Athene Holding Ltd.

Economic and Market Conditions

As a leading financial services company specializing in retirement services, we are affected by the condition of global financial markets and the economy. Price fluctuations within equity, credit, commodity and foreign exchange markets, as well as interest rates and global inflation, which may be volatile and mixed across geographies, can significantly impact the performance of our business, including, but not limited to, the valuation of investments and related income we may recognize.

Adverse economic conditions may result from domestic and global economic and political developments, including slower economic growth, changes in US and foreign tariff policies, civil unrest, geopolitical tensions or military action, including the armed conflicts in the Middle East and between Ukraine and Russia, and related sanctions. Additional risks include changes in legal and regulatory requirements affecting investment, hiring, migration, labor supply and global supply chains, as well as disruptions to energy markets and critical shipping routes.

US economic activity remains resilient, supported by investment in artificial intelligence and data centers, increased spending across semiconductors, pharmaceuticals and defense, and fiscal stimulus. These drivers continue to support solid growth, but also contribute to persistent inflation and a higher interest rate environment. Uncertainty surrounding US trade policy, the conflict with Iran, and inflation remain downside risks to the economy.

We carefully monitor economic and market conditions, including global inflation, that could potentially give rise to global market volatility and affect our business operations, investment portfolios and derivatives. Inflation remains elevated, limiting the scope of monetary easing and contributing to upward pressure on yields, increasing the likelihood that interest rates will remain elevated. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics reported the annual US inflation rate increased to 3.7% as of September 30, 2026, compared to 3.5% as of June 30, 2026. Due to persistent inflationary pressure, the US Federal Reserve raised its benchmark interest rate target range by 25 basis points to 3.75% to 4.00% at its September meeting.

Equity market performance moderated during the third quarter of 2026. In the US, the S&P 500 Index increased by 2.0%, following an increase of 14.9% during the second quarter of 2026. In terms of economic conditions in the US, the Bureau of Economic Analysis reported real GDP increased at an annual rate of 3.4% in the third quarter of 2026, following an increase of 2.2% in the second quarter of 2026. As of October 2026, the International Monetary Fund estimated the US economy will expand by 2.3% in each of 2026 and 2027. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics reported the US unemployment rate remained at 4.2% as of September 30, 2026. Oil prices ended the third quarter of 2026 up 30.1% from the second quarter of 2026, primarily reflecting renewed tensions in the Middle East. Further escalation could create additional inflationary pressure through higher energy prices.

Foreign exchange rates can materially impact the valuations of our investments and liabilities that are denominated in currencies other than the US dollar. The US dollar strengthened compared to the euro, but weakened against the Japanese yen in the third quarter of 2026. Relative to the US dollar, the euro depreciated 0.8% in the third quarter of 2026, after depreciating 1.1% in the second quarter of 2026. Relative to the US dollar, the Japanese yen appreciated 3.3% in the third quarter of 2026, after depreciating 2.4% in the second quarter of 2026. We generally undertake hedging activities to eliminate or mitigate foreign currency risk.

Interest Rate Environment

Medium and long-term rates increased significantly during the third quarter of 2026, with the US 10-year Treasury yield at 5.29% as of September 30, 2026 compared to 4.44% as of June 30, 2026. Short-term rates also increased during the third quarter of 2026, with the 3-month secured overnight financing rate at 4.08% as of September 30, 2026, compared to 3.73% as of June 30, 2026.

Our investment portfolio predominantly consists of fixed maturity investments. See– Investment Portfolio. If prevailing interest rates were to rise, we believe the yield on our new investment purchases may also rise and our investment income from floating rate investments would increase, while the value of our existing investments may decline. If prevailing interest rates were to decline significantly, the yield on our new investment purchases may decline and our investment income from floating rate investments would decrease, while the value of our existing investments may increase.

We address interest rate risk through managing the duration of the liabilities we source with assets we acquire through asset liability management (ALM) modeling. As part of our investment strategy, we purchase floating rate investments, which we expect would perform well in a rising interest rate environment and which we expect would underperform in a declining rate environment. We manage our interest rate risk in a declining rate environment through hedging activity or the issuance of additional floating rate liabilities to lower our overall net floating rate position. As of September 30, 2026, our net invested asset portfolio included $66.9 billion of floating rate assets, or 21% of our net invested assets, and our net reserve liabilities included $64.1 billion of floating rate liabilities at notional, or 20% of our net invested assets, resulting in $2.8 billion of net floating rate assets, or 1% of our net invested assets. Our floating rate asset position includes floating rate investments and cash and cash equivalents on a net invested asset basis, adjusted for net investment payables/receivables and cash posted as collateral for derivative transactions.

