WEST DES MOINES, Iowa, July 27, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Athene USA (“Athene”), a premier provider of retirement savings products for individuals and institutions, has added three new indices to its market-leading suite of retail fixed indexed annuities.1 The indices employ proprietary market analysis and advanced technology to optimize risk-adjusted returns across market environments.
They include the S&P 500 FC Index (SPXFCDUE)2, from S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC and designed in collaboration with Bank of America; the AI Powered Global Opportunities Index (AIGO), sponsored by HSBC, and the UBS Innovative Balanced Index (UBSIBAL), sponsored by UBS. The annuities are issued by Athene Annuity and Life Company, a subsidiary of Athene.
“The index is the beating heart of the modern fixed indexed annuity and a strategic focus at Athene,” said Mike Downing, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, Athene USA. “By bringing these innovative indices to our platform, we build on our reputation as a leading provider of unique, value-driven retirement solutions for the retail market.”
The new indices enhance the value of Athene fixed indexed annuities in three important ways: giving clients new tools to diversify premium allocations, managing market volatility, and optimizing risk-adjusted returns.
The S&P 500 FC Index aims to control intraday realized volatility and adapt faster to changing market conditions than an index using traditional end-of-day volatility targeting. The index adjusts its exposure to the S&P 500® by applying Bank of America’s Fast Convergence (FC) technology, which looks at volatility observations from the market and targets 11.5% annualized volatility. The index also seeks to mitigate drawdowns and improve risk adjusted returns. For additional details, please visit www.spglobal.com/spdji for more information about the methodology behind the index.
The AI Powered Global Opportunities Index (AIGO) is the newest addition to the only family of rules-based strategies to use IBM Watson® and other patented technologies to learn and evolve over time from the growing amount of data being generated each day. It opportunistically constructs its portfolio with an expansive investible universe of global, fixed income, and inflation sensitive assets, providing the flexibility to adapt to a wide variety of market conditions.
The UBS Innovative Balanced Index (UBSIBAL) leverages unique signals that aim to provide an early read into the U.S. macro environment and inform an all-weather tactical allocation to equities, commodities and bonds. The signals include US inflation expectations and a Nowcast of US economic growth, generated using key datasets from UBS Evidence Lab, the largest sell-side alternative data offering of its kind.
Fixed indexed annuities (FIAs) are tax-deferred, long-term retirement savings products that combine protection from loss due to market downturns with the opportunity for growth based in part on the performance of a market index. When the index rises in value, customers participate in a portion of those gains in the form of an interest credit. They are protected from market loss because the interest credit will never fall below zero.
Fixed indexed annuities are not stock market investments and do not directly participate in any stock or equity investments. Clients who purchase indexed annuities are not directly investing in a stock market index.
1Per LIMRA US Individual Annuities YTD 4Q2022, Athene ranked number one in total fixed annuity sales for calendar year 2022. These index options are not offered with Athene AccuMaxSM, Athene® BCA 2.0® and Athene® Velocity fixed indexed annuities.
2The full name of the index is the S&P 500 FC TCA 0.50% Decrement Index (USD) ER
Athene USA
Athene, through its subsidiaries, is a leading financial services company specializing in retirement services with total assets of $257.7 billion as of March 31, 2023 and operations in the United States, Bermuda, Canada, and Japan. Athene specializes in helping its customers achieve financial security and is a solutions provider to institutions. Founded in 2009, Athene is Driven to Do More for our policyholders, business partners, shareholders, and the communities in which we work and live. For more information, please visit www.athene.com.
S&P Dow Jones Indices
S&P Dow Jones Indices is the largest global resource for essential index-based concepts, data and research, and home to iconic financial market indicators, such as the S&P 500® and the Dow Jones Industrial Average®. More assets are invested in products based on our indices than products based on indices from any other provider in the world. Since Charles Dow invented the first index in 1884, S&P DJI has been innovating and developing indices across the spectrum of asset classes helping to define the way investors measure and trade the markets. S&P Dow Jones Indices is a division of S&P Global, which provides essential intelligence for individuals, companies and governments to make decisions with confidence. For more information, visit www.spglobal.com/spdji.
