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Brighthouse Financial, Inc. (BHF) is one of the largest providers of annuity and life insurance products in the United States. The company offers a range of financial products designed to address the needs of individuals for wealth accumulation, wealth transfer, and income security. BHF operates through multiple independent distribution channels and collaborates with a diverse network of distribution partners to deliver its products.
- Annuities - Offers variable, fixed, index-linked, and income annuities to address contract holders' needs for protected wealth accumulation on a tax-deferred basis, wealth transfer, and income security.
- Life - Provides term, universal, whole, and variable life insurance products designed to address policyholders' needs for financial security and protected wealth transfer, potentially on a tax-advantaged basis.
- Run-off - Manages products no longer actively sold, including ULSG, structured settlements, pension risk transfer contracts, certain company-owned life insurance policies, and certain funding agreements.
- Corporate & Other - Contains excess capital not allocated to other segments, interest expense related to outstanding debt, expenses associated with legal proceedings and income tax audit issues, and activities related to funding agreements associated with the institutional spread margin business.
| Name | Position | External Roles | Short Bio | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Eric T. Steigerwalt ExecutiveBoard | President and Chief Executive Officer | Member, Board of Directors at American Council of Life Insurers ; Member, Board of Directors at Wells Fargo Champions for Education | Eric T. Steigerwalt has served as the President and Chief Executive Officer of Brighthouse Financial since August 2017 and has been a Director and Chair of the Executive Committee since 2016. He has extensive experience in financial leadership, having held various executive roles in the insurance industry. | View Report → |
Allie Lin Executive | Executive Vice President and General Counsel | Allie Lin has served as the Executive Vice President and General Counsel at Brighthouse Financial since December 2022, following her previous roles as Head of Litigation and Employment Law and Lead Litigation and Employment Attorney. | ||
Edward A. Spehar Executive | Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer (CFO) | Edward A. Spehar serves as the Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer (CFO) at Brighthouse Financial since August 2019. He does not hold any board or committee memberships at the company. | ||
John L. Rosenthal Executive | Executive Vice President and Chief Investment Officer | John L. Rosenthal has been the Executive Vice President and Chief Investment Officer at Brighthouse Financial since August 2017. He previously held roles at MetLife as the Executive Vice President and Chief Investment Officer for Brighthouse Financial, Inc. from August 2016 to August 2017 and as Senior Managing Director and Head of Global Portfolio Management from 2011 to August 2017. | ||
Myles J. Lambert Executive | Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing and Distribution Officer | Myles J. Lambert has been the Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing and Distribution Officer at Brighthouse Financial since August 2017. Previously, he served as Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing and Distribution Officer at Brighthouse Financial, Inc. under MetLife from August 2016 to August 2017 and as Senior Vice President, U.S. Retail Distribution and Marketing at MetLife from April 2016 to August 2017. | ||
Vonda R. Huss Executive | Executive Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer | Vonda R. Huss is the Executive Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer at Brighthouse Financial since November 2017. Previously, she served as Executive Vice President, Co-Head of Human Resources at Wells Fargo from September 2015 to November 2017. | ||
C. Edward (Chuck) Chaplin Board | Chairman of the Board | Director at MGIC Investment Corp. | C. Edward (Chuck) Chaplin serves as Chairman of the Board at Brighthouse Financial since 2017 and is an independent director. He has extensive leadership experience from his previous roles at MBIA, Inc. and Prudential Financial, Inc. | |
Carol D. Juel Board | Independent Director | Girls Who Code: Chair of the Board of Directors; College of the Holy Cross: Trustee | Carol D. Juel has served as an Independent Director at Brighthouse Financial since 2021, bringing extensive experience in technology, cybersecurity, and financial services from her previous executive roles at Synchrony Financial and GE. | |
Diane E. Offereins Board | Independent Director | Director at Flywire Corporation; Board Member at Bluecode; Board Member at Lendbuzz Insurance, LLC | Diane E. Offereins has served as an Independent Director at Brighthouse Financial since 2017 and is the Chair of the Compensation and Human Capital Committee. She brings deep expertise in financial services, information technology, and cybersecurity with previous executive roles at Discover Financial Services. | |
