’s statutory balance sheet greater than the MMS calculated pursuant to the Insurance Account Rules 2016; and (2) under the Insurance (Prudential Standards) (Class C, Class D and Class E Solvency Requirement) Rules 2011 an insurer is required to maintain available statutory economic capital and surplus to an amount that is equal to or exceeds the value of its ECR. Effective January 1, 2016, the method for preparing these statutory financial statements was amended, and in addition, the requirements and rules for preparing the Class E statutory EBS became effective. Prior to January 1, 2016, a Class E insurer's ECR and its total statutory capital and surplus were calculated using the company's statutory balance sheet. Following January 1, 2016, a Class E insurer's ECR and total statutory economic capital and surplus is calculated using the Class E statutory EBS.
A Class E insurer is required to maintain available statutory capital and surplus at a level equal to or in excess of its ECR which is established by reference to the Class E BSCR model. The BSCR model provides a method for determining an insurer’s capital requirements (statutory capital and surplus) by taking into account the risk characteristics of different aspects of the insurer’s business. The BSCR formula establishes capital requirements for fourteen categories of risk: fixed income investment risk, equity investment risk, long-term interest rate/liquidity risk, currency risk, concentration risk, credit risk, operational risk and seven categories of long-term insurance risk. For each category, the capital requirement is determined by applying factors to asset, premium, reserve, creditor, probable maximum loss and operation items, with higher factors applied to items with greater underlying risk and lower factors for less risky items.
As of December 31, 2016, ALRe’s EBS capital and surplus, measured under the new regime in place after January 1, 2016, resulted in a BSCR ratio of 228%. ALRe’s total statutory capital and surplus as of December 31, 2015, measured under the regime in place prior to January 1, 2016, was 323% of its ECR.
While not specifically referred to in the Bermuda Insurance Act, target capital level (TCL) is also an important threshold for statutory capital and surplus. TCL is equal to 120% of ECR as calculated pursuant to the BSCR formula. TCL serves as an early warning tool for the BMA. If an insurer fails to maintain statutory capital at least equal to its TCL, such failure will likely result in increased regulatory oversight by the BMA. A Class E insurer which at any time fails to meet its applicable ECR shall, upon becoming aware of such failure or upon having reason to believe that such a failure has occurred, immediately notify the BMA in writing. Within 14 days of such notification, such Class E insurer shall file with the BMA a written report containing details of the circumstances leading to the failure and a plan detailing the specific actions to be taken to rectify the failure, and the time within which the Class E insurer intends to rectify the failure. Within 45 days of becoming aware of such failure, or of having reason to believe that such a failure has occurred, such Class E insurer shall furnish the BMA with (1) unaudited statutory economic balance sheets and unaudited interim statutory financial statements prepared in accordance with GAAP covering such period as the BMA may require; (2) an opinion of the approved actuary in relation to total long-term business insurance technical provisions as set out in the statutory economic balance sheet, where applicable; (3) a long-term business solvency certificate in respect of the financial statements; and (4) a capital and solvency return reflecting an ECR prepared using post-failure data where applicable.
All Bermuda companies must comply with the provisions of the Companies Act regulating the payment of dividends and making distributions from contributed surplus. A company may not declare or pay a dividend, or make a distribution out of contributed surplus, if there are reasonable grounds for believing that: (1) the company is, or would after the payment be, unable to pay its liabilities as they become due, or (2) the realizable value of the company’s assets would thereby be less than its liabilities.
Eligible Capital
To enable the BMA to better assess the quality of the insurer’s capital resources, a Class E insurer is required to disclose the makeup of its capital in accordance with the recently introduced ‘3-tiered capital system.’ Under this system, all of the insurer’s capital instruments will be classified as either basic or ancillary capital which in turn will be classified into one of three tiers based on their “loss absorbency” characteristics. Highest quality capital will be classified as Tier 1 Capital, lesser quality capital will be classified as either Tier 2 Capital or Tier 3 Capital. Under this regime, up to certain specified percentages of Tier 1, Tier 2 and Tier 3 Capital may be used to support the insurer’s MMS,
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ECR and TCL. The Bermuda Insurance Act requires that Class E insurers have Tier 1 Capital equal to or greater than 50% of the value of its ECR and Tier 3 Capital of not more than 17.65% of the aggregate of its Tier 1 Capital and Tier 2 Capital.
The characteristics of the capital instruments that must be satisfied to qualify as Tier 1, Tier 2 and Tier 3 Capital are set out in the Insurance (Eligible Capital) Rules 2012, and any amendments thereto. Under these rules, Tier 1, Tier 2 and Tier 3 Capital may, until January 1, 2024, include capital instruments that do not satisfy the requirement that the instrument be non-redeemable or settled only with the issuance of an instrument of equal or higher quality upon a breach, or that the coupon payment on the instrument be cancellable or deferrable indefinitely, upon breach, or if it would cause a breach, of the ECR.
Where the BMA has previously approved the use of certain instruments for capital purposes, the BMA’s consent will need to be obtained if such instruments are to remain eligible for use in satisfying the MMS and the ECR. We do not currently use any such instruments.
Code of Conduct
Every Bermuda registered insurer must comply with the Insurance Code of Conduct (Code of Conduct) which prescribes the duties and standards that must be complied with to ensure sound corporate governance, risk management and internal controls are implemented. The BMA will assess an insurer’s compliance with the Code of Conduct in a proportionate manner relative to the nature, scale and complexity of its business. Failure to comply with the requirements of the Code of Conduct will be taken into account by the BMA in determining whether an insurer is conducting its business in a sound and prudent manner as prescribed by the Bermuda Insurance Act and may result in the BMA exercising its powers of intervention and investigation (see below) and, in the case of ALRe, as a Class E insurer, will be a factor in calculating the operational risk charge under the insurer’s BSCR or approved internal model.
Fit and Proper Controllers
The BMA maintains supervision over the “controllers” of all registered insurers in Bermuda. For these purposes, a “controller” includes (1) the managing director of the registered insurer or its parent company, (2) the chief executive of the registered insurer or of its parent company, (3) a shareholder controller, and (4) any person in accordance with whose directions or instructions the directors of the registered insurer or its parent company are accustomed to act.
The definition of shareholder controller is set out in the Bermuda Insurance Act but generally refers to (1) a person who holds 10% or more of the shares carrying rights to vote at a shareholders’ meeting of the registered insurer or its parent company, (2) a person who is entitled to exercise 10% or more of the voting power at any shareholders’ meeting of such registered insurer or its parent company or (3) a person who is able to exercise significant influence over the management of the registered insurer or its parent company by virtue of its shareholding or its entitlement to exercise, or control the exercise of, the voting power at any shareholders’ meeting.
Based on the shares as described above, shareholder controller ownership is defined as follows:
Actual Shareholder Controller Ownership |
Defined Shareholder Controller Ownership |
10% or more but less than 20% |
10% |
20% or more but less than 33% |
20% |
33% or more but less than 50% |
33% |
50% or more |
50% |
Where the shares of a registered insurer, or the shares of its parent company, are traded on a recognized stock exchange, and such shareholder becomes a 10%, 20%, 33%, or 50% shareholder controller of the insurer, that shareholder shall, within 45 days, notify the BMA in writing that such shareholder has become, or as a result of a disposition ceased to be, a controller of any such category.
Under our bye-laws, we have imposed restrictions on the ownership by holders of our Class A common shares (other than the Apollo Group) controlling more than 9.9% of the voting power associated with our common shares. The voting rights exercisable by shareholders of the Company other than the Apollo Group will be limited so that Control Groups are not deemed to hold more than 9.9% of the total voting power conferred by our shares. In addition, our board of directors retains certain discretion to make adjustments to the aggregate number of votes attaching to the shares of any person or group that they consider fair and reasonable in all the circumstances to ensure that such person or group will not hold more than 9.9% of the total voting power represented by our then outstanding shares. As such, other than the Apollo Group (at the 33% to 50% shareholder controller level), no shareholder will be considered, according to the Bermuda Insurance Act, a shareholder controller of ALRe.
Any person or entity who contravenes the Bermuda Insurance Act by failing to give notice or knowingly becoming a controller of any description before the required 45 days has elapsed is guilty of an offense under Bermuda law and liable to a fine of $25,000 on summary conviction.
The BMA may file a notice of objection to any person or entity who has become a controller of any description where it appears that such person or entity is not, or is no longer, fit and proper to be a controller of the registered insurer. Before issuing a notice of objection, the BMA is required to serve upon the person or entity concerned a preliminary written notice stating the BMA’s intention to issue formal notice of
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objection. Upon receipt of the preliminary written notice, the person or entity served may, within 28 days, file written representations with the BMA which shall be taken into account by the BMA in making its final determination. Any person or entity who continues to be a controller of any description after having received a notice of objection is guilty of an offense and liable on summary conviction to a fine of $25,000 (and a continuing fine of $500 per day for each day that the offense is continuing) or, if convicted on indictment, to a fine of $100,000 and/or 2 years in prison.
Notice of Change of Controllers and Officers
All registered insurers are required to give written notice to the BMA of the fact that a person has become, or ceased to be, a controller or officer of the registered insurer within 45 days of becoming aware of such fact. An officer in relation to a registered insurer means a director, chief executive or senior executive performing duties of underwriting, actuarial, risk management, compliance, internal audit, finance or investment matters.
Notification of Material Changes
All registered insurers are required to give notice to the BMA of their intention to effect a material change within the meaning of the Bermuda Insurance Act. For the purposes of the Bermuda Insurance Act, the following changes are material: (1) the transfer or acquisition of insurance business, including portfolio transfers or corporate restructurings, pursuant to a court-approved scheme of arrangement under Section 25 of the Bermuda Insurance Act or Section 99 of the Companies Act, (2) the amalgamation with or acquisition of another firm, (3) engaging in unaffiliated, third-party business that is retail business, (4) the acquisition of a controlling interest in an undertaking that is engaged in non-insurance business which offers services and products to persons who are not affiliates of the insurer, (5) outsourcing all or substantially all of the company’s actuarial, risk management and compliance or internal audit functions, (6) outsourcing all or a material part of an insurer’s underwriting activity, (7) the transfer other than by way of reinsurance of all or substantially all of a line of business, (8) the expansion into a material new line of business, (9) the sale of an insurer and (10) outsourcing of an “officer” role, as such term is defined by the Bermuda Insurance Act.
As a registered insurer, ALRe may not take any steps to give effect to such a material change unless it has first served notice on the BMA that it intends to effect such material change and before the end of 30 days, either the BMA has notified ALRe in writing that it has no objection to such change or that period has lapsed without the BMA having issued a notice of objection.
Before issuing a notice of objection, the BMA would be required to serve upon ALRe a preliminary written notice stating the BMA’s intention to issue formal notice of objection. Upon receipt of the preliminary written notice, ALRe could, within 28 days, file written representations with the BMA which the BMA would be required to take into account in making its final determination.
Supervision, Investigation and Intervention
The BMA may appoint an inspector with powers to investigate the affairs of an insurer if the BMA believes that an investigation is required in the interests of the insurer’s policyholders or potential policyholders. In order to verify or supplement information otherwise provided to the inspector, the BMA may direct an insurer to produce documents or information relating to matters connected with its business.
If it appears to the BMA that there is a risk of an insurer becoming insolvent, or that it is in breach of the Bermuda Insurance Act or any conditions imposed upon its registration, the BMA may, among other things, direct the insurer (1) not to take on any new insurance business, (2) not to vary any insurance contract if the effect would be to increase its liabilities, (3) not to make certain investments, (4) to realize certain investments, (5) to maintain or transfer to the custody of a specified bank, certain assets, (6) not to declare or pay any dividends or other distributions or to restrict the making of such payments, (7) to limit its premium income, (8) not to enter into any specified transaction with any specified persons or persons of a specified class, (9) to provide such written particulars relating to the financial circumstances of the insurer as the BMA thinks fit, (10) to obtain the opinion of an actuary loss reserve specialist and to submit it to the BMA, and (11) to remove a controller or officer.
Group Supervision
The BMA may, in respect of an insurance group, determine whether it is appropriate for it to act as its group supervisor. An insurance group is defined as a group of companies that conducts exclusively, or mainly, insurance business. The BMA may make such determination where it ascertains that (1) the group is headed by a “specified insurer” (that is to say, it is headed by either a Class 3A, Class 3B or Class 4 general business insurer or a Class C, Class D or Class E long-term insurer or another class of insurer designated by order of the BMA); or (2) where the insurance group is not headed by a “specified insurer,” where it is headed by a parent company which is incorporated in Bermuda or (3) where the parent company of the group is not a Bermuda company, in circumstances where the BMA is satisfied that the insurance group is directed and managed from Bermuda or the insurer with the largest balance sheet total is a specified insurer.
Where the BMA determines that it should act as the group supervisor, it shall designate a specified insurer that is a member of the insurance group to be the designated insurer (the “Designated Insurer”) and it shall give to the Designated Insurer and other competent authorities written notice of its intention to act as group supervisor. Once the BMA has been designated as group supervisor, the Designated Insurer must ensure that an approved group actuary is appointed to provide an opinion as to the adequacy of the insurance group’s insurance reserves as reported in its group statutory financial returns.
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Pursuant to its powers under the Bermuda Insurance Act, the BMA will maintain a register of particulars for every insurance group for which it acts as the group supervisor detailing, among other things, the names and addresses of the Designated Insurer, each member company of the insurance group falling within the scope of group supervision, the principal representative of the insurance group in Bermuda, other competent authorities supervising other member companies of the insurance group, and the insurance group auditors. The Designated Insurer must notify the BMA of any changes to the above details entered on the register of an insurance group.
As group supervisor, the BMA will perform a number of supervisory functions including (1) coordinating the gathering and dissemination of information which is of importance for the supervisory task of other competent authorities, (2) carrying out a supervisory review and assessment of the insurance group, (3) carrying out an assessment of the insurance group’s compliance with the rules on solvency, risk concentration, intra-group transactions and good governance procedures, (4) planning and coordinating, with other competent authorities, supervisory activities in respect of the insurance group, both as a going concern and in emergency situations, (5) coordinating any enforcement action that may need to be taken against the insurance group or any of its members and (6) planning and coordinating meetings of colleges of supervisors (consisting of insurance regulators) in order to facilitate the carrying out of the functions described above.
In carrying out its functions, the BMA may make rules for (1) assessing the financial situation and the solvency position of the insurance group and/or its members and (2) regulating intra-group transactions, risk concentration, governance procedures, risk management and regulatory reporting and disclosure.
The BMA has not yet designated any long-term life reinsurers, such as ALRe, for group supervision, accordingly, we are not currently subject to group supervision. The BMA may, however, exercise its authority to act as our group supervisor in the future.
Disclosure of Information
In addition to powers under the Bermuda Insurance Act to investigate the affairs of an insurer, the BMA may require certain information from an insurer (or certain other persons) to be produced to the BMA. Further, the BMA has been given powers to assist other regulatory authorities, including foreign insurance regulatory authorities, with their investigations involving insurance and reinsurance companies in Bermuda but subject to restrictions. For example, the BMA must be satisfied that the assistance being requested is in connection with the discharge of regulatory responsibilities of the foreign regulatory authority. Further, the BMA must consider whether cooperation is in the public interest. The grounds for disclosure are limited and the Bermuda Insurance Act provides for sanctions for breach of the statutory duty of confidentiality.
Certain Other Bermuda Law Considerations
All Bermuda “exempted companies” are exempt from certain Bermuda laws restricting the percentage of share capital that may be held by non-Bermudians. However, exempted companies may not participate in certain business transactions, including (1) the acquisition or holding of land in Bermuda except that which is required for their business and held by way of lease or tenancy for terms of not more than 50 years or, with the consent of the Bermuda Minister of Finance, land which is used to provide accommodation or recreational facilities for officers and employees for a term not exceeding 21 years, (2) the taking of mortgages on land in Bermuda to secure an amount in excess of $50,000 without the consent of the Bermuda Minister of Finance, (3) the acquisition of any bonds or debentures secured by any land in Bermuda, other than certain types of Bermuda government securities or securities issued by Bermuda public authorities or (4) the carrying on of business of any kind in Bermuda, except in furtherance of the business carried on outside Bermuda or under license granted by the Bermuda Minister of Finance. Generally it is not permitted without a special license granted by the Bermuda Minister of Finance to insure Bermuda domestic risks or risks of persons of, in or based in Bermuda.
Exchange Control
The permission of the BMA is required, pursuant to the provisions of the Exchange Control Act 1972 and related regulations, for all issuances and transfers of shares (which includes the Class A common shares) of Bermuda companies to or from a non-resident of Bermuda for exchange control purposes, other than in cases where the BMA has granted a general permission. The BMA, in its notice to the public dated June 1, 2005, has granted a general permission for the issue and subsequent transfer of any securities of a Bermuda company from and/or to a non-resident of Bermuda for exchange control purposes for so long as any “Equity Securities” of the company (which includes the Class A common shares) are listed on an “Appointed Stock Exchange” (which includes the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE)). The BMA accepts no responsibility for our financial soundness or the correctness of any of the statements made or opinions expressed in this report.
Germany
The following paragraphs outline the most relevant legal provisions applicable to our German business and Athene Real Estate Management Company s.a.r.l (Luxembourg subsidiary).
Basic Legal Framework
Our German Group Companies licensed as insurers are subject to the relevant laws and regulation applicable to insurers in Germany. Our German Group Companies acting as insurance holding companies are subject to the relevant laws and regulations applicable to insurance holding companies in Germany. The relevant laws include the VAG, which constitutes the basic regulatory framework for operating an
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insurance business in Germany and which also includes a limited set of provisions that apply to insurance holding companies. The VAG is supplemented by various ordinances implemented by the German Ministry of Finance and/or Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin) which regulate and mandate, among other things, eligibility criteria for investments, policyholder participation in income, accounting principles, corporate governance requirements, regulatory capital and reporting of insurance undertakings. The relevant insurance contracts are governed by the Insurance Contracts Act and the German Civil Code and further specific consumer protection laws, data protection requirements and anti-money-laundering requirements.
Profit Sharing and Dividend Restriction
German insurance law provides that policyholders participate in the income of the insurance undertaking unless explicitly excluded in the contracts (which is not the case for the portfolio of our German Group Companies). In particular, the minimum transfer ordinance provides for a minimum profit participation in the amount of 90% of the investment result, 90% of the insurance result and 50% of the other results of the insurance undertaking. Additionally, on maturity policyholders are entitled to 50% of the unrealized capital gains, which are hidden reserves which have not yet materialized from an accounting perspective. Unrealized gains on fixed-interest investments and interest-rate hedges only participate in excess of a certain safety requirement necessary to ensure payment of the guaranteed interest.
