Fitch Ratings has affirmed a stable outlook for retirement services company Athene, but said its investment portfolio remains more exposed to potential market volatility than the broader life industry.

In its latest ratings report on the firm, Fitch said Athene was looking to capture incremental yield through illiquidity and complexity premiums on an array of structured and private asset classes.

Fitch said the company’s investment portfolio continues to perform well, with only minimal reported impairments.

“Athene has a high level of expertise in managing complex assets,” a Fitch spokesman said.

Fitch affirmed the long-term Issuer default rating of Athene Holding Ltd at 'A-'. It also affirmed the insurer financial strength rating of Athene’s insurance operating subsidiaries at ‘A+’. The rating outlook for Athene and its subsidiaries is stable.

The rating affirmations reflect Athene’s strong company profile, very strong financial performance, strong capitalisation and strong asset/liability management.

Somewhat offsetting these strengths are the company’s exposure to volatility in asset prices and movements in interest rates. The rating also continues to reflect the relationship between Athene and its owner, Apollo Global Management. Fitch’s view is that it is broadly neutral from a credit perspective.

“Athene’s company profile continues to benefit from its leading market position in its core markets, including fixed annuities, pension group annuities and institutional spread products,” Fitch reported.

“Athene’s significant operating scale affords the company material competitive advantages as compared to many annuity peers.”

Fitch was taking a cautious view of Athene’s position in lower-quality commercial mortgage loans and structured assets, as based on the National Association of Insurance Commissioners designation, as those asset classes could generate impairments or material unrealised losses in a stressed environment, but said Athene was unlikely to be a forced seller.