8-K

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549

FORM 8-K

CURRENT REPORT

Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934

Date of Report (Date of Earliest Event Reported): March 2, 2004

AMERICAN EQUITY
INVESTMENT LIFE HOLDING COMPANY

(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in Charter)

IOWA	001-31911	42-1447959
(State or Other Jurisdiction of Incorporation)	(Commission File Number)	(IRS Employer Identification No.)
5000 Westown Parkway, Suite 440, West Des Moines, Iowa 50266
(Address of Principal Executive Offices) (Zip Code)
Registrant’s telephone number, including area code:  (515) 221-0002
NOT APPLICABLE
(Former Name or Former Address, if Changed Since Last Report)

Item 9. Regulation FD Disclosure.

Attached and incorporated herein by reference as Exhibit 99.1 is a copy of a financial supplement issued by American Equity Investment Life Holding Company (the “Company”) with respect to the fourth quarter and year ending December 31, 2003. The information in this report, including the Exhibit attached hereto, shall not be deemed “filed” for purposes of Section 18 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, nor shall it be deemed incorporated by reference in any filing under the Securities Act of 1933, except as shall be expressly set forth by specific reference in such filing.

SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.

Date:  March 2, 2004	AMERICAN EQUITY INVESTMENT LIFE HOLDING COMPANY
	By:	/s/ Wendy L. Carlson
		Wendy L. Carlson
		Chief Financial Officer and
		General Counsel

EXHIBIT INDEX

Exhibit Number	Description
99.1	Financial supplement for the fourth quarter and year ending December 31, 2003

2

EX-99.1

Exhibit 99.1

American Equity Investment Life Holding Company

Financial Supplement

December 31, 2003

A.	Financial Highlights
	Operating Earnings Year ended December 31, 2003
	Operating Earnings Quarterly Summary – Most Recent 5 quarters
	Selected Historical Financial Data – 5 years
	Capitalization/ Book Value per Share – 5 years
B.	Product Summary
	Premiums by Product Type
	Fund Values and Surrender Charge Protection by Product Type
	Liability Profile
	Surrender Charge Profile of Annuity Liabilities
	Comparison of Minimum Guaranteed Rates to Credited Rates
	Spread Results
C.	Investment Summary
	Summary of Invested Assets
	Credit Quality of Fixed Maturity Securities
	Watch List Securities and Aging of Gross Unrealized Losses
	Mortgage Loans by Region and Segment
D.	Shareholder Information

AMERICAN EQUITY INVESTMENT

LIFE HOLDING COMPANY

Financial Supplement – 2003

Operating Earnings

For the year ended December 31, 2003

	As Reported		Adjustments						Net Operating Income (a)
			Realized Gain			FAS 133
	(Dollars in thousands, except per share data)
Revenues:
Traditional life and accident and health insurance premiums	$	13,686	$	—		$	—		$	13,686
Annuity and single premium universal life product charges	20,452		—			—			20,452
Net investment income	358,529		—			—			358,529
Realized gains (losses) on investments	6,946		(6,946		)	—			—
Change in fair value of derivatives	52,525		—			(62,587		)	(10,062		)
Total revenues	452,138		(6,946		)	(62,587		)	382,605
Benefits and expenses:
Insurance policy benefits and change in future policy benefits	11,824		—			—			11,824
Interest credited to account balances	242,543		—			—			242,543
Change in fair value of embedded derivatives	66,801		—			(66,801		)	—
Interest expense on General Agency Commission and Servicing Agreement	3,000		—			—			3,000
Interest expense on notes payable	1,486		—			—			1,486
Interest expense on subordinated debentures	7,661		—			—			7,661
Interest expense on amounts due under repurchase agreements	1,140		—			—			1,140
Other interest expense	138		—			—			138
Amortization of deferred policy acquisition costs	52,982		(3,064		)	1,692			51,610
Other operating costs and expenses	25,618		—			—			25,618
Total benefits and expenses	413,193		(3,064		)	(65,109		)	345,020
Income before income taxes	38,945		(3,882		)	2,522			37,585
Income tax expense	13,505		(1,359		)	883			13,029
Net Income	$	25,440	$	(2,523	)	$	1,639		$	24,556
Earnings per common share	$	1.45							$	1.40
Earnings per common share – assuming dilution	$	1.21							$	1.17

