Brighthouse Financial Inc

Investment Risk Management Strategy

We manage the risks related to our investment portfolio through asset-type allocation as well as industry and issuer diversification. We also use risk limits to promote diversification by asset sector, avoid concentrations in any single issuer and limit overall aggregate credit and equity risk exposure. We manage real estate risk through geographic, property type and product type diversification and asset allocation. Interest rate risk is managed as part of our Asset Liability Management (“ALM”) strategies. We also utilize product design to manage interest rate risk (e.g., market value adjustment features and surrender charges). These ALM strategies include maintaining an investment portfolio that targets a weighted average duration that reflects the duration of our estimated liability cash flow profile. For certain of our liability portfolios, it is not possible to invest assets for the full liability duration, thereby creating some asset/liability mismatch. We also use certain derivatives in the management of credit, interest rate, equity market and foreign currency exchange rate risks.

Investment Management Agreements

Other than our derivatives trading, which we manage in-house, we have engaged a select group of experienced external asset management firms to manage the investment of the assets comprising our general account portfolio and certain separate account assets of our insurance subsidiaries, as well as assets of BHF and our reinsurance subsidiary, BRCD.

Current Environment

Our business and results of operations are materially affected by conditions in capital markets and the economy, generally. As a U.S. insurance company, we are affected by the monetary policy of the Federal Reserve in the U.S. The Federal Reserve may increase or decrease the federal funds rate in the future, which may have an impact on the pricing levels of risk-bearing investments and may adversely impact the level of product sales. We are also affected by the monetary policy of central banks around the world due to the diversification of our investment portfolio. See “— Industry Trends and Uncertainties — Financial and Economic Environment.”

In 2023, the Federal Reserve increased the target range for the federal funds rate four times — from between 4.25% and 4.50% to between 5.25% and 5.50% as of December 31, 2023. These target range increases have contributed to the net unrealized loss position in our investment portfolio, and any additional target increases could similarly contribute to further increases in net unrealized losses.

In the current period, as a result of recent increases in interest rates, the unrealized losses on our fixed maturity securities exceeded the unrealized gains. If interest rates rise further, our unrealized gains would decrease, and our unrealized losses would increase, perhaps substantially.

See “Risk Factors — Risks Related to Our Investment Portfolio — Our investment portfolio is subject to significant financial risks both in the U.S. and global financial markets, including credit risk, interest rate risk, inflation risk, market valuation risk, liquidity risk, real estate risk, derivatives risk, and other factors outside our control, the occurrence of any of which could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.”

Selected Sector Investments

Recent elevated levels of market volatility have affected the performance of various asset classes. See “Risk Factors — Risks Related to Our Investment Portfolio — Our investment portfolio is subject to significant financial risks both in the U.S. and global financial markets, including credit risk, interest rate risk, inflation risk, market valuation risk, liquidity risk, real estate risk, derivatives risk, and other factors outside our control, the occurrence of any of which could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations,” and “Risk Factors — Risks Related to Our Investment Portfolio — Ongoing military actions, the continued threat of terrorism, climate change as well as other catastrophic events may adversely affect the value of our investment portfolio and the level of claim losses we incur.”

There has been an increased market focus on commercial real estate, including office properties, as a result of companies shifting to hybrid work arrangements and the resulting impact on the demand for office space.

We have direct commercial real estate exposure through mortgage loans and certain structured securities, which include RMBS, CMBS and ABS. In addition, we have direct and indirect exposure through certain financial industry corporate fixed maturity securities. See “Risk Factors — Risks Related to Our Investment Portfolio — Our investment portfolio is subject to significant financial risks both in the U.S. and global financial markets, including credit risk, interest rate risk, inflation risk, market valuation risk, liquidity risk, real estate risk, derivatives risk, and other factors outside our control, the occurrence of any of which could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations,” as well as “— Investments — Mortgage Loans” and Note 9 of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements for information on mortgage loans, including credit quality by portfolio segment and commercial mortgage loans by property type. Additionally, see “— Investments — Fixed Maturity Securities Available-for-sale — Structured Securities” for information on Structured Securities, including security type, risk profile and ratings profile as well as “— Investments — Fixed Maturity Securities Available-for-sale — U.S. and Foreign Corporate Fixed Maturity Securities” for our exposure to the finance industry.

