SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES (Policies)

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2019

Adoption of New Accounting Pronouncements and Future Adoption of New Accounting Pronouncements

Adoption of New Accounting Pronouncements



Description	Effect on the Financial Statement or Other Significant Matters
ASU 2017-12: Derivatives and Hedging (Topic 815)
The amendments in this ASU better align an entity’s risk management activities and financial reporting for hedging relationships through changes to both the designation and measurement guidance for qualifying hedging relationships and the presentation of hedge results.	On January 1, 2019, the Company adopted the new hedging guidance. Adoption of this guidance did not have a material impact on the Company’s consolidated financial statements.



Description	Effect on the Financial Statement or Other Significant Matters
ASU 2017-08: Receivables - Nonrefundable Fees and Other Costs (Subtopic 310-20)
This ASU requires certain premiums on callable debt securities to be amortized to the earliest call date and is intended to better align interest income recognition with the manner in which market participants price these instruments.	On January 1, 2019, the Company adopted the new guidance on accounting for certain premiums on callable debt securities. As the Company’s existing accounting practices aligned with the guidance in the ASU, adoption of the new standard did not have a material impact on the Company’s consolidated financial statements.
ASU 2016-02: Leases (Topic 842)
This ASU contains revised guidance to lease accounting that will require lessees to recognize on the balance sheet a “right-of-use” asset and a lease liability for virtually all lease arrangements, including those embedded in other contracts. Lessor accounting will remain substantially unchanged from the current model but has been updated to align with certain changes made to the lessee model.	On January 1, 2019, the Company adopted the new leases standard using the simplified modified retrospective transition method, as of the adoption date. Prior comparable periods will not be adjusted or presented under this method. We applied several practical expedients offered by ACS 842 upon adoption of this standard. These included continuing to account for existing leases based on judgment made under legacy U.S. GAAP as it relates to determining classification of leases, unamortized initial direct costs and whether contracts are leases or contain leases. We also used the practical expedient to use hindsight in determining lease terms (using knowledge and expectations as of the standard’s adoption date instead of the previous assumptions under legacy U.S. GAAP) and evaluated impairment of our right-of-use (“RoU”) assets in the transition period (using most up-to-date information.) Adoption of this standard resulted in the recognition, as of January 1, 2019, of additional RoU operating lease assets of $347 million reported in Other assets and operating lease liabilities of $439 million reported in Other liabilities in accompanying consolidated balance sheets. The operating RoU assets recognized as of January 1, 2019 are net of deferred rent of $58 million and liabilities associated with previously recognized impairments of $34 million. See Note 8 for additional information.

Future Adoption of New Accounting Pronouncements



Description	Effective Date and Method of Adoption	Effect on the Financial Statement or Other Significant Matters
ASU 2018-17: Consolidation (Topic 810): Targeted Improvements to Related Party Guidance for Variable Interest Entities
This ASU provides guidance requiring that indirect interests held through related parties in common control arrangements be considered on a proportional basis for determining whether fees paid to decision makers and service providers are variable interests.	Effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2019, and interim periods within those fiscal years. Early adoption is permitted. All entities are required to apply the amendments in this update retrospectively with a cumulative-effect adjustment to retained earnings at the beginning of the earliest period presented.	Management currently is evaluating the impact that adoption of this guidance will have on the Company’s consolidated financial statements and related disclosures.
ASU 2018-13: Fair Value Measurement (Topic 820)
This ASU improves the effectiveness of fair value disclosures in the notes to financial statements. Amendments in this ASU modify disclosure requirements in Topic 820, including the removal of certain disclosure requirements, modification of certain disclosures, and the addition of new requirements.	Effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2019. Early adoption is permitted, with the option to early adopt amendments to remove or modify disclosures, with full adoption of additional requirements delayed until their effective date. Amendments on changes in unrealized gains and losses, the range and weighted average of significant unobservable inputs used to develop Level 3 fair value measurements, and the narrative description of measurement uncertainty should be applied prospectively. All other amendments should be applied retrospectively.	Management currently is evaluating the impact of the guidance on the Company’s financial statement disclosures but has concluded that this guidance will not impact the Company’s consolidated financial position or results of operations.



