Related Parties

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2020

11. Related Parties

Apollo

Current fee structure – Substantially all of our investments are managed by Apollo, which provides direct investment management, asset allocation, mergers and acquisition asset diligence and certain operational support services for our investment portfolio, including investment compliance, tax, legal and risk management support.

During the second quarter of 2019, we entered into the Seventh Amended and Restated Fee Agreement, dated as of June 10, 2019, between us and AGM’s subsidiary, Apollo Insurance Solutions Group LP (ISG) (Fee Agreement). Under the Fee Agreement, effective retroactive to January 1, 2019, we pay Apollo:

(1)a base management fee equal to the sum of (i) 0.225% per year of the lesser of (A) the aggregate market value of substantially all of the assets in substantially all of the investment accounts of or relating to us (collectively, the Accounts) on December 31, 2018 of $103.4 billion (Backbook Value) and (B) the aggregate market value of substantially all of the assets in the Accounts at the end of the respective month, plus (ii) 0.15% per year of the amount, if any (Incremental Value), by which the aggregate market value of substantially all of the assets in the Accounts at the end of the respective month exceeds the Backbook Value; plus

(2)with respect to each asset in an Account, subject to certain exceptions, that is managed by Apollo and that belongs to a specified asset class tier (Core, Core Plus, Yield, and High Alpha), a sub-allocation fee as follows, which will, in the case of assets acquired after January 1, 2019, be subject to a cap of 10% of the applicable asset’s gross book yield:

(i)0.065% of the market value of Core assets, which include public investment grade corporate bonds, municipal securities, agency RMBS or CMBS, and obligations of governmental agencies or government sponsored entities that are not expressly backed by the US government;

(ii)0.13% of the market value of Core Plus assets, which include private investment grade corporate bonds, fixed rate first lien commercial mortgage loans (CML), and certain obligations issued or assumed by financial institutions and determined by Apollo to be “Tier 2 Capital” under Basel III, a set of recommendations for international banking regulations developed by the Bank for International Settlements;

(iii)0.375% of the market value of Yield assets, which include non-agency RMBS, investment grade CLO, CMBS and other ABS (other than RMBS and CLO), emerging market investments, below investment grade corporate bonds, subordinated debt obligations, hybrid securities or surplus notes issued or assumed by a financial institution, rated preferred equity, residential mortgage loans (RML), bank loans, investment grade infrastructure debt, and floating rate CMLs on slightly transitional or stabilized traditional real estate;

(iv)0.70% of the market value of High Alpha assets, which include subordinated CML, below investment grade CLO, unrated preferred equity, debt obligations originated by MidCap, CMLs for redevelopment or construction loans or secured by non-traditional real estate, below investment grade infrastructure debt, certain loans originated directly by Apollo (other than MidCap loans), and agency mortgage derivatives; and

(v)0.00% of the market value of cash and cash equivalents, US treasuries, non-preferred equities and alternatives.

The following represents assets based on the above sub-allocation structure:


(In millions, except percentages)	September 30, 2020		Percent of Total		December 31, 2019		Percent of Total
Core	$	48,409	28.7	%	$	32,474	25.5	%
Core Plus	39,543		23.4	%	30,155		23.6	%
Yield	58,791		34.8	%	48,557		38.0	%
High Alpha	6,776		4.0	%	5,062		4.0	%
Other	15,289		9.1	%	11,302		8.9	%
Total sub-allocation assets	$	168,808	100.0	%	$	127,550	100.0	%

Additionally, the Fee Agreement provides for a possible payment by Apollo to us, or a possible payment by us to Apollo, equal to 0.025% of the Incremental Value as of the end of each year, beginning on December 31, 2019, depending upon the percentage of our investments that consist of Core and Core Plus assets. If more than 60% of our invested assets that are subject to the sub-allocation fees are invested in Core and Core Plus assets, we will receive a 0.025% fee reduction on the Incremental Value. If less than 50% of our invested assets that are subject to the sub-allocation fee are invested in Core and Core Plus assets, we will pay an additional fee of 0.025% on Incremental Value.

During the three months ended September 30, 2020 and 2019, we incurred management fees, inclusive of the base and sub-allocation fees, of $111 million and $127 million, respectively. During the nine months ended September 30, 2020 and 2019, we incurred management fees, inclusive of the base and sub-allocation fees, of $362 million and $313 million, respectively. Management fees are included within net investment income on the condensed consolidated statements of income. As of September 30, 2020 and December 31, 2019, management fees payable were $31 million and $42 million, respectively, and are included in other liabilities on the condensed consolidated balance sheets.