Distribution of dividends by insurance undertakings is only permitted in excess of a safety requirement, which is an amount that is necessary in order to secure the payment of the insurer’s liabilities in case the guaranteed interest is above a certain reference rate (based on a zero-coupon euro swap with a maturity of ten years).
BaFin and European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA)
Our German Group Companies are subject to supervision by BaFin, which is the central financial regulatory authority for Germany. As part of an enhanced system of financial markets regulation in Europe, EIOPA has been set up as a regulatory authority on the European level. EIOPA has certain powers in relation to the Solvency II regime, including issuing guidelines interpreting Solvency II which are addressed to the national supervisory authorities. It cannot be predicted how EIOPA intends to apply its powers in practice and whether the new authority will result in more intrusive and intensive regulation, adding additional burdens to our resources.
Solvency II
The EC has implemented a new prudential framework for insurance companies, known as Solvency II, that replaced the previous life, non-life, reinsurance and insurance group’s directives in Europe from 2016 onwards. Solvency II uses a more principle- and risk-based approach.
Solvency II is set up based on a four-level legislative process. The “Level 1” directive, dated November 25, 2009, as amended by the proposed Omnibus II Directive, sets out a framework which is supplemented by the more detailed Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2015/35 (Solvency II Delegated Regulation) and implementing measures as issued by the EC at “Level 2” and technical standards, which are directly applicable in Germany. “Level 3” consists of standards and guidance developed by EIOPA and at “Level 4,” the EC monitors uniform implementation of the rules.
Insurance undertakings to which Solvency II applies, including ALV, have become subject to changes with regard to solvency capital and own funds requirements, the valuation of assets and liabilities, provisions concerning business organization (governance) and reporting and disclosure requirements.
Solvency II further provides for the supervision of insurance groups and imposes a group-level capital requirement in relation to certain insurance groups. In Germany, the relevant regulatory changes triggered by Solvency II are implemented via a restatement of the VAG, which was enacted in April 2015 and became effective on January 1, 2016.
Credit for Reinsurance Ceded
Whereas under the previous regime, the reduction for ceded reinsurance was a fixed function based on the primary insurer’s liabilities, Solvency II implements a risk-based approach pursuant to which insurance undertakings have to take into account their own risk profile in determining their solvency requirements. Under Solvency II, capital charges for ceded reinsurance thus depends on a variety of factors, including in particular the financial strength of the reinsurer, spread, rating and the number of reinsurers employed by the primary insurer.
Capital Requirements
Under the Solvency II regime, MCR, as well as solvency capital requirements (SCR), are imposed. As of 2016, our German Group Companies licensed as insurance undertakings are obliged to meet these requirements in order to be able to fulfill, subject to a certain confidence level of 99.5%, in case of the SCR, or 85%, in case of the MCR, over a one-year period, all obligations arising from existing business as well as the new business expected to be written over the following 12 months. Failure to maintain adequate capital levels may result in regulatory action by BaFin.
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Regulation of Investments
Our German Group Companies are subject to certain regulatory provisions on eligible investments, including the prudent person principle under Solvency II.
Consumer Protection Laws
The German insurance law is strongly focused on protection of policyholders. Various specific rights, including cancellation rights, are granted to policyholders, aimed in particular at protecting their right of due information and transparency. As a general tendency, courts (the European Court of Justice as well as national German courts) tend to strengthen the policyholders’ position vis-à-vis insurance undertakings.
Privacy Regulation
As to our German Group Companies, personal data of customers is collected, processed and used in Germany. As a consequence, German data protection laws apply which are considered to be rather strict in comparison to U.S. data protection laws. In general, the Federal German Data Protection Act requires either consent of the respective customer or statutory permission in order to collect, process and/or use personal data of customers (further requirements apply to the processing of health data). Furthermore, under the German Criminal Act, employees of private health, accident or life insurance companies are subject to statutory confidentiality obligations. A transfer to a reinsurer or other third party of customer data falling under such insurance categories generally requires consent of the respective customer. On April 27, 2016, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) was adopted by the EU Parliament providing for more harmonized data protection standards applicable in all EU Member States beginning May 25, 2018. Until then, Germany has time to adopt a new Federal German Data Protection Act adapted to the GDPR and providing for Germany specific supplements where the GDPR leaves room for national derogations. In early 2017, the German government issued its second draft of such new Federal German Data Protection Act, although it is likely that further amendments will be made to such draft before the act is adopted.
Luxembourg Regulation
Our Luxembourg subsidiary is subject to supervision by the CSSF and Luxembourg regulation for management companies of investment funds. We do not believe that our Luxembourg subsidiary is governed by the directive 2011/61/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of June 8, 2011 on Alternative Investment Fund Managers and it is currently registered accordingly with the Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier (CSSF) on the basis of a self-assessment. In the absence of a final decision by the relevant Luxembourg authorities, and subject to any policy changes and changes in circumstances on which the self-assessment is based, namely regarding the holding and investment structure, we cannot exclude the risk of our Luxembourg subsidiary qualifying as an Alternative Investment Fund Manager. Such a determination would require an enhanced administration, organization and financing of our Luxembourg subsidiary. The Luxembourg investment fund managed by our Luxembourg subsidiary is regulated as a specialized investment fund under Luxembourg law and thus is also subject to legislative and/or regulatory developments, which may impact the position and performance of our Luxembourg subsidiary.
Available Information
Our Annual Reports on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, Current Reports on Form 8-K and amendments to reports filed pursuant to Sections 13(a) and 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (Exchange Act) are made available, free of charge, on or through the “Investor Relations” portion of our website www.athene.com. Information contained on our website is not part of, nor is it incorporated by reference in, this report or any of our periodic reports. The public may read and copy any materials that the Company has filed with the SEC at the SEC's Public Reference Room located at 100 F Street, NE, Washington, D.C. 20549. The public may obtain information on the operation of the Public Reference Room by calling the SEC at 800-SEC-0330. Reports filed with or furnished to the SEC will also be available as soon as reasonably practicable after they are filed with or furnished to the SEC and are available over the internet at the SEC's website at www.sec.gov.
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Item 1A. Risk Factors
Risks Relating to Our Business
Our business, financial condition, liquidity, results of operations and cash flows depend on the accuracy of our management’s assumptions and estimates, and we could face significant losses if these assumptions and estimates differ significantly from actual results.
We make and rely on certain assumptions and estimates regarding many items, including interest rates, investment returns, expenses and operating costs, tax assets and liabilities, business mix, surrender activity, mortality and contingent liabilities, related to our business and anticipated results that affect amounts reported in our consolidated financial statements and notes thereto. We also use these assumptions and estimates to make decisions crucial to our business operations, including establishing pricing, target returns and expense structures for our insurance subsidiaries’ products, determining the amount of reserves we are required to hold for our policy liabilities, the price we will pay to acquire or reinsure business, the hedging strategies to manage risks to our business and operations and the amount of regulatory and rating agency capital that our insurance subsidiaries must hold to support their businesses. The factors influencing these business decisions cannot be predicted with certainty and if our assumptions and estimates differ significantly from actual outcomes and results, our business, financial condition, liquidity, results of operations and cash flows may be materially and adversely affected.
Insurance Products and Liabilities
Pricing of our annuity and other insurance products, whether issued by us or acquired through reinsurance or acquisitions, is based upon assumptions about persistency. A factor which may affect persistency for some of our products is the value of guaranteed minimum benefits. An increase in the value of guaranteed minimum benefits could result in our policies remaining in force longer than we have estimated, which could adversely affect our results of operations. This could be caused by extended periods of poor equity market performance and/or low interest rates, developments affecting customer perception and other factors outside our control. Alternatively, our persistency estimates could be negatively affected during periods of rising equity markets or interest rates or by other factors outside our control, which could result in fewer policies remaining in force than estimated. Therefore, our results will vary based on differences between actual and expected withdrawals from our subsidiaries’ products.
Certain of our deferred annuity products also contain optional benefit riders, including guaranteed lifetime income or death benefits, that may be exercised at certain points of time under the terms of a contract. We set prices for such products using assumptions about mortality, the rate of election of deferred annuity living benefits and other optional benefits offered to our policyholders. The profitability of these products may be lower than expected if actual policyholder utilization of these benefits varies adversely from our assumptions.
We license analytic software with actuarial modeling capabilities from third parties to facilitate the pricing of our products, make projections of our in-force business for planning purposes and objectively assess the risks in our subsidiaries’ insurance and reinsurance asset and liability portfolios. These actuarial models help us to measure and control risk accumulation, inform management and other stakeholders of capital requirements and manage the risk/return profile and amount of capital required to cover the risks in each of our subsidiaries’ insurance and reinsurance contracts and our overall portfolio of insurance and reinsurance contracts. However, given the inherent uncertainty of modeling techniques and the application of such techniques, these models and databases may not accurately address the emergence of a variety of matters which might impact certain of our subsidiaries’ products. Accordingly, these models may inaccurately predict the exposures that our subsidiaries are assuming and our financial results may be adversely impacted, perhaps significantly.
If emerging or actual experience deviates from our assumptions regarding any of the above factors, such deviations could have a significant effect on our reserve levels and our related results of operations and financial condition. For example, a significant portion of our in-force and newly issued products contain riders that offer guaranteed lifetime income or death benefits. These riders expose us to mortality, longevity and policyholder behavior risks. If actual utilization of certain rider benefits is adverse when compared to our estimates used in setting our reserves for future policy benefits, these reserves may prove to be inadequate and we may be required to increase them. Conversely, if policies lapse at a significantly higher rate than expected, we may need to accelerate the amortization of deferred acquisition costs (DAC), value of business acquired (VOBA) and deferred sales inducement (DSI) balances. More generally, deviations from our pricing expectations could result in our subsidiaries earning less of a spread between the investment income earned on our subsidiaries’ assets and the interest credited to such products and other costs incurred in servicing the products, or may require our subsidiaries to make more payments under certain products than our subsidiaries had projected. We have limited experience to date on policyholder behavior for our guaranteed minimum benefit products. As a result, future experience could deviate significantly from our assumptions. Such acceleration of expense amortization, reduced spread or increased payments could materially and adversely affect our financial condition, results of operations or cash flows.
Determination of Fair Value
As defined under GAAP, fair value is the price that would be received to sell an asset or paid to transfer a liability between market participants in the principal market or in the most advantageous market when no principal market exists. Adjustments to transaction prices or quoted market prices may be required in illiquid or disorderly markets in order to estimate fair value. Different valuation techniques may be appropriate under the circumstances to determine the value that would be received to sell an asset or paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction. Market participants are assumed to be independent, knowledgeable, able and willing to transact an exchange and not under duress. Nonperformance or credit risk is considered in determining fair value. Considerable judgment may be required in interpreting market data used to develop the
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estimates of fair value. Accordingly, estimates of fair value are not necessarily indicative of the amounts that could be realized in a current or future market exchange.
For example, the valuation of investments involves considerable judgment, is subject to considerable variability and is revised as additional information becomes available. As such, changes in, or deviations from, the assumptions used in such valuations can significantly affect our financial statements. During periods of market disruption, including periods of rapidly changing credit spreads or illiquidity, if trading becomes less frequent or market data becomes less observable, it has been and will likely continue to be difficult to value certain of our investments, such as certain of our real-estate related investments, structured products and alternative investments. There may be certain asset classes in active markets with significant observable data that could become illiquid in a difficult financial environment. Further, rapidly changing credit and equity market conditions could materially impact the valuation of investments as reported within our financial statements, and the period-to-period changes in value could vary significantly. Our ability to sell investments, or the price ultimately realized for investments, depends upon the demand and liquidity in the market and increases the use of judgment in determining the estimated fair value of certain investments. Even if our assumptions and valuations are accurate at the time that they are made, the same factors influencing our valuations of such investments could cause the market value of these investments to decline, which could materially and adversely impact our financial condition, results of operations or cash flows.
Additionally, we also use, and may in the future use, derivatives, including swaps, options, futures and forward contracts, and reinsurance contracts to hedge risks such as current or future changes in the fair value of our assets and liabilities, current or future changes in cash flows, changes in interest rates, equity markets and credit spreads, the occurrence of credit defaults, currency fluctuations and changes in mortality and longevity. We use equity derivatives to hedge the liabilities associated with our FIAs. Our hedging strategies also rely on assumptions and projections regarding our assets, liabilities (including with respect to the optional benefits offered as part of our products), general market factors and the creditworthiness of our counterparties that may prove to be incorrect or inadequate. Accordingly, our hedging activities may not have the desired beneficial impact on our financial condition or results of operations. Hedging strategies involve transaction and other costs, and if we terminate any hedging arrangements, including reinsurance contracts, we may also be required to pay additional costs, such as transaction fees or breakage costs. We may also incur losses on transactions after taking into account our hedging strategies, which may have a material and adverse effect on our financial condition and cash flows.
Financial Statements and Results
The preparation of our consolidated financial statements and notes thereto in accordance with GAAP requires management to make various estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts in our financial statements. These estimates include, but are not limited to, the fair value of investments, impairment of investments and valuation allowances, the valuation of derivatives, including embedded derivatives, DAC, DSI and VOBA, future policy benefit reserves, valuation allowances on deferred tax assets, and stock-based compensation. For example, the calculations we use to estimate DAC, DSI and VOBA are necessarily complex and involve analyzing and interpreting large quantities of data. The assumptions and estimates required for these calculations involve judgment and by their nature are imprecise and subject to changes and revisions over time. Accordingly, our results may be adversely affected from time to time by actual results differing from assumptions, changes in estimates and changes resulting from implementing more sophisticated administrative systems and procedures that facilitate the calculation of more precise estimates. Any of these inaccuracies could require us, among other things, to accelerate the amortization of DAC, DSI and VOBA, which would result in a charge to earnings, or in a restatement of our historical financial statements or other material adjustments to our financial statements. Additionally, the potential for unforeseen developments, including changes in laws, may result in losses and loss expenses materially different from the reserves initially established, which could also materially and adversely impact our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.
The amount of statutory capital that our insurance and reinsurance subsidiaries have, or that they are required to hold, can vary significantly from time to time and is sensitive to a number of factors outside of our control.
Our U.S. insurance subsidiaries are subject to state regulations that provide for MCR based on RBC formulas for life insurance companies relating to insurance, business, asset, interest rate and certain other risks. Similarly, ALRe is subject to MCR imposed by the BMA through its ECR and MMS. The BSCR is based on the BMA’s Economic Balance Sheet (EBS) regulatory framework, which was granted equivalency to Solvency II in March 2016. EBS is effective as of January 1, 2016, with the first filing due in 2017 for the year ended December 31, 2016.
Our German Group Companies are subject to SCR and MCR pursuant to Solvency II, which applies at the level of ALV and at the level of the group.
In any particular year, our subsidiaries’ capital ratios and/or statutory surplus amounts may increase or decrease depending on a variety of factors, most of which are outside of our control, including, but not limited to, the following:
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the amount of statutory income or losses generated by our insurance subsidiaries (which itself is sensitive to equity and credit market conditions); |
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the amount of additional capital our insurance subsidiaries must hold to support their business growth; |
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changes in reserve requirements applicable to our insurance subsidiaries; |
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changes in market value of certain securities in our investment portfolio; |
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changes in the credit ratings of investments held in our investment portfolio; |
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the value of certain derivative instruments; |
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changes in interest rates; |
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credit market volatility; |
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changes in policyholder behavior; |
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changes to the RBC formulas and interpretations of the NAIC instructions with respect to RBC calculation methodologies; |
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changes to the ECR, BSCR, or TCL formulas and interpretations of the BMA’s instructions with respect to ECR, BSCR, or TCL calculation methodologies; and |
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changes to the SCR formulas and interpretations with respect to SCR calculation methodologies and MCR pursuant to Solvency II and German regulations. |
The financial strength and credit ratings of our insurance subsidiaries are significantly influenced by their statutory surplus amounts and these MCRs. NRSROs may also implement changes to their internal models, which differ from the RBC, BSCR and SCR capital models, that have the effect of increasing or decreasing the amount of statutory capital our subsidiaries must hold in order to maintain their current ratings. Additional statutory reserves may be required as the result of mandatory annual asset adequacy analysis, and rising or falling interest rates and widening credit spreads could alter this cash flow testing analysis. In addition, NRSROs may downgrade the investments held in our portfolio, which could result in impairments and therefore a reduction of the RBC ratios of our U.S. domiciled insurance subsidiaries, a decrease in the solvency ratio of our German Group Companies, or an increase in the ECR of ALRe.
To the extent that one of our insurance subsidiary’s solvency or capital ratios is deemed to be insufficient by one or more NRSROs, we may take actions either to increase the capitalization of the insurer or to reduce the capitalization requirements. If we are unable to accomplish such actions, NRSROs may view this as a reason for a ratings downgrade. If a subsidiary’s solvency or capital ratios reach certain minimum levels, it could subject us to further examination or corrective action imposed by our insurance regulators, including limitations on our subsidiaries’ ability to write additional business, supervision by regulators, seizure or liquidation, each of which could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations, cash flows and prospects.
The BMA released consultation papers in November 2016 and March 2017 that propose further updates to certain aspects of the EBS framework. The BMA has not finalized any changes and expects to release additional guidance later in 2017 after reviewing trial run results of these changes. If the final guidance, when completed and adopted, materially increases the ECR, it could materially and adversely affect our BSCR ratio and, correspondingly, our capital in excess of BMA requirements.
Interest rate fluctuations could adversely affect our business, financial condition, liquidity, results of operations and cash flows.
