Athene Holding Ltd

We had total investments, including related parties and VIEs, of $259.3 billion and $212.1 billion as of December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively. Our investment strategy seeks to achieve sustainable risk-adjusted returns through the disciplined management of our investment portfolio against our long-duration liabilities, coupled with the diversification of risk. The investment strategies utilized by our investment manager focus primarily on a buy and hold asset allocation strategy that may be adjusted periodically in response to changing market conditions and the nature of our liability profile. Substantially all of our investment portfolio is managed by Apollo, which provides a full suite of services for our investment portfolio, including direct investment management, asset allocation, mergers and acquisitions asset diligence and certain operational support services, including investment compliance, tax, legal and risk management support. Our relationship with Apollo allows us to take advantage of our generally persistent liability profile by identifying investment opportunities with an emphasis on earning incremental yield by taking measured liquidity and complexity risk rather than assuming incremental credit risk. Apollo’s investment team and credit portfolio managers utilize their deep experience to assist us in sourcing and underwriting complex asset classes. Apollo has selected a diverse array of primarily high-grade fixed income assets including corporate bonds, structured securities and commercial and residential real estate loans, among others. We also maintain holdings in floating rate and less rate-sensitive instruments, including CLOs, non-agency RMBS and various types of structured products. In addition to our fixed income portfolio, we opportunistically allocate approximately 5% of our portfolio to alternative investments where we primarily focus on fixed income-like, cash flow-based investments.

Net investment income on the consolidated statements of income (loss) included management fees under our investment management arrangements with Apollo. For the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022 and 2021, we incurred management fees, inclusive of base, sub-allocation and performance fees, of $987 million, $775 million and $592 million, respectively. The total amounts we incurred, directly and indirectly, from Apollo and its affiliates were $1.1 billion, $1.1 billion, and $936 million, respectively, for the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022 and 2021. Such amounts include (1) fees associated with investment management agreements (excluding sub-advisory fees paid to ISG for the benefit of third-party sub-advisors), which include fees charged by Apollo to third-party cedants with respect to assets supporting obligations reinsured to us but exclude fees charged by Apollo to third-party reinsurers supporting ceded obligations, (2) fees associated with fund investments (including those fund investments held by AAA), which include management fees, carried interest (including unrealized but accrued carried interest fees) and other fees on Apollo-managed funds and our other alternative investments and (3) other fees resulting from shared services, advisory and other agreements with Apollo or its affiliates; net of fees incurred directly and indirectly attributable to ACRA, based upon the economic ownership of the noncontrolling interests in ACRA.

Our net invested assets, which are those that directly back our net reserve liabilities as well as surplus assets, were $217.4 billion and $196.5 billion as of December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively. Apollo’s knowledge of our funding structure and regulatory requirements allows it to design customized strategies and investments for our portfolio. Apollo manages our asset portfolio within the limits and protocols 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, CMBS, CLOs, commercial mortgage whole loans and mezzanine loans and investment funds. We also set credit risk limits for exposure to a single issuer, which vary based on the issuer’s ratings. Our strategic investments are also governed by our Strategic Investment Risk Policy which provides for special governance and risk management procedures for these transactions. In addition, our investment portfolio is constrained by its scenario-based capital ratio limits and its liquidity limits.

The following table presents the carrying values of our total investments including related parties and VIEs:

The increase in our total investments, including related parties and VIEs, as of December 31, 2023 of $47.1 billion compared to December 31, 2022 was primarily driven by growth from gross organic and inorganic inflows of $65.6 billion in excess of gross liability outflows of $33.9 billion, unrealized gains on AFS securities during the year ended December 31, 2023 of $5.3 billion resulting from credit spread tightening and a decrease in US Treasury rates in 2023, the reinvestment of earnings, an increase in VIE investments primarily related to contributions from third-party investors into AAA and the consolidation of additional VIEs, and an increase in derivative assets primarily related to the impact of favorable equity market performance on our call options in 2023.

