Cigna Group

The following table presents our investment asset portfolio excluding separate account assets. Additional information regarding our investment assets is included in Notes 11, 12, 13 and 14 to the Consolidated Financial Statements.

(1) Investments related to the HCSC transaction that were held for sale as of March 31, 2024 and 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

Although portfolio impact has been limited to date, we continue to actively monitor geopolitical events and economic conditions and their potential impact on the investment portfolio, including expectations for a longer period of higher inflation and interest rates, the potential for a recession, and ongoing conflict in Europe and the Middle East. 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 12 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 decreased during the three months ended March 31, 2024, reflecting net sales activity and a valuation decrease due to rising 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 11 to the Consolidated Financial Statements.

As of March 31, 2024, $8.1 billion, or 85%, of the debt securities in our investment portfolio were investment grade (Baa and above, or equivalent) and the remaining $1.4 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 $3.9 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. Primary risks facing many of the issuers in our portfolio include on-going geopolitical events and economic conditions, including expectations for a longer period of higher inflation and interest rates. To date, most issuers have been successful in managing these issues without a meaningful change in credit quality. 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 11 to the Consolidated Financial Statements.

Commercial Mortgage Loans

As of March 31, 2024, our $1.6 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 March 31, 2024. See Note 12 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 11 to the Consolidated Financial Statements.

Loans are secured by high quality commercial properties, located in strong institutional markets and are generally made at approximately 60% 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 11 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 $4.3 billion as of March 31, 2024 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 11 to the Consolidated Financial Statements. 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. Following the adoption of Targeted Improvements to the Accounting for Long-Duration Contracts in 2023, changes in discount rates have resulted in accumulated other comprehensive losses and a corresponding decline in the investment reported in our Consolidated Balance Sheets. Our 50% share of the investment portfolio supporting the joint venture's liabilities is approximately $12.7 billion as of March 31, 2024. 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 March 31, 2024.

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. Our primary market risk exposures are interest rate risk and equity price risk. We encourage you to read this in conjunction with "Market Risk – Financial Instruments" included in the MD&A section of our 2023 Form 10-K.

As of March 31, 2024, there was an increase in our interest rate risk due to an increase in the fair value of our long-term debt since December 31, 2023. In the event of a 100 basis point increase in interest rates, the fair value of the Company's long-term debt would decrease approximately $2.0 billion at March 31, 2024 compared to approximately $1.8 billion at December 31, 2023.

As of March 31, 2024, there was a decline in our equity price risk exposure due to the impairment of equity securities. If the market price for all equity securities declined by 10%, the fair value of the Company's equity securities would decrease by approximately $0.2 billion as of March 31, 2024, compared to approximately $0.3 billion at December 31, 2023. See Note 11 to the Consolidated Financial Statements for more information regarding the impairment in equity securities.