Interest rate risk is a significant market risk for us. We define interest rate risk as the risk of an economic loss due to changes in interest rates. This risk arises from our holdings in interest rate-sensitive assets and liabilities, primarily as a result of issuing or reinsuring fixed deferred and immediate annuities and investing primarily in fixed income assets. As of December 31, 2016, reserves for fixed deferred and immediate annuities net of reinsurance made up substantially all of our reserve liabilities. Substantial and sustained increases or decreases in market interest rates can affect the profitability of our insurance products and the fair value of our investments. These fluctuations could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition, liquidity, results of operations and cash flows, including in the following respects:
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Significant changes in interest rates expose us to the risk of not realizing anticipated spreads between overall net investment earned rates and the crediting rates to our policyholders, which are a significant source of our operating profits. We have the ability to adjust crediting rates, including caps and participation rates for FIAs, on many of our annuity liabilities (subject to minimum guaranteed values). However, we may not be able to adjust such rates in a timely manner or to the extent desired to adequately respond to the effect that changes in interest rates may have on the returns on our investments. Many of our annuity products have surrender and withdrawal penalty provisions designed to prevent early policyholder withdrawals in rising interest rate environments and to help ensure targeted spreads are earned. However, competitive factors, including the need or desire to manage levels of surrenders and withdrawals, may limit our ability to adjust or maintain crediting rates at levels necessary to avoid narrowing of spreads under certain market conditions. |
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Changes in interest rates may also negatively affect the value of our assets and our ability to realize gains or avoid losses from the sale of those assets, all of which also ultimately affect our earnings and/or capital. Significant volatility in interest rates may have a larger adverse impact on certain assets in our investment portfolio which are highly structured or have limited liquidity, including our real estate-related assets, structured products and alternative investments, which may not have active trading markets, making the disposition of such assets difficult. |
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Changes in interest rates may also affect changes in prepayment rates on certain of the real estate-related assets, structured products and alternative investments we invest in. For instance, falling interest rates may accelerate the rate of prepayment on mortgage loans, while rising interest rates may decrease such prepayments below the level of our expectations. At the same time, falling interest rates may result in the lengthening of duration for our policies and liabilities due to the guaranteed minimum benefits contained in our products, while rising interest rates could lead to increased policyholder withdrawals and a shortening of duration for our liabilities. In either case, we could experience a mismatch in our assets and liabilities and potentially incur economic losses, which may have an adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations and cash flows. |
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During periods of declining interest rates or a prolonged period of low interest rates, life insurance and annuity products may be relatively more attractive to consumers due to minimum guarantees that are mandated by law or by regulators at the time that we price |
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these products, resulting in a higher persistency than we anticipated, potentially resulting in greater claims costs on our guaranteed minimum benefit riders than we expected and cash flow mismatches between our assets and liabilities. In addition, the surrender and withdrawal penalties we impose on certain of our annuity products may further increase persistency during such periods. Certain statutory capital and reserve requirements are based on formulas or models that consider interest rates, and an extended period of low interest rates may increase the statutory capital we are required to hold and the amount of assets we must allocate to support statutory reserves, which could decrease the spread income that we are able to earn from these products. This reduced spread could also force us to accelerate amortization of DAC and/or VOBA, which would have an adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations. Our German life insurance company subsidiaries are required by law to set up an additional premium reserve if the interest rate guaranteed to policyholders of certain endowment and annuity products issued exceeds a certain reference rate which is based on the rolling ten-year average of an AAA rated Eurobond. If interest rates remain at current low levels or further decline as a result of further quantitative easing in response to declining economic conditions, we could be required to provide additional capital to our German insurance company subsidiaries or increase reserves allocated to certain products which could in turn have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.
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Additionally, during periods of declining interest rates, we may have to reinvest the cash we receive as interest or return of principal on our investments into lower-yielding high-grade instruments or seek lower-credit instruments in order to maintain comparable returns, each of which could have a material and adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations. |
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Certain securitized financial assets are accounted for based on expectations of future cash flows. To the extent the coupon on these instruments or the underlying collateral is based on a reference rate (for example, LIBOR), we use the market observed forward curve in our cash flow projections. As of December 31, 2016, we held $17.8 billion of securitized financial assets that have floating rate coupons or adjustable rate collateral. To the extent interest rates are lower than we have projected, we will experience slower accretion of discounts on these assets and will have a lower yield on our portfolio, which would adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations.
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An extended period of declining interest rates or a prolonged period of low interest rates may cause us to change our long-term view of the interest rates that we can earn on our investments, causing us to change the long-term interest rate that we assume in our evaluation of our insurance liabilities, reducing the attractiveness of our subsidiaries’ products. |
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In periods of rapidly increasing interest rates, withdrawals from and/or surrenders of annuity contracts may increase as policyholders choose to seek higher investment returns elsewhere. Obtaining cash to satisfy these obligations may require our insurance subsidiaries to liquidate fixed income investments at a time when market prices for those assets are depressed because of increases in interest rates. This may result in realized investment losses. Regardless of whether we realize an investment loss, such cash payments would result in a decrease in total invested assets and may decrease our levels of profitability or results of operations. Premature withdrawals or unexpected surrenders may also cause us to accelerate amortization of DAC and/or VOBA, which would also adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations. |
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An increase in market interest rates could also reduce the value of certain of our alternative investments held as collateral under reinsurance agreements and create a need for ALRe to provide additional collateral to support the reserve requirements of our ceding companies, thereby reducing our available capital and potentially creating a need for additional capital which may not be available to us on favorable terms, or at all, when needed. |
We may want or need additional capital in the future, and such capital may not be available to us on favorable terms or at all due to volatility in the equity or credit markets, adverse economic conditions or our creditworthiness.
We may want or need to raise additional capital in the future through offerings of debt or equity securities or otherwise to:
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operate and expand our business; |
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make acquisitions or assume business through reinsurance; |
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fund our liquidity needs caused by investment losses; |
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replace capital lost in the event of significant investment, insurance or reinsurance losses or adverse reserve developments; |
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meet rating agency or regulatory capital requirements; or |
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meet other requirements and obligations. |
Additional capital may not be available on terms favorable to us, or at all, when we seek to raise such capital. Availability of additional capital will depend on a variety of factors such as market conditions, our credit ratings and adverse regulatory actions taken against us. Our inability to raise capital at such times can have a range of effects, including forcing us to forego profitable growth opportunities and impairing the capital ratios of our insurance subsidiaries. This would have the potential to decrease both our profitability and our financial flexibility. Further, any additional capital raised through the sale of equity could dilute your ownership interest in our company and may cause the value of our shares to decline.
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If we do not manage our growth effectively, our financial performance could be adversely affected; our historical growth rates may not be indicative of our future growth.
We have experienced rapid growth since we commenced operations in 2009. As of December 31, 2016, our reserve liabilities have grown to $71.0 billion, our work force has grown to approximately 1,325 employees, and our independent agent base has grown to approximately 28,000 agents. We intend to continue to grow by recruiting new independent agents, increasing the productivity of our existing agents, expanding our insurance distribution network, making strategic acquisitions, developing new products, expanding into new product lines and continuing to develop new incentives for our sales agents. We believe that we have the right people, infrastructure and scale to position us for continued growth. Future growth will impose significant added responsibilities on our management, including the need to identify, recruit, maintain and integrate additional employees, including management. There can be no assurance that our systems, procedures and controls will be adequate to support our operations as they expand. In addition, due to our rapid growth and resulting increased size, it may be necessary to expand the scope of our investing activities to asset classes in which we historically have not invested or have not had significant exposure. If we are unable to adequately manage our investments in these classes, our financial condition and results of operations in the future could be less favorable than in the past. Further, we have utilized reinsurance to support our growth and the future availability of such reinsurance is uncertain. Our failure to manage growth effectively, or our inability to recruit, maintain and integrate additional qualified employees and independent agents, could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. In addition, due to our rapid growth, our historical growth rates are not likely to accurately reflect our future growth rates or our growth potential. We cannot assure you that our future revenues will increase or that we will continue to be profitable.
If our risk management policies and procedures, which include the use of derivatives and reinsurance, are not adequate to protect us, we may be exposed to unidentified, unanticipated or inadequately managed risks.
We place a high priority on risk management and risk control. We have developed risk management policies and procedures, including hedging programs and risk management programs that utilize derivatives and reinsurance, and expect to continually refine and enhance these techniques, strategies and assessment methods. Nonetheless, our policies and procedures to identify, monitor and manage risks may not be fully effective, particularly during extremely turbulent market conditions. Many of our methods of managing risk and exposures are based upon observed historical market behavior or statistics based on historical data. These methods are also based upon certain assumptions and estimates made by management. As a result, these methods may not accurately anticipate future market outcomes or policyholder behavior, which could result in volatility that is significantly greater than historical measures indicate. Other risk management methods depend on the evaluation of information regarding markets, customers or other matters that are publicly available or otherwise accessible to management. This information may not always be accurate, complete, up-to-date or properly evaluated. Management of operational, legal and regulatory risks requires, among other things, policies and procedures to record and verify large numbers of transactions and events. These policies and procedures may not be fully effective to manage or mitigate our risks which may have a material and adverse effect on our business, financial condition, liquidity, results of operations, cash flows and prospects.
We operate in a highly competitive industry that includes a number of competitors, many of which are larger and more well-known than we are, which could limit our ability to achieve our growth strategies and could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations, cash flows and prospects.
We operate in highly competitive markets and compete with large and small industry participants. These companies compete for an increasing pool of retirement assets, driven primarily by aging of the U.S. population and the reduction in, and concerns about the viability of, financial safety nets historically provided by governments and employers. In each of our subsidiaries’ businesses we face intense competition, including from U.S. and non-U.S. insurance and reinsurance companies, broker-dealers, financial advisors, asset managers and diversified financial institutions, both for customers for our subsidiaries’ products and in the acquisition and block reinsurance markets. We compete based on a number of factors including perceived financial strength, credit ratings, brand recognition, reputation, quality of service, performance of our products, product features, scope of distribution and price. A decline in our competitive position as to one or more of these factors could adversely affect our profitability. In addition, we may in the future sacrifice our competitive or market position in order to improve our short-term profitability, particularly in the highly competitive retail markets, which may adversely affect our long-term growth and results of operations. Alternatively, we may sacrifice short-term profitability to maintain market share and longer term growth.
In recent years, there has been substantial consolidation among companies in the financial services industry due to economic turmoil resulting in increased competition from large, efficient, well-capitalized financial services firms. Many of our competitors are large and well-established and some have greater market share or breadth of distribution, offer a broader range of products, services or features, assume a greater level of risk while maintaining financial strength ratings or have higher financial strength, claims-paying or credit ratings than we do. Our competitors may also have lower operating costs or return on capital requirements than us which may allow them to price products, reinsurance arrangements or acquisitions more competitively. The competitive pressures arising from consolidation could result in increased pressure on the pricing of certain of our products and services, and could harm our ability to maintain or increase profitability. In addition, if our financial strength and credit ratings remain lower than the ratings of certain of our competitors, we may experience increased surrenders and/or an inability to reach sales targets, which may have a material and adverse effect on our growth, business, financial condition, results of operations, cash flows and prospects.
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A significant portion of our retail annuities are sold through a proprietary distribution network.
We distribute annuity products through independent producers affiliated with certain IMOs. A significant portion of our retail annuity production results from sales of product in our BalancedChoice Annuity product series, which contains certain product features that are licensed from a third-party actuarial firm. Only IMOs which are affiliated with the Annexus Group are permitted to distribute the BalancedChoice Annuity product series. If we experienced a disruption in our relationship with the Annexus Group, it could have an adverse effect for a period of time on our annuity sales of this product series.
We are subject to general economic conditions, including prevailing interest rates, levels of unemployment and financial and equity and credit market performance, which may affect, among other things, our ability to sell our products, the fair value of our investments and whether such investments become impaired and the surrender rate and profitability of our policies.
Our business and results of operations are materially affected by conditions in the global capital markets and the economy generally. A general economic slowdown could adversely affect us in the form of changes in consumer behavior and decreases in the returns on and value of our investment portfolio. Concerns over the slow economic recovery, the level of U.S. national debt, currency fluctuations and volatility, the stability of the EU and the potential exit of the UK (Brexit) and of certain other EU members, the rate of growth of China and other Asian economies, unemployment, the availability and cost of credit, the U.S. housing market, inflation levels, negative interest rates, energy costs and geopolitical issues have contributed to increased volatility and diminished expectations for the economy and the markets. Declining economic growth rates globally and resultant diverging paths of monetary policy could increase volatility in the credit markets, potentially impacting the availability and cost of credit.
Factors such as equity prices, equity market volatility, interest rates, counterparty risks, availability of credit, inflation rates, economic uncertainty, changes in laws or regulations (including laws relating to the financial markets generally or the taxation or regulation of the insurance industry), trade barriers, commodity prices, currency exchange rates and controls and national and international political circumstances (including governmental instability, wars, terrorist acts or security operations) can have a material impact on the value of our investment portfolio and our subsidiaries’ ability to sell their products. Equity market volatility can negatively affect our revenues and profitability in various ways, particularly as a result of guaranteed minimum withdrawal or surrender benefits in our products. The estimated cost of providing guaranteed minimum withdrawal benefits incorporates various assumptions about the overall performance of equity markets over certain time periods. Periods of significant and sustained downturns in equity markets, increased equity volatility or reduced interest rates could result in an increase in the valuation of the future policy benefit or policyholder account balance liabilities associated with such products, resulting in a reduction in our revenues and net income. The rate of amortization of DAC and VOBA costs relating to FIA products and the cost of providing guaranteed minimum withdrawal or surrender benefits could also increase if equity market performance is worse than assumed, which could have a material and adverse effect on our growth, business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.
Additionally, the possibility of volatility in the capital markets spreading through a highly integrated and interdependent banking system remains. These factors, combined with reduced business and consumer confidence, have negatively impacted U.S. economic growth. The Federal Reserve has scaled back programs that have in recent years fostered a historically low interest rate environment, which could generate volatility in debt and equity markets including increases in interest rates and associated declining values on fixed income investments. As the Federal Reserve moves towards normalizing monetary policy and moving short-term interest rates off of their lower levels, the central bank may adversely affect prospects for continued economic recovery with little room for incremental monetary accommodation.
Furthermore, long-term structural concerns remain with regard to the Eurozone’s move towards a closer currency, fiscal, economic and monetary union, particularly in the wake of the UK’s vote to exit the EU. In addition, significant risks persist regarding the sovereign debt of Greece, as well as certain other countries, which in some cases have required countries to obtain emergency financing. While economic policy measures and commitments have stabilized the Euro’s volatility, the EU’s fiscal outlook remains negative, and further substantial decline in the value of the Euro could expose us to significantly greater foreign currency exposure than we estimate at this time. The financial turmoil in Europe, including the recent downgrades of the sovereign rating of the UK and uncertainty resulting from Brexit, continues to be a long-term threat to global capital markets and remains a challenge to global financial stability. If these or other countries require additional financial support or if sovereign credit ratings decline further, yields on the sovereign debt of certain countries may increase, the cost of borrowing may increase and the availability of credit may become more limited. Our results of operations and investment portfolio are exposed to these risks and may be adversely affected as a result. In addition, in the event of extreme prolonged market events, such as the recent global credit crisis, we could incur significant losses.
Our investments are subject to market and credit risks that could diminish their value and these risks could be greater during periods of extreme volatility or disruption in the financial and credit markets, which could adversely impact our business, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations.
Our investments and derivative financial instruments are subject to risks of credit defaults and changes in market values. Periods of extreme volatility or disruption in the financial and credit markets could increase these risks. Underlying factors relating to volatility affecting the financial and credit markets could lead to other than temporary impairment of assets in our investment portfolio. We are also subject to the risk that cash flows resulting from payments on assets that serve as collateral underlying the structured products we own may differ from our expectations in timing or size. In addition, many of our classes of investments, but in particular our alternative investments, may produce investment income that fluctuates from period to period and is more variable than may be the case with other asset classes, such as corporate bonds. Any event reducing the estimated fair value of these securities, other than on a temporary basis, could have a material and adverse effect
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on our business, results of operations, financial condition and cash flows. If our investment manager, AAM, or our German subsidiaries’ investment adviser, AAME, fails to react appropriately to difficult market, economic and geopolitical conditions, our investment portfolio could incur material losses. Some of our investments are more vulnerable to these risks than others, as described more fully below.
As of December 31, 2016, 82% of our total invested assets were invested in fixed maturity securities, equity securities, and short-term investments, including our investments in investment grade and high-yield corporate bonds and structured products, which include RMBS and CLOs. As of December 31, 2016, 47% of our total invested assets were invested in non-structured investment grade bonds, 3% in high-yield non-structured securities, and 5% in structured securities (other than CMBS, RMBS and CLOs). Issuers or guarantors of such fixed income securities may default on principal or interest payments they owe us, or the underlying collateral may default on such payments, causing an adverse change in cash flows. An economic downturn affecting the issuers or underlying collateral of these securities, a ratings downgrade affecting the issuers or guarantors of such securities, or similar trends and issues could cause the estimated fair value of our fixed income securities portfolio and our earnings to decline and the default rates of the fixed income securities in our portfolio to increase.
As of December 31, 2016, 8% of our total invested assets were invested in senior and mezzanine tranches issued by CLOs and 0.4% was invested in equity tranches issued by CLOs. As of December 31, 2016, 95% of our investments in CLOs were managed by Apollo and its affiliates other than AAM. CLOs are a form of securitization where payments from multiple large business loans, generally below investment grade, are pooled together and sold to different classes of owners in various tranches. Senior tranches of CLOs have some protection from credit losses by more junior tranches while junior tranches often have higher yields than those of the collateral loans and receive higher coupons to compensate for higher risk. CLOs thus provide investment opportunities with varying risk/return profiles and diversified exposure to multiple borrowers. Control over the CLOs in which we invest is exercised through collateral managers, who may take actions that could adversely affect our interests, and we may not have the right to direct collateral management. There may also be less information available to us regarding the underlying debt instruments held by CLOs than if we had invested directly in the debt of the underlying companies. Additionally, as subordinated interests, the estimated fair values of CLOs tend to be much more sensitive to adverse economic downturns and underlying borrower defaults than those of more senior securities. For example, as the secondary market pricing of the loans underlying CLOs deteriorated during the fourth quarter of 2008, it is our understanding that many investors were forced to raise cash by selling their interests in performing loans which resulted in a forced deleveraging cycle of price declines, compulsory sales and further price declines. While loan prices have recovered from the low levels experienced during the financial crisis, conditions in the large corporate leveraged loan market may deteriorate again, which may cause pricing levels to decline. Furthermore, our investments in CLOs are also subject to liquidity risk as there is a limited market for CLOs. Accordingly, we may suffer unrealized depreciation and could incur realized losses in connection with the sale of our CLO interests, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Included in assets of AAA Investment (Co-Invest VI), L.P. (CoInvest VI), one of our consolidated variable interest entities (VIE), are equity investments in publicly traded shares of Caesars Entertainment Corporation (CEC) and Caesars Acquisition Company (CAC). We received the CEC and CAC shares as part of a contribution agreement in 2012 with AAA Guarantor - Athene, L.P. and its subsidiary, Apollo Life Re Ltd., in order to provide a capital base to support future acquisitions. There are pending claims against CEC, CAC and/or others, related to certain guaranties issued for debt of Caesars Entertainment Operating Company, Inc. (CEOC) and/or certain transactions involving CEOC and certain of its subsidiaries (collectively, Debtors), CEC, CAC and others. CEC and the Debtors announced on or about September 26, 2016, that CEC and CEOC had received confirmations from representatives of CEOC's major creditor groups of those groups’ support for a term sheet that describes the key economic terms of a proposed consensual chapter 11 plan for the Debtors. The plan, containing such terms and further including such other terms respecting, among other things, the merger of CAC into CEC, that CoInvest VI and others will not retain their pre-merger CEC shares, that CoInvest VI and others will retain the value of their CAC shares when receiving shares in the merged CEC, and that CoInvest VI and others will receive releases to the fullest extent permitted by law, was confirmed by the Bankruptcy Court by order dated January 17, 2017. Conditions precedent to the effective date of the plan include regulatory approvals from the various gaming regulators, CEC and CAC shareholders approval of the proposed merger, and securing required financings. As a result, CoInvest VI recorded a liability of $27 million during 2016 for the entire carrying value of the CEC shares. As of December 31, 2016, CoInvest VI’s investment in CAC is carried at its fair value of $45 million.