Description	Effective Date and Method of Adoption	Effect on the Financial Statement or Other Significant Matters
ASU 2018-12: Financial Services - Insurance (Topic 944)
This ASU provides targeted improvements to existing recognition, measurement, presentation, and disclosure requirements for long-duration contracts issued by an insurance entity. The ASU primarily impacts four key areas, including:	Effective for fiscal years beginning after December 31, 2020. Early adoption is permitted.	Management currently is evaluating the impact that adoption of this guidance will have on the Company’s consolidated financial statements, however the adoption of the ASU is expected to have a significant impact on our consolidated financial condition, results of operations, cash flows and required disclosures, as well as processes and controls.
Measurement of the liability for future policy benefits for traditional and limited payment contracts. The ASU requires companies to review, and if necessary update, cash flow assumptions at least annually for non-participating traditional and limited-payment insurance contracts. Interest rates used to discount the liability will need to be updated quarterly using an upper medium grade (low credit risk) fixed-income instrument yield.	For the liability for future policyholder benefits for traditional and limited payment contracts, companies can elect one of two adoption methods. Companies can either elect a modified retrospective transition method applied to contracts in force as of the beginning of the earliest period presented on the basis of their existing carrying amounts, adjusted for the removal of any related amounts in AOCI or a full retrospective transition method using actual historical experience information as of contract inception.



Description	Effective Date and Method of Adoption	Effect on the Financial Statement or Other Significant Matters
Measurement of market risk benefits (“MRBs”). MRBs, as defined under the ASU, will encompass certain GMxB features associated with variable annuity products and other general account annuities with other than nominal market risk. The ASU requires MRBs to be measured at fair value with changes in value attributable to changes in instrument-specific credit risk recognized in OCI. Amortization of deferred policy acquisition costs. The ASU simplifies the amortization of deferred policy acquisition costs and other balances amortized in proportion to premiums, gross profits, or gross margins, requiring such balances to be amortized on a constant level basis over the expected term of the contracts. Deferred costs will be required to be written off for unexpected contract terminations but will not be subject to impairment testing. Expanded footnote disclosures. The ASU requires additional disclosures including disaggregated rollforwards of beginning to ending balances of the liability for future policy benefits, policyholder account balances, MRBs, Separate Accounts liabilities and deferred policy acquisition costs. Companies will also be required to disclose information about significant inputs, judgements, assumptions and methods used in measurement. MRBs, as defined under the ASU, will encompass certain GMxB features associated with variable annuity products and other general account annuities with other than nominal market risk. The ASU requires MRBs to be measured at fair value with changes in value attributable to changes in instrument-specific credit risk recognized in OCI.	The same adoption method must be used for deferred policy acquisition costs. For MRBs, the ASU should be applied retrospectively as of the beginning of the earliest period presented. For deferred policy acquisition costs, companies can elect one of two adoption methods. Companies can either elect a modified retrospective transition method applied to contracts in force as of the beginning of the earliest period presented on the basis of their existing carrying amounts, adjusted for the removal of any related amounts in AOCI or a full retrospective transition method using actual historical experience information as of contract inception. The same adoption method must be used for the liability for future policyholder benefits for traditional and limited payment contracts.



Description	Effective Date and Method of Adoption	Effect on the Financial Statement or Other Significant Matters
ASU 2016-13: Financial Instruments - Credit Losses (Topic 326)
This ASU contains new guidance which introduces an approach based on expected losses to estimate credit losses on certain types of financial instruments. It also modifies the impairment model for available-for-sale debt securities and provides for a simplified accounting model for purchased financial assets with credit deterioration since their origination.	Effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2019, including interim periods within those fiscal years. Early adoption is permitted as of the fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2018, including interim periods within those fiscal years. These amendments should be applied through a cumulative-effect adjustment to retained earnings as of the beginning of the first reporting period in which the guidance is effective.	Management currently is evaluating the impact that adoption of this guidance will have on the Company’s consolidated financial statements.

Accounting and Consolidation of VIEs

Accounting and Consolidation of Variable Interest Entities (“VIEs”)

At March 31, 2019, the Company held $1.1 billion of investment assets in the form of equity interests issued by non-corporate legal entities determined under the guidance to be VIEs, such as limited partnerships and limited liability companies, including hedge funds, private equity funds and real estate-related funds. As an equity investor, the Company is considered to have a variable interest in each of these VIEs as a result of its participation in the risks and/or rewards these funds were designed to create by their defined portfolio objectives and strategies. Primarily through qualitative assessment, including consideration of related party interests or other financial arrangements, if any, the Company was not identified as primary beneficiary of any of these VIEs, largely due to its inability to direct the activities that most significantly impact their economic performance. Consequently, the Company continues to reflect these equity interests in the consolidated balance sheets as Other equity investments and to apply the equity method of accounting for these positions. The net assets of these non-consolidated VIEs are $168.6 billion at March 31, 2019. The Company’s maximum exposure to loss from its direct involvement with these VIEs is the carrying value of its investment of $1.1 billion and $866 million of unfunded commitments at March 31, 2019. The Company has no further economic interest in these VIEs in the form of guarantees, derivatives, credit enhancements or similar instruments and obligations.