Our investment portfolio consists largely of high quality fixed maturity securities, loans and short-term investments, as well as additional opportunistic holdings in investment funds and other instruments, including equity holdings. Fixed maturity securities and loans include publicly issued corporate bonds, government and other sovereign bonds, privately placed corporate bonds and loans, mortgage loans, CMBS, RMBS, CLOs and asset-backed securities (ABS).

While the substantial majority of our investment portfolio has been allocated to corporate bonds and structured credit products, a key component of our investment strategy is the opportunistic acquisition of investment funds with attractive risk and return profiles. Our investment fund portfolio consists of funds or similar equity structures that employ various strategies including equity, hybrid and yield funds. We have a strong preference for alternative investments that have some or all of 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 credit- or debt-like characteristics (for example, a stipulated maturity and par value), or alternatively, investments with reduced volatility when compared to pure equity; or (3) investments that we believe have less downside risk.

We hold derivatives for economic hedging purposes to reduce our exposure to the cash flow variability of assets and liabilities, equity market risk, interest rate risk, credit risk and foreign exchange risk. Our primary use of derivative instruments relates to providing the income needed to fund the annual index credits on our FIA products. We primarily use fixed indexed options to economically hedge indexed annuity products that guarantee the return of principal to the policyholder and credit interest based on a percentage of the gain in a specific market index.

With respect to derivative positions, we transact with highly rated counterparties, and expect the counterparties to fulfill their obligations under the contracts. We generally use industry standard agreements and annexes with bilateral collateral provisions to further reduce counterparty credit exposure.

Related Party Investments

We hold investments in related party assets primarily comprised of AFS securities, trading securities, funds withheld at interest receivables, mortgage loans within our triple net lease investment, short-term investments, and investment funds, which primarily include investments over which Apollo can exercise influence. As of December 31, 2023, these investments totaled $42.3 billion, or 14.2% of our total assets. Related party AFS and trading securities primarily consist of structured securities for which Apollo is the manager of the underlying securitization vehicle and securities issued by Apollo direct origination platforms including Wheels and MidCap Financial. In each case, the underlying collateral, borrower or other credit party is generally unaffiliated with us. The funds withheld at interest related party amounts are comprised of the Venerable reinsurance portfolios, which are considered related party even though a significant majority of the underlying assets within the investment portfolios do not have a related party affiliation. Related party investment funds include strategic investments in direct origination platforms and insurance companies and investments in Apollo managed funds. Short-term investments include reverse repurchase agreements in Atlas Securitized Products Holdings LP (Atlas), which is owned by AAA.

A summary of our related party investments reflecting the nature of the affiliation is as follows:

As of December 31, 2023, a $6.5 billion funds withheld reinsurance asset with Venerable was included in our US GAAP related party investments. Venerable is a related party due to our minority equity investment in its holding company’s parent, VA Capital Company LLC (VA Capital). The reduction in the Venerable funds withheld reinsurance asset compared to December 31, 2022 was due to the recapture by VIAC of a portion of its modco reserves effective July 1, 2023. For US GAAP, each funds withheld and modified coinsurance reinsurance portfolio is treated as one asset rather than reporting the underlying investments in the portfolio. For our non-GAAP measure of net invested assets, we provide visibility into the underlying assets within these reinsurance portfolios. The below table looks through to the underlying assets within our reinsurance portfolios to determine the related party status. As of December 31, 2023, $28.7 billion, or 13.1% of our total net invested assets were related party investments. Of these, approximately $16.8 billion, or 7.7% of our net invested assets, were structured securities for which Apollo or an affiliated direct origination platform was the manager of the underlying securitization vehicle, but the underlying collateral, borrower or other credit party is generally unaffiliated with us. Related party investments in strategic affiliated companies or Apollo funds represented $11.9 billion, or 5.4% of our net invested assets.

