American Equity Investment Life Holding Company (NYSE:AEL) Q4 2022 Earnings Call Transcript

Anant Bhalla: I can start, and I will let Axel add in there. Good morning. We are looking at it. I think LDTI is an interesting consideration for us in that perspective as well as Axel said, we will talk more about LDTI going forward. But it met that really positive for the FIA business. So, if we think of do we redeploy some of those earnings into in-force rate management is the way I am really thinking about it right now, because candidly, this is going to be a very, very good year for us from a year-on-year profitability point of view post-LDTI. But you also see what bang for buck you get on it. I will go back to the liquidity profile of the balance sheet and the private asset strategies are very liquefiable and Jim and team are doing a good job of managing that.

So, even though surrenders are modestly up, you are looking at which blocks you are losing and which blocks you want to keep and things like that, and we feel good about it. So, it’s a rather long-winded answer, but I try to give you in a framework sense. We have got a balance sheet that can handle a little high elevated lapses, we actually are okay with these lapses and we want to write newer business, so then we can invest it in higher returns versus just give away the profitability.

Axel Andre: And maybe I would just add to that, just reminding you, when we talk about our third quarter 2022 assumptions in locking, so the assumptions, the spread assumptions that are embedded in our actual models. We talked about cost of money, the near-term cost of money being around 1.7%, ultimately growing to the long-term. So, that’s 8 years out, long-term cost of money of 2.4%. So, our models already kind of anticipate some of that increase. It’s really a question of timing.

Erik Bass: That’s helpful. And then switching gears, I was hoping you could comment a little bit on the NAIC’s proposed changes to capital charges for CLOs and private credit funds. Maybe if they are adopted, what impact that could have on your portfolio and the capital requirements for your private credit assets?

Anant Bhalla: Great question. As always, you are keenly tuned into what’s going on in the market. It’s less of an impact for us is a short answer, because we didn’t back up the truck on CLOs and the things like that. We actually agree with the direction of travel with the NAIC there. And frankly, would prefer everyone is super transparent when they source stuff and how it’s structured and what they do it. We have been in the middle of the fairway in the way we have approached private assets. That’s why I said like $7 billion of that is loans, even our private credit strategies, so too early to say what their final proposals are, and they will likely get implemented in €˜25 from what I am hearing, not before €˜25. But we are not the firm that backed up the truck on CLOs and structured credit and got cute about it with respect to all of my competitors who did. So, we feel pretty good about it.

Erik Bass: Got it. Thank you.

Operator: Thank you. And one moment for our next question. And our next question comes from Wilma Burdis from Raymond James. Your line is now open.

Wilma Burdis: Hey, good morning. I guess first, any update on sidecar. I know you mentioned it’s kind of in the budget this year, but any updates?