1

AMERICAN EQUITY INVESTMENT

LIFE HOLDING COMPANY

Financial Supplement – 2003

Operating Earnings

Quarterly Summary – Most Recent 5 Quarters

	Q4 2003			Q3 2003			Q2 2003			Q1 2003			Q4 2002
	(Dollars in thousands, except per share data)
Revenues:
Traditional life and accident and health insurance premiums	$	2,598		$	4,230		$	3,256		$	3,602		$	2,950
Annuity and single premium universal life product charges	4,948			4,279			5,494			5,731			4,978
Net investment income	94,299			89,299			84,235			90,696			86,492
Change in fair value of derivatives	3,369			6,920			(6,654		)	(13,697		)	(17,083		)
Total revenues	105,214			104,728			86,331			86,332			77,337
Benefits and expenses:
Insurance policy benefits and change in future policy benefits	2,978			3,262			3,261			2,323			2,277
Interest credited to account balances	66,225			66,503			56,111			53,704			50,929
Interest expense on General Agency Commission and Servicing Agreement	589			698			804			909			749
Interest expense on notes payable	355			327			369			435			375
Interest expense on subordinated debentures	1,916			1,916			1,914			1,915			1,861
Interest expense on amounts due under repurchase agreements	455			249			—			436			734
Other interest expense	—			—			65			73			(63		)
Amortization of deferred policy acquisition costs	13,701			14,451			11,350			12,108			11,629
Other operating costs and expenses	5,810			6,981			6,628			6,199			6,042
Total benefits and expenses	92,029			94,387			80,502			78,102			74,533
Operating income before income taxes	13,185			10,341			5,829			8,230			2,804
Income tax expense	4,569			3,622			1,992			2,846			980
Operating Income (a)	8,616			6,719			3,837			5,384			1,824
Realized gains (losses) on investments, net of offsets	42			(194		)	2,548			127			(138		)
Net effect of SFAS 133	(446		)	(157		)	(2		)	(1,034		)	2,111
Net income	$	8,212		$	6,368		$	6,383		$	4,477		$	3,797
Earnings per common share	$	0.39		$	0.39		$	0.39		$	0.27		$	0.23
Earnings per common share – assuming dilution	$	0.32		$	0.34		$	0.34		$	0.23		$	0.20
Operating income per common share (a)	$	0.41		$	0.41		$	0.24		$	0.33		$	0.11
Operating income per common share – assuming dilution (a)	$	0.34		$	0.36		$	0.21		$	0.27		$	0.11

(a)In addition to net income, we have consistently utilized operating income, operating income per common share and operating income per common share - assuming dilution, non-GAAP financial measures commonly used in the life insurance industry, as economic measures to evaluate our financial performance.  Operating income equals net income adjusted to eliminate the impact of net realized gains and losses on investments and the impact of SFAS 133, dealing with the market value changes in derivatives.  Because these items fluctuate from quarter to quarter in a manner unrelated to core operations, we believe measures excluding their impact is useful in analyzing operating trends.  We believe the combined presentation and evaluation of operating income together with net income, provides information that may enhance an investor’s understanding of our underlying results and profitability.