If prevailing interest rates were to rise, we believe our products would be more attractive to consumers and our sales would likely increase. If prevailing interest rates were to decline, it is likely that our products would be less attractive to consumers and our sales would likely decrease. In periods of prolonged low interest rates, the net investment spread may be negatively impacted by reduced investment income to the extent we are unable to adequately reduce policyholder crediting rates due to policyholder guarantees in the form of minimum crediting rates or otherwise due to market conditions. Our policyholder and institutional balances include deferred annuities, indexed annuities, funding agreements and other investment-type contracts, the latter of which comprises immediate annuities without significant mortality risk (which include pension group annuities and structured settlements without life contingencies), guaranteed investment contracts, and assumed endowments without significant mortality risks. A significant majority of our deferred annuity products have crediting rates that we may reset annually upon renewal, following the expiration of the current guaranteed period. While we have the contractual ability to lower these crediting rates to the guaranteed minimum levels at renewal, our willingness to do so may be limited by competitive pressures. See Note 7 – Long-duration Contracts to the condensed consolidated financial statements for our deferred and indexed annuity policyholder account balances by range of guaranteed minimum crediting rates and the related distance to those respective guaranteed minimums. Our funding agreements and other investment-type products provide us with little to no discretionary ability to change the rates of interest that determine the amounts payable to the respective policyholder or institution.

See Part I—Item 3. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk in this report and Part II—Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk in our 2025 Annual Report, which include a discussion regarding interest rate and other significant risks and our strategies for managing these risks.

Demographics

Over the next four decades, the retirement-age population is expected to experience unprecedented growth. Technological advances and improvements in healthcare are projected to continue to contribute to increasing average life expectancy, and aging individuals must be prepared to fund retirement periods that will last longer than ever before. Further, many working households in the US do not have adequate retirement savings. As a tool for addressing the unmet need for retirement planning, we believe that many Americans have begun to look to tax-efficient savings products with low-risk or guaranteed return features and potential equity market upside. Our tax-efficient savings products are well positioned to meet this increasing customer demand.

Competition

We operate in highly competitive markets. We face a variety of large and small industry participants, including diversified financial institutions, insurance and reinsurance companies and private equity firms. 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 the markets in which we operate, scale and the ability to provide value-added services and build long-term relationships are important factors to compete effectively. 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 fixed annuity market.

According to the Life Insurance Marketing and Research Association (LIMRA), total annuity market sales in the US were $228.7 billion for the six months ended June 30, 2026, a 1.3% increase from the same time period in 2025. In the total annuity market, for the six months ended June 30, 2026 (the most recent period for which specific market share data is available), we were the largest provider of annuities based on sales of $20.2 billion, translating to an 8.8% market share. For the six months ended June 30, 2025, we were the second largest provider of annuities based on sales of $16.8 billion, translating to a 7.4% market share.

According to LIMRA, total fixed annuity market sales in the US were $149.4 billion for the six months ended June 30, 2026, a 6.0% decrease from the same time period in 2025. In the total fixed annuity market, for the six months ended June 30, 2026 (the most recent period for which specific market share data is available), we were the largest provider of fixed annuities based on sales of $18.6 billion, translating to a 12.5% market share. For the six months ended June 30, 2025, we were the largest provider of fixed annuities based on sales of $16.2 billion, translating to a 10.2% market share.

According to LIMRA, FIA market sales in the US were $57.4 billion for the six months ended June 30, 2026, a 5.3% decrease from the same time period in 2025. For the six months ended June 30, 2026 (the most recent period for which specific market share data is available), we were the largest provider of FIAs based on sales of $6.4 billion, translating to an 11.1% market share. For the six months ended June 30, 2025, we were the largest provider of FIAs based on sales of $7.3 billion, translating to a 12.1% market share.

According to LIMRA, RILA market sales in the US were $44.4 billion for the six months ended June 30, 2026, a 21.0% increase from the same time period in 2025. For the six months ended June 30, 2026 (the most recent period for which specific market share data is available), we were the tenth largest provider of RILAs based on sales of $1.5 billion, translating to a 3.4% market share. For the six months ended June 30, 2025, we were the fifteenth largest provider of RILAs based on sales of $620 million, translating to a 1.7% market share. We believe RILAs represent a significant growth opportunity for Athene.