We monitor direct and indirect investment exposure across sectors and asset classes and adjust our level of investment exposure, as appropriate. At this time, we do not expect that our general account investments in these sectors and asset classes will have a material adverse effect on our results of operations or financial condition.

Investment Portfolio Results

The following summary yield table presents the yield and adjusted net investment income for our investment portfolio for the periods indicated. As described below, this table reflects certain differences from the presentation of net investment income presented in the GAAP statements of operations. This summary yield table presentation is consistent with how we measure our investment performance for management purposes, and we believe it enhances understanding of our investment portfolio results.

(1)Investment income yields are calculated as investment income as a percentage of average quarterly asset carrying values. Investment income excludes recognized gains and losses and reflects the adjustments discussed in table note (3) below to arrive at adjusted net investment income. Asset carrying values exclude unrealized gains (losses), collateral received in connection with our securities lending program, freestanding derivative assets and collateral received from derivative counterparties.

(2)Investment fee and expense yields are calculated as a percentage of average quarterly asset estimated fair values. Asset estimated fair values exclude collateral received in connection with our securities lending program, freestanding derivative assets and collateral received from derivative counterparties.

(3)Adjusted net investment income presented in the yield table varies from the most directly comparable GAAP measure due to certain reclassifications, as presented below.

See “— Results of Operations — Consolidated Results for the Years Ended December 31, 2023 and 2022” and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations — Results of Operations — Consolidated Results for the Years Ended December 31, 2022 and 2021” in our 2022 Annual Report for an analysis of the year-over-year changes in net investment income.

Fixed Maturity Securities Available-for-sale

Fixed maturity securities held by type (public or private) were as follows at:

See Note 11 of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements for further information on our valuation controls and procedures including our formal process to challenge any prices received from independent pricing services that are not considered representative of estimated fair value.

See Notes 1 and 9 of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements for further information about fixed maturity securities by sector, contractual maturities, continuous gross unrealized losses and the allowance for credit losses.

Fixed Maturity Securities Credit Quality — Ratings

Rating agency ratings are based on availability of applicable ratings from rating agencies on the NAIC credit rating provider list, including Moody’s, S&P, Fitch, Dominion Bond Rating Service and Kroll Bond Rating Agency. If no rating is available from a rating agency, then an internally developed rating is used.

The NAIC has methodologies to assess credit quality for certain Structured Securities comprised of non-agency RMBS, CMBS and ABS. The NAIC’s objective with these methodologies is to increase the accuracy in assessing expected losses, and to use the improved assessment to determine a more appropriate capital requirement for such Structured Securities. The methodologies reduce regulatory reliance on rating agencies and allow for greater regulatory input into the assumptions used to estimate expected losses from Structured Securities. In 2021, these methodologies were updated to only apply to those Structured Securities issued prior to 2013. We apply the NAIC methodologies to Structured Securities held by our insurance subsidiaries and BRCD. The NAIC’s present methodology is to evaluate Structured Securities held by insurers on an annual basis. If our insurance subsidiaries and BRCD acquire Structured Securities that have not been previously evaluated by the NAIC but are expected to be evaluated by the NAIC in the upcoming annual review, an internally developed designation is used until a final designation becomes available.