A summary of our related party net invested assets reflecting the nature of the affiliation is as follows:

AFS Securities

We invest in AFS securities and attempt to source investments that match our future cash flow needs. However, we may sell any of our investments in advance of maturity to timely satisfy our liabilities as they become due or to respond to a change in the credit profile or other characteristics of the particular investment.

AFS securities are carried at fair value, less allowances for expected credit losses, on our consolidated balance sheets. Changes in fair value of our AFS securities, are charged or credited to other comprehensive income (loss), net of tax. All changes in the allowance for expected credit losses, whether due to passage of time, change in expected cash flows or change in fair value are recorded through the provision for credit losses within investment related gains (losses) on the consolidated statements of income (loss).

The distribution of our AFS securities, including related parties, by type is as follows:

We maintain a diversified AFS portfolio of corporate fixed maturity securities across industries and issuers and a diversified portfolio of structured securities. The composition of our AFS securities, including related parties, is as follows:

The fair value of our AFS securities, including related parties, was $148.3 billion and $112.2 billion as of December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively. The increase was mainly driven by the deployment of strong organic and inorganic inflows in excess of liability outflows and unrealized gains on AFS securities during the year ended December 31, 2023 of $5.3 billion attributed to credit spread tightening and a decrease in US Treasury rates in 2023.

The SVO of the NAIC is responsible for the credit quality assessment and valuation of securities owned by state regulated insurance companies. Insurance companies report ownership of securities to the SVO when such securities are eligible for filing on the relevant schedule of the NAIC Financial Statement. The SVO conducts credit analysis on these securities for the purpose of assigning an NAIC designation and/or unit price. Generally, the process for assigning an NAIC designation varies based upon whether a security is considered “filing exempt” (General Designation Process). Subject to certain exceptions, a security is typically considered “filing exempt” if it has been rated by an NRSRO. For securities that are not “filing exempt,” insurance companies assign temporary designations based upon a subjective evaluation of credit quality. The insurance company generally must then submit the securities to the SVO within 120 days of acquisition to receive an NAIC designation. For securities considered “filing exempt,” the SVO utilizes the NRSRO rating and assigns an NAIC designation based upon the following system:

An important exception to the General Designation Process occurs in the case of certain loan backed and structured securities (LBaSS). The NRSRO ratings methodology is focused on the likelihood of recovery of all contractual payments, including principal at par, regardless of an investor’s carrying value. In effect, the NRSRO rating assumes that the holder is the original purchaser at par. In contrast, the SVO’s LBaSS methodology is focused on determining the risk associated with the recovery of the amortized cost of each security. Because the NAIC’s methodology explicitly considers amortized cost and the likelihood of recovery of such amount, we view the NAIC’s methodology as the most appropriate means of evaluating the credit quality of our fixed maturity portfolio since a portion of our holdings were purchased and are carried at significant discounts to par.

The SVO has developed a designation process and provides instruction on modeled LBaSS. For modeled LBaSS, the process is specific to the non-agency RMBS and CMBS asset classes. To establish ratings at the individual security level, the SVO obtains loan-level analysis of each RMBS and CMBS using a selected vendor’s proprietary financial model. The SVO ensures that the vendor has extensive internal quality-control processes in place and the SVO conducts its own quality-control checks of the selected vendor’s valuation process. The SVO has retained the services of Blackrock, Inc. (Blackrock) to model non-agency RMBS and CMBS owned by US insurers for all years presented herein. Blackrock provides five prices (breakpoints), based on each US insurer’s statutory book value price, to utilize in determining the NAIC designation for each modeled LBaSS.

The NAIC designation determines the associated level of risk-based capital that an insurer is required to hold for all securities owned by the insurer. In general, under the modeled LBaSS process, the larger the discount to par value at the time of determination, the higher the NAIC designation the LBaSS will have.

A summary of our AFS securities, including related parties, by NAIC designation is as follows:

A significant majority of our AFS portfolio, 96.5% and 95.8% as of December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively, was invested in assets considered investment grade with an NAIC designation of 1 or 2.