Bank of America
Bank of America is one of the world’s leading financial institutions, serving individual consumers, small and middle-market businesses and large corporations with a full range of banking, investing, asset management and other financial and risk management products and services. The company provides unmatched convenience in the United States, serving approximately 68 million consumer and small business clients with approximately 3,900 retail financial centers, approximately 16,000 ATMs and award-winning digital banking with approximately 56 million verified digital users. Bank of America is a global leader in wealth management, corporate and investment banking and trading across a broad range of asset classes, serving corporations, governments, institutions and individuals around the world. Bank of America offers industry-leading support to approximately 3 million small business households through a suite of innovative, easy-to-use online products and services. The company serves clients through operations across the United States, its territories and approximately 35 countries. Bank of America Corporation stock is listed on the New York Stock Exchange.
HSBC USA Inc. is a Maryland corporation and its principal business is to act as a holding company for its subsidiaries including HSBC Bank USA, N.A. Through HSBC Bank USA, N.A. and its subsidiaries, HUSI offers a full range of traditional banking products and services to individuals, including high net worth individuals, small businesses, corporations, institutions and governments. HSBC USA Inc. is a wholly-owned subsidiary of HSBC North America Holdings Inc.
HSBC Holdings plc, the parent company of HSBC, is headquartered in London. HSBC serves customers worldwide from offices in 62 countries and territories in its geographical regions: Europe, Asia, North America, Latin America, and Middle East and North Africa. With assets of $2,990bn at 31 March 2023, HSBC is one of the world’s largest banking and financial services organisations.
UBS
UBS convenes the global ecosystem for investing, where people and ideas are connected and opportunities brought to life, and provides financial advice and solutions to wealthy, institutional and corporate clients worldwide, as well as to private clients in Switzerland. UBS offers investment solutions, products and impactful thought leadership, is the leading global wealth manager, provides large-scale and diversified asset management, focused investment banking capabilities, and personal and corporate banking services in Switzerland. The firm focuses on businesses that have a strong competitive position in their target markets, are capital efficient and have an attractive long-term structural growth or profitability outlook.
UBS is present in all major financial centers worldwide. It has offices in more than 50 regions and locations, with about 30% of its employees working in the Americas, 29% in Switzerland, 20% in the rest of Europe, the Middle East and Africa and 21% in Asia Pacific. UBS Group AG employs more than 72,000 people around the world. Its shares are listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange and the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE).
Important Information
These annuities have limitations and charges. For costs and complete details of a specific Athene annuity, please request a Certificate of Disclosure.
Any interest earned is subject to certain limitations such as an Annual Spread, a Cap Rate, and Participation Rate. These limitations are declared by the Company before the beginning of each Index Term Period. Please note that the while the interest you earn may be zero it will never be less than zero.
S&P Indices •The S&P 500® Index and S&P 500 FC TCA 0.50% Decrement Index (USD) ER (the “Indices”) are products of S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC or its affiliates (“S&P DJI”) and have been licensed for use by Athene Annuity and Life Company (“Athene”). S&P®, S&P 500®, US 500, The 500, iBoxx®, iTraxx® and CDX® are trademarks of S&P Global, Inc. or its affiliates (“S&P”); Dow Jones® is a registered trademark of Dow Jones Trademark Holdings LLC (“Dow Jones”). Fast Convergence and FC are trademarks of BofA Securities, Inc. and/or its affiliates (“BofAS”). BofAS has licensed the Fast Convergence (FC) methodology and related trademarks to S&P DJI for use in the S&P 500 FC TCA 0.50% Decrement Index (USD) ER. Athene’s products are not sponsored, endorsed, sold or promoted by S&P DJI, Dow Jones, S&P, BofAS or their respective affiliates, and none of such parties make any representation regarding the advisability of investing in such product(s) nor do they have any liability for any errors, omissions, or interruptions of the Indices.