2

AMERICAN EQUITY INVESTMENT

LIFE HOLDING COMPANY

Financial Supplement – 2003

Selected Historical Financial Data

	Year ended December 31,
	2003		2002			2001			2000			1999
	(Dollars in thousands, except per share data)
Consolidated Statements of Income Data:
Revenues
Traditional life and accident and health insurance premiums	$	13,686	$	13,664		$	13,141		$	11,034		$	10,294
Annuity and single premium universal life product charges	20,452		15,376			12,520			8,338			3,452
Net investment income	358,529		308,548			209,086			100,060			66,679
Realized gains (losses) on investments	6,946		(122		)	787			(1,411		)	(87		)
Change in fair value of derivatives	52,525		(57,753		)	(55,158		)	(3,406		)	(528		)
Total revenues	452,138		279,713			180,376			114,615			79,810
Benefits and expenses
Insurance policy benefits and change in future policy benefits	11,824		9,317			9,762			8,728			7,232
Interest credited to account balances	242,543		177,633			97,923			56,529			41,727
Change in fair value of embedded derivatives	66,801		(5,027		)	12,921			—			—
Interest expense on General Agency Commission and Servicing Agreement	3,000		3,596			5,716			5,958			3,861
Interest expense on notes payable	1,486		1,901			2,881			2,339			896
Interest expense on subordinated debentures	7,661		—			—			—			—
Interest expense on amounts due under repurchase agreements	1,140		734			1,123			3,267			3,491
Other interest expense	138		1,043			381			—			—
Amortization of deferred policy acquisition costs	52,982		39,930			23,040			8,574			7,063
Other operating costs and expenses	25,618		21,635			17,176			14,602			12,445
Total benefits and expenses	413,193		250,762			170,923			99,997			76,715
Income before income taxes, minority interests and cumulative effect of change in accounting principle	38,945		28,951			9,453			14,618			3,095
Income tax expense (benefit)	13,505		7,299			333			2,385			(1,370		)
Income before minority interests and cumulative effect of change in accounting principle	25,440		21,652			9,120			12,233			4,465
Minority interests in subsidiaries:
Earnings attributable to company-obligated mandatorily redeemable preferred securities of subsidiary trusts	—		7,445			7,449			7,449			2,022
Income before cumulative effect of change in accounting principle	25,440		14,207			1,671			4,784			2,443
Cumulative effect of change in accounting for derivatives	—		—			(799		)	—			—
Net income	$	25,440	$	14,207		$	872		$	4,784		$	2,443

3

	At and for the Year ended December 31,
	2003			2002			2001			2000			1999
	(Dollars in thousands, except per share data)
Per Share Data:
Earnings per common share	$	1.45		$	0.87		$	0.05		$	0.29		$	0.15
Earnings per common share — assuming dilution	$	1.21		$	0.76		$	0.05		$	0.26		$	0.14
Dividends declared per common share	$	0.01		$	0.01		$	0.01		$	0.01		$	0.01
Consolidated Balance Sheet Data:
Total assets	$	8,989,177		$	7,327,789		$	4,819,220		$	2,528,126		$	1,717,619
Policy benefit reserves	8,315,874			6,737,888			4,420,720			2,099,915			1,358,876
Amounts due to related party under General Agency  Commission and Servicing Agreement.	40,601			40,345			46,607			76,028			62,119
Notes payable	31,833			43,333			46,667			44,000			20,600
Subordinated debentures	116,425			—			—			—			—
Company-obligated mandatorily redeemable preferred  securities issued by subsidiary trusts	—			100,486			100,155			99,503			98,982
Stockholders’ equity
Total stockholders’ equity	$	263,716		$	77,478		$	42,567		$	58,652		$	34,324
Accumulated other comprehensive loss	(22,742		)	(11,944		)	(33,531		)	(16,876		)	(35,235		)
Total stockholders’ equity excluding accumulated other comprehensive  loss (b)	$	286,458		$	89,422		$	76,098		$	75,528		$	69,559
Return on Equity:
Return on stockholders’ equity  (a)	28.3		%	23.7		%	1.7		%	10.3		%	4.9		%
Return on stockholders equity excluding accumulated other comprehensive loss (b)	23.7		%	17.2		%	1.2		%	6.6		%	3.6		%

(a)We define return on equity as net income divided by average total stockholders’ equity.  Average total stockholders’ equity is determined based upon the total stockholders’ equity at the beginning and the end of the year.  The computation of average stockholders’ equity for 2003 has been modified to recognize the significant increase in stockholders’ equity that resulted from the receipt of the net proceeds from our initial public offering in December 2003.

(b)Total stockholders’ equity excluding accumulated other comprehensive loss and return on stockholders’ equity excluding accumulated other comprehensive loss are non-GAAP measures.  Since accumulated other comprehensive loss fluctuates from quarter to quarter due to unrealized changes in the fair market value of investments caused principally by changes in market interest rates, we believe these non-GAAP financial measures provide useful supplemental information.

