Skip to main content

Brighthouse Financial Inc

For the period ended Mar 31, 2024. Filed May 8, 2024.

View on SEC.gov

About this filing

A company's report for each of its first three quarters. The financial statements are not audited. It shows how the business has moved since the last annual report, and what management says changed.

Mar 31, 2024 · Filed May 8, 2024

BHF$44.40+0.9%Stored close · as of Nov 10, 2026

Extracted filing text, with the paragraph anchors used by the comparison.

See the whole filing, with its images and exhibits

Liquidity and Capital Resources

Our business and results of operations are materially affected by conditions in the global capital markets and the economy generally. Stressed conditions, volatility or disruptions in global capital markets, particular markets or financial asset classes can impact us adversely, in part because we have a large investment portfolio and our insurance liabilities and derivatives are sensitive to changing market factors. Changing conditions in the global capital markets and the economy may affect our financing costs and market interest rates for our debt or equity securities. For further information regarding market factors that could affect our ability to meet liquidity and capital needs, see “— Industry Trends and Uncertainties — Financial and Economic Environment,” as well as “Risk Factors — Economic Environment and Capital Markets-Related Risks” and “Risk Factors — Risks Related to Our Investment Portfolio” included in our 2023 Annual Report.

Liquidity and Capital Management

Based upon our capitalization, expectations regarding maintaining our business mix, ratings, and funding sources available to us, we believe we have sufficient liquidity to meet business requirements in current market conditions and certain stress scenarios. Our Board of Directors and senior management are directly involved in the governance of the capital management process, including proposed changes to the annual capital plan and capital targets. We continuously monitor and adjust our liquidity and capital plans in light of market conditions, as well as changing needs and opportunities.

We maintain a substantial short-term liquidity position, which was $4.0 billion and $3.8 billion at March 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023, respectively. Short-term liquidity is comprised of cash and cash equivalents and short-term investments, excluding assets that are pledged or otherwise committed. Assets pledged or otherwise committed include amounts received in connection with securities lending, derivatives and assets held on deposit or in trust.

An integral part of our liquidity management includes managing our level of liquid assets, which was $44.5 billion and $45.2 billion at March 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023, respectively. Liquid assets are comprised of cash and cash equivalents, short-term investments and publicly-traded securities, excluding assets that are pledged or otherwise committed. Assets pledged or otherwise committed include amounts received in connection with securities lending, funding agreements, derivatives and assets held on deposit or in trust.

The Company

Liquidity

Liquidity refers to our ability to generate adequate cash flows from our normal operations to meet the cash requirements of our operating, investing and financing activities. We determine our liquidity needs based on a rolling 12-month forecast by portfolio of invested assets, which we monitor daily. We adjust the general account asset and derivatives mix and general account asset maturities based on this rolling 12-month forecast. To support this forecast, we conduct cash flow and stress testing, which reflect the impact of various scenarios, including (i) the potential increase in our requirement to pledge additional collateral or return collateral to our counterparties, (ii) a reduction in new business sales, and (iii) the risk of early contract holder and policyholder withdrawals, as well as lapses and surrenders of existing policies and contracts. We include provisions limiting withdrawal rights in many of our products, which deter the customer from making withdrawals prior to the maturity date of the product. If significant cash is required beyond our anticipated liquidity needs, we have various alternatives available depending on market conditions and the amount and timing of the liquidity need. These available alternative sources of liquidity include cash flows from operations, sales of liquid assets and funding sources, including secured funding agreements, unsecured credit facilities and secured committed facilities.

Under certain adverse market and economic conditions, our access to liquidity may deteriorate, or the cost to access liquidity may increase. See “Risk Factors — Economic Environment and Capital Markets-Related Risks — Adverse capital and credit market conditions may significantly affect our ability to meet liquidity needs and our access to capital” in our 2023 Annual Report.

Capital

We manage our capital position to maintain our financial strength and credit ratings. Our capital position is supported by our ability to generate cash flows within our insurance subsidiaries, our ability to effectively manage the risks of our businesses and our expected ability to borrow funds and raise additional capital to meet operating and growth needs under a variety of market and economic conditions.