A summary of our AFS securities, including related parties, by NRSRO ratings is set forth below:

Consistent with the NAIC Process and Procedures Manual, an NRSRO rating was assigned based on the following criteria: (a) the equivalent S&P rating when the security is rated by one NRSRO; (b) the equivalent S&P rating of the lowest NRSRO when the security is rated by two NRSROs; and (c) the equivalent S&P rating of the second lowest NRSRO when the security is rated by three or more NRSROs. If the lowest two NRSRO ratings are equal, then such rating will be the assigned rating. NRSRO ratings available for the periods presented were S&P, Fitch, Moody’s Investor Service, DBRS, and Kroll Bond Rating Agency, Inc.

The portion of our AFS portfolio that was considered below investment grade based on NRSRO ratings was 4.7% and 5.8% as of December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively. The primary driver of the difference in the percentage of securities considered below investment grade by NRSRO as compared to the securities considered below investment grade by the NAIC is the difference in methodologies between the NRSRO and NAIC for RMBS due to investments acquired and/or carried at a discount to par value, as previously discussed.

As of December 31, 2023 and 2022, non-rated securities were comprised 64% and 74%, respectively, of corporate private placement securities for which we have not sought individual ratings from an NRSRO, and 22% and 16%, respectively, of RMBS, many of which were acquired at a discount to par. We rely on internal analysis and designations assigned by the NAIC to evaluate the credit risk of our portfolio. As of December 31, 2023 and 2022, 92% and 90%, respectively, of the non-rated securities were designated NAIC 1 or 2.

Asset-backed Securities – We invest in ABS which are securitized by pools of assets such as consumer loans, automobile loans, student loans, insurance-linked securities, operating cash flows of corporations and cash flows from various types of business equipment. Our ABS holdings were $21.8 billion and $16.3 billion as of December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively.

A summary of our AFS ABS portfolio, including related parties, by NAIC designationsand NRSRO quality ratings is as follows:

As of December 31, 2023 and 2022, a substantial majority of our AFS ABS portfolio, 94.7% and 95.7%, respectively, was invested in assets considered to be investment grade based upon both the application of the NAIC’s methodology and NRSRO ratings. The increase in our ABS portfolio was mainly driven by the deployment of strong organic inflows in excess of liability outflows and unrealized gains during the year ended December 31, 2023 attributed to credit spread tightening and a decrease in US Treasury rates in 2023.

Collateralized Loan Obligations – We also invest in CLOs which pay principal and interest from cash flows received from underlying corporate loans. These holdings were $24.5 billion and $19.6 billion as of December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively.

A summary of our AFS CLO portfolio, including related parties, by NAIC designationsand NRSRO quality ratings is as follows:

As of each of December 31, 2023 and 2022, 99.3% of our AFS CLO portfolio was invested in assets considered to be investment grade based upon both the application of the NAIC’s methodology and NRSRO ratings. The increase in our CLO portfolio was mainly driven by the deployment of strong organic inflows in excess of liability outflows as well as unrealized gains during the year ended December 31, 2023 attributed to credit spread tightening and a decrease in US Treasury rates in 2023.

Commercial Mortgage-backed Securities – A portion of our AFS portfolio is invested in CMBS which are constructed from pools of commercial mortgages. These holdings were $6.6 billion and $4.2 billion as of December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively.

A summary of our AFS CMBS portfolio by NAIC designationsand NRSRO quality ratings is as follows:

As of December 31, 2023 and 2022, 94.1% and 91.6% respectively, of our AFS CMBS portfolio was invested in assets considered to be investment grade based upon application of the NAIC’s methodology, while 88.8% and 83.0%, as of December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively, of securities were considered investment grade based upon NRSRO ratings. The increase in our CMBS portfolio was mainly driven by the deployment of strong organic inflows in excess of liability outflows.

Residential Mortgage-backed Securities – A portion of our AFS portfolio is invested in RMBS, which are securities constructed from pools of residential mortgages. These holdings were $7.6 billion and $5.9 billion as of December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively.