At March 31, 2019, the Company consolidated one real estate joint venture for which it was identified as primary beneficiary under the VIE model. The consolidated entity is jointly owned by AXA Equitable Life Insurance Company (“AXA Equitable Life”) and AXA France and holds an investment in a real estate venture. Included in the Company’s consolidated balance sheet at March 31, 2019 related to this VIE is $35 million of Real estate held for production of income. In addition, Real estate held for production of income reflects $16 million as related to two non-consolidated joint ventures at March 31, 2019.

Revision of Prior Period Financial Statements

During the second and third quarter of 2018, the Company revised its financial statements to reflect the correction of errors identified by the Company in its previously issued financial statements. The impact of these errors was not considered to be material. However, in order to improve the consistency and comparability of the financial statements, management revised the Company’s consolidated financial statements as of and for the three and six months ended March 31, 2018 and June 30, 2018, respectively.

In addition, during the fourth quarter of 2018, the Company identified certain cash flows that were incorrectly classified in the Company’s consolidated statements of cash flows. The Company has determined that these misclassifications were not material to its financial statements of any period.

The impact of the misclassifications detailed in the revision tables included in Note 14 on the consolidated statement of cash flows for the three months ended March 31, 2018 were corrected in the comparative consolidated statements of cash flows for the three months ended March 31, 2019 and 2018 contained elsewhere in the financial statements. The misclassifications for the six and nine months ended June 30, 2018 and September 30, 2018 will be corrected in the Company’s comparative consolidated statements of cash flows to be included in the Form 10-Q filings as of and for the three and six months ended June 30, 2019 and as of and for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2019, respectively. See Note 14 for further information.

Fair Value Measurements

The accounting guidance establishes a fair value hierarchy that requires an entity to maximize the use of observable inputs and minimize the use of unobservable inputs when measuring fair value, and identifies three levels of inputs that may be used to measure fair value:


Level 1	Unadjusted quoted prices for identical instruments in active markets. Level 1 fair values generally are supported by market transactions that occur with sufficient frequency and volume to provide pricing information on an ongoing basis.


Level 2	Observable inputs other than Level 1 prices, such as quoted prices for similar instruments, quoted prices in markets that are not active, and inputs to model-derived valuations that are directly observable or can be corroborated by observable market data.


Level 3	Unobservable inputs supported by little or no market activity and often requiring significant management judgment or estimation, such as an entity’s own assumptions about the cash flows or other significant components of value that market participants would use in pricing the asset or liability.

The Company uses unadjusted quoted market prices to measure fair value for those instruments that are actively traded in financial markets. In cases where quoted market prices are not available, fair values are measured using present value or other valuation techniques. The fair value determinations are made at a specific point in time, based on available market information and judgments about the financial instrument, including estimates of the timing and amount of expected future cash flows and the credit standing of counterparties. Such adjustments do not reflect any premium or discount that could result from offering for sale at one time the Company’s entire holdings of a particular financial instrument, nor do they consider the tax impact of the realization of unrealized gains or losses. In many cases, the fair value cannot be substantiated by direct comparison to independent markets, nor can the disclosed value be realized in immediate settlement of the instrument.

Management is responsible for the determination of the value of investments carried at fair value and the supporting methodologies and assumptions. Under the terms of various service agreements, the Company often utilizes independent valuation service providers to gather, analyze, and interpret market information and derive fair values based upon relevant methodologies and assumptions for individual securities. These independent valuation service providers typically obtain data about market transactions and other key valuation model inputs from multiple sources and, through the use of widely accepted valuation models, provide a single fair value measurement for individual securities for which a fair value has been requested. As further described below with respect to specific asset classes, these inputs include, but are not limited to, market prices for recent trades and transactions in comparable securities, benchmark yields, interest rate yield curves, credit spreads, quoted prices for similar securities, and other market-observable information, as applicable. Specific attributes of the security being valued also are considered, including its term, interest rate, credit rating, industry sector, and when applicable, collateral quality and other security- or issuer-specific information. When insufficient market observable information is available upon which to measure fair value, the Company either will request brokers knowledgeable about these securities to provide a non-binding quote or will employ internal valuation models. Fair values received from independent valuation service providers and brokers and those internally modeled or otherwise estimated are assessed for reasonableness.