Eileen A. Mallesch Board | Independent Director | Director at Arch Capital Group Ltd; Director at Fifth Third Bancorp | Eileen A. Mallesch has been serving as an Independent Director at Brighthouse Financial since 2018. She brings extensive financial expertise from her previous roles as CFO and SVP at various companies including Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company and GE. | |
Lizabeth H. Zlatkus Board | Independent Director | Independent Director at Pathward Financial, Inc. (2021 – present); Independent Director at AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (2019 – present) | Lizabeth H. Zlatkus is an Independent Director at Brighthouse Financial, having joined the Board on April 9, 2024. She serves on both the Audit and Finance and Risk committees and brings extensive leadership experience from her tenure at The Hartford Financial Services Group. | |
Michael J. (Mike) Inserra Board | Independent Director | Independent Consultant | Michael J. (Mike) Inserra has served as an Independent Director at Brighthouse Financial since 2024, where he is also a member of the Audit and Investment Committees. Prior to joining BHF, he has been active as an Independent Consultant (2021 – Present) and held leadership roles at Ernst & Young LLP and other organizations in the financial services industry. | |
Paul M. Wetzel Board | Independent Director | Consultant at Eleven Canterbury ; Consultant at Rockefeller Capital Management ; Board Leadership Fellow at National Association of Corporate Directors | Paul M. Wetzel has served as an Independent Director at Brighthouse Financial since 2017. He actively contributes to the board by chairing the Finance and Risk Committee and serving on additional committees, while bringing extensive experience from his previous leadership roles at Deutsche Bank and Merrill Lynch. | |
Stephen C. (Steve) Hooley Board | Independent Director | Director at Q2 Holdings, Inc. (2020 – present) | Stephen C. (Steve) Hooley is an Independent Director at Brighthouse Financial since 2020. He brings extensive leadership experience from previous roles including CEO at DST Systems, Inc. and leadership positions at State Street Corporation. |
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Considering the evolving hedging strategy for your legacy variable annuity and older Shield book, can you provide a revised timeline and detail the specific hurdles that have delayed finalizing your approach compared to the midyear projections mentioned last quarter?
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With the target combined RBC ratio set at approximately 400%, how do you plan to balance new reinsurance transactions and hedging adjustments amid market volatility and evolving statutory requirements to maintain this stability?
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You’ve noted that dividends from BLIC are part of a multiyear forward plan; under what specific conditions or capital efficiency outcomes would you initiate subsidiary dividend payments versus reinvesting in strategic initiatives?
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Given the competitive dynamics in the registered index-linked annuity market, particularly with enhanced offerings from competitors, what concrete actions are you taking to reinforce the market positioning and pricing power of your flagship Shield products?
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In light of a 7% reduction in corporate expenses juxtaposed with ongoing inflationary pressures, how are you managing the trade-off between preserving expense discipline and ensuring sufficient investment in growth initiatives for your capital-intensive business model?
Recent press releases and 8-K filings for BHF.
- Brighthouse Financial received an unsolicited mini-tender offer from Potemkin Limited to purchase up to 100,000 shares at $36.00 per share, which is approximately a 41.12% discount to its closing price of $61.14 on May 19, 2025.
- The company explicitly recommends that shareholders do not tender their shares in response to the offer, emphasizing that the offer is significantly below current market value.
- The mini-tender offer is scheduled to expire at 5:00 p.m. EDT on September 16, 2025, unless it is extended or revoked.
- Capital and Liquidity: Estimated combined RBC ratio ranged between 420%-440% with $1.0 billion in holding company liquid assets and a statutory combined total adjusted capital of $5.5 billion.
- Earnings Performance: Adjusted earnings, less notable items, came in at $245 million, about $15 million below quarterly expectations, with normalized statutory earnings of $0.3 billion.
- Share Repurchases: The company repurchased $59 million of common stock in Q1 2025 and an additional $26 million through May 6, 2025.
- Segment Highlights: Annuity sales decreased 21% year-over-year, while life insurance sales increased 24% compared to Q1 2024.
- Net loss available to shareholders of $294 million and adjusted earnings of $245 million, or $5.04 and $4.17 per diluted share, respectively.
- The company repurchased $85 million of common stock year-to-date through May 6, 2025.
- Annuity sales reached $2.3 billion, including $2.0 billion in flagship Shield Level Annuities, with life sales of $36 million.
- Maintained a robust capital position with an estimated combined RBC ratio between 420%-440% and holding company liquid assets of $1.0 billion.