Cigna Group

The following table presents our investment asset portfolio excluding separate account assets. Additional information regarding our investment assets is included in Notes 12, 13, 14 and 16 to the Consolidated Financial Statements.

(1) Investments related to the HCSC transaction that were held for sale as of December 31, 2023. These investments were primarily comprised of debt securities and commercial mortgage loans, and to a lesser extent, other long term investments.

Investment Outlook

We continue to actively monitor economic conditions including the impact of inflation, higher interest rates and the potential for a recession on the investment portfolio. Although there has been very limited impact to date on our investment portfolio as a result of 2023 economic and geopolitical events, including banking system stress, we continue to monitor ongoing developments and the potential impact of 2023 events on the portfolio. Future realized and unrealized investment results will be driven largely by market conditions and these future conditions are not reasonably predictable. We believe that the vast majority of our investments will continue to perform under their contractual terms. We manage the portfolio for long-term economics and therefore we expect to hold a significant portion of these assets for the long term. The following discussion addresses the strategies and risks associated with our various classes of investment assets. Although future declines in investment fair values remain possible due to interest rate movements and credit deterioration due to both investment-specific uncertainties and global economic uncertainties as discussed below, we do not expect these losses to have a material unfavorable effect on our financial condition or liquidity.

Debt Securities

Investments in debt securities include publicly traded and privately placed bonds, mortgage and other asset-backed securities and preferred stocks redeemable by the investor. These investments are classified as available for sale and are carried at fair value in our Consolidated Balance Sheets. Additional information regarding valuation methodologies, key inputs and controls is included in Note 13 to the Consolidated Financial Statements.

The following table reflects our portfolio of debt securities by type of issuer:

The carrying value of our debt securities portfolio was flat during the year ended December 31, 2023 reflecting net sales activity offset by a valuation increase due to declining market interest rates. Our portfolio remains in a net unrealized depreciation position due to generally increasing interest rates over the last several quarters. More detailed information about debt securities by type of issuer, maturity dates and net unrealized position is included in Note 12 to the Consolidated Financial Statements.

As of December 31, 2023, $8.3 billion, or 84%, of the debt securities in our investment portfolio were investment grade (Baa and above, or equivalent) and the remaining $1.6 billion were below investment grade. The majority of the bonds that are below investment grade were rated at the higher end of the non-investment grade spectrum. These quality characteristics have not materially changed since the prior year and remain consistent with our investment strategy.

Debt securities include private placement assets of $4.0 billion. These investments are generally less marketable than publicly traded bonds; however, yields on these investments tend to be higher than yields on publicly traded bonds with comparable credit risk. We perform a credit analysis of each issuer and require financial and other covenants that allow us to monitor issuers for deteriorating financial strength and pursue remedial actions, if warranted.

Investments in debt securities are diversified by issuer, geography and industry. On an aggregate basis, the debt securities portfolio continues to perform according to original expectations, which includes a long-term economic investment strategy. Elevated global inflation, higher interest rates, continuing supply chain disruptions and potential fallout from the stress in the banking system are the primary risks that many of the issuers in our portfolio are facing. To date, most issuers have been successful in managing the cost escalation and product shortages without undue margin pressure. We continue to monitor the economic environment and its effect on our portfolio and consider the impact of various factors in determining the allowance for credit losses on debt securities, which is discussed in Note 12 to the Consolidated Financial Statements.

Commercial Mortgage Loans

As of December 31, 2023, our $1.5 billion commercial mortgage loan portfolio consisted of approximately 50 fixed-rate loans, diversified by property type, location and borrower. These loans are carried in our Consolidated Balance Sheets at their unpaid principal balance, net of an allowance for expected credit losses. As a result of increasing market interest rates since the majority of these loans were made, the carrying value exceeds the market value of these loans as of December 31, 2023. See Note 13 to the Consolidated Financial Statements for further details. Given the quality and diversity of the underlying real estate, positive debt service coverage and significant borrower cash invested in the property generally ranging between 30 and 40%, we remain confident that the vast majority of borrowers will continue to perform as expected under their contract terms. For further discussion of the results and changes in key loan metrics, see Note 12 to the Consolidated Financial Statements.

Loans are secured by high quality commercial properties, located in strong institutional markets and are generally made at approximately 65% of the property's value at origination of the loan. Property value, debt service coverage, quality, building tenancy and stability of cash flows are all important financial underwriting considerations. We hold no direct residential mortgage loans and do not originate or service securitized mortgage loans.

We assess the credit quality of our commercial mortgage loan portfolio annually, generally in the second quarter by reviewing each holding's most recent financial statements, rent rolls, budgets and relevant market reports. The review performed in the second quarter of 2023 confirmed ongoing strong overall credit quality in line with the previous year's results. See Note 12 to the Consolidated Financial Statements for further information regarding our key credit quality indicators for commercial mortgage loans.

