Item 4. CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES
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Item 4. CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES
We maintain “disclosure controls and procedures”, as such term is defined in Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e) under the Exchange Act, that are designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed by us in reports that we file or submit under the Exchange Act is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in SEC rules and forms, and that such information is accumulated and communicated to our management, including our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, as appropriate, to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure. In designing disclosure controls and procedures, our management necessarily was required to apply its judgment in evaluating the cost-benefit relationship of possible disclosure controls and procedures. The design of any disclosure controls and procedures also is based in part upon certain assumptions about the likelihood of future events, and there can be no assurance that any design will succeed in achieving its stated goals under all potential future conditions. Any controls and procedures, no matter how well designed and operated, can provide only reasonable assurance of achieving the desired objectives.
Our management, including our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, evaluated the effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures pursuant to Rule 13a-15 under the Exchange Act as of the end of the period covered by this report. Based on that evaluation, our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer have concluded that, as of the end of the period covered by this report, our disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Rule 13a-15(e) under the Exchange Act) are effective at the reasonable assurance level to accomplish their objectives of ensuring that information we are required to disclose in reports that we file or submit under the Exchange Act is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in SEC rules and forms, and that such information is accumulated and communicated to our management, including our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer as appropriate, to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure.
No changes in our internal control over financial reporting (as such term is defined in Rules 13a–15(f) and 15d–15(f) under the Exchange Act) occurred during our most recent quarter, that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.
PART II - OTHER INFORMATION
ITEM 1. LEGAL PROCEEDINGS
See a summary of the Company’s legal proceedings set forth in note 16 to our condensed consolidated financial statements, which is incorporated by reference herein.
ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS
For a discussion of our potential risks and uncertainties, see the information under the heading "Risk Factors" in our 2023 Annual Report, which is accessible on the Securities and Exchange Commission's website at www.sec.gov.
The risks described in our 2023 Annual Report are not the only risks facing us. Additional risks and uncertainties not currently known to us or that we currently deem to be immaterial also may materially adversely affect our business, financial condition and/or operating results. There have been no material changes to the risk factors disclosed in our 2023 Annual Report, except for the following:
Extensive regulation of our businesses affects our activities and creates the potential for significant liabilities and penalties. The possibility of increased regulatory focus could result in additional burdens on our businesses.
We are subject to extensive regulation, including periodic examinations and requirements to obtain and maintain licenses and/or other approvals, by government agencies and self-regulatory organizations in the jurisdictions in which we operate around the world. Many of the various laws and regulations to which we are subject are discussed in “Item 1. Business—Regulatory and Compliance Matters” in our 2023 Annual Report. As detailed in that section, certain of our businesses, subsidiaries and/or affiliates are, among others, regulated under the Investment Advisers Act; the Investment Company Act; the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act; the EU Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive; the EU Markets in Financial Instruments Directive; the EU General Data Protection Regulation (as implemented in countries in the European Economic Area) and the U.K. General Data Protection Regulation; the U.K. Data Protection Act 2018 and potentially various new and emerging EU and U.K. cybersecurity laws; the Cayman Islands Data Protection Act; the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act; the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018 and a variety of other U.S. state privacy and cybersecurity laws; the Regulation on OTC Derivatives, Central Counterparties and Trade Repositories; as well as by the Financial Stability Oversight Council and similar non-U.S. regulators; the Federal Reserve; the SEC; FINRA; the U.S. Department of Labor; the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”); the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency; the Federal Communications Commission; insurance regulators in U.S. states, the EU, Bermuda, U.K., Ireland, Italy, Switzerland, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, Australia, Singapore, Canada, Cayman Islands and Malaysia; banking regulators in Germany, Slovenia and Spain; as well as rules and regulations regarding CLO risk retention, real estate investment trusts, broker-dealers, “over the counter” derivatives markets, commodity pool operators, commodity trading advisors, gaming companies, and natural resources companies. We distribute many of our products through financial intermediaries, including third-party broker-dealers, and as such, increasing broker-dealer regulation (particularly concerning marketing and sales practices) could make it more difficult and expensive for us to distribute such products. We are also subject to laws and regulations governing payments and contributions to public officials or other parties, including restrictions imposed by the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, as well as economic sanctions and export control laws administered by the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, the U.S. Department of Commerce and the U.S. Department of State. Increasingly, we are or may be subject to new initiatives and additional rules and regulations relating to sustainable finance and/or environmental, social and governance matters, including but not limited to: in the EU, the EU Regulation on the Establishment of a Framework to Facilitate Sustainable Investment as well as the EU Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation and supporting regulatory technical standards; and, in the U.K., the U.K. FCA’s disclosure rules for asset managers aligned with the recommendations of the Taskforce on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures as well as the forthcoming Sustainability Disclosure Requirements and investment labelling regime and the proposed U.K. Green Taxonomy. Compliance with such laws and regulations requires increasing amounts of resources and the attention of our management team. Any violation, even if alleged, of such laws and regulations or any failure to obtain or maintain licenses and/or other regulatory approvals as required for our operations may have a material adverse effect on our businesses, financial condition, results of operations, liquidity, cash flows and prospects.