A summary of our AFS RMBS portfolio by NAIC designationsand NRSRO quality ratings is as follows:

A significant majority of our RMBS portfolio, 91.1% and 90.5% as of December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively, was invested in assets considered to be investment grade based upon application of the NAIC’s methodology. The NAIC’s methodology with respect to RMBS gives explicit effect to the amortized cost at which an insurance company carries each such investment. Because we invested in RMBS after the stresses related to US housing had caused significant downward pressure on prices of RMBS, we carry some of our investments in RMBS at significant discounts to par value, which results in an investment grade NAIC designation. In contrast, our understanding is that in setting ratings, the NRSRO focuses on the likelihood of recovering all contractual payments including principal at par value. As a result of this fundamental difference in approach, NRSRO characterized 70.4% and 65.7% of our RMBS portfolio as investment grade as of December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively. The increase in our RMBS portfolio was mainly driven by the deployment of strong organic inflows in excess of liability outflows.

Unrealized Losses

Our investments in AFS securities, including related parties, are reported at fair value with changes in fair value recorded in other comprehensive income (loss). Certain of our AFS securities, including related parties, have experienced declines in fair value that we consider temporary in nature. These investments are held to support our product liabilities, and we currently have the intent and ability to hold these securities until recovery of the amortized cost basis prior to sale or maturity. As of December 31, 2023, our AFS securities, including related parties, had a fair value of $148.3 billion, which was 8.4% below amortized cost of $162.0 billion. As of December 31, 2022, our AFS securities, including related parties, had a fair value of $112.2 billion, which was 14.6% below amortized cost of $131.4 billion. Our fair value of AFS securities as of both December 31, 2023 and 2022 were below amortized cost due to the investment portfolio being marked to fair value on January 1, 2022 in conjunction with purchase accounting, with subsequent losses driven by the significant increase in US Treasury rates and credit spread widening post-merger.

The following tables reflect the unrealized losses on the AFS portfolio, including related parties, for which an allowance for credit losses has not been recorded, by NAIC designations:

The gross unrealized losses on AFS securities, including related parties, were $14.4 billion and $18.6 billion as of December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively. The decrease in unrealized losses on AFS securities was attributed to credit spread tightening and a decrease in US Treasury rates in 2023.

Provision for Credit Losses

For our credit loss accounting policies and the assumptions used in the allowances, see Note 1 – Business, Basis of Presentation and Significant Accounting Policies and Note 4 – Investmentsto the consolidated financial statements.

As of December 31, 2023 and 2022, we held an allowance for credit losses on AFS securities of $591 million and $459 million, respectively. During the year ended December 31, 2023, we recorded an increase in the allowance for credit losses on AFS securities of $132 million, of which $96 million had an income statement impact and $36 million related to PCD securities and other changes. The increase in the allowance for credit losses on AFS securities was primarily related to deterioration in China’s residential real estate market and CMBS impacts. During the year ended December 31, 2022, we recorded an increase in provision for credit losses on AFS securities of $148 million, of which $171 million had an income statement impact and $(23) million related to PCD securities and other changes. The increase in the allowance for credit losses on AFS securities was mainly due to unfavorable economics, including impacts from the conflict between Russia and Ukraine and deterioration in China’s commercial real estate market. The intent-to-sell impairments for the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022 were $239 million and $51 million, respectively. The increase in our intent-to-sell impairments was primarily driven by the timing of the recapture of certain business by VIAC and impacts from the Silicon Valley Bank failure. Effective July 1, 2023, VIAC recaptured $2.7 billion of reserves, which represents a portion of their business that was subject to coinsurance and modco agreements with us. As a result of our intent to transfer the assets supporting this business to VIAC in connection with the recapture, we were required by US GAAP to recognize the unrealized losses on these assets of $104 million as intent-to-sell impairments in the second quarter of 2023. We recognized a gain of $555 million under US GAAP in the third quarter of 2023 as a result of the settlement of the recapture agreement.