AI Powered Global Opportunities Index • The AI Powered Global Opportunities Index (the “AiGO Index”) is the exclusive property of EquBot Inc (“EquBot”) and administered, calculated, and published by MerQube, Inc (“MerQube”). HSBC, AiGO, and “AI Powered Global Opportunities Index” (collectively, the “AiGO Marks”) are trademarks or service marks of EquBot and have been licensed by HSBC and sub-licensed by Athene Annuity and Life Company (the “Company”) for use in a fixed indexed annuity offered by the Company. The fixed indexed annuity is not, in whole or in part, sponsored, structured, priced, endorsed, offered, sold, issued or promoted by EquBot, HSBC, MerQube or any of their affiliates. EquBot and HSBC’s only relationship to the Company is the licensing of the AiGO Index and AiGO Marks for certain purposes. MerQube’s only relationship to the Company is with respect to administering, calculating and publishing the AiGO Index. EquBot, HSBC and MerQube shall not have any liability with respect to a fixed indexed annuity in which an interest crediting option is based on the AiGO Index and are not liable for any loss relating to the fixed indexed annuity, whether arising directly or indirectly from the use of the AiGO Index, its methodology, any AiGO Mark or otherwise. None of EquBot, HSBC or MerQube have any obligation to take into consideration any of the needs of the Company or any of the owners, annuitants or beneficiaries of the fixed indexed annuity in designing, calculating, administering or licensing the AiGO Index.
NONE OF EQUBOT, HSBC, MERQUBE OR THEIR SUPPLIERS GUARANTEES THE ACCURACY, ADEQUACY, TIMELINESS, COMPLETENESS OR AVAILABILITY OF THE AIGO INDEX OR ANY COMPONENT THEREOF OR DATA INCLUDED THEREIN, OR THAT NO ERROR, OMISSION, DELAY OR INTERRUPTION WILL EXIST THEREIN. NONE OF EQUBOT, HSBC, MERQUBE OR THEIR SUPPLIERS MAKES ANY REPRESENTATION OR WARRANTY, AND EACH OF HSBC, EQUBOT, MERQUBE AND THEIR SUPPLIERS EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS ALL REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, THOSE REGARDING (I) MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE OR USE, AND (II) THE ADVISABILITY OF ANY PERSON INVESTING IN THE FIXED INDEXED ANNUITY.
No purchaser, seller or holder of the fixed indexed annuity, or any other person or entity, should use or refer to any AiGO Mark or other EquBot trade name to sponsor, endorse, market or promote the fixed indexed annuity without a license from EquBot and HSBC. Under no circumstances may any person or entity claim any affiliation or association with EquBot, HSBC or MerQube without the prior written permission of EquBot, HSBC or MerQube.
In calculating the performance of the AiGO Index, EquBot deducts a servicing cost of 0.85% per annum, calculated on a daily basis. Such costs may vary over time with market conditions. These costs reduce the potential positive change in the AiGO Index and thus the amount of interest that will be credited to the fixed indexed annuity option based on the AiGO Index.
The volatility control applied by Equbot may reduce the potential positive or negative change in the AiGO Index and thus the amount of interest that will be credited to the fixed indexed annuity option that is based on the AiGO Index.
Nothing provided herein should be construed as HSBC, Equbot, MerQube or any of their suppliers providing tax, legal, or investment advice nor are HSBC, EquBot, MerQube or any of their suppliers recommending engaging in any investment strategy or transaction.
IBM Watson® • IBM and IBM Watson are registered trademarks of International Business Machines Corporation, registered in many jurisdictions worldwide.
UBS Innovative Balanced Index • UBS AG and its affiliates (“UBS”) do not guarantee the accuracy and/or completeness of any Athene annuity (the “Product”), the Product’s methodology, any data included therein, or any data from which it is based, and UBS shall have no liability for any errors, omissions, or interruptions therein. UBS does not make any warranty, express or implied, as to results to be obtained from purchasing the Product. UBS does not make any express or implied warranties, and it expressly disclaims all warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose with respect to the Product or any data included therein. Without limiting any of the foregoing, in no event shall UBS have any liability for any special, punitive, indirect, or consequential damages (including lost profits), even if notified of the possibility of such damages.
UBS does not endorse, sell, or promote the Product. A decision to purchase the Product should not be made in reliance on any of the statements set forth in this material. Prospective purchasers are advised to purchase the Product only after carefully considering the risks associated with the Product, as detailed in a disclosure document or prospectus that is prepared by or on behalf of Athene Annuity and Life Company (“Licensee”), the issuer of the Product. UBS has licensed certain UBS marks and other data to Licensee for use in the Product and the branding of the Product, but UBS is not involved in the calculation of the Product, the construction of the Product’s methodology or the creation of the Product. UBS is not involved in the sale or offering of the Product, and UBS does not make any representations or warranties with respect to the Product.
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