Many of these laws and regulations empower regulators, including U.S. and foreign government agencies and self-regulatory organizations, as well as state securities commissions and insurance departments in the U.S., to conduct investigations and administrative proceedings that can result in penalties, fines, suspensions or revocations of licenses and/or other regulatory approvals, suspensions of personnel or other sanctions, including censure, the issuance of cease-and-desist orders, enforcement
actions and settlements, or the suspension or expulsion of an investment adviser from registration or memberships. Even if an investigation or proceeding does not result in a sanction or the sanction imposed against us or our personnel by a regulator is small in monetary amount, the adverse publicity relating to the investigation, proceeding or imposition of these sanctions could harm our reputation and cause us to lose existing investors or fail to gain new investors. These requirements imposed by our regulators are designed primarily to ensure the integrity of the financial markets and to protect investors in the funds we manage and policyholders of our retirement services and other businesses and may not necessarily be designed to protect our stockholders. Other regulations, such as those promulgated by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States and similar foreign direct investment regimes in other jurisdictions, may impair our ability to invest the funds we manage and/or for such funds to realize full value from our investments in certain industries and countries.
Our businesses may be adversely affected as a result of new or revised legislation or regulations imposed by U.S. or foreign government agencies or self-regulatory organizations. We also may be adversely affected by changes in the interpretation or enforcement of existing laws and rules by these government agencies and self-regulatory organizations. For instance, the SEC and other regulators have been increasing regulation of private funds and advisers to private funds, and this type of regulation may make it more difficult for us to manage and distribute both our private fund products and our products that are purchased by third-party private fund managers.
In addition to the foregoing risks, the financial services industry is the focus of increased regulatory scrutiny as various U.S. state and federal government agencies and self-regulatory organizations conduct inquiries and investigations into the products and practices of the companies within this industry. Government authorities and standard setters in the U.S. and worldwide (including the International Association of Insurance Supervisors (“IAIS”)) have become increasingly interested in potential risks posed by the insurance industry as a whole, and to commercial and financial activities and systems in general, as indicated by the development of the global insurance capital standard by the IAIS to be applicable to internationally active insurance groups (“IAIGs”), as well as the NAIC’s adoption of the group capital calculation and liquidity stress test, each of which the Iowa Insurance Division (“IID”) has adopted and is now applicable to us. On February 6, 2024, the IID identified AGM as meeting the criteria as an IAIG and further identified Athene as the Head of the IAIG. As a result of these identifications, we expect Athene to be subject to the relevant capital standard that the U.S. applies to IAIGs. At this time, we do not expect a significant impact on Athene’s capital position or capital structure; however, we cannot fully predict with certainty the impact (if any) on Athene’s capital position or capital structure and any other burdens being named an IAIG may impose on Athene or its insurance affiliates.
