Jackson Financial juggles up-and-down annuity sales to a Q3 profit

Jackson Financial is predominantly an annuity seller and the company rode out the changing product preferences in a healthy third quarter.

Changing interest rates and other economic factors pushed customers away from some product lines and toward others.

Jackson saw its registered index-linked annuity sales rise 28% over the year-ago period. But that was offset by a 57% decline in fixed and fixed index annuity sales. It added up to a 2% increase in overall annuity sales, a figure CEO Laura Prieskorn is pleased with.

“Retail annuity sales for the quarter reached their highest level since we became an independent company, exceeding $5 billion dollars,” she noted on a Wednesday call with Wall Street analysts.

Jackson once dominated traditional variable annuity sales. VAs fell out of favor in recent years, with consumers flocking to fixed-indexed and RILA products. Jackson reported a rebound of sorts in Q3 with VA sales of $2.9 billion, up 13% from Q2 and 8% from the year-ago quarter, reflecting higher sales of products without lifetime benefits.

“Importantly, average variable annuity balances increased by $10 billion from the second quarter, supporting an increase in third-quarter fee income of 8% quarter over quarter,” Prieskorn explained.

The insurer introduced Jackson Market Link Pro III and Jackson Market Link Pro Advisory III in May, which boosted their RILA line. Jackson added 500 advisors since launching the Market Link products, Prieskorn said.

“Our new RILA relationship with JP Morgan Chase is one example of accelerating RILA sales through a valued partnership,” she said.

In Other News

New FIA. Midway through the third quarter, Jackson launched a pair of new FIAs with an embedded guaranteed minimum withdrawal benefit.

Jackson Income Assurance, a commission-based FIA, and Jackson Income Assurance Advisory, a fee-based FIA, each offer 7- and 10-year options, "giving consumers choices based on their individual needs and retirement timeline," the insurer announced in a news release.

"Looking ahead, we expect our recent fixed index annuity launch will contribute to future sales growth," Prieskorn said. "Jackson's fixed index products further expand our portfolio of annuity solutions meeting a wide range of retirement planning goals for advisors and their clients."

Quarterly Snapshot

• Announced a $1 billion increase to the company’s existing common share repurchase authorization.
• An estimated risk-based capital (RBC) ratio at Jackson National Life Insurance Co. of 579%.
• PPM America, Jackson's asset management subsidiary, reported an 18% increase in assets under management from the year-ago quarter.
• Closed life/annuity blocks reported pretax adjusted operating income of $15 million in Q3, compared to $7 million in the year-ago quarter, reflecting higher spread income, partially offset by higher mortality.

Management Perspective

"We did see a bit of an uptick in the surrender rate, primarily driven by the fact that equity markets were up, and that does tend to influence surrender activity because of the moneyness in the contract."

Don Cummings, chief financial officer

By The Numbers

• Net Income: $65 million (-$480 million in Q3 2024)
• Adjusted Operating Earnings: $433 million ($350 million in Q3 2024)
• Earnings Per Share: $6.16 per share ($4.60 in Q3 2024)
• Share Repurchases: $154 million in Q3 2025
• Dividend Declared: $56 million in Q3 2025
• Stock Price Movement: Shares declined about 7% to $93.66 at market close Wednesday

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InsuranceNewsNet Senior Editor John Hilton has covered business and other beats in more than 20 years of daily journalism. John may be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @INNJohnH.