In addition to the assets on our condensed consolidated balance sheets managed by Apollo, Apollo manages the assets underlying our funds withheld receivable. For these assets, the third-party cedants pay Apollo fees based upon the same fee construct we have with Apollo. Such fees directly reduce the settlement payments that we receive from the third-party cedant and, as such, we indirectly pay those fees. Finally, Apollo charges management fees and carried interest on Apollo-managed funds and other entities in which we invest. Neither the fees paid by such third-party cedants nor the fees or carried interest paid by such Apollo-managed funds or other entities are included in the investment management fee amounts cited above.

Investment management agreement (IMA) termination – Our bye-laws currently provide that we may not, and will cause our subsidiaries not to, terminate any IMA among us or any of our subsidiaries, on the one hand, and a member of the Apollo Group (as defined in our bye-laws), on the other hand, other than on June 4, 2023 or any two year anniversary of such date (each such date, an IMA Termination Election Date) and any termination on an IMA Termination Election Date requires (i) the approval of two-thirds of our Independent Directors (as defined in the bye-laws) and (ii) prior written notice to the applicable Apollo subsidiary of such termination at least 30 days, but not more than 90 days, prior to an IMA Termination Election Date. If our Independent Directors make such election to terminate and notice of such termination is delivered, the termination will be effective no earlier than the second anniversary of the applicable IMA Termination Election Date (IMA Termination Effective Date). Notwithstanding the foregoing, (A) except as set forth in clause (B) below, our board of directors may only elect to terminate an IMA on an IMA Termination Election Date if two-thirds of our Independent Directors determine, in their sole discretion and acting in good faith, that either (i) there has been unsatisfactory long-term performance materially detrimental to us by the applicable Apollo subsidiary or (ii) the fees being charged by the applicable Apollo subsidiary are unfair and excessive compared to a comparable asset manager (provided, that in either case such Independent Directors must deliver notice of any such determination to the applicable Apollo subsidiary and the applicable Apollo subsidiary will have until the applicable IMA Termination Effective Date to address such concerns, and provided, further, that in the case of such a determination that the fees being charged by the applicable Apollo subsidiary are unfair and excessive, the applicable Apollo subsidiary has the right to lower its fees to match the fees of such comparable asset manager) and (B) upon the determination by two-thirds of our Independent Directors, we or our subsidiaries may also terminate an IMA with the applicable Apollo subsidiary, on a date other than an IMA Termination Effective Date, as a result of either (i) a material violation of law relating to the applicable Apollo subsidiary’s advisory business, or (ii) the applicable Apollo subsidiary’s gross negligence, willful misconduct or reckless disregard of its obligations under the relevant agreement, in each case of this clause (B), that is materially detrimental to us, and in either case of this clause (B), subject to the delivery of written notice at least 30 days prior to such termination; provided, that in connection with an event described in clause (B)(i) or (B)(ii), the applicable Apollo subsidiary shall have the right to dispute such determination of the Independent Directors within 30 days after receiving notice from us of such determination, in which case the matter will be submitted to binding arbitration and such IMA shall continue to remain in effect during the period of the arbitration (the events described in the foregoing clauses (A) and (B) are referred to in more detail in our bye-laws as “AHL Cause”).

Governance – We have a management investment committee, which includes members of our senior management and reports to the risk committee of our board of directors. The committee focuses on strategic decisions involving our investment portfolio, such as approving investment limits, new asset classes and our allocation strategy, reviewing large asset transactions, as well as monitoring our credit risk, and the management of our assets and liabilities.

A significant voting interest in the Company is held by shareholders who are members of the Apollo Group. Also, James Belardi, our Chief Executive Officer, is an employee of ISG and receives remuneration from acting as Chief Executive Officer of ISG. Mr. Belardi also owns a 5% profit interest in ISG (Interest). It is expected that the Interest will be revised such that Mr. Belardi will receive a lesser interest in the equity of ISG and also receive a specified percentage of other fee streams earned by Apollo, potentially comprised of or including the sub-allocation fees. Additionally, six of the sixteen members of our board of directors are employees of or consultants to Apollo (including Mr. Belardi). In order to protect against potential conflicts of interest resulting from transactions into which we have entered and will continue to enter into with the Apollo Group, our bye-laws require us to maintain a conflicts committee comprised solely of directors who are not officers or employees of any member of the Apollo Group. The conflicts committee reviews and approves material transactions between us and the Apollo Group, subject to certain exceptions.