We monitor our debt-to-capital ratio using an average of our key leverage ratios as calculated by A.M. Best, Fitch, Moody’s and S&P, and we aim to maintain a ratio commensurate with our financial strength and credit ratings. As such, we may opportunistically look to pursue additional financing over time, which may include borrowings under credit facilities, the issuance of debt, equity or hybrid securities, the incurrence of term loans, or the refinancing or extinguishment of existing indebtedness. There can be no assurance that we will be able to complete any such financing transactions on terms and conditions favorable to us or at all.

In support of our target combined risk-based capital (“RBC”) ratio of 400% to 450% in normal market conditions, we expect to continue to maintain a capital and exposure risk management program that targets total assets supporting our variable annuity contracts at or above the average of the worst two percent of a set of capital markets scenarios over the life of the contracts level in normal market conditions. With our risk management focus on the core drivers of our combined RBC ratio, we believe we can better manage our RBC in stressed market scenarios.

We have a share repurchase program under which repurchases may be made through open market purchases, including pursuant to 10b5-1 plans or pursuant to accelerated stock repurchase plans, or through privately negotiated transactions, from time to time at management’s discretion in accordance with applicable legal requirements. Common stock repurchases are dependent upon several factors, including our capital position, liquidity, financial strength and credit ratings, general market conditions, the market price of our common stock compared to management’s assessment of the stock’s underlying value and applicable regulatory approvals, as well as other legal and accounting factors.

We currently have no plans to declare and pay dividends on our common stock. Any future declaration and payment of dividends or other distributions or returns of capital will be at the discretion of our Board of Directors and will depend on and be subject to our financial condition, results of operations, cash needs, regulatory and other constraints, capital requirements (including capital requirements of our insurance subsidiaries), contractual restrictions and any other factors that our Board of Directors deems relevant in making such a determination. Therefore, there can be no assurance that we will pay any dividends or make other distributions or returns of capital on our common stock, or as to the amount of any such dividends, distributions or returns of capital.

Sources and Uses of Liquidity and Capital

Our primary sources and uses of liquidity and capital were as follows at:

Three Months EndedMarch 31,
20242023
(In millions)
Sources:
Changes in policyholder account balances, net$1,367$1,566
Financing element on certain derivative instruments and other derivative related transactions, net—91
Total sources1,3671,657
Uses:
Operating activities, net530500
Investing activities, net6251,325
Changes in payables for collateral under securities loaned and other transactions, net17159
Dividends on preferred stock2626
Treasury stock acquired in connection with share repurchases6262
Financing element on certain derivative instruments and other derivative related transactions, net122—
Other, net1315
Total uses1,3952,087
Net increase (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents$(28)$(430)

Cash Flows from Operating Activities

The principal cash inflows from our insurance activities come from insurance premiums, annuity considerations and net investment income. The principal cash outflows are the result of various annuity and life insurance products, operating expenses and income tax, as well as interest expense. The primary liquidity concern with respect to these cash flows is the risk of early contract holder and policyholder withdrawal.

Cash Flows from Investing Activities

The principal cash inflows from our investment activities come from repayments of principal, proceeds from maturities and sales of investments, as well as settlements of freestanding derivatives. The principal cash outflows relate to purchases of investments and settlements of freestanding derivatives. We typically can have a net cash outflow from investing activities because cash inflows from insurance operations are reinvested in accordance with our ALM discipline to fund insurance liabilities. We closely monitor and manage these risks through our comprehensive investment risk management process. The primary liquidity concerns with respect to these cash flows are the risk of default by debtors and market disruption.

Cash Flows from Financing Activities

The principal cash inflows from our financing activities come from issuances of debt and equity securities, deposits of funds associated with policyholder account balances and lending of securities. The principal cash outflows come from repayments of debt, common stock repurchases, preferred stock dividends, withdrawals associated with policyholder account balances and the return of securities on loan. The primary liquidity concerns with respect to these cash flows are market disruption and the risk of early policyholder withdrawal.