4

Capitalization/ Book Value per Share – 5 years

	At December 31,
	2003			2002			2001			2000			1999
	(Dollars in thousands, except per share data)
Capitalization:
Notes payable to banks	$	31,833		$	43,333		$	46,667		$	44,000		$	20,600
Subordinated debentures payable to subsidiary trusts	116,425			—			—			—			—
Company-obligated mandatorily redeemable preferred securities of  subsidiary trusts	—			100,486			100,155			99,503			98,982
Total debt	148,258			143,819			146,822			143,503			119,582
Total stockholders’ equity	263,716			77,478			42,567			58,652			34,324
Total capitalization	411,974			221,297			189,389			202,155			153,906
Accumulated other comprehensive income (AOCL)	(22,742		)	(11,944		)	(33,531		)	(16,876		)	(35,235		)
Total capitalization excluding AOCL (b)	$	434,716		$	233,241		$	222,920		$	219,031		$	189,141
Total stockholders’ equity	$	263,716		$	77,478		$	42,567		$	58,652		$	34,324
Accumulated other comprehensive income	(22,742		)	(11,944		)	(33,531		)	(16,876		)	(35,235		)
Total stockholders’ equity excluding AOCL (b)	$	286,458		$	89,422		$	76,098		$	75,528		$	69,559
Common shares outstanding	35,294,035			14,438,452			14,516,974			14,530,242			14,136,930
Book Value per Share: (a)
Book value per share including AOCL	$	7.19		$	4.67		$	2.24		$	3.35		$	1.72
Book value per share excluding AOCL (b)	$	7.83		$	5.50		$	4.55		$	4.51		$	4.21

(a)Book value per share including and excluding AOCL is calculated as total stockholders’ equity and total stockholders’ equity excluding AOCL less the liquidation preference of our series preferred stock ($10 million) divided by the total number of shares of common stock outstanding.

(b)Total capitalization, total stockholders’ equity and book value per share excluding AOCL, are non-GAAP financial measures.  Since AOCL fluctuates from quarter to quarter due to unrealized changes in the fair market value of investments caused principally by changes in market interest rates, we believe these non-GAAP financial measures provide useful supplemental information.

5

Premiums by Product Type

Annuity deposits by product type collected in 2003, 2002 and 2001

	Before coinsurance						Net of coinsurance
Product Type	2003		2002		2001		2003		2002		2001
	(Dollars in thousands)						(Dollars in thousands)
Index Annuities:
Index Strategies	$	768,105	$	867,880	$	656,731	$	468,716	$	523,224	$	431,571
Fixed Strategy	330,539		614,549		237,824		201,702		370,496		156,553
	1,098,644		1,482,429		894,555		670,418		893,720		588,124
Fixed Rate Annuities:
Single-Year Rate  Guaranteed	564,256		629,945		391,470		343,048		380,772		279,598
Multi-Year Rate  Guaranteed	64,108		322,856		1,139,160		64,108		322,856		1,139,160
	628,364		952,801		1,530,630		407,156		703,628		1,418,758
	$	1,727,008	$	2,435,230	$	2,425,185	$	1,077,574	$	1,597,348	$	2,006,882

Surrender Charge Protection and Fund Values by Product Type

Annuity Surrender Charges and Net (of coinsurance) Fund Values at December 31, 2003

	Surrender Charge				Net Fund Value
Product Type	Avg. Years At Issue	Avg.RemainingYears	Avg. Remaining %		Dollars in Millions		% of Total
Index Annuities	12.1	10.1	13.3	%	$	3,032.1	48.3	%
Single-Year Fixed Rate  Guaranteed Annuities	11.9	9.8	12.8	%	1593.4		25.4	%
Multi-Year Rate  Guaranteed Annuities	4.9	2.6	7.8	%	1,655.1		26.3	%
	10.6	8.4	12.0	%	$	6,280.6	100.0	%

