What You Need to Know Brighthouse’s net results include big derivatives value swings. Overall individual annuity sales were up. The company sees non-variable indexed annuities as core. Executives from Brighthouse Financial Inc. talked a little bit about their annuity priorities during a recent conference call with securities analysts. Myles Lambert, the Charlotte, North Carolina-based company’s chief distribution and marketing officer, said the company sees its Shield, Flex and SmartCare products as core. The Shield contracts are registered index-linked annuity contracts. The Flex contracts are variable annuity contracts, and the SmartCare are life insurance products that include access to long-term care benefits.