Athene Holding Ltd., parent of West Des Moines-based Athene USA and a leading provider of retirement savings products, announced higher earnings for its second quarter. Net income was $720 million, or $3.75 per diluted Class A common share, compared with $257 million, or $1.30 per share, a year ago. The increase was primarily driven by favorable changes in the fair value of reinsurance assets related to the decrease in Treasury rates, as well as a 28% increase in adjusted operating income, the Bermuda-based company said in an earnings release. “In the second quarter, strong investment returns drove near-record earnings as our business generated an adjusted operating [return on equity] of 19% in Retirement Services,” said Jim Belardi, CEO of Athene. The company has repurchased $542 million of its common stock since December, and Athene’s board has increased the share repurchase authorization by $350 million, effective immediately, bringing the total outstanding authorization to $425 million. “As we have consistently stated, we will deploy capital opportunistically across organic and inorganic growth initiatives, share repurchases, and bolstering for ratings upgrades, as we seek the highest risk-adjusted returns for our shareholders,” Belardi said.