Other related party transactions

A-A Mortgage – We have an equity method investment of $666 million and $487 million as of September 30, 2020 and December 31, 2019, respectively, in A-A Mortgage, which has an investment in AmeriHome. We have a loan purchase agreement with AmeriHome. The agreement allows us to purchase residential mortgage loans which AmeriHome has purchased from correspondent sellers and pooled for sale in the secondary market. AmeriHome retains the servicing rights to the sold loans. We purchased $0 million and $254 million of residential mortgage loans under this agreement during the three months ended September 30, 2020 and 2019, respectively. We purchased $169 million and $254 million of residential mortgage loans under this agreement during the nine months ended September 30, 2020 and 2019, respectively. Additionally, we hold ABS securities issued by AmeriHome affiliates of $165 million and $170 million as of September 30, 2020 and December 31, 2019, respectively, which are included in related party AFS securities on the condensed consolidated balances sheets. We also have commitments to make additional equity investments in A-A Mortgage of $125 million as of September 30, 2020. Additionally, on October 26, 2020, we invested in $195 million of unsecured notes issued by AmeriHome.

MidCap – During the third quarter of 2020, AAA Investment (Co Invest VII), L.P. (CoInvest VII) was dissolved. CoInvest VII held a significant investment in MidCap. CoInvest VII was included in related party investment funds on the condensed consolidated balance sheets and was reflected as a consolidated VIE prior to the first quarter of 2020. Subsequent to the dissolution of CoInvest VII, we now hold MidCap directly as profit participating notes, which are included in related party trading ABS securities on the condensed consolidated balance sheets. We have also advanced amounts under a subordinated debt facility to MidCap. During the second quarter of 2020, we invested $67 million in MidCap redeemable preferred stock. The subordinated debt facility and redeemable preferred stock are included in related party other investments and related party trading securities, respectively, on the condensed consolidated balance sheets. The following summarizes these investments in MidCap:


(In millions)	September 30, 2020		December 31, 2019
Investment fund	$	—	$	547
Profit participating notes	532		—
Subordinated debt facility	322		339
Redeemable preferred stock	77		—
Total investment in MidCap	$	931	$	886

Additionally, we hold ABS and CLO securities issued by MidCap affiliates of $537 million and $624 million as of September 30, 2020 and December 31, 2019, respectively, which are included in related party AFS securities on the condensed consolidated balance sheets.

Athora – We have a cooperation agreement with Athora, pursuant to which, among other things, (1) for a period of 30 days from the receipt of notice of a cession, we have the right of first refusal to reinsure (i) up to 50% of the liabilities ceded from Athora’s reinsurance subsidiaries to Athora Life Re Ltd. and (ii) up to 20% of the liabilities ceded from a third party to any of Athora’s insurance subsidiaries, subject to a limitation in the aggregate of 20% of Athora’s liabilities, (2) Athora agreed to cause its insurance subsidiaries to consider the purchase of certain funding agreements and/or other spread instruments issued by our insurance subsidiaries, subject to a limitation that the fair market value of such funding agreements purchased by any of Athora’s insurance subsidiaries may generally not exceed 3% of the fair market value of such subsidiary’s total assets, (3) we provide Athora with a right of first refusal to pursue acquisition and reinsurance transactions in Europe (other than the United Kingdom (UK)) and (4) Athora provides us and our subsidiaries with a right of first refusal to pursue acquisition and reinsurance transactions in North America and the UK. Notwithstanding the foregoing, pursuant to the cooperation agreement, Athora is only required to use its reasonable best efforts to cause its subsidiaries to adhere to the provisions set forth in the cooperation agreement and therefore Athora’s ability to cause its subsidiaries to act pursuant to the cooperation agreement may be limited by, among other things, legal prohibitions or the inability to obtain the approval of the board of directors or other applicable governing body of the applicable subsidiary, which approval is solely at the discretion of such governing body. As of September 30, 2020, we have not exercised our right of first refusal to reinsure liabilities ceded to Athora’s insurance or reinsurance subsidiaries.

