August 8, 2024 - 10-Q: Quarterly report pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) | Athene Holding Ltd. ()

August 8, 2024 > Form 10-Q > Athene Holding Ltd.

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UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 10-Q

☑ QUARTERLY REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the quarterly period ended June 30, 2024

or

☐ TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

Commission File Number: 001-37963

ATHENE HOLDING LTD.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

Delaware

98-0630022

(State or other jurisdiction of

(I.R.S. Employer

incorporation or organization)

Identification Number)

7700 Mills Civic Pkwy

West Des Moines, Iowa 50266

1-(515) 342-4678

(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

Trading Symbol

Name of each exchange on which registered

Depositary Shares, each representing a 1/1,000th interest in a

6.35% Fixed-to-Floating Rate Perpetual Non-Cumulative Preferred Stock, Series A

ATHPrA

New York Stock Exchange

Depositary Shares, each representing a 1/1,000th interest in a

5.625% Fixed-Rate Perpetual Non-Cumulative Preferred Stock, Series B

ATHPrB

New York Stock Exchange

Depositary Shares, each representing a 1/1,000th interest in a

6.375% Fixed-Rate Reset Perpetual Non-Cumulative Preferred Stock, Series C

ATHPrC

New York Stock Exchange

Depositary Shares, each representing a 1/1,000th interest in a

4.875% Fixed-Rate Perpetual Non-Cumulative Preferred Stock, Series D

ATHPrD

New York Stock Exchange

Depositary Shares, each representing a 1/1,000th interest in a

7.75% Fixed-Rate Reset Perpetual Non-Cumulative Preferred Stock, Series E

ATHPrE

New York Stock Exchange

7.250% Fixed-Rate Reset Junior Subordinated Debentures due 2064

ATHS

New York Stock Exchange

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 ☑ No ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted 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 such files). Yes ☑ No ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company,” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.

Large accelerated filer ☐

Accelerated filer ☐

Non-accelerated filer ☑

Smaller reporting company ☐

Emerging growth company ☐

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act). Yes ☐ No ☑

As of August 5, 2024, 203,805,432 shares of our common stock were outstanding, all of which are held by Apollo Global Management, Inc.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

PART I—FINANCIAL INFORMATION


Item 1.			Financial Statements			7
Item 2.			Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations			61
Item 3.			Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risks			102
Item 4.			Controls and Procedures			103

PART II—OTHER INFORMATION


Item 1.			Legal Proceedings			104
Item 1A.			Risk Factors			104
Item 2.			Unregistered Sales of Equity Securities, Use of Proceeds and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities			105


Item 5.			Other Information			105
Item 6.			Exhibits			105
Exhibit Index						106
Signatures						107

Table of Contents

As used in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q (report), 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 report 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 (Securities Act), and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (Exchange Act). 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 business, financial condition, results of operations, plans, strategies, objectives, future performance and other matters.

We caution you that forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and that our actual consolidated financial condition, results of operations, liquidity, cash flows and performance may differ materially from that made in or suggested by the forward-looking statements contained in this report. 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 Part II–Item 1A. Risk Factors included in this report and Part I–Item 1A. Risk Factors included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2023 (2023 Annual Report). Factors that could cause actual results or conditions to differ from those reflected in the forward-looking statements contained in this report include:

•the accuracy of management’s assumptions and estimates;

•variability in the amount of statutory capital that our insurance and reinsurance subsidiaries have or are required to hold;

•interest rate and/or foreign currency fluctuations;

•our potential need for additional capital in the future and the potential unavailability of such capital to us on favorable terms or at all;

•major public health issues, such as the pandemic caused by the effects of the spread of the Coronavirus Disease of 2019 (COVID-19);

•changes in relationships with important parties in our product distribution network;

•the activities of our competitors and our ability to grow our retail business in a highly competitive environment;

•the impact of general economic conditions on our ability to sell our products and on the fair value of our investments;