We have a risk management framework in place to identify, assess and prioritize risks, including the market and credit risks to which our investments are subject. As part of that framework, we test our investment portfolio based on various market scenarios. Under certain stressed market scenarios, unrealized losses on our investment portfolio could lead to material reductions in its carrying value. Under some extreme scenarios, total AHL shareholders’ equity could be negative for the period of time prior to any potential market recovery. See Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risks.
A decline in fair value below the amortized cost of a security requires management to assess whether an OTTI has occurred. The decision on whether to record an OTTI is determined in part by our assessment of the financial condition and prospects of a particular issuer, projections of future cash flows and recoverability of the particular security as well as management’s assertion of whether it is more likely than not that we will sell the particular security before recovery.
Our investments linked to real estate are subject to credit, market and servicing risk, which could diminish the value that we obtain from such investments.
As of December 31, 2016, 18% of our total invested assets were invested in fixed maturity and equity securities linked to real estate, such as CMBS and RMBS. Additionally, as of December 31, 2016, 8% of our total invested assets were invested in commercial mortgage loans (CML) and RML, and 1% of our total invested assets were invested in real estate held for investment. In total, as of December 31, 2016, 27% of our
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total invested assets were invested in assets linked to real estate. Defaults by third parties in the payment or performance of their obligations underlying these assets could reduce our investment income and realized investment gains or result in the recognition of investment losses. For example, the value of our real estate-related assets depends in part on the financial condition of the borrowers, the value of the real properties underlying the mortgages and, for commercial properties, the financial condition of the tenants of the properties underlying those mortgages, as well as general and specific economic trends affecting the overall default rate. An unexpectedly high rate of default on mortgages held by a CMBS or RMBS may limit substantially the ability of the issuer of such security to make payments to holders of such securities, reducing the value of those securities or rendering them worthless. The risk of such defaults is generally higher in the case of mortgage securitizations that include “sub-prime” or “alt-A” mortgages. As of December 31, 2016, 30% of our holdings in assets linked to real estate were invested in such “sub-prime” mortgages and “alt-A” mortgages. Changes in laws and other regulatory developments relating to mortgage loans may impact the investments of our portfolio linked to real estate in the future. Additionally, cash flow variability arising from an unexpected acceleration in mortgage prepayment behavior can be significant, and could cause a decline in the estimated fair value of certain “interest only” securities or loans.
The CML we hold, and CML underlying the CMBS that we hold, face both default and delinquency risk. For CML that we hold directly, we establish loan specific estimated impairments at each balance sheet date based on the excess carrying value of a loan over the present value of expected future cash flows discounted at the loan’s original effective interest rate, the estimated fair value of the loan’s collateral if the loan is in the process of foreclosure or otherwise collateral dependent, or the loan’s observable market price. We also establish valuation allowances for loan losses when it is probable that a credit event has occurred and the amount of loss can be reasonably estimated. As of December 31, 2016, our CML investments comprised 8% of our total invested assets, of which 0.3% were in the process of foreclosure. Legislative proposals that would allow or require modifications to the terms of CML, an increase in the delinquency or default rate of our CML portfolio or geographic or sector concentration within our CML portfolio could materially and adversely impact our financial condition and results of operations.
Our investments in RML and RMBS also involve credit risks. Higher than expected rates of default or loss severities on our RML investments and the assets underlying our RMBS investments may adversely affect the value of such assets. A significant number of the mortgages underlying our RML and RMBS investments are concentrated in certain geographic areas. Certain markets within those areas experienced significant decreases in home values during the financial crisis of 2007-2008 and the years thereafter. Any event that adversely affects the economic or real estate market in any of these areas could have a disproportionately adverse effect on our RML and RMBS investments. While we actively monitor our exposure to these and other risks inherent in this strategy, we cannot assure you that our hedging and risk management strategies will be effective; any failure to manage these risks effectively could materially and adversely affect our results of operations and financial condition. A rise in home prices, the concern over further introduction of or changes to government policies aimed at altering prepayment behavior, and an increased availability of housing-related credit could combine to increase expected or actual prepayment speeds, which would likely lower the valuations of RML and the valuations of RMBS that are structured as interest only securities and inverse interest only securities. In general, any material decline in the economy or significant problems in a particular real estate market would likely cause a decline in the value of residential properties securing the mortgages in that market, thereby increasing the risk of delinquency, default and foreclosure. This could, in turn, have a material adverse effect on our credit loss experience in the affected market.
Control over the underlying assets in all of our real estate-related investments is exercised through a servicer that we do not control. If a servicer is not vigilant in seeing that borrowers make their required periodic payments, borrowers may be less likely to make these payments, resulting in a higher frequency of default. If a servicer takes longer to liquidate non-performing mortgages, our losses related to those loans may be higher than originally anticipated. Any failure by a servicer to service mortgages in which we are invested or which underlie a RMBS in which we are invested could negatively impact the value of our investments in the related RML or RMBS.
Our German Group Companies and the Luxembourg investment fund managed by our Luxembourg subsidiary in which we have invested are significantly (directly or indirectly) invested in real estate in Germany and rely to a large extent on earnings from rentals and mortgage loan financing. Rents, real estate prices and default risk of mortgage loans largely depend on economic and business conditions in Germany. Declining economic conditions could cause us to be unable to re-let our real estate on the current terms, encounter difficulties in divesting parts of the real estate and lead to an increased number of mortgage loan defaults. This could impair the performance of our German Group Companies and the Luxembourg investment fund managed by our Luxembourg subsidiary in which we have invested (including the investments of the Luxembourg investment fund, in particular Elementae S.A., a holding company in which the Luxembourg investment fund is the sole shareholder) and have material adverse effects on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows. The Luxembourg investment fund managed by our Luxembourg subsidiary in which we have invested may also (directly or indirectly) hold investments located elsewhere, which may depend on local economic and business conditions and which may be similarly adversely affected.
In addition to the credit and market risk that we face in relation to all of our real estate-related investments, certain of these investments may expose us to various environmental, regulatory and other risks. For example, our investment in RML could result in claims being assessed against us as a mortgage holder or property owner, including assignee liability, responsibility for tax payments, environmental hazards and other liabilities, including liabilities under the federal Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act of 1980. We may continue to be liable under such claims after foreclosing on a property securing a mortgage loan held by us. Additionally, we may be subject to regulation by the CFPB as a mortgage holder or property owner. We are currently unable to predict the impact of such regulation on our business. Any adverse environmental claim or regulatory action against us resulting from our investment in RML could adversely impact our reputation, business and results of operations.
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Many of our invested assets are relatively illiquid and we may fail to realize profits from these assets for a considerable period of time, or lose some or all of the principal amount we invest in these assets if we are required to sell our invested assets at a loss at inopportune times to cover policyholder withdrawals or to meet our insurance, reinsurance or other obligations.
We offer certain products that allow policyholders to withdraw their funds under defined circumstances. In order to meet such obligations, we seek to manage our liabilities and configure our investment portfolios to provide and maintain sufficient liquidity to support expected withdrawal demands and contract benefits and maturities. However, in order to provide necessary long-term returns and to achieve our strategic goals, a certain portion of our assets are relatively illiquid. Many of our investments are in securities that are not publicly traded or that otherwise lack liquidity, such as our privately placed fixed maturity securities, below investment grade securities, investments in mortgage loans and alternative investments.
We record our relatively illiquid types of investments at fair value. If we were forced to sell certain of our assets, there can be no assurance that we would be able to sell them for the prices at which we have recorded them and we might be forced to sell them at significantly lower prices. In many cases, we may be prohibited by contract or applicable securities laws from selling such securities for a period of time. When we hold a security or position, it is vulnerable to price and value fluctuations and may experience losses if we are unable to timely sell, hedge or transfer the position. Thus, it may be impossible or costly for us to liquidate positions rapidly in order to meet unexpected withdrawal or recapture obligations. This potential mismatch between the liquidity of our assets and liabilities could have a material and adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.
Our investment portfolio may be subject to concentration risk, particularly with regards to our investments in MidCap, AmeriHome and real estate.
Concentration risk arises from exposure to significant asset defaults of a single issuer, industry or class of securities, based on economic conditions, geography or as a result of adverse regulatory or court decisions. When an investor’s assets are concentrated and that particular asset or class of assets experiences significant defaults, the default of such assets could threaten the investor’s financial condition. Our most significant potential exposure to concentration risk are our investments in MidCap, a provider of revolving and term debt facilities to middle market companies in North America and Europe, and in A-A Mortgage and its indirect investment in AmeriHome, a mortgage lender and mortgage servicer. As of December 31, 2016, our exposure, including loaned amounts, to MidCap was $761 million, which represented 1% of our total invested assets and 11% of total AHL shareholders’ equity. As of December 31, 2016, our exposure to A-A Mortgage was $417 million, which represented less than 1% of our total invested assets and 6% of total AHL shareholders’ equity. To the extent that we suffer a significant loss on our investment in MidCap or A-A Mortgage, our financial condition and results of operations could be adversely affected.
As of December 31, 2016, 27% of our total invested assets were invested in real estate-related assets. Any significant decline in the value of real estate generally or the occurrence of any of the risks described above with respect to our real estate related-investments could materially and adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations.
Our investment portfolio may include investments in securities of issuers based outside the United States, including emerging markets, which may be riskier than securities of U.S. issuers.
We may invest in securities of issuers organized or based outside the United States that may involve heightened risks in comparison to the risks of investing in U.S. securities, including unfavorable changes in currency rates and exchange control regulations, reduced and less reliable information about issuers and markets, less stringent accounting standards, illiquidity of securities and markets, higher brokerage commissions, transfer taxes and custody fees, local economic or political instability and greater market risk in general. In particular, investing in securities of issuers located in emerging market countries involves additional risks, such as exposure to economic structures that are generally less diverse and mature than, and to political systems that can be expected to have less stability than, those of developed countries, national policies that restrict investment by foreigners in certain issuers or industries of that country, the absence of legal structures governing foreign investment and private property and an increased risk of foreclosure on collateral located in such countries, a lack of liquidity due to the small size of markets for securities of issuers located in emerging markets and price volatility. The vote in 2016 by the UK to exit the EU has created significant volatility in the global financial markets. The effect of Brexit on our investment portfolios at this time is uncertain and this uncertainty will likely continue as negotiations commence to determine the future terms of the UK’s relationship with the EU. Brexit is likely to continue to adversely affect European and worldwide economic conditions and could contribute to greater instability in the global financial markets before and after the terms of the UK’s future relationship with the EU are settled.
As of December 31, 2016, 32% of the carrying value of our AFS fixed maturity securities, including related parties, was comprised of securities of issuers based outside of the United States and debt securities of foreign governments. Of our total AFS fixed maturity securities, including related parties as of December 31, 2016, 9% were invested in CLOs of Cayman Islands issuers (where underlying assets are largely loans to U.S. issuers), 6% were invested in securities of non-U.S. issuers by our German Group Companies and 17% were invested in other non-U.S. issuers. While we invest in securities of non-U.S. issuers, the currency denominations of such securities usually match the currency denominations of the liabilities that the assets support. When the currency denominations of the assets and liabilities do not match, we generally undertake hedging activities to eliminate or mitigate currency mismatch risk. See Item 7. Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Consolidated Investment Portfolio for further information on international exposure.
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We previously identified material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting. If we fail to maintain effective internal control over financial reporting, we may not be able to accurately report our consolidated financial results.
We identified material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting as of and for the years ended December 31, 2014 and 2013. A material weakness is a deficiency, or combination of deficiencies, in internal control over financial reporting, such that there is a reasonable possibility that a material misstatement of the company’s annual or interim financial statements will not be prevented or detected on a timely basis. If we fail to maintain effective internal control over financial reporting, we may not be able to accurately report our consolidated financial results.
During the process of preparing and completing our consolidated financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2013, we determined we did not have sufficient internal control over financial reporting related to: (1) actuarial balances of the blocks of business acquired from Aviva USA and (2) the preparation and accuracy of income tax balances, each of which constituted a material weakness. To address the material weakness over actuarial balances, we designed and implemented controls to review the data inputs, models, reserve systems, valuations and other processes related to material reserves acquired from Aviva USA. Finally, we designed and implemented review controls over actuarial model changes in the actuarial units across our company. To address the material weakness over income tax balances, we took several actions, including adding expertise and resources to our tax staff through adding a global senior head of tax with significant experience, and enhancing our capabilities and processes to support financial reporting for income taxes. Additionally, we have designed controls to support the comprehensive review over our income tax processes, which include providing supporting documentation and analyses of our income tax accounting positions in a timely manner and managing the response to complex accounting for the income tax consequences of insurance acquisitions to prevent or detect misstatements in the determination of the income tax consequences of future acquisitions. Management believes that these deficiencies no longer constituted material weaknesses as of December 31, 2015, and as of December 31, 2016, assessed these deficiencies as significant deficiencies.
Due to a transition period established by rules of the SEC for newly public companies, we are not required to conduct an evaluation of our internal controls over financial reporting as required under Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 until the year ended December 31, 2017, nor have we conducted such an evaluation. Such an evaluation would include documenting internal control activities and procedures over financial reporting, assessing the design effectiveness of such controls, and testing the operating effectiveness of such controls, and could result in the identification of additional material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting.
Any failure to maintain adequate internal control over financial reporting or to implement required, new or improved internal controls, or difficulties encountered in their implementation, could cause us to report additional material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting, and may result in our inability to accurately report our consolidated financial results. Any such failure could have a material and adverse effect on our consolidated financial results and the value of our common shares.
Our growth strategy includes acquiring business through acquisitions of other insurance companies and reinsurance of insurance obligations written by unaffiliated insurance companies, and our ability to consummate these acquisitions on economically advantageous terms acceptable to us in the future is unknown.
We have grown and intend to grow our business in the future in part by acquisitions of other insurance companies and businesses, including through reinsurance, which could require additional capital, systems development and skilled personnel. We may experience challenges identifying, financing, consummating and integrating such acquisitions. While we have reviewed various acquisition opportunities and have successfully completed acquisitions in the past to facilitate our growth, competition exists in the market for profitable blocks of insurance and businesses. Such competition is likely to intensify as insurance businesses become more attractive acquisition targets. It is also possible that merger and acquisition transactions will become less frequent, which could also make it more difficult for us to implement our growth strategy as we have done in the past. Thus, in the future, we may not be able to find suitable acquisition opportunities that are available at attractive valuations, if at all. Even if we do find suitable acquisition opportunities, we may not be able to consummate the acquisitions on commercially acceptable terms. In addition, to the extent we determine to finance an acquisition, suitable financing arrangements may not be available on acceptable terms, on a timely basis, or at all. Our acquisition activities may also divert the attention of our management from our business, which may have an adverse effect on our business and results of operations.
Occasionally we may acquire or seek to acquire an insurance company or business that writes traditional life insurance business or other businesses that are not core to our business. In the past, except in limited circumstances, we have arranged for the sale or transfer, through reinsurance or otherwise, of such business prior to or following our acquisitions to the extent that we did not want to retain these non-core businesses. As we grow, the ability of our management to transfer or source sufficient reasonably priced reinsurance for traditional life insurance or other non-core businesses that we may acquire and want to dispose of may be limited. As we acquire new businesses and write a larger volume of business, it may be difficult to find buyers or reinsurers willing to assume increased risk, and added reinsurance may increase the associated costs. Ultimately, we may not be able to find buyers or source adequate reinsurance at all. In the event that we were unable to find buyers or purchase adequate reinsurance, we would have to accept an increase in our net risk exposures, revise our pricing to reflect higher reinsurance premiums, or otherwise modify our acquisitions and product offerings, each of which could have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.
In furtherance of our strategy of growth through acquisitions, we routinely review and conduct investigations of potential acquisitions of business or blocks of business, some of which may be material. When we believe a favorable opportunity exists, we seek to enter into discussions with target companies or sellers regarding the possibility of such acquisitions. At any given time, we may be in discussions with one
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or more counterparties. There can be no assurance that any such negotiations will lead to definitive agreements, or if such agreements are reached, that any transactions would be consummated.
We may not be able to successfully integrate future acquisitions and such acquisitions may result in greater risks to us, our business, financial condition, results of operations, cash flows and prospects.
Any failure to manage our growth and integrate our future acquisitions successfully may adversely affect us. Additionally, our ability to incorporate effectively the components of any businesses we may in the future acquire into our previously existing framework is unknown.
Potential difficulties that we may encounter in integrating new acquisitions include, but are not limited to:
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our failure to successfully execute plans to reinvest investments acquired in such acquisitions into higher yielding assets at acceptable levels of credit and other risks; |
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the risks relating to integrating accounting and financial systems and accounting policies and the related risk of having to restate our historical financial statements; |
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the challenge of integrating complex systems, operating procedures, regulatory compliance programs, technology, pricing structures, networks and other assets and strategies in a manner that minimizes any adverse impact on customers, suppliers, employees and other constituencies; |
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the challenge of integrating workforces; |
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potential unknown liabilities that are significantly larger than we anticipate at the time of acquisition, and unforeseen increased expenses or delays associated with acquisitions, including costs in excess of the cash transition costs that we estimate at the outset of a transaction; |
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conditions that we must comply with in order to obtain regulatory approvals for such acquisitions; |
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the diversion of the attention of our management and other key employees; |
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the potential loss of key employees or business at the target company; |
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the inability to successfully combine our businesses in a manner that permits us to achieve the synergies and other benefits anticipated to result from future acquisitions; |
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the challenge of forming and maintaining a cohesive management team; |
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the risks of incurring significant goodwill and/or VOBA impairment charges in the future; |
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the risk that the target will incur dramatic and significant lapses, withdrawals or sales declines shortly after signing or closing of an acquisition; |
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our inability to secure hedges on adverse changes on interest rates, currencies and spreads on assets in the target company’s investment portfolio on commercially reasonable terms or at all, or that such hedges perform poorly and do not properly hedge these risks; |
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potential ratings downgrades of us or of the acquired entity; |
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increased regulatory scrutiny as a result of our entry into new markets or our increase in size or market share; and |
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branding or rebranding initiatives that involve substantial costs and may not be favorably received by customers of the target. |
The failure to appropriately mitigate these difficulties and manage our growth effectively could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, cash flows and prospects.
If we are unable to attract and retain IMOs and agents, sales of our products may be adversely affected.