Guaranty associations may also subject member insurers, including Athene, to assessments that require the insurers to pay funds to cover contractual obligations under insurance policies issued by insurance companies that become impaired or insolvent. These associations levy assessments, up to prescribed limits, on each member insurer doing business in a particular state on the basis of their proportionate share of the premiums written by all member insurers in the lines of business in which the impaired or insolvent insurer previously engaged. Most states limit assessments in any year to 2% of the insurer’s average annual premium for the three years preceding the calendar year in which the impaired insurer became impaired or insolvent. Although Athene has not historically paid material amounts in connection with these assessments, we cannot accurately predict the magnitude of such amounts in the future, or accurately predict which past or future insolvencies of other insurers could lead to such assessments. If material, such future assessments may have an adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations, liquidity or cash flows and any liability we have previously established for these potential assessments may not be adequate. See also note 16 to the condensed consolidated financial statements.
We have been and may be the target or the subject of third-party litigation from time to time that could result in significant liabilities and/or reputational harm, which could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations, financial condition and liquidity.
The activities of our businesses, including the investment activities of the funds we manage and activities of our employees in connection with the funds, their portfolio companies, our insurance subsidiaries, as well as publicly listed vehicles we manage or sponsor may subject us and certain of our employees to the risk of litigation, including class actions, by third parties, including fund investors dissatisfied with the performance or management of such funds, holders of our or the funds’ portfolio companies’ debt or equity, policyholders of our retirement services business, public stockholders and a variety of other potential litigants. In general, we will be exposed to risk of litigation by our investors if our management of any fund is alleged to constitute bad faith, gross negligence, willful misconduct, fraud, willful or reckless disregard for our duties to the fund, breach of fiduciary duties or securities laws, or other forms of misconduct. If such allegations are made against our Board or management, Section 220 of the Delaware General Corporation Law (the “DGCL”) allows stockholders to access corporate books and records to investigate wrongdoing. Fund investors could sue us to recover amounts lost by the funds we manage due
to our alleged misconduct, up to the entire amount of loss. Further, we may be subject to litigation arising from investor dissatisfaction with the performance of the funds we manage or from third-party allegations that we (i) improperly exercised control or influence over companies in which the funds we manage have large investments or (ii) are liable for actions or inactions taken by portfolio companies that such third parties argue we control. We are also exposed to risks of litigation or investigation relating to transactions that presented conflicts of interest that were not properly addressed. Our rights to indemnification by the funds we manage may not be upheld if challenged, and our indemnification rights generally do not cover bad faith, gross negligence, willful misconduct, fraud, willful or reckless disregard for our duties to the fund or other forms of misconduct. With many highly paid investment professionals and complex compensation and incentive arrangements, we face the risk of lawsuits relating to claims for compensation, which may individually or in the aggregate be significant in amount. We are also increasingly faced with the risk of litigation or investigation in relation to environmental, social and/or governance-related issues given the increasing scrutiny of such issues by investors, other stakeholders, regulators, and other third parties as well as due to the increasing disclosure obligations on our businesses, the funds we manage, and their portfolio companies. Such risks may relate to accusations concerning but not limited to: (i) the activities of portfolio companies, including environmental damage and violations of labor and human rights; (ii) misrepresentations of the investment strategies of the funds we manage as well as about our, the funds’, and their investments’ performance against environmental, social and/or governance-related measures and/or initiatives; or (iii) breaches of fiduciary duty in relation to the funds we manage and other violations of law related to the management of environmental, social and/or governance-related risks.
If any civil or criminal litigation brought against us were to result in a finding of substantial legal liability or culpability, the litigation could, in addition to any financial damage, cause significant reputational harm to us, which could seriously harm our business. In addition, we may not be able to obtain or maintain sufficient insurance on commercially reasonable terms or with adequate coverage levels against potential liabilities we may face in connection with potential claims, which could have a material adverse effect on our business.