The following table presents total fixed maturity securities by nationally statistical rating organizations (“NRSRO”) rating and the applicable NAIC designation from the NAIC published comparison of NRSRO ratings to NAIC designations, except for certain Structured Securities, which are presented using the NAIC methodologies, as well as the percentage, based on estimated fair value that each NAIC designation is comprised of at:

The following tables present total fixed maturity securities, based on estimated fair value, by sector classification and by NRSRO rating and the applicable NAIC designations from the NAIC published comparison of NRSRO ratings to NAIC designations, except for certain Structured Securities, which are presented using the NAIC methodologies as described above:

U.S. and Foreign Corporate Fixed Maturity Securities

We maintain a diversified portfolio of corporate fixed maturity securities across industries and issuers. Our portfolio does not have any exposure to any single issuer in excess of 1% of total investments and the top ten holdings in aggregate comprise 1% of total investments at both December 31, 2023 and 2022. Our U.S. and foreign corporate fixed maturity securities holdings by industry were as follows at:

Structured Securities

We held $20.2 billion and $19.5 billion of Structured Securities, at estimated fair value, at December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively, as presented in the RMBS, CMBS and ABS sections below.

RMBS

Our RMBS holdings are diversified by security type, risk profile and ratings profile, which were as follows at:

(1)During the year ended December 31, 2023, Fitch Ratings downgraded the U.S. credit rating from Aaa to Aa1, which resulted in a decrease in Aaa assets in our RMBS holdings.

Historically, our exposure to sub-prime RMBS holdings has been managed by focusing primarily on senior tranche securities, stress-testing the portfolio with severe loss assumptions and closely monitoring the performance of the portfolio. Our sub-prime RMBS portfolio consists predominantly of securities that were purchased after 2012 at significant discounts to par value and discounts to the expected principal recovery value of these securities. The vast majority of these securities are investment grade under the NAIC designations (e.g., NAIC 1 and NAIC 2).

CMBS

Our CMBS holdings are diversified by vintage year, which were as follows at:

The estimated fair value of CMBS rated Aaa using rating agency ratings was $4.4 billion, or 68.5% of total CMBS, and designated NAIC 1 was $6.0 billion, or 94.2% of total CMBS, at December 31, 2023. The estimated fair value of CMBS Aaa rating agency ratings was $4.6 billion, or 70.0% of total CMBS, and designated NAIC 1 was $6.2 billion, or 94.4% of total CMBS, at December 31, 2022.

ABS

Our ABS holdings are diversified by both collateral type and issuer. Our ABS holdings by collateral type and ratings profile were as follows at:

Allowance for Credit Losses for Fixed Maturity Securities

See Note 9 of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements for information about the evaluation of fixed maturity securities for an allowance for credit losses or write-offs due to uncollectibility.

We participate in a securities lending program whereby securities are loaned to third parties, primarily brokerage firms and commercial banks. We obtain collateral, usually cash, in an amount generally equal to 102% of the estimated fair value of the securities loaned, which is obtained at the inception of a loan and maintained at a level greater than or equal to 100% for the duration of the loan. The estimated fair value of the securities loaned is monitored on a daily basis with additional collateral obtained as necessary throughout the duration of the loan. Securities loaned under such transactions may be sold or re-pledged by the transferee. We are liable to return to our counterparties the cash collateral under our control. Security collateral received from counterparties may not be sold or re-pledged, unless the counterparty is in default, and is not reflected in the financial statements. These transactions are treated as financing arrangements and the associated cash collateral liability is recorded at the amount of the cash received.

See “— Liquidity and Capital Resources — The Company — Primary Uses of Liquidity and Capital — Securities Lending” and Note 9 of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements for information regarding our securities lending program.

Our mortgage loans are principally collateralized by commercial, agricultural and residential properties. Information regarding mortgage loans by portfolio segment is summarized as follows at:

Our mortgage loan portfolio is diversified by both geographic region and property type to reduce the risk of concentration. The percentage of our commercial and agricultural mortgage loan portfolios collateralized by properties located in the U.S. was 98% at both December 31, 2023 and 2022. The remainder was collateralized by properties located outside of the U.S. At December 31, 2023, the carrying value as a percentage of total commercial and agricultural mortgage loans for the top three states in the U.S. was 17% for California, 11% for Texas and 8% for New York. Additionally, we manage risk when originating commercial and agricultural mortgage loans by generally lending up to 75% of the estimated fair value of the underlying real estate collateral.