We distribute our annuity products through a variable cost distribution network which currently includes approximately 60 IMOs and approximately 28,000 independent agents. Insurance companies compete vigorously for productive and profitable agents. We must attract and retain such marketers and agents to sell our products. We compete with other life insurance companies for marketers and agents primarily on the basis of our financial position, support services, compensation and product features. Such marketers and agents may promote products offered by other life insurance companies that may offer a larger variety of products than we do. Our competitiveness for such marketers and agents also depends upon the long-term relationships we develop with them. There can be no assurance that such relationships will continue in the future. In addition, as a result of our ratings upgrades in 2015, our growth plans include distributing annuity products through small and mid-size banks and regional broker-dealers. If we are unable to attract and retain sufficient marketers and agents to sell our products or we are not successful in expanding our distribution channels through the bank and broker-dealer markets, our ability to compete and our revenues and resulting financial condition and results of operations could be adversely affected.
Repurchase agreement programs subject us to potential liquidity and other risks.
We may engage in repurchase agreement transactions whereby we sell fixed income securities to third parties, primarily major brokerage firms or commercial banks, with a concurrent agreement to repurchase such securities at a determined future date. These repurchase agreements provide us with liquidity and in certain instances also allow us to earn spread income. Under such agreements we may be required to deliver additional securities or cash as margin to the counterparty if the value of the securities sold decreases prior to the repurchase date. The cash proceeds received by us under such repurchase agreements are typically invested in fixed income securities and may not be available to be returned prior to the scheduled repurchase date, and it is possible that we will enter into other repurchase transactions and use cash proceeds from such transactions to pay the repurchase prices on maturing repurchase transactions. Repurchase agreements, however, are generally not committed arrangements, and market and other conditions on the repurchase date or at other times may limit our ability to enter into new repurchase transactions or to enter into transactions on favorable terms. To the extent that we are not able to enter into new transactions or to
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enter into sufficient new transactions, we may need to find other sources to pay the repurchase prices under these transactions, which may or may not be available to us. Additionally, during difficult market situations, we may not be able to access funds under such repurchase agreements, which may require us to sell securities on unfavorable terms in order to ensure short-term liquidity.
In some cases, the maturity of the securities purchased by us with the cash proceeds received in the repurchase transaction may exceed the term of the related transaction and/or the market value of securities sold in such repurchase transactions may fall below stipulated margin requirements in the applicable repurchase agreement. If we are required to return significant amounts of cash collateral or post cash or securities as margin on short notice and we are forced to sell securities to meet such obligations, we may have difficulty doing so in a timely manner, may be forced to sell securities in a volatile or illiquid market for less than they otherwise would have been able to realize under normal market conditions, or both. In addition, under adverse capital market and economic conditions, liquidity may broadly deteriorate, which would further restrict our ability to sell securities.
A financial strength rating downgrade, potential downgrade or any other negative action by a rating agency could make our product offerings less attractive, inhibit our ability to acquire future business through acquisitions or reinsurance and increase our cost of capital, which could have a material adverse effect on our business.
Various NRSROs review the financial performance and condition of insurers and reinsurers, including our subsidiaries, and publish their financial strength ratings as indicators of an insurer’s ability to meet policyholder obligations. These ratings are important to maintaining public confidence in our insurance subsidiaries’ products, our insurance subsidiaries’ ability to market their products and our competitive position. Factors that could negatively influence this analysis include:
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changes to our business practices or organizational business plan in a manner that no longer supports our ratings; |
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unfavorable financial or market trends; |
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a need to increase reserves to support our outstanding insurance obligations; |
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our inability to retain our senior management and other key personnel; |
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rapid or excessive growth, especially through large reinsurance or acquisitions, beyond the bounds of capital sufficiency or management capabilities as judged by the NRSROs; |
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significant losses to our investment portfolio; and |
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changes in NRSROs’ capital adequacy assessment methodologies in a manner that would adversely affect the financial strength ratings of our insurance subsidiaries. |
Some other factors may also relate to circumstances outside of our control, such as views of the NRSRO and general economic conditions. Any downgrade or other negative action by a NRSRO with respect to the financial strength ratings of our insurance subsidiaries, or an entity we acquire, or our credit ratings, could materially adversely affect us and our ability to compete in many ways, including the following:
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reducing new sales of insurance products; |
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harming relationships with or perceptions of distributors, IMOs and sales agents; |
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increasing the number or amount of policy lapses or surrenders and withdrawals of funds, which may result in a mismatch of our overall asset and liability position; |
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requiring us to offer higher crediting rates or greater policyholder guarantees on our insurance products in order to remain competitive; |
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increase our borrowing costs; |
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reducing our level of profitability and capital position generally or hindering our ability to raise new capital; or |
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requiring us to collateralize obligations under or result in early or unplanned termination of hedging agreements and harming our ability to enter into new hedging agreements. |
In order to improve or maintain their financial strength ratings, our subsidiaries may attempt to implement business strategies to improve their capital ratios. We cannot guarantee any such measures will be successful. We cannot predict what actions NRSROs may take in the future, and failure to improve or maintain current financial strength ratings could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.
We are subject to significant operating and financial restrictions imposed by our credit agreement.
The credit agreement dated January 22, 2016, by and among AHL, ALRe and Athene USA, as borrowers, each lender from time to time party thereto and Citibank, N.A., as administrative agent (Credit Facility) contains various restrictive covenants which limit, among other things, AHL’s, ALRe’s and Athene USA’s ability, and in certain instances, some or all of their subsidiaries’ ability, to:
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incur additional indebtedness, make guarantees and enter into derivative arrangements; |
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create liens on our or such subsidiaries’ assets; |
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make fundamental changes; |
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engage in certain transactions with affiliates; |
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make changes in the nature of our business; and |
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pay dividends and distributions or repurchase our common shares. |
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These covenants, some of which are financial, may prevent or restrict us from capitalizing on business opportunities, including making additional acquisitions or growing our business. In addition, if AHL undergoes a “change of control” as defined in the Credit Facility, the lenders under the Credit Facility will have the right to terminate the facility and/or accelerate the maturity of all outstanding loans. As of the date of this report, AHL is in compliance with all covenants and no borrowings under the Credit Facility are outstanding. As a result of these restrictions and their effects on us, we may be limited in how we conduct our business and may be unable to raise additional debt financing to compete effectively or to take advantage of new business opportunities. The terms of any future indebtedness we may incur may contain additional restrictive covenants.
We are subject to the credit risk of our counterparties, including ceding companies who reinsure business to ALRe, reinsurers who assume liabilities from our subsidiaries and derivative counterparties.
Our insurance subsidiaries may cede insurance and transfer related assets and certain liabilities to third-party insurance companies through reinsurance. Under such reinsurance agreements, our insurance subsidiaries will be liable for losses on insurance risks if such reinsurers fail to perform under their respective reinsurance agreements with our subsidiaries.
In connection with the acquisitions of our two largest U.S. insurance subsidiaries, we entered into reinsurance agreements with Protective and Global Atlantic. As part of our acquisition of AADE, we effected a sale of substantially all of AADE’s life insurance business by reinsuring such business to Protective. Similarly, in connection with our acquisition of Aviva USA, we effectuated a sale of substantially all of Aviva USA’s life insurance business by reinsuring such business to Global Atlantic. Because these agreements involve reinsurance of entire business segments, each covers a much larger volume of business than a traditional reinsurance agreement. Additionally, although certain of Protective’s financial obligations under its reinsurance agreement with us are secured by assets placed in a trust for our benefit and Global Atlantic is obligated to maintain assets in custody accounts for our benefit to support substantially all of its financial obligations under its reinsurance agreements with us, as each of Protective and Global Atlantic are the only counterparties under each respective agreement, we face a heightened risk of default with respect to those reinsurers in particular. In addition, we do not have a security interest in the assets in the custody accounts supporting the Global Atlantic reinsurance agreements. Therefore, in the event of an insolvency of the Global Atlantic insurance company acting as reinsurer, our claims would be subordinated to those of such insurance company’s policyholders and the assets in the relevant custody accounts may be available to satisfy the claims of such insurance company’s general creditors in addition to us. As with any other reinsurance agreement, we remain liable to our policyholders even if Protective or Global Atlantic fail to perform. Although each agreement provides that Protective and Global Atlantic, respectively, agree to indemnify us for losses sustained in connection with their respective performances of each agreement, such indemnification may not be adequate to compensate us for losses actually incurred in the event that Protective or Global Atlantic are either unable or unwilling to perform according to the agreements’ terms. In addition to possible losses that could be incurred if our subsidiaries are forced to recapture these blocks, such subsidiaries may also face a substantial shortfall in capital to support the recaptured business, possibly resulting in material declines to the insurer’s RBC ratio and/or creditworthiness and potentially expose the insurer to ratings downgrades, regulatory intervention, increased policyholder withdrawals or other negative effects.
Conversely, ALRe and certain of our U.S. insurance subsidiaries assume liabilities from other insurance companies. Changes in the ratings, creditworthiness or market perception of such ceding companies or in the administration of policies reinsured to us could cause policyholders of contracts reinsured to us to surrender or lapse their policies in unexpected amounts. In addition, to the extent such ceding companies do not perform under their reinsurance agreements with us, we may not achieve the results we intended and could suffer unexpected losses. In either case, we have exposure to our subsidiaries’ reinsurance counterparties which could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.
Finally, we are exposed to credit loss in the event of nonperformance by our counterparties on derivative agreements. We seek to further reduce the risk associated with such agreements by entering into such agreements with large, well-established financial institutions. In addition, rules recently adopted by the CFTC and the prudential regulators will require us and our swap dealer counterparties to collect and post initial and variation margin with respect to non-cleared swaps. Any initial margin required to be posted to our swap dealer counterparties under these rules will be segregated with a third-party custodian. However, there can be no assurance that we will not suffer losses in the event a counterparty or custodian fails to perform or is subject to a bankruptcy or similar proceeding.
We rely significantly on third parties for investment services and certain other services related to our policies, and we may be held responsible for obligations that arise from the acts or omissions of third parties under their respective agreements with us if they are deemed to have acted on our behalf.
We rely significantly on various third parties to provide investment services to us as well as to sell, distribute and provide administrative services for our subsidiaries’ policies. As such, our results may be affected by the performance of those parties. Additionally, our operations are dependent on various service providers and on various technologies, some of which are provided or maintained by certain key outsourcing partners and other parties.
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Many of our subsidiaries’ products and services are sold through third-party intermediaries. In particular, our insurance businesses are reliant on such intermediaries to describe and explain their products to potential customers, and although we take precautions to avoid this result, such intermediaries may be deemed to have acted on our behalf. If that occurs, the intentional or unintentional misrepresentation of our subsidiaries’ products and services in advertising materials or other external communications, or inappropriate activities by our personnel or an intermediary could result in liability for us and have an adverse effect on our reputation and business prospects, as well as lead to potential regulatory actions or litigation. In addition, as a result of our acquisitions, we rely on TPAs to administer a portion of our annuity contracts, as well as a small amount of legacy life insurance business. We currently rely on these TPAs to administer a number of our policies. In addition, to the extent any of these TPAs do not administer our business appropriately, we may experience customer complaints, regulatory intervention and other adverse impacts, which could affect our future growth and profitability. If any of these TPAs or their employees are found to have made material misrepresentations to our policyholders, violated applicable insurance, privacy or other laws and regulations or otherwise engaged in misconduct, we could be held liable for their actions, which could adversely affect our reputation and business prospects, as well as lead to potential regulatory actions or litigation. Additionally, if any of these TPAs fails to perform in accordance with our standards, we may incur additional costs in connection with finding and retaining new TPAs, which may divert the time and attention of our senior management from our business.
Additionally, past or future misconduct by agents that distribute our subsidiaries’ products or employees of our vendors could result in violations of law by us, regulatory sanctions and/or serious reputational or financial harm and the precautions we take to prevent and detect this activity may not be effective in all cases. Although we employ controls and procedures designed to monitor associates’ business decisions and to prevent us from taking excessive or inappropriate risks, associates may take such risks regardless of such controls and procedures. In addition, annuity sales to seniors have been the subject of increased scrutiny by FINRA and state insurance regulators, and have been the source of industry litigation in situations where annuity sales have allegedly been unsuitable for the financial needs of seniors.
Further, on April 6, 2016, the DOL issued a new regulation which imposes upon third parties who sell annuities within ERISA plans or to individual retirement account IRA holders a fiduciary duty to the retirement investor. For the year ended December 31, 2016, of our total deposits of $8.8 billion from our organic channels, 42% was associated with sales of FIAs to employee benefit plans and IRAs and 14% was associated with traditional fixed annuities sold to employee benefit plans and IRAs. The requirements of the regulation will begin to be implemented on April 10, 2017, with full implementation on January 1, 2018. The DOL has published a proposed amendment to the fiduciary rule that will delay the applicability date for 60-days to allow the DOL to fully review the rule in light of the executive memorandum. The DOL has provided a 15-day comment period to respond to the proposed delay and it is anticipated it will issue the final rule officially delaying the applicability date in late March. In addition to the 15-day comment period relating to the delay, the DOL has opened a 45-day comment period to collect responses to the questions raised in the executive memorandum. We anticipate a delay, with a possible replacement of the rule that is less burdensome but still requires sales to be in the best interest of clients. However, until the rule is officially delayed, we continue to move forward in preparation for the April 10, 2017 applicability date.
The DOL regulation regarding fiduciary obligations of distributors of products to retirement accounts may result in additional compliance costs to us, regulatory scrutiny and litigation, as well as reduced sales of our products. As the fiduciary regulations are not currently in effect, we are not able to assess the actual impact that such regulations may have on us and our associates. However, when fully implemented such regulations may have an adverse effect on our results of operations and financial condition.
If we lose or fail to retain our senior executives or other key personnel and are unable to attract qualified personnel, our ability to execute our growth plans and operate our business could be impeded or adversely affected, which could significantly and negatively affect our business.
Our success depends in large part on our ability to attract and retain key people, including senior executives, sales and distribution professionals, actuarial and finance professionals and information technology professionals. Intense competition exists for key employees with demonstrated ability, and we may be unable to hire or retain such employees. Accordingly, the loss of services of one or more of the members of our senior management could delay or prevent us from fully implementing our business strategy and, consequently, significantly and negatively impact our business. The unexpected loss of members of our senior management or other key employees could have a material adverse effect on our operations due to the loss of their skills, knowledge of our business and their years of industry experience as well as the potential difficulty of promptly finding qualified replacement employees. We also rely upon the knowledge and experience of employees involved in functions that require technical expertise in order to provide for sound operational controls for our overall enterprise, including the accurate and timely preparation of required regulatory filings and financial statements and operation of internal controls. A loss of such employees could adversely impact our ability to execute key operational functions and could adversely affect our operational controls, including our internal control over financial reporting.
Foreign currency fluctuations may reduce our net income and our capital levels, adversely affecting our financial condition.
We are exposed to foreign currency exchange rate risk both as a result of our acquisition of our German Group Companies, which conduct business in a variety of non-U.S. currencies, and the investments in our investment portfolio that are denominated in currencies other than the U.S. dollar or are issued by entities which primarily conduct their business outside of the U.S. We may employ various strategies (including hedging) to largely manage our exposure to foreign currency exchange risk. To the extent that these exposures are not fully hedged or the hedges are ineffective, our results or equity may be reduced by fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates that could materially adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations.
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The vote by the United Kingdom mandating its withdrawal from the EU could have an adverse effect on our business and investments.
The vote in 2016 by the UK to exit the EU, or Brexit, has created significant volatility in the global financial markets. However, the eventual effects of the UK’s withdrawal from the EU on our business or our investment portfolios is uncertain at this time and will depend on agreements the UK makes to retain access to EU markets either during a transitional period or more permanently. Brexit could impair the ability of our German companies to transact business in the future in the UK, including by restricting the free travel of employees from and to the UK and through legal uncertainty and potentially divergent national laws and regulations as the UK determines which EU laws to replace or replicate. Furthermore, Brexit is likely to continue to adversely affect European and worldwide economic conditions and could contribute to greater instability in the global financial markets before and after the terms of the UK’s future relationship with the EU are settled. Brexit's impact could have an adverse effect on our business and investments.
Our operations may be affected by the introduction of an EU financial transaction tax (FTT).
On February 14, 2013, the EC published a proposal for a Directive for a common FTT in those EU Member States which choose to participate (the FTT Zone) and the proposal was included in the EC’s work program for 2014, published on October 22, 2013.
The proposed FTT has broad scope and would apply to financial transactions where at least one party to the transaction is established in the FTT Zone and either that party or another party is a financial institution established in the FTT Zone. The term “financial institution” covers a wide range of entities, including insurance and reinsurance undertakings. The term “financial transaction” includes the sale and purchase of a financial instrument, a transfer of risk associated with a financial instrument and the conclusion or modification of a derivative. The proposed minimum rate of tax is 0.1% of the consideration, or 0.01% of the notional amount in relation to a derivative. A financial institution may be deemed to be “established” in the FTT Zone, even if it has no business presence there, for example, if the underlying financial instrument is issued in the FTT Zone.
In the period following its publication in February 2013, the FTT proposal has both been subject to significant negotiation between the participating EU Member States and the subject of a legal challenge. As a result, both the scope of any FTT, as well as the timing of implementation, has been somewhat unclear.
In December 2015, those EU Member States that remain committed to the introduction of the FTT (the FTT 10) announced that they had reached a broad understanding as to the possible foundations for the FTT. At that time, the FTT 10 intended to reach a final agreement by the summer of 2016. Although an agreement was not reached during the summer of 2016, the FTT 10 reached an agreement in October 2016 on the basic outline of the FTT, and directed the EC to draft an EU directive authorizing the FTT. A draft of this directive and the FTT legislation was expected to be finalized at the meeting of the Economic and Financial Affairs Council of the EU (ECOFIN) on December 6, 2016. At its meeting on December 6, 2016 ECOFIN was informed that the FTT 10 is still working on a number of open questions and trying to reach a compromise on the core elements. No further dates have been set at this time for the development of the FTT.
It remains clear that further work will still be required in order to settle both the scope and application of any FTT, and further legal challenges may yet arise. The introduction of an FTT in this or similar form could have an adverse effect on our results of operations.
Our business in Bermuda could be adversely affected by Bermuda employment restrictions.