Our investment in Athora, which is included in related party investment funds on the condensed consolidated balance sheets, was $572 million and $132 million as of September 30, 2020 and December 31, 2019, respectively. During the second quarter of 2020, we contributed capital of $361 million to Athora. Additionally, as of September 30, 2020 and December 31, 2019, we had $117 million and $146 million, respectively, of funding agreements outstanding to Athora. We also have commitments to make additional equity investments in Athora of $370 million as of September 30, 2020.

Venerable – We have coinsurance and modco agreements with Venerable Insurance and Annuity Company (VIAC, formerly Voya Insurance and Annuity Company). VIAC is a related party due to our minority equity investment in its holding company’s parent, VA Capital Company LLC (VA Capital), which was $108 million and $99 million as of September 30, 2020 and December 31, 2019, respectively. The minority equity investment in VA Capital is included in related party investment funds on the condensed consolidated balance sheets and accounted for as an equity method investment. VA Capital is owned by a consortium of investors, led by affiliates of AGM, Crestview Partners and Reverence Capital Partners, and is the parent of Venerable, which is the parent of VIAC. Additionally, we have a 15-year term loan receivable from Venerable due in 2033, which is included in related party other investments on the condensed consolidated balance sheets. The loan is held at the principal balance less allowances and was $145 million and $148 million as of September 30, 2020 and December 31, 2019, respectively. While management views the overall transactions with Venerable as favorable to us, the stated interest rate of 6.257% on the term loan to Venerable represents a below-market interest rate, and management considered such rate as part of its evaluation and pricing of the reinsurance transactions.

Strategic Partnership – We have an agreement pursuant to which we may invest up to $2.5 billion over three years in funds managed by Apollo entities (Strategic Partnership). This arrangement is intended to permit us to invest across the Apollo alternatives platform into credit-oriented, strategic and other alternative investments in a manner and size that is consistent with our existing investment strategy. Fees for such investments payable by us to Apollo would be more favorable to us than market rates, and consistent with our existing alternative investments, investments made under the Strategic Partnership require approval of ISG and remain subject to our existing governance processes, including approval by our conflicts committee where applicable. As of September 30, 2020 and December 31, 2019, we had $137 million and $97 million, respectively, of investments under the Strategic Partnership and these investments are included in related party investment funds on the condensed consolidated balance sheets and were reflected as consolidated VIEs in prior periods.

PK AirFinance – During the fourth quarter of 2019, we and Apollo purchased PK AirFinance (PK), an aviation lending business, including PK’s in force loan portfolio (Aviation Loans), from the Aviation Services Unit of GE Capital (GE). The Aviation Loans are generally fully secured by aircraft leases and aircraft. In connection with such transaction, Apollo acquired the PK loan origination platform, including personnel and systems and, pursuant to certain agreements entered into between us, Apollo, and certain entities managed by Apollo (collectively, PK Transaction Agreements), the existing Aviation Loans were acquired and securitized by a newly formed SPV for which Apollo acts as ABS manager (ABS-SPV). The ABS-SPV issued tranches of senior notes and subordinated notes, which are secured by the Aviation Loans.

In connection with the acquisition of the existing Aviation Loans by the ABS-SPV (i) a tranche of senior notes was acquired by third-party investors and (ii) we purchased mezzanine tranches of the senior notes and the subordinated notes. As of September 30, 2020 and December 31, 2019, our investment in securitizations of loans originated by PK was $1,244 million and $1,282 million, respectively, and are included in related party AFS or trading securities on the condensed consolidated balance sheets. We also have commitments to make additional investment in securitizations of loans originated by PK of $215 million as of September 30, 2020.

In addition to the investment in the senior notes and subordinated notes, we also have a right to acquire, whether directly, through the ABS-SPV or through a similar vehicle, all Aviation Loans originated by PK (Forward Flow Loans). All servicing and administrative costs and expenses of Apollo (determined at cost, without mark-up) that are incurred in connection with the sourcing, origination, servicing and maintaining the Forward Flow Loans, net of any service fees and servicing and administrative cost and expense reimbursement amounts received directly from the ABS-SPV or other entities investing in the Forward Flow Loans are allocated to, and reimbursed by the ABS-SPV or us, as applicable, subject to an agreed-upon annual cap.