Primary Sources of Liquidity and Capital

In addition to the summary description of liquidity and capital sources discussed in “— Sources and Uses of Liquidity and Capital,” the following additional information is provided regarding our primary sources of liquidity and capital:

Funding Sources

Liquidity is provided by a variety of funding sources, including secured and unsecured funding agreements, unsecured credit facilities and secured committed facilities. Capital is provided by a variety of funding sources, including issuances of debt and equity securities, as well as borrowings under our credit facilities. We maintain a shelf registration statement with the SEC that permits the issuance of public debt, equity and hybrid securities. As a “Well-Known Seasoned Issuer” under SEC rules, our shelf registration statement provides for automatic effectiveness upon filing and has no stated issuance capacity. The diversity of our funding sources enhances our funding flexibility, limits dependence on any one market or source of funds and generally lowers the cost of funds. Our primary funding sources include:

Preferred Stock

See Note 10 of the Notes to the Interim Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements and Note 13 of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements included in our 2023 Annual Report for information on preferred stock issuances.

Funding Agreements

Brighthouse Life Insurance Company issues funding agreements and uses the proceeds from such issuances for spread lending purposes in connection with our institutional spread margin business or to provide additional liquidity. The institutional spread margin business is comprised of funding agreements issued in connection with the programs described in more detail below. Activity related to these programs are reported in Corporate & Other. See Note 4 of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements included in our 2023 Annual Report for additional information on funding agreements.

Funding Agreement-Backed Repurchase Agreement Program

In January 2024, Brighthouse Life Insurance Company established a secured funding agreement-backed repurchase agreement program (the “FABR Program”), pursuant to which Brighthouse Life Insurance Company may enter into repurchase agreements with bank counterparties and the proceeds of the repurchase agreements are then used by a special-purpose entity to purchase funding agreements from Brighthouse Life Insurance Company.

Funding Agreement-Backed Commercial Paper Program

In July 2021, Brighthouse Life Insurance Company established a funding agreement-backed commercial paper program (the “FABCP Program”) for spread lending purposes, pursuant to which a special purpose limited liability company (the “SPLLC”) may issue commercial paper and deposit the proceeds with Brighthouse Life Insurance Company under a funding agreement issued by Brighthouse Life Insurance Company to the SPLLC. The maximum aggregate principal amount permitted to be outstanding at any one time under the FABCP Program is $5.0 billion.

Funding Agreement-Backed Notes Program

In April 2021, Brighthouse Life Insurance Company established a funding agreement-backed notes program (the “FABN Program”), pursuant to which Brighthouse Life Insurance Company may issue funding agreements to a special purpose statutory trust for spread lending purposes. The maximum aggregate principal amount permitted to be outstanding at any one time under the FABN Program is $7.0 billion.

Federal Home Loan Bank Funding Agreements

Brighthouse Life Insurance Company is a member of the Federal Home Loan Bank (“FHLB”) of Atlanta, where it maintains a secured funding agreement program, under which funding agreements may be issued.

Farmer Mac Funding Agreements

Brighthouse Life Insurance Company has a secured funding agreement program with the Federal Agricultural Mortgage Corporation and its affiliate Farmer Mac Mortgage Securities Corporation (“Farmer Mac”) with a term ending on December 1, 2026, pursuant to which the parties may enter into funding agreements in an aggregate amount of up to $750 million.

Information regarding funding agreements issued for spread lending purposes is as follows:

Aggregate Principal Amount Outstanding · Issuances · Repayments
Three Months Ended March 31,
March 31, 2024December 31, 20232024202320242023
(In millions)
FABR Program$500$—$500$—$—$—
FABCP Program2,9983,4423,8042,5984,2482,187
FABN Program2,1002,100———400
FHLB Funding Agreements4,3504,350575800575350
Farmer Mac Funding Agreements75070050———
Total$10,698$10,592$4,929$3,398$4,823$2,937

Debt Issuances

See Note 12 of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements included in our 2023 Annual Report for information on debt issuances.

Credit and Committed Facilities

See Notes 12 and 13 of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements included in our 2023 Annual Report for information regarding our credit and committed facilities.