As of December 31, 2016, we employed approximately 25 non-Bermudians in our Bermuda office (other than spouses of Bermudians, holders of permanent residents’ certificates, and holders of working residents’ certificates). We may hire additional non-Bermudians as our business grows. Under Bermuda law, non-Bermudians (other than spouses of Bermudians, holders of permanent residents’ certificates, and holders of working residents’ certificates) generally may not engage in any gainful occupation in Bermuda without a valid government work permit (with certain exceptions). A work permit is generally granted or renewed upon showing that, after proper public advertisement, no Bermudian, spouse of a Bermudian, or holder of a permanent resident’s or working resident’s certificate who meets the minimum standards reasonably required by the employer has applied for the job. Work permit terms that are available for request range from three months to five years. We may not be able to use the services of one or more of our non-Bermudian employees if we are not able to obtain work permits for them, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Interruption or other operational failures in telecommunications, information technology and other operational systems or a failure to maintain the security, integrity, confidentiality or privacy of sensitive data residing on those systems, including as a result of human error, could have a material adverse effect on our business.
We are highly dependent on automated and information technology systems to record and process our internal transactions and transactions involving our customers, as well as to calculate reserves, value our investment portfolio and complete certain other components of our financial statements. We could experience a failure of one of these systems, our employees or agents could fail to monitor and implement enhancements or other modifications to a system in a timely and effective manner or our employees or agents could fail to complete all necessary data reconciliation or other conversion controls when implementing a new software system or modifications to an existing system. Additionally, anyone who is able to circumvent our security measures and penetrate our information technology systems could access, view, misappropriate, alter or delete information in the systems, including personally identifiable customer information and proprietary business information. Information security risks also exist with respect to the use of portable electronic devices, such as laptops, which are particularly vulnerable to loss and theft.
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We believe that we have established and implemented appropriate security measures, controls and procedures to safeguard our information technology systems and to prevent unauthorized access to such systems and any data processed or stored in such systems, and we periodically evaluate and test the adequacy of such systems, controls and procedures. In addition, we have established a business continuity plan which is designed to ensure that we are able to maintain all aspects of our key business processes functioning in the midst of certain disruptive events, including any disruptions to or breaches of our information technology systems. Despite the implementation of security and back-up measures, our information technology systems may be vulnerable to physical or electronic intrusions, viruses or other attacks, programming errors and similar disruptions. We may also be subject to disruptions of any of these systems arising from events that are wholly or partially beyond our control (for example, natural disasters, acts of terrorism, epidemics, computer viruses and electrical or telecommunications outages). All of these risks are also applicable where we rely on outside vendors to provide services to us and our customers. The failure of any one of these systems for any reason, or errors made by our employees or agents, could in each case cause significant interruptions to our operations, which could harm our reputation, adversely affect our internal control over financial reporting or have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
We retain confidential information in our information technology systems and those of our business partners, and we rely on industry standard commercial technologies to maintain the security of those systems. Despite our implementation of network security measures, our servers could be subject to physical and electronic intrusions, and similar disruptions from unauthorized tampering with our computer systems. While we perform annual penetration tests and have adopted a number of measures to protect the security of customer and company data, and to our knowledge have not experienced a successful cyber attack that has resulted in any material compromise in the security of our information technology systems, there is no guarantee that such an attack will not occur or be successful in the future.
In addition, an increasing number of jurisdictions require that customers be notified if a security breach results in the disclosure of personally identifiable customer information. Any compromise of the security of our information technology systems that results in inappropriate disclosure or use of personally identifiable customer information could damage the reputation of our brand in the marketplace, deter purchases of our products, subject us to heightened regulatory scrutiny or significant civil and criminal liability and require us to incur significant technical, legal and other expenses.
We may be the target or subject of, and may be required to defend against or respond to, litigation (including class action litigation), enforcement investigations or regulatory scrutiny.
We, like other financial services companies, are involved in litigation and arbitration in the ordinary course of business. More generally, we operate in an industry in which various practices are subject to regulatory scrutiny and potential litigation, including class actions and enforcement investigations. Plaintiffs may seek large or indeterminate amounts of damages, including compensatory, liquidated, treble and/or punitive damages. In addition, we sell our products through third parties, including IMOs, whose activities may be difficult to monitor. Civil jury verdicts have been returned against insurers and other financial services companies involving sales, underwriting practices, product design, product disclosure, administration, denial or delay of benefits, charging excessive or impermissible fees, recommending unsuitable products to customers, breaching fiduciary or other duties to customers, refund or claims practices, alleged agent misconduct, failure to properly supervise representatives, relationships with agents or other persons with whom the insurer does business, payment of sales or other contingent commissions and other matters. Such lawsuits can result in substantial judgments that are disproportionate to actual damages, including material amounts of punitive or non-economic compensatory damages. In some states, juries, judges and arbitrators have substantial discretion in awarding punitive, or non-economic, compensatory damages, which creates the potential for unpredictable material adverse judgments or awards in any given lawsuit or arbitration. Arbitration awards are subject to very limited appellate review. In addition, in some class action and other lawsuits, financial services companies have made material settlement payments. Given the large or indeterminate amounts sometimes sought, and the inherent unpredictability of litigation, it is also possible that in certain cases an ultimate unfavorable resolution of one or more pending litigation matters could have a material and adverse effect on our financial condition. See Item 3. Legal Proceedings.
Risks Relating to Our Investment Manager
We rely on our investment management or advisory agreements with AAM and AAME for the management of our investment portfolio. AAM and AAME may terminate these arrangements at any time, and there are limitations on our ability to terminate such arrangements, which may adversely affect our investment results.
We rely on AAM and AAME to provide us with investment management and advisory services pursuant to various investment management agreements (IMAs) and advisory agreements. AAM and AAME rely in part on their ability to attract and retain key people, and the loss of services of one or more of the members of AAM’s or AAME’s senior management could delay or prevent AAM or AAME from fully implementing our investment strategy.
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IMA Termination Rights
Our bye-laws currently provide that we may not, and will cause our subsidiaries not to, terminate any IMA or advisory agreement among us, our subsidiaries and AAM or AAME without cause before October 31, 2018 (or any third anniversary thereafter) (each such date, an IMA Termination Date) and any termination on an IMA Termination Date without cause requires (1) the approval of our board of directors and at least 50% of the total issued shares of AHL that are entitled to vote (giving effect to the voting allocation provisions set forth in our bye-laws) and (2) six months’ prior written notice to AAM or AAME of such termination. Notwithstanding the foregoing, any such IMA may be terminated by our board of directors for cause (as defined in our bye-laws), which includes (a) material violations of law relating to AAM’s or AAME’s advisory business, (b) AAM’s or AAME’s gross negligence, willful misconduct or reckless disregard of AAM’s or AAME’s obligations under the relevant agreement, (c) a determination by the board of directors, in its sole discretion and acting in good faith, of unsatisfactory long-term performance of AAM or AAME, or (d) a determination by the board of directors, in its sole discretion and acting in good faith, that the fees being charged by AAM or AAME are unfair and excessive compared to a comparable asset manager (provided, that in the case of the immediately preceding clauses (c) and (d), the board of directors must deliver notice of such determination to AAM or AAME, as applicable, and AAM or AAME, as applicable, will have 30 days after receipt of such notice to address the board of directors’ concerns, and provided, further, that in the case of the immediately preceding clause (d), AAM or AAME has the right to lower its fees to match the fees of such comparable asset manager). However, our organizational documents give our board of directors complete discretion as to whether to determine if a for cause termination event has occurred under any IMA and therefore the board of directors may never elect to make such a determination. Five of our 13 directors are employees of or consultants to Apollo and our Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and Chief Investment Officer is an employee of AAM, and under Bermuda law, such directors would be allowed to vote on any resolution to terminate an IMA as long as they declare their conflict prior to any such vote.
Proposed Bye-law Amendment
A proposed amendment to our bye-laws that has been approved by our board of directors and is subject to approval by our shareholders at our 2017 Annual General Meeting provides that we may not, and will cause our subsidiaries not to, terminate any IMA or advisory agreement among us or any of our subsidiaries, on the one hand, and AAM or AAME, on the other hand, before October 31, 2018 (or any anniversary thereafter) (each such date, an IMA Termination Election Date) and any termination on an IMA Termination Election Date requires (i) the approval of two-thirds of our Independent Directors (as defined below) and (ii) written notice to AAM or AAME of such termination at least 30 days’ prior to an IMA Termination Election Date. If our Independent Directors make any such election to terminate and notice of such termination is delivered, the termination will be effective on the second anniversary of the applicable IMA Termination Election Date (IMA Termination Effective Date). Notwithstanding the foregoing, under such proposed amendment, (A) our Independent Directors may only elect to terminate an IMA or advisory agreement on an IMA Termination Election Date if two-thirds of our Independent Directors determine, in their sole discretion and acting in good faith, that either (i) there has been unsatisfactory long-term performance materially detrimental to us by AAM or AAME, or (ii) the fees being charged by AAM or AAME are unfair and excessive compared to a comparable asset manager (provided, that in either case such Independent Directors must deliver notice of any such determination to AAM or AAME, as applicable, and AAM or AAME, as applicable, will have until the applicable IMA Termination Effective Date to address such concerns, and provided, further, that in the case of such a determination that the fees being charged by AAM or AAME are unfair and excessive, AAM or AAME, as applicable, has the right to lower its fees to match the fees of such comparable asset manager) and (B) upon the determination by two-thirds of our Independent Directors, we or our subsidiaries may also terminate an IMA or advisory agreement with AAM or AAME as a result of either (i) a material violation of law relating to AAM’s or AAME’s advisory business, or (ii) AAM’s or AAME’s gross negligence, willful misconduct or reckless disregard of AAM’s or AAME’s obligations under the relevant agreement, and in either case the delivery of at least 30 days’ prior written to such termination and such termination will be effective at the end of such 30-day period (the events described in the foregoing clauses (A) and (B) are referred to in more detail in our bye-laws as “AHL Cause”). For purposes of these provisions of the bye-laws (as amended pursuant to such proposed amendment), an “Independent Director” cannot be (x) an officer or employee of ours or any of our subsidiaries or (y) an officer or employee of (1) any member of the Apollo Group described in clauses (i) through (iv) of the definition of “Apollo Group” as set forth in our bye-laws or (2) AGM or any of its subsidiaries (excluding any subsidiary that constitutes any portfolio company (or investment) of (A) an investment fund or other investment vehicle whose general partner, managing member or similar governing person is owned, directly or indirectly, by AGM or by one or more of its subsidiaries or (B) a managed account agreement (or similar arrangement) whereby AGM or one or more of its subsidiaries serves as general partner, managing member or in a similar governing position).
Our organizational documents give our Independent Directors complete discretion, while acting in good faith, as to whether to determine if an AHL Cause event has occurred with respect to any IMA or advisory agreement with AAM or AAME, and therefore our Independent Directors are under no obligation to make, and therefore may exercise their discretion never to make, such a determination.
The boards of directors of AHL’s subsidiaries may terminate an IMA or advisory agreement with AAM or AAME relating to the applicable subsidiary if such subsidiary’s board of directors determines that such termination is required in the exercise of its fiduciary duties. If our subsidiaries do elect to terminate any such agreement, other than as provided above, we may be in breach of our bye-laws, which could subject us to regulatory scrutiny, expose us to shareholder lawsuits and could have a negative effect on our financial condition and results of operations.
Investment Management Fees
Further, except in limited circumstances, we currently pay AAM 40 basis points per annum on assets managed and we pay additional fees to Apollo and its affiliates for providing sub-advisory services and acting as manager of investment funds in which we invest. Any such fees may be higher than what other investment managers may be willing to charge us currently for investment services. Because of the services and the unique acquisition opportunities provided by AAM that we are able to access that many other companies cannot access, we do not currently expect our board of directors or our Independent Directors would elect to terminate any IMA. These limitations on our ability to terminate the IMAs or advisory agreements with AAM or AAME could have a negative effect on our financial condition and results of operations.
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Termination by AAM or AAME
Conversely, we may be adversely affected if AAM or AAME elect to terminate an IMA at a time when such agreement remains advantageous to us. We depend upon AAM and AAME to implement our investment strategy. However, AAM and AAME do not face the restrictions described above with regards to its ability to terminate any of its agreements with us and may terminate such agreements at any time. If AAM or AAME choose to terminate such agreements, there is no assurance that we could find a suitable replacement or that certain of the opportunities made available to us as a result of our relationship with AAM and AAME would be offered by a suitable replacement, and therefore our results of operations and financial condition could be adversely impacted by our failure to retain a satisfactory investment manager.
Interruption or other operational failures in telecommunications, information technology and other operational systems at AAM or AAME or a failure to maintain the security, integrity, confidentiality or privacy of sensitive data residing on AAM’s or AAME’s systems, including as a result of human error, could have a material adverse effect on our business.
We are highly dependent on AAM and AAME, as our investment manager and adviser, respectively, to maintain information technology and other operational systems to record and process their transactions with respect to our investment portfolio, which includes providing information to us to enable us to value our investment portfolio that may affect our GAAP or U.S. statutory accounting principles financial statements. AAM or AAME could experience a failure of one of these systems, their employees or agents could fail to monitor and implement enhancements or other modifications to a system in a timely and effective manner or their employees or agents could fail to complete all necessary data reconciliation or other conversion controls when implementing a new software system or modifications to an existing system. Additionally, anyone who is able to circumvent AAM’s or AAME’s security measures and penetrate their information technology systems could access, view, misappropriate, alter or delete information in the systems, including proprietary information relating to our investment portfolio. The maintenance and implementation of these systems at AAM and AAME is not within our control. Should AAM’s or AAME’s systems fail to accurately record information pertaining to our investment portfolio, we may inadvertently include inaccurate information in our financial statements and experience a lapse in our internal control over financial reporting. The failure of any one of these systems at AAM or AAME for any reason, or errors made by their employees or agents, could in each case cause significant interruptions to their operations, which could adversely affect our internal control over financial reporting or have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
The historical performance of AAM and AAME should not be considered as indicative of the future results of our investment portfolio, our future results or any returns expected on our common shares.
Our investment portfolio’s returns have benefited historically from investment opportunities and general market conditions that currently may not exist and may not repeat themselves, and there can be no assurance that either AAM or AAME will be able to avail itself of profitable investment opportunities in the future. Furthermore, the historical returns of our investments managed by AAM and AAME are not directly linked to returns on our common shares, which are affected by various factors, one of which is the value of our investment portfolio. In addition, each of AAM and AAME are compensated based solely on our assets which they manage rather than by investment return targets. Accordingly, there can be no guarantee that either AAM or AAME will be able to achieve any particular return for our investment portfolio in the future.
We evaluate AAM’s past performance, in part, based upon the total return that AAM is able to generate in managing our investment portfolio. Such total return values have been included in Item 1. Business—Investment Management. Such values are prepared by AAM and involve the use of estimates and assumptions that are not within our control and further involve the use of certain figures that are not derived from our books and records and may be unaudited.
If either AAM or AAME loses or fails to retain its senior executives or other key personnel and is unable to attract qualified personnel, its ability to provide us with investment management and advisory services could be impeded or adversely affected, which could significantly and negatively affect our business.
AAM and AAME depend in large part on their ability to attract and retain key people, including senior executives, finance professionals and information technology professionals. Intense competition exists for key employees with demonstrated ability, and AAM or AAME may be unable to hire or retain such employees. Accordingly, the loss of services of one or more of the members of AAM’s or AAME’s senior management could delay or prevent AAM or AAME from fully implementing our investment strategy and, consequently, significantly and negatively impact our business. The unexpected loss of members of AAM’s or AAME’s senior management or other key employees could have a material adverse effect on AAM’s or AAME’s operations due to the loss of their skills, knowledge of AAM’s or AAME’s business and their years of industry experience as well as the potential difficulty of promptly finding qualified replacement employees. A loss of such employees could adversely impact AAM’s or AAME’s ability to execute key operational functions and could adversely affect our investment portfolio and results of operations.
Increased regulation or scrutiny of alternative investment advisers and certain trading methods may affect AAM’s and AAME’s ability to manage our investment portfolio or affect our business reputation.
The regulatory environment for investment managers is evolving, and changes in the regulation of investment managers may adversely affect the ability of AAM and AAME to effect transactions that utilize leverage or to pursue their strategies in managing our investment portfolio. In addition, the securities and futures markets are subject to comprehensive statutes, regulations and margin requirements. Furthermore, our German Group Companies and their investments are subject to additional investment restrictions that may prevent our German Group
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Companies from investing in assets with sufficient yields to meet our targeted returns. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), other regulators and self-regulatory organizations and exchanges are authorized to take extraordinary actions in the event of market emergencies. Due to our reliance on AAM and AAME to manage our investment portfolio, any regulatory action or enforcement against AAM or AAME could have an adverse effect on our financial condition. Additionally, the regulation of derivatives transactions is an evolving area of law and is subject to modification by government and judicial action. Any future regulatory change could have a significant negative impact on our financial condition and results of operations.
Risks Relating to Insurance and Other Regulatory Matters
Our industry is highly regulated and we are subject to significant legal restrictions, regulations and regulatory oversight in connection with the operations of our business, including the discretion of various governmental entities in applying such restrictions and regulations. These restrictions may have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, liquidity, results of operations, cash flows and prospects.
U.S. State Regulation
Our domestic insurance subsidiaries’ businesses are subject to government regulation in each of the states in which they conduct business. Such regulation is vested in state agencies having broad administrative, and in some instances discretionary, authority with respect to many aspects of our business, which may include, among other things, the investments we can acquire and hold, reserve requirements, marketing practices, advertising, maintaining policyholder privacy, policy forms, restrictions on the ability of our subsidiaries to pay dividends or other distributions to us, reinsurance and other transactions with our affiliates, acquisitions, mergers and capital adequacy. These requirements are concerned primarily with the protection of policyholders rather than shareholders. Regulators and other authorities have the power to bring administrative or judicial proceedings against us, which could result, among other things, in suspension or revocation of our licenses, cease and desist orders, fines, civil penalties, criminal penalties or other disciplinary action which could materially harm our results of operations and financial condition. If we fail to address, or appear to fail to address, appropriately any of these matters, our reputation could be harmed and we could be subject to additional legal risk, which could increase the size and number of claims and damages asserted against us or subject us to enforcement actions, fines and penalties.
Each state has legislation in place that requires U.S. insurers domiciled in such state to furnish certain information concerning their operations and the interrelationships and transactions among companies within their holding company systems and their respective affiliates that may materially affect the operations, management or financial condition of the insurers within the system. Generally, these laws require that all transactions between insurers and affiliates be fair and reasonable and sometimes require prior notice to the regulators and regulatory approval. Changes to these laws that result in more stringent requirements could negatively impact our ability to conduct transactions with our affiliates, including investments into funds managed by Apollo and its affiliates, dividends or distributions from our subsidiaries to us (as described more fully below) and by us to our shareholders, reinsurance agreements among our affiliates or our acquisition strategy. Such changes and any resulting inability to or increased cost associated with transactions with our affiliates could materially adversely impact our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.