In addition, our business has been, and may continue to be, the subject of litigation between third parties that could negatively impact us. For example, beginning in March 2024, a number of putative class actions were filed in federal courts in the U.S. against certain customers of Athene, in their respective capacities as plan sponsors, alleging violations of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (“ERISA”) in connection with their transfer of pension obligations under defined benefit plans governed under ERISA and their purchase of pension group annuity (“PGA”) contracts from Athene. The lawsuits seek, inter alia, that defendants guarantee the annuities purchased from Athene and disgorge any profits earned from the transactions. Although Athene is not a named defendant, the lawsuits make several negative allegations about Athene and its business, which we believe to be untrue. Negative public perceptions of Athene and its business could adversely affect (and may have already adversely affected) its ability to attract and retain customers, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition and cash flows. In addition, these lawsuits could lead to increased regulatory and governmental scrutiny of Athene’s business and the industry overall, and/or result in Athene becoming involved in these lawsuits or even being named as a defendant in future lawsuits related to its PGA business, which could result in additional expenses, adverse regulations and oversight, and/or additional reputational harm. These lawsuits could also spur similar copycat lawsuits, which could further impact Athene’s PGA business. To the extent that the inflows in Athene’s PGA business are negatively impacted by these lawsuits and any related regulatory and governmental scrutiny, Athene may seek to increase its inflows in its other distribution channels, including by issuing additional funding agreements within its institutional channel. However, there are no assurances that Athene would be successful in replacing any PGA inflows with inflows from other distribution channels or that such other inflows would result in comparable spreads.
ITEM 2. UNREGISTERED SALE OF EQUITY SECURITIES, USE OF PROCEEDS AND ISSUER PURCHASES OF EQUITY SECURITIES
Unregistered Sale of Equity Securities
On May 15, 2024, the Company issued 8,673 restricted shares under the 2019 Omnibus Equity Incentive Plan for Estate Planning Vehicles and 1,507 restricted shares under the 2019 Omnibus Equity Incentive Plan to certain holders of vested performance fee rights. The shares were issued in private placements in reliance on Regulation D or Section 4(a)(2) of the Securities Act.
Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities
The following table sets forth information regarding repurchases of shares of common stock during the fiscal quarter ended June 30, 2024.
| Period | Total number of shares of common stock purchased | Average price paid per share | Total number of shares of common stock purchased as part of publicly announced plans or programs****1 | Approximate dollar value of common stock that may yet be purchased under the plans or programs | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| April 1, 2024 through April 30, 2024 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Opportunistic repurchases | — | — | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Equity award-related repurchases2 | — | — | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Total | — | $ | — | — | $ | 2,487,640,161 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| May 1, 2024 through May 31, 2024 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Opportunistic repurchases | — | — | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Equity award-related repurchases2 | 325,174 | 325,174 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Total | 325,174 | $ | 109.47 | 325,174 | $ | 2,452,044,203 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| June 1, 2024 through June 30, 2024 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Opportunistic repurchases | 650,000 | 650,000 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Equity award-related repurchases2 | — | — | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Total | 650,000 | $ | 115.13 | 650,000 | $ | 2,377,209,744 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Total | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Opportunistic repurchases | 650,000 | 650,000 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Equity award-related repurchases2 | 325,174 | 325,174 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Total | 975,174 | 975,174 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1 On February 8, 2024, the AGM board of directors terminated the Company’s prior share repurchase program and approved a new share repurchase program, pursuant to which, the Company is authorized to repurchase up to $3.0 billion of shares of its common stock to opportunistically reduce the Company’s share count or offset the dilutive impact of share issuances under the Company’s equity incentive plans. Under the share repurchase program, repurchases may be of outstanding shares of common stock occurring from time to time in open market transactions, in privately negotiated transactions, pursuant to a trading plan adopted in accordance with Rule 10b5-1 of the Exchange Act, or otherwise, as well as through reductions of shares that otherwise would have been issued to participants under the Company’s Equity Plan in order to satisfy associated tax obligations. The share repurchase program does not obligate the Company to make any repurchases at any specific time. The program is effective until the aggregate repurchase amount that has been approved by the AGM board of directors has been expended. The program may be suspended, extended, modified or discontinued at any time. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2 Represents repurchases of shares of common stock in order to offset the dilutive impact of share issuances under the Equity Plan including reductions of shares of common stock that otherwise would have been issued to participants under the Company’s Equity Plan in order to satisfy associated tax obligations. |
ITEM 3. DEFAULTS UPON SENIOR SECURITIES
Not applicable.
ITEM 4. MINE SAFETY DISCLOSURES
Not applicable.
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