Variable Interest Entities

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2019

Variable Interest Entity, Measure of Activity [Abstract]

VARIABLE INTEREST ENTITIES

In the normal course of its activities, the Company enters into relationships with various special-purpose entities and other entities that are deemed to be VIEs. A VIE is an entity that either (1) has equity investors that lack certain essential characteristics of a controlling financial interest (including the ability to control activities of the entity, the obligation to absorb the entity’s expected losses and the right to receive the entity’s expected residual returns) or (2) lacks sufficient equity to finance its own activities without financial support provided by other entities, which in turn would be expected to absorb at least some of the expected losses of the VIE.

The Company is the primary beneficiary if the Company has (1) the power to direct the activities of the VIE that most significantly impact the economic performance of the entity and (2) the obligation to absorb losses of the entity that could be potentially significant to the VIE or the right to receive benefits from the entity that could be potentially significant. If the Company determines that it is the VIE’s primary beneficiary, it consolidates the VIE.

Consolidated Variable Interest Entities

The Company is the investment manager of certain asset-backed investment vehicles, commonly referred to as CLOs, and certain other vehicles for which the Company earns fee income for investment management services. The Company may sell or syndicate investments through these vehicles, principally as part of the strategic investing activity of the Company’s investment management businesses. Additionally, the Company may invest in securities issued by these vehicles. The Company is also the investment manager of certain investment structures whose beneficial interests are wholly-owned by consolidated subsidiaries.

The Company has analyzed these relationships and determined that for certain CLOs and other investment structures it is the primary beneficiary and consolidates these entities. This analysis includes a review of (1) the Company’s rights and responsibilities as investment manager and (2) variable interests (if any) held by the Company. The assets of these VIEs are restricted and must be used first to settle liabilities of the VIE. The Company is not required to provide, and has not provided, material financial or other support to any of these VIEs.

Additionally, the Company is the primary beneficiary of certain VIEs in which the Company has invested, as part of its investment activities, but for which it is not the investment manager. These include structured investments issued by a VIE that manages yen-denominated investments coupled with cross-currency coupon swap agreements thereby creating synthetic dual currency investments. The Company’s involvement in the structuring of these investments combined with its economic interest indicates that the Company is the primary beneficiary. The Company has not provided material financial support or other support that was not contractually required to these VIEs.

The table below reflects the carrying amount and balance sheet caption in which the assets and liabilities of consolidated VIEs are reported. The liabilities primarily comprise obligations under debt instruments issued by the VIEs. The creditors of these VIEs do not have recourse to the Company in excess of the assets contained within the VIEs.



	Consolidated VIEs for which the Company is the Investment Manager(1)				Other Consolidated VIEs(1)
	December 31,				December 31,
	2019		2018		2019		2018

	(in millions)
Fixed maturities, available-for-sale	$	104	$	73	$	285	$	282
Fixed maturities, held-to-maturity	83		95		839		831
Fixed maturities, trading	1,112		1,076		0		0
Assets supporting experience-rated contractholder liabilities	0		0		4		8
Equity securities	47		41		0		0
Commercial mortgage and other loans	883		730		0		0
Other invested assets	2,199		1,526		89		77
Cash and cash equivalents	166		131		0		0
Accrued investment income	4		5		4		4
Other assets	450		463		689		721
Total assets of consolidated VIEs	$	5,048	$	4,140	$	1,910	$	1,923
Other liabilities	$	304	$	295	$	13	$	17
Notes issued by consolidated VIEs(2)	1,274		955		0		0
Total liabilities of consolidated VIEs	$	1,578	$	1,250	$	13	$	17

__________


(1)	Total assets of consolidated VIEs reflect $2,668 million and $2,013 million as of December 31, 2019 and 2018, respectively, related to VIEs whose beneficial interests are wholly-owned by consolidated subsidiaries.


(2)	Recourse is limited to the assets of the respective VIE and does not extend to the general credit of the Company. As of December 31, 2019, the maturities of these obligations were between 4 and 9 years.

Unconsolidated Variable Interest Entities

The Company has determined that it is not the primary beneficiary of certain VIEs for which it is the investment manager. These VIEs consist primarily of CLOs and investment funds for which the Company has determined that it is not the primary beneficiary as it does not have both (1) the power to direct the activities of the VIE that most significantly impact the economic performance of the entity and (2) the obligation to absorb losses of the entity that could be potentially significant to the VIE or the right to receive benefits from the entity that could be potentially significant. The Company’s maximum exposure to loss resulting from its relationship with unconsolidated VIEs for which it is the investment manager is limited to its investment in the VIEs, which was $1,021 million and $836 million at December 31, 2019 and 2018, respectively. These investments are reflected in “Fixed maturities, available-for-sale,” “Fixed maturities, trading,” “Equity securities” and “Other invested assets.” There are no liabilities associated with these unconsolidated VIEs on the Company’s Consolidated Statements of Financial Position.

In the normal course of its activities, the Company will invest in LPs/LLCs which include hedge funds, private equity funds and real estate-related funds and may or may not be VIEs. The Company’s maximum exposure to loss on these investments, both VIEs and non-VIEs, is limited to the amount of its investment. The Company has determined that it is not required to consolidate these entities because either (1) it does not control them or (2) it does not have the obligation to absorb losses of these entities that could be potentially significant to the entities or the right to receive benefits from the entities that could be potentially significant. The Company classifies these investments as “Other invested assets” and its maximum exposure to loss associated with these entities was $11,157 million and $9,841 million as of December 31, 2019 and 2018, respectively.

In addition, in the normal course of its activities, the Company will invest in structured investments including VIEs for which it is not the investment manager. These structured investments typically invest in fixed income investments and are managed by third parties and include asset-backed securities, commercial mortgage-backed securities and residential mortgage-backed securities. The Company’s maximum exposure to loss on these structured investments, both VIEs and non-VIEs, is limited to the amount of its investment. See Note 3 for details regarding the carrying amounts and classification of these assets. The Company has not provided material financial or other support that was not contractually required to these structures. The Company has determined that it is not the primary beneficiary of these structures due to the fact that it does not control these entities.