Current law of two of the domiciliary states of Athene, Delaware and Iowa, permits the payment of dividends or distributions which, together with dividends or distributions paid during the preceding twelve months, do not exceed the greater of (a) 10% of the insurer’s surplus as regards policyholders as of the immediately preceding year end or (b) the net gain from operations of the insurer for the preceding twelve-month period ending as of the immediately preceding year end. Current law of New York permits the payment of dividends or distributions which, together with dividends or distributions paid during any calendar year, (1) do not exceed the greater of (a) 10% of the insurer’s surplus as regards policyholders as of the end of the immediately preceding calendar year or (b) the net gain from operations of the insurer for the immediately preceding calendar year, not including realized capital gains, not to exceed 30% of the insurer's surplus as regards policyholders as of the end of the immediately preceding calendar year or (2) do not exceed the lesser of (a) 10% of the insurer's surplus as regards policyholders as of the end of the immediately preceding calendar year or (b) the net gain from operations of the insurer for the immediately preceding calendar year, not including realized capital gains. Any proposed dividend in excess of this amount is considered an extraordinary dividend or extraordinary distribution and may not be paid until it has been approved, or a 30-day waiting period has passed during which it has not been disapproved, by a Commissioner. These restrictions limit our U.S. insurance subsidiaries’ ability to pay dividends to us. Any further changes to state regulations that further restrict our U.S. insurance subsidiaries’ ability to declare and pay dividends or pay distributions to us could have a materially adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.
At any given time, we and our domestic insurance subsidiaries may be the subject of a number of ongoing financial or market conduct examinations, audits or inquiries. From time to time, regulators raise issues during such examinations that could, if determined adversely, have a material impact on our insurance subsidiaries’ businesses or result in fines for improper market conduct. As part of their routine regulatory oversight process, state insurance departments conduct periodic detailed examinations, generally once every three to five years, of the books, records, accounts and operations of insurance companies that are domiciled in their states. Examinations are generally carried out in cooperation with the insurance departments of other, non-domiciliary states under guidelines promulgated by the NAIC. Financial examinations of our domestic insurance subsidiaries were recently completed in each domiciliary state of Athene with no findings that are expected to have a material adverse effect on our domestic insurance subsidiaries. Additionally, our domestic insurance subsidiaries are also subject to periodic market conduct examinations in each state in which they do business, pursuant to which state regulators examine an insurer’s compliance with applicable insurance laws and regulations, including, among other things, the form and content of disclosure to consumers, illustrations, advertising, sales practices and complaint handling of any insurance company doing business in that state.
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Another topic of which various regulators and state officials have had an interest in recent years is the topic of unclaimed property and the use of the Death Master File. In 2013, prior to our acquisition of the company, Aviva USA entered into multi-state settlement agreements with the insurance regulators and treasurers for 48 states in connection with certain of its subsidiaries’ use of the Death Master File. As part of the settlement, AAIA and its subsidiary ALICNY agreed to pay a $4 million assessment for examination, compliance and monitoring costs without admitting any liability or wrongdoing, and further agreed to adopt policies and procedures reasonably designed to ensure timely payment of valid claims to beneficiaries in accordance with insurance laws and to timely report and remit unclaimed proceeds to the appropriate states in connection with unpaid property laws. Our U.S. insurance subsidiaries could continue to be subject to risks related to unpaid benefits, the Death Master File, and the procedures required by the prior multi-state settlement as they relate to our annuity business. Furthermore, administrative challenges associated with implementing the procedures described above may make compliance with the multi-state settlement and applicable law difficult and could have a material and adverse effect on our results of operations. Moreover, AADE is currently undergoing a multi-state unclaimed property examination led by Verus Financial, on behalf of California, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Louisiana, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee and Texas. Further, AADE is a defendant in a lawsuit filed by the West Virginia Treasurer, State of West Virginia ex rel. John D. Perdue v. Liberty Life Ins. Co., Case No. 12-C-419, pursuant to which the Treasurer alleges that Liberty Life, now known as AADE, failed to adopt reasonable procedures, such as using the Death Master File, to identify deceased insureds with unpaid death benefits and timely escheat those unclaimed benefits to the state. The Treasurer accordingly seeks to recover unpaid death benefits, statutory interest and penalties. We are unable to determine with any certainty whether such unclaimed property examination and litigation could result in a finding of unpaid benefits or other liability, but given the nature of such examinations, litigation and past settlements at our other subsidiaries and within the life insurance industry in general, it is possible the examination could result in a material and adverse effect on our results of operations.
Another area of focus by state insurance regulators has been on the use of TPAs to administer insurance policies. Our U.S. insurance subsidiaries rely on TPAs to service certain annuity and life insurance policies and have experienced increased service and administration complaints related to the conversion and administration of the Aviva USA life insurance policies reinsured to affiliates of Global Atlantic by the TPA retained by such Global Atlantic affiliates to provide services on such policies, as well as on certain annuity policies that were on Aviva USA’s life systems that were also converted to and are being administered by the same TPA. As a result of these increased complaints and service-related issues, our U.S. insurance subsidiaries may be subject to increased regulatory scrutiny, including fines and penalties, and policyholder litigation.
We are also subject to state regulation regarding any potential acquisitions or changes of control, both with regards to our own subsidiaries and to those companies or businesses which we may in the future acquire. Most state insurance holding company system acts require consents from applicable insurance departments prior to the direct or indirect acquisition or change of control of an insurer or its holding company. Generally, acquiring a 10% or greater voting interest in an insurance company or its parent company is presumptively considered a change of control under these statutes, and the acquirer is presumptively a controlling person of the insurer or its holding company. Current regulatory barriers to acquisitions of insurers and any new regulatory barriers adopted may increase the costs of implementing our acquisition strategy or may prevent certain acquisitions entirely. Additionally, these regulatory barriers and limitations on ownership that potential purchasers of our common shares may observe in order to avoid being deemed controlling persons may decrease the attractiveness of any future offering of our common shares and may delay, defer or prevent a change of control of us or impede a merger, takeover or other business combination which our shareholders may otherwise view favorably.
Most, if not all, of the states where we are licensed to transact business require that insurers doing business within the state participate in a guaranty association, which is organized to pay contractual benefits owed pursuant to insurance policies issued by impaired, insolvent or failed insurers. These associations have the right to assess insurance companies doing business in their state in order to help pay the obligations of insolvent insurance companies to policyholders and claimants. Because the amount and timing of an assessment is beyond our control, liabilities we have currently established for these potential assessments may not be adequate.
Other U.S. Regulation
Our subsidiaries’ insurance, annuity, retirement and investment products are subject to a complex and extensive array of laws that are administered and enforced by state securities administrators, state banking authorities, the SEC, FINRA, the DOL, the IRS and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. Failure to comply with these laws and limitations could subject us to administrative penalties imposed by a particular governmental or self-regulatory authority, unanticipated costs associated with remedying such failure or other claims, harm to our reputation, interruption of our operations or an adverse impact on our profitability.
We also may be subject to regulation by the DOL when providing a variety of products and services to employee benefit plans governed by ERISA. Severe penalties are imposed for breach of duties under ERISA. In addition, we will be subject to regulation by the DOL with respect to recommendations involving an IRA.
In addition to the foregoing risks, the financial services industry is the focus of increased regulatory scrutiny as various state and federal governmental agencies and self-regulatory organizations conduct inquiries and investigations into the products and practices of the financial services industries. The 2008 economic crisis has changed the way the financial services industry is regulated. Governmental authorities in the United States and worldwide have become increasingly interested in potential risks posed by the insurance industry as a whole, and to commercial and financial systems in general. Among the proposals that are at present being considered are the possible introduction of global regulatory standards for the amount of capital that insurance groups must maintain across the group. While we cannot predict the exact nature, timing or scope of possible governmental initiatives, there may be increased regulatory intervention in the insurance and financial services industry in the future.
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Bermuda Licensing
Because we are a Bermuda company, we are subject to changes in Bermuda law and regulation that may have an adverse impact on our operations, including through the imposition of tax liability or increased regulatory supervision. As a holding company, AHL is not subject to the laws of Bermuda governing insurance companies; however, ALRe is registered in Bermuda under the Bermuda Insurance Act as a Class E insurer and is subject to the Bermuda Insurance Act and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder.
Additionally, the BMA sought regulatory equivalency, which enables Bermuda’s commercial insurers to transact business with the EU on a “level playing field.” In connection with its initial efforts to achieve equivalency under Solvency II, the BMA implemented and imposed additional requirements on the companies it regulates, such as ALRe. On November 26, 2015, via delegated act, the EC granted Bermuda’s commercial insurers full equivalence in all areas of Solvency II for an indefinite period of time. The EC’s act was reviewed and approved by the European Parliament and Council and no objection was made. On March 4, 2016, the delegated act was published in the official journal of the EU. The grant of full equivalence came into force on March 24, 2016, and applies from January 1, 2016.
Additionally, changes to applicable Bermuda laws and regulations regarding dividends or distributions from our subsidiaries to us could adversely affect us. All Bermuda companies must comply with the provisions of the Companies Act regulating the payment of dividends and distributions from contributed surplus. Under the Companies Act, a Bermuda company may not declare or pay a dividend or make a distribution out of contributed surplus if the company has reasonable grounds for believing that it is or will after the payment be unable to pay its liabilities as they become due or the realizable value of the company’s assets would thereby be less than its liabilities. As ALRe is a licensed reinsurer and regulated by the BMA, it is additionally required to comply with the provisions of the Bermuda Insurance Act regarding payments of dividends and distributions. Under the Bermuda Insurance Act, an insurer is prohibited from declaring or paying a dividend if in breach of its ECR or MMS or if the declaration or payment of such dividend would cause such a breach. Where an insurer fails to meet its solvency margin on the last day of any financial year, it is prohibited from declaring or paying any dividends during the next financial year without the approval of the BMA.
Under the Bermuda Insurance Act, ALRe is prohibited from paying a dividend in an amount exceeding 25% of the prior year’s total statutory capital and surplus, unless at least two members of ALRe’s board of directors and its principal representative in Bermuda sign and submit to the BMA an affidavit attesting that a dividend in excess of this amount would not cause ALRe to fail to meet its relevant margins. In certain instances, ALRe would also be required to provide prior notice to the BMA in advance of the payment of dividends. In the event that such an affidavit is submitted to the BMA in accordance with the Bermuda Insurance Act, and further subject to ALRe meeting its MMS and ECR, ALRe is permitted to distribute up to the sum of 100% of statutory surplus and an amount less than 15% of its total statutory capital. Distributions in excess of this amount require the approval of the BMA.
Further, ALRe must obtain the BMA’s prior approval before reducing its total statutory capital as shown in its previous financial year statutory balance sheet by 15% or more. ALRe is also required to obtain a certification from its approved actuary prior to declaring or paying any dividends and such certificate will not be given unless the value of its long-term business assets exceeds its long-term business liabilities, as certified by its approved actuary, by the amount of the dividend and at least the MMS.
German Laws and Regulation
Our German Group Companies licensed as insurers are subject to the relevant laws and regulations applicable to insurers in Germany which regulate and mandate, among other things, eligibility criteria for investments, policyholder participation in income, accounting principles, corporate governance requirements, regulatory capital, reporting of insurance undertakings, insurance contracts, consumer protection laws, data protection requirements and anti-money-laundering requirements. Our German Group Companies are subject to supervision by BaFin. BaFin is the central financial regulatory authority for Germany and has wide powers to interpret and execute the insurance supervisory law in Germany, in particular via issuing regulatory ordinances and guidelines. Further, BaFin plays a significant role in interpreting the requirements of the Solvency II regime which became effective as of January 1, 2016. While we strive to ensure strict regulatory compliance, in particular compliance with all regulations and guidelines as issued by BaFin, we may be subject to non-compliance with these regulations which could result in unforeseen rectification costs and/or regulatory fines, which could adversely affect our business.
We are also subject to German laws and regulations regarding potential future acquisitions of German companies or businesses. Pursuant to German regulatory law, the direct or indirect acquisition of a significant interest in a German insurance undertaking or the increase of a qualified participating interest in a German insurance undertaking exceeding certain thresholds is subject to BaFin approval or the expiration of a statutory non-objection period. Generally, indirectly or directly acquiring a 10% or greater capital or voting interest in an insurance undertaking or obtaining the ability to significantly influence the management of the insurance undertaking is considered a qualified participating interest under German regulatory laws. Laws such as these prevent any person from directly or indirectly acquiring qualified participating interests in any of our German insurance subsidiaries unless that person has filed a notification requiring specified information with BaFin and has obtained BaFin’s prior approval or waited for the expiration of a statutory non-objection period. Since we are indirectly holding a 100% capital and voting interest in German insurance undertakings, the acquisition of a capital or voting interest of 10% or more in AHL could qualify as an indirect acquisition of a qualified participating interest in German insurance undertakings. Persons directly or indirectly holding a qualified participating interest in a German insurance undertaking are subject to notification and other regulatory obligations imposed by BaFin.
Current and future regulatory barriers to acquisitions of insurers may increase the costs of implementing our acquisition strategy or may prevent certain acquisitions entirely. Additionally, regulatory barriers on acquisitions or the increase of qualified participating interests (among other
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things, the avoidance of an acquisition of capital or voting interest of 10% or more in AHL) that potential purchasers of our common shares may be required to observe in order to avoid being deemed a person acquiring or increasing a qualified participating interest may decrease the attractiveness of purchasing our common shares, including in connection with a future offering thereof. These regulatory barriers may also delay, defer or prevent a change of control if the potential purchaser acquires a qualified participating interest, as BaFin effectively has the right to void such a purchase.
Further, purchases of our common shares significantly in excess of 10% may result in the formation of a Solvency II group, resulting in the application of Solvency II to the purchaser or its ultimate parent, thereby subjecting such entity to requirements including group solvency requirements and group corporate governance provisions. Formation of a Solvency II group may occur if the purchaser qualifies as an indirect parent of the German insurers (if the purchaser acquires more than 50% of capital or voting interest in AHL or otherwise controls AHL). This applies regardless of the home state of the ultimate parent, but excludes countries with regulatory regimes deemed equivalent to Solvency II.
Luxembourg Regulation
Our Luxembourg subsidiary is subject to supervision by the CSSF and Luxembourg regulation for management companies of investment funds. We do not believe that our Luxembourg subsidiary is governed by directive 2011/61/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of June 8, 2011 on Alternative Investment Fund Managers and it is currently registered accordingly with the CSSF on the basis of a self-assessment. In the absence of a final decision by the relevant Luxembourg authorities and subject to any policy changes and changes in circumstances on which the self-assessment is based, namely regarding the holding and investment structure, we cannot eliminate the risk of our Luxembourg subsidiary qualifying as an Alternative Investment Fund Manager, which would subject our subsidiary to enhanced administrative and operating requirements and require us to support our subsidiary with more capital, and could thus adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations. The Luxembourg investment fund managed by our Luxembourg subsidiary is regulated as a specialized investment fund under Luxembourg law and thus is also subject to legislative and/or regulatory developments, which may impact, directly or indirectly, the position and performance of our Luxembourg subsidiary.
Our failure to obtain or maintain approval of insurance regulators and other regulatory authorities as required for the operations of our insurance subsidiaries may have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, liquidity and prospects.
U.S. state regulators retain the authority to license insurers in their states and an insurer generally may not operate in a state in which it is not licensed. We have U.S. domiciled insurance subsidiaries that are currently licensed to do business in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Our ability to retain these licenses depends on our and our subsidiaries’ ability to meet requirements established by the NAIC and adopted by each state such as RBC standards and surplus requirements. Further, our German Group Companies operating insurance businesses are licensed by BaFin. Maintaining such licenses requires compliance with the relevant regulatory provisions, including in particular MCRs as set out under German law and under the Solvency II regime.
Some of the factors influencing these licensing requirements, particularly factors such as changes in equity market levels, the value of certain derivative instruments that do not receive hedge accounting, the value and credit ratings of certain fixed-income and equity securities in our investment portfolio, interest rate changes and changes to the RBC formulas and the interpretation of the NAIC’s instructions with respect to RBC calculation methodologies, are out of our control. If these factors adversely affect us and we are unable to meet the requirements above, our subsidiaries could lose their licenses to do business in certain states, be subject to additional regulatory oversight, have their licenses suspended or be subject to seizure of assets. A loss or suspension of any of our subsidiaries’ licenses may negatively impact our reputation in the insurance market and result in our subsidiaries’ inability to write new business, distribute funds or pursue our investment/overall business strategy.
ALRe, as a Bermuda domiciled insurer, is also required to maintain licenses. ALRe is licensed as a reinsurer only in Bermuda. Bermuda insurance statutes and regulations and policies of the BMA require that ALRe, among other things, maintain a minimum level of capital and surplus, satisfy solvency standards, restrict dividends and distributions, obtain prior approval or provide notification to the BMA, as the case may be, of ownership, transfer and disposition of Shareholder Controller shares, maintain a head office, and have certain officers and a director resident in Bermuda, appoint and maintain a principal representative in Bermuda and provide for the performance of certain periodic examinations of itself and its financial conditions. A failure to meet these conditions may result in the suspension or revocation of ALRe’s license to do business as a reinsurance company in Bermuda, which would mean that ALRe would not be able to enter into any new reinsurance contracts until the suspension ended or it became licensed in another jurisdiction. For any or a number of reasons, the BMA could revoke or suspend ALRe’s license. Any such suspension or revocation of ALRe’s license would negatively impact its and our reputation in the reinsurance marketplace and could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations.
The process of obtaining licenses is time consuming and costly, and we may not be able to become licensed in jurisdictions other than those in which our subsidiaries are currently licensed. The modification of the conduct of our business resulting from our and our subsidiaries becoming licensed in certain jurisdictions could significantly and negatively affect our business. In addition, our inability to comply with insurance statutes and regulations could significantly and adversely affect our business by limiting our ability to conduct business as well as subjecting us to penalties and fines.
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Changes in the laws and regulations governing the insurance industry or otherwise applicable to our business, including the DOL fiduciary regulation, may have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, liquidity, results of operations and prospects.
U.S. Federal Oversight
The 2008 economic crisis has resulted in numerous changes to regulation and oversight of the financial industry, the full impact of which has yet to be realized. The Dodd-Frank Act makes sweeping changes to the regulation of financial services entities, products and markets. Historically, the federal government has not regulated the insurance business, however, the Dodd-Frank Act generally provides for enhanced federal supervision of financial institutions, including insurance companies in certain circumstances, and financial activities that represent a systemic risk to financial stability or the economy. Certain provisions of the Dodd-Frank Act are or may become applicable to us, our competitors or those entities with which we do business, including, but not limited to: the establishment of a comprehensive federal regulatory regime with respect to derivatives; the establishment of consolidated federal regulation and resolution authority over SIFIs; the establishment of the Federal Insurance Office; changes to the regulation of broker-dealers and investment advisors; changes to the regulation of reinsurance; changes to regulations affecting the rights of shareholders; the imposition of additional regulation over credit rating agencies; the imposition of concentration limits on financial institutions that restrict the amount of credit that may be extended to a single person or entity; and mandatory on-facility execution and clearing of certain derivative contracts.