International Exposure

A portion of our AFS securities is invested in securities with international exposure. As of December 31, 2023 and 2022, 34% and 36%, respectively, of the carrying value of our AFS securities, including related parties, was comprised of securities of issuers based outside of the US and debt securities of foreign governments. These securities are either denominated in US dollars or do not expose us to significant foreign currency risk as a result of foreign currency swap arrangements.

The following table presents our international exposure in our AFS portfolio, including related parties, by country or region of issuance:

Approximately 97.9% and 97.3% of these securities are investment grade by NAIC designation as of December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively. As of December 31, 2023, 10% of our AFS securities, including related parties, were invested in CLOs of Cayman Islands issuers (included in Non-US North America) for which the underlying investments are largely loans to US issuers and 25% were invested in securities of other non-US issuers.

The majority of our investments in Ireland are comprised of Euro denominated CLOs, for which the special purpose vehicle (SPV) is domiciled in Ireland, but the underlying leveraged loans involve borrowers from the broader European region.

Trading Securities

Trading securities, including related parties and consolidated VIEs, were $4.7 billion and $3.5 billion as of December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively. Trading securities are primarily comprised of AmerUs Closed Block securities for which we have elected the fair value option valuation, certain equity tranche securities, structured securities with embedded derivatives and investments which support various reinsurance arrangements. The increase in trading securities was primarily driven by the consolidation of additional VIEs and unrealized gains during the year ended December 31, 2023 attributed to credit spread tightening and a decrease in US Treasury rates in 2023.

Mortgage Loans

The following is a summary of our mortgage loan portfolio by collateral type, including assets held by related parties and consolidated VIEs:

We invest a portion of our investment portfolio in mortgage loans, which are generally comprised of high quality commercial first lien and mezzanine real estate loans. Our mortgage loan holdings, including related parties and consolidated VIEs, were $47.6 billion and $30.8 billion as of December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively. This included $1.4 billion and $1.7 billion of mezzanine mortgage loans as of December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively. We have acquired mortgage loans through acquisitions and reinsurance arrangements, as well as through an active program to invest in new mortgage loans. We invest in CMLs on income producing properties including hotels, apartments, retail and office buildings, and other commercial and industrial properties. Our RML portfolio primarily consists of first lien RMLs collateralized by properties located in the US. Loan-to-value ratios at the time of loan approval are generally 75% or less.

At the beginning of 2022, in connection with our merger with Apollo, we elected the fair value option on our mortgage loan portfolio; therefore, we no longer have an allowance for credit losses for commercial and residential mortgage loans. Interest income is accrued on the principal amount of the loan based on the loan’s contractual interest rate. Interest income and prepayment fees are reported in net investment income on the consolidated statements of income (loss). Changes in the fair value of the mortgage loan portfolio are reported in investment related gains (losses) on the consolidated statements of income (loss).

It is our policy to cease to accrue interest on loans that are over 90 days delinquent. For loans less than 90 days delinquent, interest is accrued unless it is determined that the accrued interest is not collectible. If a loan becomes over 90 days delinquent, it is our general policy to initiate foreclosure proceedings unless a workout arrangement to bring the loan current is in place. As of December 31, 2023 and 2022, we had $543 million and $474 million, respectively, of mortgage loans that were 90 days past due, of which $125 million and $99 million, respectively, were in the process of foreclosure. As of December 31, 2023 and 2022, $124 million and $221 million of mortgage loans that were 90 days past due were related to Government National Mortgage Association (GNMA) early buyouts that are fully or partially guaranteed and are accruing interest.

Investment Funds

Our investment funds investment strategy primarily focuses on funds with core holdings of strategic origination and insurance platforms and equity, hybrid, yield and other funds. Our investment funds generally meet the definition of a VIE, and in certain cases, these investment funds are consolidated in our financial statements because we meet the criteria of the primary beneficiary.