We have no reason to believe that our lending counterparties would be unable to fulfill their respective contractual obligations under these facilities. As commitments under our credit and committed facilities may expire unused, these amounts do not necessarily reflect our actual future cash funding requirements.

Our Revolving Credit Facility contains financial covenants, including requirements to maintain a specified minimum adjusted consolidated net worth, to maintain a ratio of total indebtedness to total capitalization not in excess of a specified percentage and that place limitations on the dollar amount of indebtedness that may be incurred by our subsidiaries, which could restrict our operations and use of funds. At March 31, 2024, we were in compliance with these financial covenants.

Primary Uses of Liquidity and Capital

In addition to the summarized description of liquidity and capital uses discussed in “— Sources and Uses of Liquidity and Capital,” the following additional information is provided regarding our primary uses of liquidity and capital:

Common Stock Repurchases

See Note 10 of the Notes to the Interim Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements for information relating to authorizations to repurchase BHF common stock, amounts of common stock repurchased pursuant to such authorizations and the amount remaining under such authorizations at March 31, 2024. Subsequent to March 31, 2024 and through May 3, 2024, BHF repurchased an additional 507,621 shares of its common stock through open market purchases pursuant to a 10b5-1 plan for $25 million.

Preferred Stock Dividends

See Note 10 of the Notes to the Interim Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements for information relating to dividends declared and paid on our preferred stock.

“Dividend Stopper” Provisions in BHF’s Preferred Stock and Junior Subordinated Debentures

Terms applicable to our junior subordinated debentures may restrict our ability to pay interest on those debentures in certain circumstances. Suspension of payments of interest on our junior subordinated debentures, whether required under the relevant indenture or optional, could cause “dividend stopper” provisions applicable under those and other instruments to restrict our ability to pay dividends, if any, on our common stock and repurchase our common stock in various situations, including situations where we may be experiencing financial stress, and may restrict our ability to pay dividends or interest on our preferred stock and junior subordinated debentures as well. Similarly, the terms of our outstanding preferred stock contain restrictions on our ability to repurchase our common stock or pay dividends thereon if we have not fulfilled our dividend obligations under such preferred stock or other preferred securities. In addition, the terms of the agreements governing any preferred stock, debt or other financial instruments that we may issue in the future, may limit or prohibit the payment of dividends on our common stock or preferred stock, or the payment of interest on our junior subordinated debentures.

Debt Repayments, Repurchases, Redemptions and Exchanges

See Note 12 of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements included in our 2023 Annual Report for information on debt repayments and repurchases, as well as debt maturities and the terms of our outstanding long-term debt.

We may from time to time seek to retire or purchase our outstanding indebtedness through cash purchases or exchanges for other securities, purchases in the open market, privately negotiated transactions or otherwise. Any such repurchases or exchanges will be dependent upon several factors, including our liquidity requirements, contractual restrictions, general market conditions, as well as applicable regulatory, legal and accounting factors. Whether or not we repurchase any debt and the size and timing of any such repurchases will be determined at our discretion.

Insurance Liabilities

Liabilities arising from our insurance activities primarily relate to benefit payments under various annuity and life insurance products, as well as payments for policy surrenders, withdrawals and loans. See “— Primary Sources of Liquidity and Capital — Funding Sources — Funding Agreements” for additional information regarding our institutional spread margin business.

Pledged Collateral

We enter into derivatives to manage various risks relating to our ongoing business operations. We pledge collateral to, and have collateral pledged to us by, counterparties in connection with our derivatives. At March 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023, we pledged $24 million and $16 million, respectively, of cash collateral to counterparties. At March 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023, we were obligated to return cash collateral pledged to us by counterparties of $483 million and $393 million, respectively. The timing of the return of the derivatives collateral is uncertain. See Note 8 of the Notes to the Interim Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements for additional information about pledged collateral. We also pledge collateral from time to time in connection with our funding agreements.

We receive non-cash collateral from counterparties for derivatives, which can be sold or re-pledged subject to certain constraints, and which is not recorded on our consolidated balance sheets. The amount of this non-cash collateral at estimated fair value was $2.0 billion and $2.4 billion at March 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023, respectively.