Numerous provisions of the Dodd-Frank Act require the adoption or implementation of rules or regulations. The process of adopting such implementing rules and/or regulations have in some instances been delayed beyond the timeframes imposed by the Dodd-Frank Act. Further, changes in general political, economic or market conditions, including as a result of the recent U.S. presidential and congressional elections, could affect the scope, timing and final implementation of the Dodd-Frank Act. Until the various final regulations are promulgated, the full impact of the regulations on the Company will remain unclear. In addition, the Dodd-Frank Act mandated multiple studies, which could result in additional legislation or regulation applicable to the insurance industry, us, our competitors or those entities with which we do business. Legislative or regulatory requirements imposed by or promulgated in connection with the Dodd-Frank Act may impact us in many ways, including, but not limited to: placing us at a competitive disadvantage relative to our competition or other financial services entities; changing the competitive landscape of the financial services sector or the insurance industry; making it more expensive for us to conduct our business; requiring the reallocation of significant company resources to government affairs; increasing our legal and compliance related activities and the costs associated therewith as the Dodd-Frank Act may permit the preemption of certain state laws when inconsistent with international agreements; and otherwise having a material adverse effect on the overall business climate as well as our financial condition and results of operations.
On April 6, 2016, the DOL issued a new regulation more broadly defining the circumstances under which a person is considered to be a fiduciary by reason of giving investment advice or recommendations to an employee benefit plan or a plan’s participants or to IRA holders. In addition to releasing the investment advice regulation, the DOL: (1) issued a new prohibited transaction class exemption, referred to as BICE, to be used in connection with the sale of FIAs or variable annuities, and (2) updated the previously prohibited transaction class exemption 84-24, to be used in connection with the sale of traditional fixed rate annuities. The April 10, 2017 effective date for the DOL regulation may be delayed in response to a recent memorandum issued to the DOL by the President of the United States. For the year ended December 31, 2016, of our total deposits of approximately $8.8 billion from our organic channels, 42% was associated with sales of FIAs to employee benefit plans and IRAs and 14% was associated with traditional fixed annuities sold to employee benefit plans and IRAs. We cannot predict with any certainty the impact of the new regulation and exemptions, but the regulation and exemptions could alter the way our products and services are marketed and sold, particularly to purchasers of IRAs and individual retirement annuities. If implemented in its current form, the DOL regulation could have an adverse effect on our ability to write new business. The SEC also has indicated that it may propose rules creating a uniform standard of conduct applicable to broker-dealers and investment advisers, which, if adopted may affect the distribution of our products. Should the SEC rules, if adopted, not align with the finalized DOL regulations related to conflicts of interest in the provision of investment advice, the distribution of our products could be further complicated.
Heightened standards of conduct as a result of the DOL regulation, the SEC proposed rules or another similar proposed rule or regulation could also increase the compliance and regulatory burdens on our representatives, and could lead to increased litigation and regulatory risks, changes to our business model, a decrease in the number of our securities-licensed representatives and a reduction in the products we offer to our clients, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
In addition, we expect the worldwide demographic trend of population aging will cause policymakers to continue to focus on the framework of U.S. and non-U.S. retirement systems, which may drive additional changes regarding the manner in which individuals plan for and fund their retirement, the extent of government involvement in retirement savings and funding, the regulation of retirement products and services and the oversight of industry participants. Any incremental requirements, costs and risks imposed on us in connection with such current or future legislative or regulatory changes, may constrain our ability to market our products and services to potential customers, and could negatively impact our profitability and make it more difficult for us to pursue our growth strategy.
Non-Bank SIFIs
Title I of the Dodd-Frank Act established the FSOC, which has authority to designate non-bank financial companies as SIFIs, thereby subjecting them to enhanced prudential standards and supervision by the Federal Reserve. The prudential standards for non-bank SIFIs include enhanced RBC requirements, leverage limits, liquidity requirements, single counterparty exposure limits, governance requirements for risk management, stress test requirements, special debt-to-equity limits for certain companies, early remediation procedures, and recovery and resolution planning.
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Athene USA and certain of its subsidiaries are above the initial quantitative threshold for treatment as non-bank SIFIs (total consolidated assets of $50 billion, including the assets of its subsidiaries). If the FSOC were to designate Athene USA or any of its subsidiaries as a non-bank SIFI, Athene USA or the respective subsidiary would become subject to certain of these enhanced prudential standards.
FIAs
In recent years, the SEC and state securities regulators have questioned whether FIAs, such as those sold by us, should be treated as securities under the federal and state securities laws rather than as insurance products exempted from such laws. Under the Dodd-Frank Act, annuities that meet specific requirements are specifically exempted from being treated as securities by the SEC. We expect that the types of FIAs that we currently sell will meet applicable requirements for exemption from treatment as securities and therefore will remain exempt from being treated as securities by the SEC and state securities regulators. However, there can be no assurance that federal or state securities laws or state insurance laws and regulations will not be amended or interpreted to impose further requirements on FIAs. Treatment of these products as securities would require additional registration and licensing of these products and the agents selling them, as well as cause us to seek new or additional marketing relationships for these products, any of which may impose significant restrictions on our ability to conduct business as currently operated.
Regulation of Over-The-Counter (OTC) Derivatives
We use derivatives to mitigate a wide range of risks in connection with our businesses, including options purchased to hedge the derivatives embedded in the FIAs that we have issued, and swaps, futures and/or options may be used to manage the impact of increased benefit exposures from our annuity products that offer guaranteed benefits. Title VII of the Dodd-Frank Act creates a comprehensive framework for the federal oversight and regulation of the OTC derivatives market and entities, such as Athene, that participate in the market, and requires U.S. regulators to promulgate rules and regulations implementing its provisions. Regulations have been finalized and implemented in many areas and are being finalized for implementation in others.
The Dodd-Frank Act divides the regulatory responsibility for swaps in the United States between the SEC and the CFTC. The CFTC regulates swaps and swap entities, and the SEC regulates security-based swaps and security-based swap entities. The CFTC and the SEC have jointly finalized certain regulations under the Dodd-Frank Act, including critical rulemakings on the definitions of “swap,” “security-based swap,” “swap dealer,” “security-based swap dealer,” “major swap participant” and “major security-based swap participant.” In addition, the CFTC has substantially finalized its required rulemaking under the Dodd-Frank Act, including regulations relating to the registration and regulation of swap dealers, major swap participants and swap execution facilities, reporting, recordkeeping, mandatory clearing and mandatory on-facility trade execution. The SEC has yet to implement its regulatory regime for security-based swaps and market participants transacting in security-based swaps, including security-based swap dealers and major security-based swap participants subject to the SEC’s oversight. As a result of this bifurcation and the different pace at which the agencies have promulgated and implemented regulations, different transactions are subject to different levels of regulation.
The Dodd-Frank Act and the CFTC rules thereunder require us, in connection with certain swap transactions, to comply with mandatory clearing and on-facility trade execution requirements, and it is anticipated that the types of swaps subject to these requirements will be expanded over time. In addition, new regulations require us to comply with mandatory minimum margin requirements for uncleared swaps and, in some instances, uncleared security-based swaps. Uncleared swap variation margin regulations issued by U.S. bank prudential regulators, the CFTC and regulators in certain other jurisdictions, such as the European Union and Canada, are scheduled to take effect on March 1, 2017. These regulations require market participants to enter into agreements consistent with the requirements thereunder and a failure to do so could result in trading disruptions. Derivative clearing requirements and mandatory margin requirements could increase the cost of our risk mitigation and could have other implications. For example, increased margin requirements, combined with netting restrictions and restrictions on securities that qualify as eligible collateral, could reduce our liquidity and require increased holdings of cash and highly liquid securities with lower yields causing a reduction in income. In addition, the requirement that certain trades be centrally cleared through clearinghouses subjects us to documentation that is significantly more counterparty-favorable and may entitle counterparties to unilaterally change such terms as trading limits and the amount of margin required. The ability of any such counterparty to take such actions could create trading disruptions and liquidity concerns. Finally, the requirement that certain trades be centrally cleared through clearinghouses concentrates counterparty risk in both clearinghouses and clearing members. The failure of a clearinghouse could have a significant impact on the financial system. Even if a clearinghouse does not fail, large losses could force significant capital calls on clearinghouse members during a financial crisis, which could lead clearinghouse members to default. Because clearinghouses are still developing and the related bankruptcy process is untested, it is difficult to anticipate or identify all actual risks related to the default of a clearinghouse.
The Dodd-Frank Act and new regulations thereunder and similar regulations issued by non-U.S. jurisdictions that may indirectly apply to us could significantly increase the cost of derivative contracts, reduce the availability of derivatives to protect against risks we encounter, reduce our ability to monetize or restructure our existing derivative contracts, and increase our credit risk exposure. If we reduce our use of derivatives as a result of the Dodd-Frank Act and the regulations thereunder and other similar regulations, our results of operations may become more volatile and our cash flows may be less predictable which could adversely affect our financial performance. Additionally, we have always been subject to the risk that hedging and other management procedures might prove ineffective in reducing the risks to which insurance policies expose us or that unanticipated policyholder behavior or mortality, combined with adverse market events, could produce economic losses beyond the scope of the risk management techniques employed. Any such losses could be increased by the increased cost of entering into derivatives and the reduced availability of customized derivatives that might result from the implementation of the Dodd-Frank Act.
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Notwithstanding the foregoing, the future of Title VII of the Dodd-Frank Act and the related regulations implemented by the CFTC and the SEC and their impact on us remain uncertain and unpredictable, particularly in light of actions taken by the Trump administration. On February 3, 2017, President Trump signed an Executive Order that establishes core principles for regulating the U.S. financial system and provides a framework for comprehensive change to current financial regulation, and on February 24, 2017, President Trump also signed an Executive Order that requires federal agencies to designate a “Regulatory Reform Officer” and a “Regulatory Reform Task Force” to evaluate existing regulations and make recommendations to repeal, replace or modify regulations that, among others, inhibit job creation, are ineffective or impose costs that exceed benefits. At this point it is difficult to predict the impact of these Executive Orders on Title VII of the Dodd-Frank Act, derivatives regulatory schemes in other jurisdictions and our derivatives activities.
U.S. Consumer Protection Laws and Privacy and Data Security Regulation
As part of the Dodd-Frank Act, Congress established the CFPB to supervise and regulate institutions that provide certain financial products and services to consumers. The consumer financial services subject to the CFPB’s jurisdiction generally exclude insurance business of the kind in which we engage. The CFPB is, however, exploring the possibility of regulating the way Americans manage their retirement savings and is considering the extent of its authority in that area. We are unable at this time to predict the impact of these activities on our business.
We are subject to numerous federal and state laws and regulations governing the security and confidentiality of nonpublic personal information. The issues surrounding data security and the safeguarding of consumers’ protected information are under increasing regulatory scrutiny by state and federal regulators, particularly in light of the number and severity of recent U.S. companies’ data breaches. The Federal Trade Commission, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Federal Communications Commission, the NYSDFS and the NAIC have undertaken various studies, reports and actions regarding data security for entities under their respective supervision. Some states have recently enacted new insurance laws that require certain regulated entities to implement and maintain comprehensive information security programs to safeguard the personal information of insureds and enrollees. If the NAIC’s model law is adopted in its current form, it could add another legal framework to which we would be subject and could thereby, upon the occurrence of a data breach, subject us to two separate and different data breach legal regimes. We cannot predict the effect or the compliance costs if state and federal regulators pursue investigations and increase the regulatory requirements for the security of protected information.
In addition to the NAIC’s proposed model law, state lawmakers and regulatory bodies may consider additional or more detailed regulation regarding these subjects and the privacy and security of nonpublic personal information. The NYSDFS recently published a new regulation, which became effective on March 1, 2017, with ongoing compliance deadlines over the next 24 months. We are in the process of updating processes and procedures to comply with the new requirements. We cannot predict the effect or the amount of compliance costs that will be incurred if state and federal regulators pursue investigations and increase the regulatory requirements for the security of protected information.
NAIC
Although our businesses are subject to regulation in each state in which they conduct business, in many instances the state insurance laws and regulations emanate from the NAIC. State insurance regulators and the NAIC regularly re-examine existing laws and regulations applicable to insurance companies and their products. Any proposed or future legislation or NAIC initiatives, if adopted, may be more restrictive on our ability to conduct business than current regulatory requirements or may result in higher costs or increased statutory capital and reserve requirements. Changes in these laws and regulations or interpretations thereof are often made for the benefit of the consumer and at the expense of the insurer and could have a material adverse effect on our domestic insurance subsidiaries’ businesses, operations and financial conditions. We and they are also subject to the risk that compliance with any particular regulator’s interpretation of a legal or accounting issue may not result in compliance with another regulator’s interpretation of the same issue, particularly when compliance is judged in hindsight. There is an additional risk that any particular regulator’s interpretation of a legal or accounting issue may change over time to our detriment, or that changes to the overall legal or market environment, even absent any change of interpretation by a particular regulator, may cause us to change our views regarding the actions we need to take from a legal risk management perspective, which could necessitate changes to our practices that may, in some cases, limit our ability to grow and improve profitability.
Risks Relating to Taxation
AHL or ALRe may be subject to U.S. federal income taxation.
AHL and ALRe are incorporated under the laws of Bermuda and intend to operate in a manner that will not cause either to be treated as being engaged in a trade or business within the United States or subject to current U.S. federal income taxation on their net income. However, because there is considerable uncertainty as to when a foreign corporation is engaged in a trade or business within the United States, as the law is unclear and the determination is highly factual and must be made annually, there can be no assurance that the IRS will not contend successfully that AHL or ALRe is engaged in a trade or business in the United States. If AHL or ALRe were considered to be engaged in a trade or business in the United States, it could be subject to U.S. federal income taxation on a net basis on its income that is effectively connected with such U.S. trade or business (including branch profits tax on the portion of its earnings and profits that is attributable to such income). Any such U.S. federal income taxation could result in substantial tax liabilities and consequently could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of future operations.
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U.S. persons who own our Class A common shares may be subject to U.S. federal income taxation at ordinary income rates on our undistributed earnings and profits.
AHL’s bye-laws generally limit the voting power of our Class A common shares (and certain other of our voting securities) such that no person owns (or is treated as owning) more than 9.9% of the total voting power of our common shares (with certain exceptions). AHL’s bye-laws also generally reduce the voting power of Class B common shares held by certain holders if (A) one or more U.S. persons that own (or are treated as owning) more than 9.9% of the total voting power of our common shares own (or are treated as owning) individually or in the aggregate more than 24.9% of the voting power or the value of our common shares or (B) a U.S. person that is classified as an individual, an estate or a trust for U.S. federal income tax purposes owns (or is treated as owning) more than 9.9% of the total voting power of our common shares. Additionally, AHL’s bye-laws require the board of AHL to refer certain decisions with respect to our non-U.S. subsidiaries to our shareholders, and to vote our shares accordingly. These provisions are intended to reduce the likelihood that AHL, ALRe, or any of the German Group Companies will be treated as a controlled foreign corporation (CFC) in any taxable year, other than for purposes of taking into account related person insurance income (RPII). If these provisions were not in force or effective and AHL, ALRe or a German Group Company were treated as a CFC in a taxable year, each U.S. person treated as a “10% U.S. Shareholder” with respect to AHL, ALRe or such German Group Company that held our common shares directly or indirectly through non-U.S. entities as of the last day in such taxable year that AHL, ALRe or such German Group Company was a CFC would generally be required to include in gross income as ordinary income its pro rata share of AHL’s, ALRe’s or such German Group Company’s insurance and reinsurance income and certain other investment income, regardless of whether that income was actually distributed to such U.S. person (with certain adjustments). For these purposes, a “10% U.S. Shareholder” of a non-U.S. corporation generally is any U.S. person that owns (or is treated as owning) stock of the non-U.S. corporation possessing 10% or more of the total voting power of such non-U.S. corporation’s stock. In general, a non-U.S. corporation is a CFC if 10% U.S. Shareholders, in the aggregate, own (or are treated as owning) stock of the non-U.S. corporation possessing more than 50% of the voting power or value of such corporation’s stock. However, this threshold is lowered to more than 25% for purposes of taking into account the insurance income of a non-U.S. corporation. Special rules apply for purposes of taking into account any RPII of a non-U.S. corporation, as described below.
In addition, if a U.S. person disposes of shares in a non-U.S. corporation and the U.S. person was a 10% U.S. Shareholder at any time when the corporation was a CFC during the five-year period ending on the date of disposition, any gain from the disposition will generally be treated as a dividend to the extent of the U.S. person’s share of the corporation’s undistributed earnings and profits that were accumulated during the period or periods that the U.S. person owned the shares while the corporation was a CFC (with certain adjustments). Also, a U.S. person may be required to comply with specified reporting requirements, regardless of the number of shares owned.
Because of the limitations in AHL’s bye-laws referred to above, among other factors, we believe it is unlikely that any U.S. person that acquires our Class A common shares would thereby become a 10% U.S. Shareholder of AHL, ALRe or any German Group Company. However, because the relevant attribution rules are complex and there is no definitive legal authority on whether the voting provisions included in AHL’s organizational documents are effective for purposes of the CFC provisions, there can be no assurance that this will be the case. Further, our ability to obtain information that would permit us to enforce the limitation described above may be limited. We will take reasonable steps to obtain such information, but there can be no assurance that such steps will be adequate or that we will be successful in this regard. Accordingly, we may not be able to fully enforce the limitation described above.
U.S. persons who own our Class A common shares may be subject to U.S. federal income taxation at ordinary income rates on a disproportionate share of our undistributed earnings and profits attributable to RPII.
If ALRe is treated as recognizing RPII in a taxable year and ALRe is treated as a CFC for such taxable year, each U.S. person that owns our Class A common shares directly or indirectly through non-U.S. entities as of the last day in such taxable year must generally include in gross income its pro rata share of the RPII, determined as if the RPII were distributed proportionately only to all such U.S. persons, regardless of whether that income is distributed (with certain adjustments). For this purpose, ALRe generally will be treated as a CFC if U.S. persons in the aggregate own (or are treated as owning) 25% or more of the total voting power or value of AHL’s or ALRe’s stock for an uninterrupted period of 30 days or more during the taxable year. We believe that ALRe will be treated as a CFC for this purpose based on the expected ownership of our shares.
RPII generally is any income of a non-U.S. corporation attributable to insuring or reinsuring risks of a U.S. person that owns (or is treated as owning) stock of such non-U.S. corporation, or risks of a person that is “related” t