Office sector fundamentals have been and continue to be weak and values are experiencing stress due to multiple headwinds: expanded work from home flexibility, shorter term leases, elevated tenant improvement allowances and corporate migration to lower cost states. Additionally, the current macroeconomic headwinds are impacting capital markets and reducing investor appetite for capital intensive assets (e.g., offices and regional shopping malls). Our commercial mortgage loan portfolio has no exposure to regional shopping malls and less than 30% exposure to office properties. Although future losses remain possible due to further credit deterioration, we do not expect these losses to have a material unfavorable effect on our financial condition or liquidity.

Other Long-term Investments

Other long-term investments of $4.2 billion as of December 31, 2023 included investments in securities limited partnerships and real estate limited partnerships, direct investments in real estate joint ventures and other deposit activity that is required to support various insurance and health services businesses. Accounting policies for these investments are discussed in Note 12 to the Consolidated Financial Statements. The increase in other long-term investments of $0.5 billion since December 31, 2022 is primarily driven by net additional funding activity. These limited partnership entities typically invest in mezzanine debt or equity of privately-held companies and equity real estate. Given our subordinate position in the capital structure of these underlying entities, we assume a higher level of risk for higher expected returns. To mitigate risk, these investments are diversified across approximately 200 separate partnerships and 100 general partners who manage one or more of these partnerships. Also, the underlying investments are diversified by industry sector or property type and geographic region. No single partnership investment exceeded 4% of our securities and real estate limited partnership portfolio.

Income from our limited partnership investments is generally reported on a one quarter lag due to the timing of when financial information is received from the general partner or manager of the investments. We expect continued volatility in private equity and real estate fund performance going forward as fair market valuations are adjusted to reflect market and portfolio transactions. Less than 4% of our other long-term investments are exposed to real estate in the office sector.

We participate in an insurance joint venture in China with a 50% ownership interest. We account for this joint venture under the equity method of accounting and report our share of the net assets of $0.2 billion in Other assets. Our 50% share of the investment portfolio supporting the joint venture's liabilities is approximately $11.7 billion as of December 31, 2023. These investments were comprised of approximately 75% debt securities, including government and corporate debt diversified by issuer, industry and geography; 15% equities, including mutual funds, equity securities and private equity partnerships; and 10% long-term deposits and policy loans. We continuously review the joint venture's investment strategy and its execution. There were no investments with a material unrealized loss as of December 31, 2023.

MARKET RISK

Financial Instruments

Our assets and liabilities include financial instruments subject to the risk of potential losses from adverse changes in market rates and prices. Consistent with disclosure requirements, the following items have been excluded from this consideration of market risk for financial instruments:

•changes in the fair values of insurance-related assets and liabilities as disclosed in Note 10 to the Consolidated Financial Statements because their primary risks are insurance rather than market risk;

•changes in the fair values of investments recorded using the equity method of accounting and liabilities for pension and other postretirement and postemployment benefit plans (and related assets); and

•changes in the fair values of other significant assets and liabilities, such as goodwill, deferred policy acquisition costs, taxes and various accrued liabilities. Because they are not financial instruments, their primary risks are other than market risk.

Excluding the items noted in the paragraph above, our primary market risk exposure from financial instruments is our interest-rate risk exposure to fixed-rate, medium-term instruments. Changes in market interest rates affect the value of instruments that promise a fixed return. Following increased investments in equity securities during 2023, primarily as a result of our investment in VillageMD, our exposure to equity price risk has increased.

Our Management of Market Risks

We predominantly rely on two techniques to manage our exposure to market risk:

•Investment/liability matching. We generally select investment assets with characteristics (such as duration, yield, currency and liquidity) that correspond to the underlying characteristics of our related insurance and contractholder liabilities so that we can match the investments to our obligations. Shorter-term investments generally support shorter-term life and health liabilities. Medium-term, fixed-rate investments support interest-sensitive and health liabilities. Longer-term investments generally support products with longer payout periods such as annuities.

•Use of derivatives. We use derivative financial instruments to reduce our primary market risks. See Note 12 to the Consolidated Financial Statements for additional information about derivative financial instruments.

Effect of Market Fluctuations

We determine the sensitivity of market risk for our fixed income financial instruments, including debt securities and commercial mortgage loans, by estimating the present value of future cash flows using duration modeling and applying a 100 basis point increase in interest rates. The sensitivity of market risk for equity securities is determined by applying a 10% decrease in market prices. The effect of these hypothetical changes in market rates or prices on the fair value of certain financial instruments, subject to the exclusions noted above (particularly insurance liabilities), would have been as follows:

In the event of a hypothetical 100 basis point increase in interest rates, the fair value of the Company's long-term debt would decrease approximately $1.8 billion at both December 31, 2023 and December 31, 2022. Changes in the fair value of our long-term debt do not impact our financial position or operating results since long-term debt is not required to be recorded at fair value. See Note 8 to the Consolidated Financial Statements for additional information about the Company's debt.