•our ability to successfully acquire new companies or businesses and/or integrate such acquisitions into our existing framework;

•downgrades, potential downgrades or other negative actions by rating agencies;

•our dependence on key executives and inability to attract qualified personnel;

•market and credit risks that could diminish the value of our investments;

•changes to the creditworthiness of our reinsurance and derivative counterparties;

•changes in consumer perception regarding the desirability of annuities as retirement savings products;

•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;

•the impact of new accounting rules or changes to existing accounting rules on our business;

•interruption or other operational failures in telecommunication and information technology and other operating systems, including as a result of threat actors attempting to attack those systems, as well as our ability to maintain the security of those systems;

•Apollo’s dependence on key executives and inability to attract qualified personnel;

•the accuracy of our estimates regarding the future performance of our investment portfolio;

•increased regulation or scrutiny of alternative investment advisers and certain trading methods;

•potential changes to laws or regulations affecting, among other things, group supervision and/or group capital requirements, entity-level regulatory capital standards, transactions with our affiliates, the ability of our subsidiaries to make dividend payments or distributions to AHL, acquisitions by or of us, minimum capitalization and statutory reserve requirements for insurance companies and fiduciary obligations on parties who distribute our products;

•the failure to obtain or maintain licenses and/or other regulatory approvals as required for the operation of our insurance subsidiaries;

•increases in our tax liability resulting from the implementation in various jurisdictions of measures to introduce the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development’s (OECD) “Pillar Two” global minimum tax initiative, or similar rules in other jurisdictions (including the recently enacted corporate income tax in Bermuda or otherwise);

•certain of our non-United States (US) subsidiaries becoming subject to US federal income taxation in amounts greater than expected;

•adverse changes in tax law;

•adverse impacts of AHL changing its domicile from Bermuda to the US, causing AHL to become a US-domiciled corporation and a US taxpayer (Redomicile);

•changes in our ability to pay dividends or make distributions, including as a result of the Redomicile;

•the failure to achieve the economic benefits expected to be derived from Athene Co-Invest Reinsurance Affiliate Holding Ltd. and Athene Co-Invest Reinsurance Affiliate Holding 2 Ltd. (together with their subsidiaries, ACRA) capital raise or future ACRA capital raises;

•the failure of third-party ACRA investors to fund their capital commitment obligations; and

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•other risks and factors listed in Part II–Item 1A. Risk Factors included in this report, Part I—Item 1A. Risk Factors included in our 2023 Annual Report and those discussed elsewhere in this report and in our 2023 Annual Report.

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. Unless an earlier date is specified, the forward-looking statements included in this report are made only as of the date that this report was filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). 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.

GLOSSARY OF SELECTED TERMS

Unless otherwise indicated in this report, the following terms have the meanings set forth below:

