Equitable Holdings Puts Bitcoin Inside a Retirement Annuity, Capping Exposure at 25%
$BTC exposure arrived inside a registered index-linked annuity on September 2, when Equitable Holdings (NYSE: EQH) added what it calls the industry's first bitcoin-linked option to its SCS Premier product, tracking the…
Key takeaways
- On September 2, Equitable Holdings added what it calls the industry's first bitcoin-linked option to its SCS Premier registered index-linked annuity, tracking the iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF (IBIT) through one-year segments.
- The bitcoin-linked allocation is generally capped at 25% of contract value, with downside buffers offered at 10%, 15%, 20%, and 40%, and any loss beyond the buffer falls entirely on the client.
- For Q2 2026, Equitable reported record assets under management and administration of $1.2 trillion (up 10% year over year) but a GAAP net loss of $453 million ($1.68 per share) alongside non-GAAP operating earnings of $488 million.
- Equitable shareholders approved the Corebridge Financial merger on July 30, with management expecting it to add more than 10% to run-rate earnings per share by year-end 2028, pending still-outstanding regulatory approval.
- Hedge fund ownership rose from 42 to 49 funds in the most recent quarter while the forward price-to-earnings ratio stood at 5.82 as of September 17.
$BTC exposure arrived inside a registered index-linked annuity on September 2, when Equitable Holdings (NYSE: EQH) added what it calls the industry's first bitcoin-linked option to its SCS Premier product, tracking the iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF (NASDAQ: IBIT) through one-year segments with downside buffers at 10%, 15%, 20%, and 40%. Allocations are generally capped at 25% of contract value. The next confirmable milestone on the setup is regulatory sign-off on Equitable's pending Corebridge Financial merger.
The product and the numbers
Steve Scanlon, Equitable's Head of Individual Retirement, framed the launch as a response to investors who are curious about $BTC but wary of its volatility. The structure is deliberate: any loss beyond the stated buffer falls entirely on the client. Equitable says it introduced the first index-linked annuity in 2010, and the September 2 expansion follows that pattern of moving early as investor appetite shifts.
The same update added Optimal Mix Segments, which spread allocations across multiple indices and weight the best performers at maturity, and Dual Direction Downside Advantage segments that can turn a decline within the buffer into a gain equal to twice the size of that drop.
The business beneath the product launch is growing. Equitable reported net inflows of $1.7 billion in Retirement, $2.0 billion in Wealth Management, and $0.8 billion in Asset Management for the second quarter of 2026, pushing total assets under management and administration to a record $1.2 trillion, up 10% from a year earlier. The company returned $449 million to shareholders in the quarter and says it remains on track for a payout ratio of 60% to 70% in 2026.
The GAAP line complicates that picture. Equitable posted a net loss of $453 million, or $1.68 per share, for the second quarter while non-GAAP operating earnings came in at $488 million. Book value per common share stood at negative $6.79 once accumulated other comprehensive income is included, and only turns positive, to $30.92, when the company's AllianceBernstein stake is marked at fair value rather than book value.
Positioning and the Corebridge timeline
Hedge fund ownership climbed from 42 funds to 49 in the most recent quarter, a count that reads as accumulation rather than distribution. The forward price-to-earnings ratio stood at 5.82 as of September 17, a multiple pricing in little optimism against record assets under management and a positive inflow trend. When institutional positioning and the market's implied growth expectation sit this far apart, the gap tends to close once reported earnings align with the non-GAAP story.
Equitable shareholders approved the Corebridge Financial merger on July 30. Management expects the combination to add more than 10% to earnings per share on a run-rate basis by year-end 2028, conditional on regulatory approval still outstanding. That approval is what to watch.