6

Surrender Charge Profile of Annuity Liabilities

	Fixed Annuities Account Value		Index Annuities Account Value
FIXED DEFERRED ANNUITY SURRENDER CHARGE PERCENTAGES:
Market Value Adjustment	$	1,478,908	$	—
No Surrender Charge	7,387		2,611
‹ 1 percent	—		132
1 percent	11		144
2 percent	—		320
3 percent	15,444		4,519
4 percent	14,306		1,304
5 percent	11,200		8,762
6 percent	34,469		23,423
7 percent	1,246,776		50,587
8 percent	233,273		88,086
9 percent	76,201		318,768
10 percent or greater	130,568		2,533,439
Total	$	3,248,545	$	3,032,094
FIXED ANNUITY-INTEREST GUARANTEE PERIOD:
1 Year	$	1,593,488	$	933,639
Multi-Year (3 - 5 years)	1,655,057		—
Bailout	—		—
Cumulative floor (1)	—		2,098,455
Total	$	3,248,545	$	3,032,094
FIXED ANNUITY-ULTIMATE MINIMUM GUARANTEE RATE: (2)
3 percent	$	3,126,129	$	933,639
4 percent	122,416		—
Cumulative floor (1)	—		2,098,455
Total	$	3,248,545	$	3,032,094

7

Comparison of Minimum Guaranteed Rates to Credited Rates

	Fixed Annuities Account Value		Index Annuities Account Value
CREDITED RATE VS. MINIMUM GUARANTEED RATE DIFFERENTIAL (3) (4):
No differential	$	99,554	$	659
0.0% - 0.5%	1,010,820		821,169
0.5% - 1.0%	91,774		68,336
1.0% - 1.5%	233,025		41,211
1.5% - 2.0%	139,397		2,209
2.0% - 2.5%	308,862		55
2.5% - 3.0%	665,401		—
Greater than 3.0	699,711		—
Cumulative floor (1)	—		2,098,455
Total	$	3,248,545	$	3,032,094

(1)Index products provide guarantees based on a cumulative floor over the term of the product.

(2)New products have been filed with a guarantee of 2.25% for the first 10 years, & 3.00% thereafter.

(3)Recent issues may contain bonus interest earnings ranging from 1.0% to 7.0%.

(4)Includes products with multi-year guarantees for which the credited rate cannot be decreased until the end of the multi-year period.  At the end of the multi-year guarantee period, we will have the ability to lower the crediting rate to the minimum guarantee by an average decrease of approximately 290 basis points.

12

Spread Results

	December 31,
	2003		2002		2001
Weighted average yield on invested assets	6.43	%	6.91	%	7.08	%
Weighted average crediting rate for fixed rate annuities:
Annually adjustable	3.69	%	4.69	%	5.17	%
Multi-year rate guaranteed	5.70	%	5.82	%	6.24	%
Weighted average net index costs for index annuities	3.46	%	4.19	%	4.54	%
Investment spread:
Index annuities	2.97	%	2.72	%	2.54	%
Fixed rate annuities:
Annually adjustable	2.74	%	2.22	%	1.91	%
Multi-year rate guaranteed	0.73	%	1.09	%	0.84	%

13

Summary of Invested Assets

	December 31,
	2003				2002
	Carrying Amount		Percent		Carrying Amount		Percent
	(Dollars in thousands)
Fixed maturity securities:
United States Government and agencies	$	4,289,857	68.9	%	$	4,207,840	79.0	%
State, municipal, and other governments	—		—		5,631		0.1	%
Public utilities	51,835		0.8	%	51,023		1.0	%
Corporate securities	409,482		6.6	%	413,743		7.8	%
Redeemable preferred stocks	10,079		0.2	%	12,822		0.2	%
Mortgage and asset-backed securities:
Government	264,102		4.2	%	70,047		1.3	%
Non-Government	419,959		6.7	%	141,548		2.7	%
Total fixed maturity securities	5,445,314		87.4	%	4,902,654		92.1	%
Equity securities	21,409		0.3	%	17,006		0.3	%
Mortgage loans on real estate	608,715		9.8	%	334,339		6.3	%
Derivative instruments	119,833		1.9	%	52,313		0.9	%
Policy loans	324		0.0	%	295		0.0	%
Cash and cash equivalents	32,598		0.4	%	21,163		0.3	%
Total cash and investments	$	6,228,193	100.0	%	$	5,327,770	100.0	%