The following table illustrates our investment funds, including related parties and consolidated VIEs:

Overall, total investment funds, including related parties and consolidated VIEs, were $17.7 billion and $14.1 billion as of December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively. See Note 4 – Investments to the consolidated financial statements for further discussion regarding how we account for our investment funds. Our investment fund portfolio is subject to a number of market-related risks including interest rate risk and equity market risk. Interest rate risk represents the potential for changes in the investment fund’s net asset values resulting from changes in the general level of interest rates. Equity market risk represents potential for changes in the investment fund’s net asset values resulting from changes in equity markets or from other external factors which influence equity markets. These risks expose us to potential volatility in our earnings period-over-period. We actively monitor our exposure to these risks. The increase in investment funds, including related parties and consolidated VIEs, was primarily driven by contributions from third-party investors into AAA, a consolidated VIE, unrealized gains on investment funds held in AAA and the consolidation of additional VIEs in 2023.

Funds Withheld at Interest

Funds withheld at interest represent a receivable for amounts contractually withheld by ceding companies in accordance with modco and funds withheld reinsurance agreements in which we act as the reinsurer. Generally, assets equal to statutory reserves are withheld and legally owned by the ceding company. We hold funds withheld at interest receivables, including those held with Venerable, Lincoln and Jackson. As of December 31, 2023, the majority of the ceding companies holding the assets pursuant to such reinsurance agreements had a financial strength rating of A or better (based on an A.M. Best scale).

The funds withheld at interest is comprised of the host contract and an embedded derivative. We are subject to the investment performance on the withheld assets with the total return directly impacting the host contract and the embedded derivative. Interest accrues at a risk-free rate on the host receivable and is recorded as net investment income in the consolidated statements of income (loss). The embedded derivative in our reinsurance agreements is similar to a total return swap on the income generated by the underlying assets held by the ceding companies. The change in the embedded derivative is recorded in investment related gains (losses) in the consolidated statements of income (loss). Although we do not legally own the underlying investments in the funds withheld at interest, in each instance, the ceding company has hired Apollo to manage the withheld assets in accordance with our investment guidelines.

The following summarizes the underlying investment composition of the funds withheld at interest, including related parties:

As of December 31, 2023 and 2022, we held $30.8 billion and $42.7 billion, respectively, of funds withheld at interest receivables, including related parties. Approximately 95.0% and 94.3% of the fixed maturity securities within the funds withheld at interest are investment grade by NAIC designation as of December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively. The decrease in funds withheld at interest, including related parties, was primarily driven by run-off of the underlying blocks of business and the VIAC recapture, partially offset by unrealized gains during the year ended December 31, 2023 attributed to credit spread tightening and a decrease in US Treasury rates in 2023.

Derivative Instruments

We hold derivative instruments for economic hedging purposes to reduce our exposure to cash flow variability of assets and liabilities, equity market risk, interest rate risk, credit risk and foreign exchange risk. The types of derivatives we may use include interest rate swaps, foreign currency swaps and forward contracts, total return swaps, credit default swaps, variance swaps, futures and equity options.

A discussion regarding our derivative instruments and how such instruments are used to manage risk is included in Note 5 – Derivative Instrumentsto the consolidated financial statements.

As part of our risk management strategies, management continually evaluates our derivative instrument holdings and the effectiveness of such holdings in addressing risks identified in our operations.

Net Invested Assets

The following summarizes our net invested assets:

Our net invested assets were $217.4 billion and $196.5 billion as of December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively. As of December 31, 2023, corporate securities included $23.6 billion of private placements, which represented 10.8% of our net invested assets. The increase in net invested assets as of December 31, 2023 from 2022 was primarily driven by growth from net organic inflows of $43.0 billion in excess of net liability outflows of $28.8 billion, inclusive of the impacts related to the sale of 50% of ACRA 2’s economic interests to ADIP II, effective July 1, 2023, as well as an incremental 10% increase in ADIP II ownership effective December 31, 2023. In connection with the initial sale and subsequent increase in ownership, inflows attributable to ACRA 2 during the year were retroactively attributed to ADIP II based on its economic ownership. Additionally, net invested assets increased due to $2.2 billion of inorganic inflows related to a block reinsurance transaction, the reinvestment of earnings and a contribution by AGM of $1.25 billion related to the net proceeds from its mandatory convertible preferred stock offering, partially offset by cash used to pay quarterly dividends.