Entities


Term or Acronym						Definition
AAA						Apollo Aligned Alternatives Aggregator, LP
AADE						Athene Annuity & Life Assurance Company
AAM						Apollo Asset Management, Inc., formerly known as Apollo Global Management, Inc.
AARe						Athene Annuity Re Ltd., a Bermuda reinsurance subsidiary
ACRA						ACRA 1 and ACRA 2
ACRA 1						Athene Co-Invest Reinsurance Affiliate Holding Ltd., together with its subsidiaries
ACRA 1 HoldCo						Athene Co-Invest Reinsurance Affiliate Holding Ltd.
ACRA 2						Athene Co-Invest Reinsurance Affiliate Holding 2 Ltd., together with its subsidiaries
ACRA 2 HoldCo						Athene Co-Invest Reinsurance Affiliate Holding 2 Ltd.
ADIP						ADIP I and ADIP II
ADIP I						Apollo/Athene Dedicated Investment Program
ADIP II						Apollo/Athene Dedicated Investment Program II
AGM						Apollo Global Management, Inc.
AHL						Athene Holding Ltd.
ALRe						Athene Life Re Ltd., a Bermuda reinsurance subsidiary
ALReI						Athene Life Re International Ltd., a Bermuda reinsurance subsidiary
Apollo						Apollo Global Management, Inc., together with its subsidiaries (other than us or our subsidiaries)
Apollo Group						(1) AGM and its subsidiaries, including AAM, (2) any investment fund or other collective investment vehicle whose general partner or managing member is owned, directly or indirectly, by clause (1), (3) BRH Holdings GP, Ltd. and each of its shareholders, (4) any executive officer or employee of AGM or AGM’s subsidiaries, and (5) any affiliate of a person described in clauses (1), (2), (3) or (4) above; provided none of AHL or its subsidiaries (other than ACRA) will be deemed to be a member of the Apollo Group
AUSA						Athene USA Corporation
Athora						Athora Holding Ltd.
BMA						Bermuda Monetary Authority
ISG						Apollo Insurance Solutions Group LP
Jackson						Jackson Financial, Inc., together with its subsidiaries
LIMRA						Life Insurance and Market Research Association
MidCap Financial						MidCap FinCo Designated Activity Company
NAIC						National Association of Insurance Commissioners
US Treasury						United States Department of the Treasury
VIAC						Venerable Insurance and Annuity Company
Venerable						Venerable Holdings, Inc., together with its subsidiaries
Wheels						Wheels, Inc.

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Certain Terms & Acronyms


Term or Acronym						Definition
ABS						Asset-backed securities
ALM						Asset liability management
Alternative investments						Alternative investments, including investment funds, VIEs and certain equity securities due to their underlying characteristics
Base of earnings						Earnings generated from our results of operations and the underlying profitability drivers of our business
Bermuda capital						The capital of Athene’s non-US reinsurance subsidiaries calculated under US statutory accounting principles, including that for policyholder reserve liabilities which are subjected to US cash flow testing requirements, but (1) excluding certain items that do not exist under our applicable Bermuda requirements, such as interest maintenance reserves and (2) including certain Bermuda statutory accounting differences, such as marking to market of inception date investment gains or losses relating to reinsurance transactions. Bermuda capital may from time to time materially differ from the calculation of statutory capital under US statutory accounting principles primarily due to the foregoing differences.
Bermuda RBC						The risk-based capital ratio of our non-US reinsurance subsidiaries by applying NAIC risk-based capital factors to the statutory financial statements on an aggregate basis. Adjustments are made to (1) exclude US subsidiaries which are included within our US RBC Ratio and (2) limit RBC concentration charges such that when they are applied to determine target capital, the charges do not exceed 100% of the asset’s carrying value.
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
BSCR						Bermuda Solvency Capital Requirement
CAL						Company action level risk-based capital as defined by the model created by the NAIC
CLO						Collateralized loan obligation
CMBS						Commercial mortgage-backed securities
CML						Commercial mortgage loan
Consolidated RBC						The consolidated risk-based capital ratio of our non-US reinsurance and US insurance subsidiaries calculated by applying NAIC risk-based capital factors to the statutory financial statements on an aggregate basis, including interests in other non-insurance subsidiary holding companies; with an adjustment in Bermuda and non-insurance holding companies to limit RBC concentration charges such that when they are applied to determine target capital, the charges do not exceed 100% of the asset’s carrying value.
Cost of funds						Cost of funds includes liability costs related to cost of crediting on both deferred annuities, including, with respect to our fixed indexed annuities, option costs, and institutional costs related to institutional products, as well as other liability costs, but does not include the proportionate share of the ACRA cost of funds associated with the noncontrolling interests. Other liability costs include DAC, DSI and VOBA amortization, certain market risk benefit costs, the cost of liabilities on products other than deferred annuities and institutional products, premiums and certain product charges and other revenues. We include the costs related to business added through assumed reinsurance transactions and exclude the costs on business related to ceded reinsurance transactions. Cost of funds is computed as the total liability costs divided by the average net invested assets for the relevant period, presented on an annualized basis for interim periods.
DAC						Deferred acquisition costs
Deferred annuities						Fixed indexed annuities, annual reset annuities, multi-year guaranteed annuities and registered index-linked annuities
DSI						Deferred sales inducement
Excess equity capital						Capital in excess of the level management believes is needed to support our current operating strategy
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
Fixed annuities						FIAs together with fixed rate annuities
Fixed rate annuity						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
Flow reinsurance						A transaction in which the ceding company cedes a portion of newly issued policies to the reinsurer
Funds withheld						Funds withheld modified coinsurance
GLWB						Guaranteed lifetime withdrawal benefit
GMDB						Guaranteed minimum death benefit
Gross invested assets						Represent the investments that directly back our gross reserve liabilities as well as surplus assets. Gross invested assets include (a) total investments on the consolidated balance sheet with available-for-sale securities, trading securities and mortgage loans at cost or amortized cost, excluding derivatives, (b) cash and cash equivalents and restricted cash, (c) investments in related parties, (d) accrued investment income, (e) VIE assets, liabilities and noncontrolling interest adjustments, (f) net investment payables and receivables, (g) policy loans ceded (which offset the direct policy loans in total investments) and (h) an adjustment for the allowance for credit losses. Gross invested assets exclude the derivative collateral offsetting the related cash positions. We include the investments supporting assumed funds withheld and modco agreements and exclude the investments related to ceded reinsurance transactions in order to match the assets with the income received. Gross invested assets include the entire investment balance attributable to ACRA as ACRA is 100% consolidated.
IMO						Independent marketing organization
Liability outflows						The aggregate of withdrawals on our deferred annuities, death benefits, pension group annuity benefit payments, payments on payout annuities, repurchases and maturities of our funding agreements and block reinsurance outflows.
Market risk benefits						Guaranteed lifetime withdrawal benefits and guaranteed minimum death benefits
Modco						Modified coinsurance
MVA						Market value adjustment