We have a securities lending program that aims to enhance the total return on our investment portfolio, whereby securities are loaned to third parties, primarily brokerage firms and commercial banks. We obtain collateral, usually cash, from the borrower, which must be returned to the borrower when the loaned securities are returned to us. Generally, our securities lending contracts expire within twelve months of issuance. We were liable for cash collateral under our control of $3.2 billion and $3.3 billion at March 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023, respectively.

We receive non-cash collateral for securities lending from counterparties, which cannot be sold or re-pledged, and which is not recorded on our consolidated balance sheets. There was no non-cash collateral at both March 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023.

See Note 7 of the Notes to the Interim Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements for further discussion of our securities lending program.

Contingencies, Commitments and Guarantees

We establish liabilities for litigation, regulatory and other loss contingencies when it is probable that a loss has been incurred and the amount of the loss can be reasonably estimated. See Note 13 of the Notes to the Interim Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements for additional information regarding contingencies.

We enter into commitments for the purpose of enhancing the total return on our investment portfolio consisting of commitments to fund partnership investments, bank credit facilities and private corporate bond investments, as well as commitments to lend funds under mortgage loan commitments. We anticipate these commitments could be invested any time over the next five years. See Notes 7 and 13 of the Notes to the Interim Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements for additional information regarding commitments.

In the normal course of our business, we have provided certain indemnities, guarantees and commitments to third parties such that we may be required to make payments now or in the future. See Note 13 of the Notes to the Interim Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements for additional information regarding guarantees.

The Parent Company

Liquidity and Capital

In evaluating liquidity, it is important to distinguish the cash flow needs of the parent company from the cash flow needs of the combined group of companies. BHF is largely dependent on cash flows from its insurance subsidiaries to meet its obligations. Constraints on BHF’s liquidity may occur as a result of operational demands or as a result of compliance with regulatory requirements.

Short-term Liquidity and Liquid Assets

At both March 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023, BHF and certain of its non-insurance subsidiaries had short-term liquidity of $1.2 billion. Short-term liquidity is comprised of cash and cash equivalents and short-term investments, excluding assets that are pledged or otherwise committed. Assets pledged or otherwise committed include assets held in trust.

At both March 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023, BHF and certain of its non-insurance subsidiaries had liquid assets of $1.3 billion, of which $1.2 billion was held by BHF. Liquid assets are comprised of cash and cash equivalents, short-term investments and publicly-traded securities, excluding assets that are pledged or otherwise committed. Assets pledged or otherwise committed include assets held in trust.

Statutory Capital and Dividends

The NAIC and state insurance departments have established regulations that provide minimum capitalization requirements based on RBC formulas for insurance companies. RBC is based on a formula calculated by applying factors to various asset, premium, claim, expense and statutory reserve items. The formula takes into account the risk characteristics of the insurer, including asset risk, insurance risk, interest rate risk, market risk and business risk and is calculated on an annual basis. The formula is used as an early warning regulatory tool to identify possible inadequately capitalized insurers for purposes of initiating regulatory action, and not as a means to rank insurers generally. State insurance laws provide insurance regulators the authority to require various actions by, or take various actions against, insurers whose total adjusted capital (“TAC”) does not meet or exceed the amounts required to attain certain RBC levels. As of the date of the most recent annual statutory financial statements filed with insurance regulators, the TAC of each of our insurance subsidiaries subject to these requirements was in excess of the amounts required to attain each of those RBC levels.

The amount of dividends that our insurance subsidiaries can ultimately pay to BHF through their various parent entities provides an additional margin for risk protection and investment in our businesses. Such dividends are constrained by the amount of surplus our insurance subsidiaries hold to maintain their ratings, which is generally higher than minimum RBC requirements. We proactively take actions to maintain capital consistent with these ratings objectives, which may include adjusting dividend amounts and deploying financial resources from internal or external sources of capital. Certain of these activities may require regulatory approval. Furthermore, the payment of dividends and other distributions by our insurance subsidiaries is governed by the insurance laws and regulations of the states where they are domiciled. Any payment of dividends by Brighthouse Life Insurance Company in 2024 would be subject to Delaware Department of Insurance approval. See Note 13 of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements included in our 2023 Annual Report for additional information regarding the applicable dividend restrictions and certain of our subsidiaries’ ordinary dividend capacity, as well as the circumstances under which regulatory approval would be required.