In managing our business, we utilize net invested assets as presented in the above table. Net invested assets do not correspond to total investments, including related parties, on our consolidated balance sheets, as discussed previously in Key Operating and Non-GAAP Measures. Net invested assets represent the investments that directly back our net reserve liabilities and surplus assets. We believe this view of our portfolio provides a view of the assets for which we have economic exposure. We adjust the presentation for assumed and ceded reinsurance transactions to include or exclude the underlying investments based upon the contractual transfer of economic exposure to such underlying investments. We also adjust for VIEs to show the net investment in the funds, which are included in the alternative investments line above as well as adjusting for the allowance for credit losses. Net invested assets include our proportionate share of ACRA investments, based on our economic ownership, but exclude the proportionate share of investments associated with the noncontrolling interests.

Net invested assets is utilized by management to evaluate our investment portfolio. Net invested assets is used in the computation of the net investment earned rate, which allows us to analyze the profitability of our investment portfolio. Net invested assets is also used in our risk management processes for asset purchases, product design and underwriting, stress scenarios, liquidity and ALM.

Net Alternative Investments

The following summarizes our net alternative investments:

Net alternative investments were $11.7 billion and $12.1 billion as of December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively, representing 5.4% and 6.1% of our net invested asset portfolio as of December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively. As of December 31, 2023, we hold approximately 70% of our net alternative investments through AAA and have a gross ownership percentage in AAA of approximately 69%. The decrease in net alternative investments as of December 31, 2023 from December 31, 2022 was primarily driven by an increase in alternative investments attributable to the ACRA noncontrolling interests related to the sale of ACRA 2’s economic interests to ADIP II in 2023 as well as a decrease in our ownership of AAA related to third party contributions into the fund throughout the year, partially offset by earnings on our alternative investments.

Net alternative investments do not correspond to the total investment funds, including related parties and consolidated VIEs, on our consolidated balance sheets. As previously discussed in the net invested assets section, we adjust the US GAAP presentation for funds withheld and modco reinsurance as well as VIEs. We include certain equity securities in alternative investments due to their underlying characteristics and equity-like features.

Through our relationship with Apollo, we have indirectly invested in companies that meet the key characteristics we look for in net alternative investments. Athora, our largest alternative investment, is a strategic investment.

Athora

Athora is a specialized insurance and reinsurance group fully focused on the European market. Athora’s principal operational subsidiaries are Athora Netherlands N.V. in the Netherlands, Athora Belgium SA in Belgium, Athora Lebensversicherung AG in Germany, Athora Ireland plc in Ireland and Athora Life Re Ltd. in Bermuda. Athora deploys capital and resources to further its mission to build a stand-alone independent and integrated insurance and reinsurance business. Athora’s growth is achieved primarily through acquisitions, portfolio transfers and reinsurance. Athora is building a European insurance brand and has successfully acquired, integrated and transformed multiple insurance companies.

Our alternative investment in Athora had a carrying value of $1.1 billion and $1.0 billion as of December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively. Our investment in Athora represents our proportionate share of its net asset value, which largely reflects any contributions to and distributions from Athora and changes in its fair value. Athora returned a net investment earned rate of 5.38%, 13.77% and 10.52% for the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022 and 2021, respectively. Alternative investment income from Athora was $60 million, $125 million and $76 million for the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022 and 2021, respectively. The decrease in alternative investment income for the year ended December 31, 2023 compared to 2022 was primarily driven by a valuation increase in 2022.