14

Credit Quality of Fixed Maturity Securities

		December 31,
		2003				2002
NAICDesignation	Rating Agency Equivalent	CarryingAmount		Percent		CarryingAmount		Percent
		(Dollars in thousands)
1	Aaa/Aa/A	$	5,191,006	95.3	%	$	4,624,824	94.3	%
2	Baa	174,519		3.2	%	230,847		4.7	%
3	Ba	47,904		0.9	%	37,478		0.8	%
4	B	21,109		0.4	%	7,505		0.2	%
5	Caa and lower	10,773		0.2	%	2,000		—
6	In or near default	3		—		—		—
	Total fixed maturity securities	$	5,445,314	100.0	%	$	4,902,654	100.0	%

Watch List Securities - Aging of Gross Unrealized Losses

Issuer	AmortizedCost		UnrealizedLosses			EstimatedFair Value		MaturityDate	Months BelowAmortized Cost
	(Dollars in thousands)
Continental Airlines Pass Thru Certificates 2001-001 Class B	$	9,498	$	(1,468	)	$	8,030	6/15/2017	16
Diversified Asset Securities II Class B-1	3,000		(1,204		)	1,796		9/15/2005	14
Land O’ Lakes Capital Securities	8,075		(3,435		)	4,640		3/15/2028	36
Northwest Airlines Pass Thru Certificates 1999-1 Class C	8,867		(2,791		)	6,076		8/1/2015	33
Oakwood Mortgage 2000-C M1	16,934		(8,604		)	8,330		10/15/2030	14
Pegasus Aviation 1999-1A C1	6,004		(2,904		)	3,100		3/25/2029	28
	$	52,378	$	(20,406	)	$	31,972

15

Mortgage Loans by Region and Segment

	December 31,
	2003				2002
	CarryingAmount		Percent		CarryingAmount		Percent
	(Dollars in thousands)
Geographic distribution
East	$	115,817	19.0	%	$	51,785	15.5	%
Middle Atlantic	56,563		9.3	%	40,879		12.2	%
Mountain	79,777		13.1	%	26,478		7.9	%
New England	38,539		6.3	%	13,242		4.0	%
Pacific	42,327		7.0	%	20,499		6.1	%
South Atlantic	105,635		17.4	%	96,401		28.8	%
West North Central	125,163		20.5	%	65,178		19.5	%
West South Central	44,894		7.4	%	19,877		5.9	%
Total mortgage loans	$	608,715	100.0	%	$	334,339	100.0	%

	December 31,
	2003				2002
	CarryingAmount		Percent		CarryingAmount		Percent
	(Dollars in thousands)
Property type distribution
Office	$	145,490	23.9	%	$	81,133	24.3	%
Medical Office	55,314		9.1	%	17,138		5.1	%
Retail	163,434		26.8	%	102,362		30.6	%
Industrial/Warehouse	162,943		26.8	%	97,811		29.3	%
Hotel	20,819		3.4	%	21,218		6.3	%
Apartments	29,565		4.9	%	4,176		1.2	%
Mixed use/other	31,150		5.1	%	10,501		3.1	%
Total mortgage loans	$	608,715	100.0	%	$	334,339	100.0	%

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Shareholder Information

Corporate Offices:

American Equity Investment Life Holding Company

5000 Westown Parkway Suite 440

West Des Moines, IA 50266

Inquiries:

Debra J. Richardson, Investor Relations

(515) 273-3551, drichardson@american-equity.com

John M. Matovina, Vice Chairman

(515) 273-3552, jmatovina@american-equity.com

D. J. Noble, Chairman

(515) 457-1703, dnoble@american-equity.com

Stock Symbol:

American Equity’s common stock is

traded on the New York Stock Exchange

under the symbol “AEL”.

Transfer Agent:

EquiServe

P.O. Box 43010

Providence, RI 02940

Phone: (877) 282-1169

Fax: (781)838-8813

Analyst Coverage:

Steven Schwartz

Raymond James Financial, Inc.

(312)-612-7686, sschwartz@ecm.rjf.com

Elizabeth C. Malone

Advest, Inc.

(202) 434-4704, elizabeth.malone@advest.com

Annual Report and Other Information:

Shareholders may receive when available, without charge, a copy of American Equity’s Annual Report, SEC filings and/or press releases by calling Debra J. Richardson, Senior Vice President, at (515)-457-1704 by visiting our web site at www.american-equity.com.

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