Primary Sources and Uses of Liquidity and Capital

The principal sources of funds available to BHF include distributions from Brighthouse Holdings, LLC (“BH Holdings”), dividends and returns of capital from its insurance subsidiaries and BRCD, capital markets issuances, as well as its own cash and cash equivalents and short-term investments. These sources of funds may also be supplemented by alternate sources of liquidity either directly or indirectly through our insurance subsidiaries. For example, we have established internal liquidity facilities to provide liquidity within and across our regulated and non-regulated entities to support our businesses.

The primary uses of liquidity of BHF include debt-service obligations (including interest expense and debt repayments), preferred stock dividends, capital contributions to subsidiaries, common stock repurchases and payment of general operating expenses. Based on our analysis and comparison of our current and future cash inflows from the dividends we receive from subsidiaries that are permitted to be paid without prior insurance regulatory approval, our investment portfolio and other cash flows and anticipated access to the capital markets, we believe there will be sufficient liquidity and capital to enable BHF to make payments on debt, pay preferred stock dividends, contribute capital to its subsidiaries, repurchase its common stock, pay all general operating expenses and meet its cash needs.

In addition to the liquidity and capital sources discussed in “— The Company — Primary Sources of Liquidity and Capital” and “— The Company — Primary Uses of Liquidity and Capital,” the following additional information is provided regarding BHF’s primary sources and uses of liquidity and capital:

Distributions from and Capital Contributions to BH Holdings

During both the three months ended March 31, 2024 and 2023, BHF did not receive any cash distributions from BH Holdings and did not make any cash capital contributions to BH Holdings.

Short-term Intercompany Loans

BHF, as borrower, has a short-term intercompany loan agreement with certain of its non-insurance subsidiaries, as lenders, for the purposes of facilitating the management of the available cash of the borrower and the lenders on a short-term and consolidated basis. Such intercompany loan agreement allows management to optimize the efficient use of and maximize the yield on cash between BHF and its subsidiary lenders. Each loan entered into under this intercompany loan agreement has a term not more than 364 days and bears interest on the unpaid principal amount at a variable rate, payable monthly. During the three months ended March 31, 2024 and 2023, BHF borrowed $110 million and $217 million, respectively, from certain of its non-insurance subsidiaries and repaid $50 million and $172 million of such borrowings during the three months ended March 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively. At March 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023, BHF had total obligations outstanding of $787 million and $727 million, respectively, under such agreements.

Intercompany Liquidity Facilities

BHF has established intercompany liquidity facilities with certain of its insurance and non-insurance subsidiaries to provide short-term liquidity within and across the combined group of companies. Under these facilities, which are comprised of a series of revolving loan agreements among BHF and its participating subsidiaries, each company may lend to or borrow from each other, subject to certain maximum limits for a term of up to 364 days, depending on the agreement. During both the three months ended March 31, 2024 and 2023, there were no borrowings or repayments by BHF under these facilities and, at both March 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023, BHF had no obligations outstanding under such facilities.

Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This report and other oral or written statements that we make from time to time may contain information that includes or is based upon forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements involve substantial risks and uncertainties. We have tried, wherever possible, to identify such statements using words such as “anticipate,” “estimate,” “expect,” “project,” “may,” “will,” “could,” “intend,” “goal,” “target,” “guidance,” “forecast,” “preliminary,” “objective,” “continue,” “aim,” “plan,” “believe” and other words and terms of similar meaning, or that are tied to future periods, in connection with a discussion of future operating or financial performance. In particular, these include, without limitation, statements relating to future actions, prospective services or products, financial projections, future performance or results of current and anticipated services or products, sales efforts, expenses, the outcome of contingencies such as legal proceedings, as well as trends in operating and financial results.

