Apollo, Athene and Motive Ventures Invest in ARS to Accelerate Availability of Guaranteed Income Offerings in Defined Contribution Market

Rhea-AI Summary

Apollo (NYSE:APO), Athene, and Motive Partners have announced the acquisition of ARS, a guaranteed lifetime income solutions provider for the defined contribution market. The investment involves purchasing all outstanding ARS shares through a new entity owned by Athene and Motive Partners-advised funds.

ARS's flagship technology, Lifetime Income Builder, enables guaranteed lifetime income to be integrated into defined contribution systems and target date fund products. This technology is currently powering the State Street GTC Retirement Income Builder Series, available across multiple recordkeeping platforms.

The acquisition addresses a growing market need, with over 11,000 Americans turning 65 daily and a projected 40% increase in the 65+ population by 2050. ARS will maintain independent operations while scaling its multi-carrier offerings across the defined contribution ecosystem.

Positive

• Strategic acquisition provides Athene entry into growing defined contribution market
• Technology solution addresses significant market opportunity with aging population
• Multi-carrier technology platform already operational with State Street GTC series
• Maintains independent operations allowing continued multi-carrier strategy

Negative

• Integration and scaling challenges may affect implementation timeline
• Multiple carrier model could increase operational complexity

Insights

Financial Strategist

Athene's acquisition of ARS represents a strategic expansion into the growing defined contribution market. This move positions the company to capitalize on a significant demographic trend, with over 11,000 Americans turning 65 daily and this population expected to increase by 40% by 2050.

The acquisition solves a critical market challenge - the lack of an efficient delivery mechanism for guaranteed income products. ARS's proprietary Lifetime Income Builder technology enables annuity products to be seamlessly integrated into target date funds, the dominant investment vehicle in the defined contribution landscape. This solves a major distribution hurdle that has historically annuity penetration in 401(k) and similar plans.

The deal structure is noteworthy - ARS will continue operating independently under a new entity owned by Athene and Motive Partners-advised funds. This multi-carrier approach preserves ARS's ability to work across the ecosystem while still providing Athene preferred access to this distribution channel. The technology is already implemented with State Street GTC Retirement Income Builder Series, demonstrating market validation.

With trillions in defined contribution assets seeking retirement income solutions, this acquisition gives Athene access to a massive untapped market. The technology asset also diversifies Athene's business model beyond pure insurance toward financial technology, potentially enhancing valuation multiples longer-term.

Retirement Industry Expert

This acquisition addresses a fundamental structural problem in the retirement industry. The defined contribution system has excelled at accumulating assets but struggled with distributing sustainable lifetime income - precisely what ARS's technology facilitates.

The significance becomes apparent when examining retirement statistics: the average 401(k) participant approaching retirement has insufficient assets to generate sustainable income. By embedding guaranteed income directly into target date funds through ARS's technology, Athene can help solve the most pressing challenge facing retirement plan participants.

The multi-carrier approach is particularly astute. Rather than limiting the technology to Athene's products alone, maintaining independence allows broader adoption across numerous recordkeeping platforms. This creates a network effect - as more insurers join, more recordkeepers implement, creating a virtuous adoption cycle.

What makes this truly innovative is that participants don't need to actively select annuities - they gain lifetime income protection through their default investment option. The behavioral economics implications are profound, as inertia becomes an advantage rather than obstacle to adoption.

State Street's implementation provides vital social proof for an industry historically resistant to change. With regulatory tailwinds from SECURE 2.0 legislation supporting lifetime income in retirement plans, Athene has positioned itself at the nexus of technology, distribution, and demographic trends driving the future of retirement security.

With Over 11,000 Americans Turning 65 Every Day, ARS’s Technology Addresses Growing Need for Security of Lifetime Income, Delivered Directly into Target Date Funds

Investment Accelerates Athene’s Ability to Bring Guaranteed Income Offerings to the Defined Contribution Market

WEST DES MOINES, Iowa, March 13, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Apollo (NYSE:APO), Athene, and Motive Partners today announced the purchase of ARS, an innovative guaranteed lifetime income solutions and technology provider for the defined contribution market.

With the number of Americans age 65+ expected to increase 40% by 2050, there is a massive need for solutions that provide guaranteed income. To date, the key limiter to bringing these solutions to market has been the lack of a simple, efficient delivery mechanism.