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Term or Acronym						Definition
Net invested assets						Represent the investments that directly back our net reserve liabilities as well as surplus assets. Net invested assets include (a) total investments on the condensed consolidated balance sheets, with available-for-sale securities, trading securities and mortgage loans at cost or amortized cost, excluding derivatives, (b) cash and cash equivalents and restricted cash, (c) investments in related parties, (d) accrued investment income, (e) VIE assets, liabilities and noncontrolling interest adjustments, (f) net investment payables and receivables, (g) policy loans ceded (which offset the direct policy loans in total investments) and (h) an adjustment for the allowance for credit losses. Net invested assets exclude the derivative collateral offsetting the related cash positions. We include the investments supporting assumed funds withheld and modco agreements and exclude the investments related to ceded reinsurance transactions in order to match the assets with the income received. Net invested assets include our economic ownership of ACRA investments but do not include the investments associated with the noncontrolling interests.
Net investment earned rate						Computed as the income from our net invested assets divided by the average net invested assets for the relevant period, presented on an annualized basis for interim periods. The adjustments to net investment income to arrive at our net investment earnings add (a) alternative investment gains and losses, (b) gains and losses related to certain equity securities, (c) net VIE impacts (revenues, expenses and noncontrolling interest), (d) forward points gains and losses on foreign exchange derivative hedges, (e) amortization of premium/discount on held-for-trading securities and (f) the change in fair value of reinsurance assets, and remove the proportionate share of the ACRA net investment income associated with the noncontrolling interests. Net investment earned rate includes the income and assets supporting our change in fair value of reinsurance assets by evaluating the underlying investments of the funds withheld at interest receivables and including the net investment income from those underlying investments which does not correspond to the US GAAP presentation of change in fair value of reinsurance assets. Net investment earned rate excludes the income and assets on business related to ceded reinsurance transactions.
Net investment spread						Net investment spread measures our investment performance plus our strategic capital management fees less our total cost of funds, presented on an annualized basis for interim periods.
Net reserve liabilities						Represent our policyholder liability obligations net of reinsurance and used to analyze the costs of our liabilities. Net reserve liabilities include (a) interest sensitive contract liabilities, (b) future policy benefits, (c) net market risk benefits, (d) long-term repurchase obligations, (e) dividends payable to policyholders and (f) other policy claims and benefits, offset by reinsurance recoverable, excluding policy loans ceded. Net reserve liabilities include our economic ownership of ACRA reserve liabilities but do not include the reserve liabilities associated with the noncontrolling interests. Net reserve liabilities are 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. Net reserve liabilities include the underlying liabilities assumed through modco reinsurance agreements in order to match the liabilities with the expenses incurred.
Payout annuities						Annuities with a current cash payment component, which consist primarily of single premium immediate annuities, supplemental contracts and structured settlements
Policy loan						A loan to a policyholder under the terms of, and which is secured by, a policyholder’s policy
RBC						Risk-based capital
RILA						Registered index-linked annuity, which is an insurance contract similar to an FIA that has the potential for higher returns but also has the potential risk of loss to principal and related earnings, subject to a floor
RMBS						Residential mortgage-backed securities
RML						Residential mortgage loan
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)
Spread Related Earnings, or SRE						Pre-tax non-GAAP measure used to evaluate our financial performance excluding market volatility (other than with respect to alternative investments) as well as integration, restructuring, stock compensation and certain other expenses which are not part of our underlying profitability drivers.
Surplus assets						Assets in excess of policyholder obligations, determined in accordance with the applicable domiciliary jurisdiction’s statutory accounting principles
TAC						Total adjusted capital as defined by the model created by the NAIC
US GAAP						Accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America
US RBC						The CAL RBC ratio for AADE, our parent US insurance company
VIE						Variable interest entity
VOBA						Value of business acquired