Any or all forward-looking statements may turn out to be wrong. They can be affected by inaccurate assumptions or by known or unknown risks and uncertainties. Many such factors will be important in determining the actual future results of Brighthouse Financial. These statements are based on current expectations and the current economic environment and involve a number of risks and uncertainties that are difficult to predict. These statements are not guarantees of future performance. Actual results could differ materially from those expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements due to a variety of known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors. Although it is not possible to identify all of these risks and factors, they include, among others:

differences between actual experience and actuarial assumptions and the effectiveness of our actuarial models;

higher risk management costs and exposure to increased market risk due to guarantees within certain of our products;

the effectiveness of our variable annuity exposure risk management strategy and the impacts of such strategy on volatility in our profitability measures and the negative effects on our statutory capital;

material differences between actual outcomes and the sensitivities calculated under certain scenarios that we may utilize in connection with our variable annuity risk management strategies;

the impact of interest rates on our future ULSG policyholder obligations and net income volatility;

the potential material adverse effect of changes in accounting standards, practices or policies applicable to us, including changes in the accounting for long-duration contracts;

loss of business and other negative impacts resulting from a downgrade or a potential downgrade in our financial strength or credit ratings;

the availability of reinsurance and the ability of the counterparties to our reinsurance or indemnification arrangements to perform their obligations thereunder;

heightened competition, including with respect to service, product features, scale, price, actual or perceived financial strength, claims-paying ratings, credit ratings, e-business capabilities and name recognition;

our ability to market and distribute our products through distribution channels;

any failure of third parties to provide services we need, any failure of the practices and procedures of such third parties and any inability to obtain information or assistance we need from third parties;

the ability of our subsidiaries to pay dividends to us, and our ability to pay dividends to our shareholders and repurchase our common stock;

the risks associated with climate change;

the adverse impact of public health crises, extreme mortality events or similar occurrences on our business and the economy in general;

the impact of adverse capital and credit market conditions, including with respect to our ability to meet liquidity needs and access capital;

the impact of economic conditions in the capital markets and the U.S. and global economy, as well as geopolitical events, military actions or catastrophic events, on our profitability measures as well as our investment portfolio, including on realized and unrealized losses and impairments, net investment spread and net investment income;

the financial risks that our investment portfolio is subject to, 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 impact of changes in regulation and in supervisory and enforcement policies or interpretations thereof on our insurance business or other operations;

the potential material negative tax impact of potential future tax legislation that could make some of our products less attractive to consumers or increase our tax liability;

the effectiveness of our policies, procedures and processes in managing risk;

the loss or disclosure of confidential information, damage to our reputation and impairment of our ability to conduct business effectively as a result of any failure in cyber- or other information security systems;

whether all or any portion of the tax consequences of our separation from MetLife, Inc. (together with its subsidiaries and affiliates, “MetLife”) are not as expected, leading to material additional taxes or material adverse consequences to tax attributes that impact us; and

other factors described in this report and from time to time in documents that we file with the SEC.

For the reasons described above, we caution you against relying on any forward-looking statements, which should also be read in conjunction with the other cautionary statements included and the risks, uncertainties and other factors identified in our 2023 Annual Report, particularly in the sections entitled “Risk Factors” and “Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk,” as well as in our other subsequent filings with the SEC. Further, any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date on which it is made, and we undertake no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement to reflect events or circumstances after the date on which the statement is made or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events, except as otherwise may be required by law.

Corporate Information

We routinely use our Investor Relations website to provide presentations, press releases, our insurance subsidiaries’ statutory filings, and other information that may be deemed important or material to investors. Accordingly, we encourage investors and others interested in the Company to review the information that we share at http://investor.brighthousefinancial.com. In addition, our Investor Relations website allows interested persons to sign up to automatically receive e-mail alerts when we make filings with the SEC. Information contained on or connected to any website referenced in this report or any of our other filings with the SEC is not incorporated by reference in this report or in any other report or document we file with the SEC, and any website references are intended to be inactive textual references only unless expressly noted.

ContentsView on SEC.gov

The text of this filing, as the company filed it with the SEC, without its images or exhibits. This is not investment advice.