In addition to the payment of the expenses described in the preceding paragraph and the base management fee paid to Apollo on all assets managed by Apollo, we have paid or expect to pay the following fees to Apollo or certain service providers that are affiliates of, or are companies managed by, Apollo in connection with the PK Transaction Agreements:

(A)To Apollo, sub-allocation fees on the senior notes based on the rates applicable to Yield assets and sub-allocation fees on the subordinated notes based on the rates applicable to High Alpha assets.

(B)To Redding Ridge Asset Management LLC, a company in which certain funds managed by Apollo have an interest, as consideration for assistance with the structuring, monitoring, support and maintenance of the securitization transactions, a one-time structuring fee, as well as ongoing support fees equal to 1.5 bps on the total capitalization amount and certain other fees, which may become due upon the occurrence of certain events; and

(C)To Merx Aviation Servicing Limited, a company externally managed by Apollo Investment Management, L.P., with respect to certain diligence, technical support and enforcement, remarketing and restructuring services with respect to the existing Aviation Loans and the Forward Flow Loans, a one-time servicing fee, as well as certain special situations fees, which may become due upon the occurrence of certain events.

Apollo/Athene Dedicated Investment Program (ADIP) – Our subsidiary, Athene Co-Invest Reinsurance Affiliate 1A Ltd. (together with its subsidiaries, ACRA) is partially owned by ADIP, which is managed by AGM. As of March 31, 2020, ADIP owned 67% of the equity interests, while we retained 100% of the voting power and 33% of the equity interests in ACRA. On April 1, 2020, ALRe purchased 14,000 newly issued ACRA shares for $66 million, which resulted in ALRe holding 36.55% of the economic interests in ACRA. The remaining 63.45% of the economic interests in ACRA are held by ADIP. During the nine months ended September 30, 2020, we received a capital contribution of $240 million from ADIP and paid a dividend of $46 million to ADIP.

Apollo Share Exchange and Related Transactions – On February 28, 2020, we closed a strategic transaction with AGM and certain affiliates of AGM which collectively comprise the Apollo Operating Group (AOG), pursuant to which we sold 27,959,184 newly issued Class A common shares to the AOG for an investment in Apollo of 29,154,519 newly issued AOG units valued at $1.1 billion and we sold 7,575,758 newly issued Class A common shares to the AOG for $350 million. Pursuant to the underlying transaction agreements, among other things (1) AGM has the right to purchase additional Class A common shares until August 26, 2020 to the extent AOG and certain affiliates, employees and consultants of AGM do not beneficially own at least 35% of the issued and outstanding Class A common shares (inclusive of Class A common shares over which any such persons have a valid proxy), on a fully diluted basis, in a number to achieve such 35% ownership level at a price based upon a weighted average price during the 30 days prior to the exercise of the purchase right and (2) Apollo Management Holdings, L.P. (AMH) has the right to purchase up to that number of Class A common shares that would increase by 5 percentage points the percentage of the issued and outstanding Class A common shares beneficially owned by the AOG and certain affiliates, employees and consultants of AGM (inclusive of Class A common shares over which any such persons have a valid proxy), calculated on a fully diluted basis. In connection with the closing of the transaction, we made certain amendments to our bye-laws which, among other things, eliminated our multi-class share structure.

Concurrent with our entry into the transaction agreements, AMH, James Belardi, our Chief Executive Officer, and William Wheeler, our President (each an “Other Shareholder”), entered into a voting agreement, pursuant to which each Other Shareholder irrevocably appointed AMH as its proxy and attorney-in-fact (Proxy) to vote all of such Other Shareholder’s Class A common shares at any meeting of our shareholders occurring following the closing date and in connection with any written consent of our shareholders following the closing date. The Proxy will be of no force and effect if Apollo and certain affiliates thereof cease to hold some minimum level of ownership not to exceed 7.5% of our Class A common shares.

AA Infrastructure Fund 1 LLC (AA Infrastructure) – We have an investment in preferred shares of AA Infrastructure, which is a fund managed by ISG. As of September 30, 2020 and December 31, 2019, we held $50 million and $58 million, respectively, of preferred shares, which are included in related party equity securities on the condensed consolidated balance sheets, and also held AA Infrastructure ABS securities of $293 million and $267 million, respectively, which are included in related party trading securities on the condensed consolidated balance sheets. We also have commitments to make additional investments in AA Infrastructure of $51 million as of September 30, 2020.