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Item 1. Financial Statements

Index to Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements (unaudited)




			Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets (unaudited)						8

			Condensed Consolidated Statements of Income (unaudited)						10

			Condensed Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income (unaudited)						11

			Condensed Consolidated Statements of Equity (unaudited)						12

			Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows (unaudited)						14

			Notes to Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements (unaudited)						16

						Note 1. Business, Basis of Presentation and Significant Accounting Policies			16

						Note 2. Investments			17

						Note 3. Derivative Instruments			26

						Note 4. Variable Interest Entities			29

						Note 5. Fair Value			30

						Note 6. Deferred Acquisition Costs, Deferred Sales Inducements and Value of Business Acquired			46

						Note 7. Long-duration Contracts			47

						Note 8. Debt			54

						Note 9. Equity			55



						Note 10. Income Taxes			56

						Note 11. Related Parties			56

						Note 12. Commitments and Contingencies			59

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ATHENE HOLDING LTD.

Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets (Unaudited)


(In millions)			June 30, 2024						December 31, 2023
Assets
Investments
Available-for-sale securities, at fair value (amortized cost: 2024 – $164,822 and 2023 – $147,561; allowance for credit losses: 2024 – $670 and 2023 – $590)			$	149,390					$	134,338
Trading securities, at fair value			1,643						1,706
Equity securities (portion at fair value: 2024 – $1,111 and 2023 – $935)			1,469						1,293
Mortgage loans, at fair value			52,645						44,115
Investment funds			107						109
Policy loans			325						334
Funds withheld at interest (portion at fair value: 2024 – $(3,283) and 2023 – $(3,379))			21,827						24,359
Derivative assets			7,488						5,298
Short-term investments (portion at fair value: 2024 – $512 and 2023 – $341)			736						341
Other investments (portion at fair value: 2024 – $1,457 and 2023 – $943)			1,688						1,206
Total investments			237,318						213,099
Cash and cash equivalents			13,004						13,020
Restricted cash			1,093						1,761
Investments in related parties
Available-for-sale securities, at fair value (amortized cost: 2024 – $17,452 and 2023 – $14,455; allowance for credit losses: 2024 – $1 and 2023 – $1)			17,044						14,009
Trading securities, at fair value			719