Athene Holding Ltd. agreed to take on $4.9 billion of pension obligations from defense contractor Lockheed Martin Corp., the largest such deal ever for the insurer.
Athene will provide benefits to about 18,000 participants in Lockheed’s pension plan, according to a statement from the Apollo-backed insurer. The deal follows a 2018 agreement between the two companies in which Athene assumed $800 million in obligations tied to around 9,000 retirees and beneficiaries of the aerospace giant’s pension plan.
“The opportunity for Athene is tremendous,” Sean Brennan, Athene’s executive vice president for pension risk transfer and reinsurance, said in an interview. “Several years from now we’ll look back on 2021 and say it was really just the start of a trend of much bigger volumes that we’ve been seeing.”
Lockheed said that it would record a noncash charge of $1.7 billion tied to the deal in the third quarter. The defense contractor also lowered its earnings per share guidance for 2021, bringing that down $4.75, as a result of the pension transfer.
Insurers have been seeking out pension-transfer agreements in recent years as a way to accrue assets for investment. The popularity of the deals is also driven by employers that are looking to offload the long-term obligations.
Industry data group Limra estimates that pension-risk transfer sales could end up in the $25 billion to $30 billion range this year, according to a June statement.
Athene, which Apollo helped create in 2009, ranked as the fourth-largest seller of fixed annuities last year, according to data from industry group Limra’s Secure Retirement Institute. The private equity firm and Athene agreed in March to merge in an all-stock deal.
The "Crypto Mom" departure would leave the SEC commission with just two members and no Democratic commissioners on the panel.
IFP Securities’ owner, Bill Hamm, has a long-term plan for the firm and its 279 financial advisors.
Meanwhile, a Osaic and Envestnet ink a new adaptive wealthtech partnership to better support the firm's 10,000-plus advisors, and RIA-focused VastAdvisor unveils native integrations with leading CRMs.
A former Alabama investment advisor and ex-Kestra rep has been permanently barred and penalized after clients he promised to protect got caught in a $2.6 million fraud.
As more active strategies get packaged into the ETF wrapper, advisors and investors have to look beyond expense ratios as the benchmark for value.
Wellington explores how multi strategy hedge funds may enhance diversification
As technical expertise becomes increasingly commoditized, advisors who can integrate strategy, relationships, and specialized expertise into a cohesive client experience will define the next era of wealth management
