Jackson Financial ramps up reinsurance strategy to grow annuity sales

Jackson Financial unveiled its latest growth phase after the close of the fourth quarter 2025, but those significant moves dominated the insurer’s quarterly call on Thursday.

In a deal that closed Feb. 11, TPG made a $500 million common equity investment in Jackson, acquiring approximately a 6.5% minority stake. A global asset management firm, TPG was given a 10-year mandate to manage a minimum of $12 billion of Jackson's assets, with incentives to reach $20 billion over time.

Jackson also launched its second reinsurer, Hickory Re, which serves as a "capital-efficient" vehicle to reinsure fixed and fixed indexed annuity products. Jackson established Brooke Re in early 2024, and it primarily reinsures variable annuity guaranteed benefits from Jackson National Life Insurance Co.

“TPG’s unique investment capabilities and collaborative culture align well with Jackson and our teams have already been working closely together,” Jackson CEO Laura Prieskorn told Wall Street analysts during the call. “Our partnership with TPG, combined with capital efficiency from our captive strategy, positions us well for fixed and fixed indexed annuity sales momentum.”

Jackson powered its way to yet another strong quarter of sales as it continues an impressive pivot away from being the dominant traditional variable annuity seller. Variable annuities, which represented 96% of Jackson’s sales as recently as 2021, dropped to 47% of sales in 2025.

In an April interview with InsuranceNewsNet, Alison Reed, chief operating officer of Jackson National Life Distributors, talked about the company's commitment to a growth-and-distribution strategy.

It was a big year for Jackson’s annuity product suite. In May, Jackson introduced Market Link Pro III and Market Link Pro Advisory, a pair of registered index-linked annuities. The insurer followed in August with a pair of Income Assurance fixed indexed annuities.

Both were home runs.

For the 2025 full year, RILA sales rose 22% and RILA account values ended the year at $20 billion, a 14% increase from the third quarter and a 74% increase from 2024. Fixed and fixed indexed annuity sales of $812 million in the fourth quarter of 2025 were up 105% from the fourth quarter of 2024.

“Importantly, RILA and FIA have broadened our distribution reach, resulting in expanded broker-dealer partnerships and deeper relationships with advisors selling multiple Jackson product lines,” Prieskorn said.

In Other News

Surrenders. Jackson saw plenty of fluctuation in surrender rates through 2025, said Don Cummings, executive vice president and chief financial officer. In the first half of the year, surrenders improved as market volatility kept policyholders on the sidelines.

“But since April, as equity markets reached new highs, we've seen surrenders pick up in the second half of the year,” he said. “Looking ahead, we expect surrender activity to remain closely tied to what's happening in the equity markets.”

Quarterly Snapshot

• Increased first quarter 2026 common dividend by 12.5% to $0.90 per share. Established a 2026 capital return to common shareholders target of $900 million to $1.1 billion.
• Cash and highly liquid securities at the holding company of more than $650 million at year end, well above Jackson’s targeted $250 million minimum liquidity buffer.
• Reported total adjusted capital of more than $5.5 billion at year end, and a risk-based capital ratio at Jackson National Life Insurance Co. of 567%.
• Closed life and annuity blocks reported pretax adjusted operating income of $5 million in the fourth quarter, compared to a $70 million loss in the year-ago quarter, reflecting a "comparatively favorable impact from the annual actuarial assumptions update."
• Record institutional sales of $3.5 billion in 2025 were up 77% compared to 2024.

Management Perspective

“We also see momentum in the fee-based advisory business, where 2025 sales reached a record $1.5 billion. The growth was broad based as our investment-only variable annuity, Elite Access, and our RILA offering accounted for over two-thirds of advisory sales, while our traditional variable annuity accounted for nearly all of the remainder.”

CEO Laura Prieskorn

By The Numbers

• Net Income: -$215 million ($334 million in Q4 2024)
• Adjusted Operating Earnings: $455 million ($349 million in Q4 2024)
• Earnings Per Share: $6.61 per diluted share ($4.65 in Q4 2024)
• Share Repurchases: $150 million in Q4 2025
• Dividend Declared: $55 million in Q4 2025
• Stock Price Movement: Shares declined 2% to $114.37 on Thursday afternoon

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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.