ARS has created a distinctive multi-carrier technology, Lifetime Income Builder, that allows guaranteed lifetime income to seamlessly fit into the defined contribution ecosystem, including directly into target date fund products.  

“ARS’s technology for the defined contribution market will redefine the way Americans use guaranteed income to retire with certainty,” said Jim Belardi, CEO of Athene. “With ARS, we have a platform to deliver next generation target date fund solutions that are needed to drive better retirement outcomes.”

“We were first to market with an innovative technology that embeds guaranteed income in retirement products, removing a common hurdle for target date fund managers and recordkeepers,” said Dave Paulsen, CEO of ARS. “Apollo, Athene and Motive’s backing will be transformative in helping us scale our technology and expand access to guaranteed income solutions.”

The investment in ARS was made by the acquisition of all outstanding shares by a new entity owned by Athene and funds advised by Motive Partners. ARS will continue to operate independently as it seeks to scale its multi-carrier offerings across the defined contribution ecosystem. Lifetime Income Builder technology is currently powering the State Street GTC Retirement Income Builder Series, sponsored by Global Trust Company, which is available across a growing number of recordkeeping platforms. Lifetime Income Builder includes annuity guarantees backed by multiple insurers within a target date fund construct.

About Apollo
Apollo is a high-growth, global alternative asset manager. In our asset management business, we seek to provide our clients excess return at every point along the risk-reward spectrum from investment grade credit to private equity. For more than three decades, our investing expertise across our fully integrated platform has served the financial return needs of our clients and provided businesses with innovative capital solutions for growth. Through Athene, our retirement services business, we specialize in helping clients achieve financial security by providing a suite of retirement savings products and acting as a solutions provider to institutions. Our patient, creative, and knowledgeable approach to investing aligns our clients, businesses we invest in, our employees, and the communities we impact, to expand opportunity and achieve positive outcomes. As of December 31, 2024, Apollo had approximately $751 billion of assets under management. To learn more, please visit www.apollo.com.

About Athene
Athene is the leading retirement services company, with over $360 billion of total assets as of December 31, 2024, and operations in the United States, Bermuda, Canada, and Japan. Athene is focused on providing financial security to individuals by offering an attractive suite of retirement income and savings products and also serves as a solutions provider to corporations. For more information, please visit www.athene.com.

About ARS
ARS is a leading lifetime income solutions company dedicated to solving the retirement income challenge with innovative, participant-first solutions. Founded in 2020, ARS is led by a team of industry veterans with a combined 175 years of experience in retirement plans, annuities, and asset management. ARS’s Lifetime Income Builder seamlessly integrates lifetime income into target date funds. Learn more at www.arsfinancial.com.

About Motive Partners
Motive Partners is a specialist private equity firm with offices in New York City, London and Berlin, focusing on growth equity and buyout investments in software and information services companies based in North America and Europe and serving five primary subsectors: Banking & Payments, Capital Markets, Data & Analytics, Insurance and Wealth & Asset Management. Motive Partners brings differentiated expertise, connectivity and capabilities to create long-term value in financial technology companies. Motive Ventures is the early-stage investment arm of Motive Partners, focused on pre-seed through to Series A financial technology investments in North America and Europe. For more information, please visit www.motivepartners.com.

Contacts:
Joanna Rose
Global Head of Corporate Communications
Apollo Global Management, Inc.
212-822-0491
communications@apollo.com

Jeanne Hess
Vice President, External Relations
Athene
646-768-7319
jeanne.hess@athene.com

FAQ

What is the strategic importance of ARS acquisition for Athene?

The acquisition enables Athene to accelerate its entry into the defined contribution market by leveraging ARS's Lifetime Income Builder technology for guaranteed income solutions.

How does ARS's Lifetime Income Builder technology work in target date funds?

The technology embeds annuity guarantees from multiple insurers directly into target date fund products, simplifying the delivery of guaranteed lifetime income solutions.

What is the market opportunity driving this acquisition?

With 11,000 Americans turning 65 daily and a 40% expected increase in 65+ population by 2050, there's significant demand for guaranteed income solutions in retirement planning.

Will ARS continue to operate independently after the acquisition?

Yes, ARS will maintain independent operations while scaling its multi-carrier offerings across the defined contribution ecosystem.