Our residential mortgage loan portfolio is managed in a similar manner to reduce risk of concentration. All residential mortgage loans were collateralized by properties located in the U.S. at both December 31, 2023 and 2022. At December 31, 2023, the carrying value as a percentage of total residential mortgage loans for the top three states in the U.S. was 39% for California, 11% for Florida and 7% for New York.

Commercial Mortgage Loans by Geographic Region and Property Type. Commercial mortgage loans are the largest component of the mortgage loan invested asset class. The diversification across geographic regions and property types of commercial mortgage loans was as follows at:

(1) During the year, certain commercial mortgage loans were reclassified into the Multi-region and Other geographic region.

Mortgage Loan Credit Quality — Monitoring Process. Our mortgage loan investments are monitored on an ongoing basis, including a review of loans that are current, past due, restructured and under foreclosure. Quarterly, we conduct a formal review of the portfolio with our investment managers. See Note 9 of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements for information on mortgage loans by credit quality indicator, past due status, nonaccrual status and modified mortgage loans.

Our commercial mortgage loans are reviewed on an ongoing basis. These reviews may include an analysis of the property financial statements and rent roll, lease rollover analysis, property inspections, market analysis, estimated valuations of the underlying collateral, loan-to-value ratios, debt-service coverage ratios and tenant creditworthiness. The monitoring process focuses on higher risk loans, which include those that are classified as restructured, delinquent or in foreclosure, as well as loans with higher loan-to-value ratios and lower debt-service coverage ratios. The monitoring process for agricultural mortgage loans is generally similar, with a focus on higher risk loans, such as loans with higher loan-to-value ratios, including reviews on a geographic and sector basis. Our residential mortgage loans are reviewed on an ongoing basis. See Note 9 of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements for information on our evaluation of residential mortgage loans and related measurement of allowance for credit losses.

Loan-to-value ratios and debt-service coverage ratios are common measures in the assessment of the quality of commercial mortgage loans. Loan-to-value ratios are a common measure in the assessment of the quality of agricultural mortgage loans. Loan-to-value ratios compare the amount of the loan to the estimated fair value of the underlying collateral. A loan-to-value ratio greater than 100% indicates that the loan amount is greater than the collateral value. A loan-to-value ratio of less than 100% indicates an excess of collateral value over the loan amount. Generally, the higher the loan-to-value ratio, the higher the risk of experiencing a credit loss. The debt-service coverage ratio compares a property’s net operating income to amounts needed to service the principal and interest due under the loan. Generally, the lower the debt-service coverage ratio, the higher the risk of experiencing a credit loss. For our commercial mortgage loans, our average loan-to-value ratio was 65% and 57% at December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively, and our average debt-service coverage ratio was 2.3x and 2.2x at December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively. The debt-service coverage ratio, as well as the values utilized in calculating the ratio, is updated annually on a rolling basis, with a portion of the portfolio updated each quarter. In addition, the loan-to-value ratio is routinely updated for all but the lowest risk loans as part of our ongoing review of our commercial mortgage loan portfolio. For our agricultural mortgage loans, our average loan-to-value ratio was 47% and 48% at December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively. The values utilized in calculating the agricultural mortgage loan loan-to-value ratio are developed in connection with the ongoing review of the agricultural loan portfolio and are routinely updated.

Mortgage Loan Allowance for Credit Losses. See Note 9 of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements for information about how the allowance for credit losses is established and monitored, as well as activity in and balances of the allowance for credit losses for the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022.

Limited Partnerships and Limited Liability Companies

The carrying values of our limited partnerships and LLCs were as follows at:

(1)The estimated fair value of real estate limited partnerships and LLCs was $927 million and $987 million at December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively.

Cash distributions on these investments are generated from investment gains, operating income from the underlying investments of the funds and liquidation of the underlying investments of the funds. We estimate that the underlying investment of the private equity funds will typically be liquidated over the next 10 to 20 years.

The carrying value of our other invested assets by type was as follows at: