You are given a text that consists of multiple sentences. Your task is to perform abstractive summarization on this text. Use your understanding of the content to express the main ideas and crucial details in a shorter, coherent, and natural sounding text. 
Text: We'll begin with a brief strategic overview from Randy.
Mike will review the Title business.
Chris will review F&G.
And Tony will finish the review of the financial highlights.
There is significant uncertainty about the duration and extent of the impact of this pandemic.
Because such statements are based on expectations as to future financial and operating results and are not statements of fact, actual results may differ materially from those projected.
It will also be available through phone replay beginning at 3:00 p.m. Eastern Time today through Wednesday, November 10.
We are very pleased with our record-setting third quarter results as we increased revenues 31% to $3.9 billion, which resulted in adjusted net earnings growth of 39% to $604 million, both as compared with the 2020 third quarter.
Our Title business continued to deliver record results, while F&G expanded into new institutional channels, which position us well for strong asset growth.
Importantly, we grew our holding company cash balance by 25% to $1.5 billion as compared to $1.2 billion at the end of the second quarter of 2021.
Cash on our balance sheet grew despite our continued activity, returning capital to our shareholders through share buybacks and our quarterly dividend.
As Tony will discuss in more detail, the cash growth was delivered primarily through our organic business results.
During the quarter, we took advantage of exceptional interest rates and issued $450 million of 3.2% senior notes with a 30-year maturity.
We also funded a $400 million intercompany loan with F&G to fund their growth.
Overall, our results this quarter speaks to the dynamic business model that we have created and which we believe positions us for success through varying market cycles.
Turning to our Title results.
We delivered adjusted pre-tax title earnings of $669 million, with an adjusted pre-tax title margin of 21.7% in the 2021 third quarter compared with adjusted pre-tax title earnings of $528 million and an adjusted pre-tax title margin of 21.2% in the 2020 comparable quarter.
Our third quarter margins and earnings were the strongest third quarter results in our company's history, which speaks to our market-leading position combined with outstanding execution by our entire team.
We continue to be very pleased with the results this quarter as we open new channels of distribution and accelerate our sales growth, driving assets under management at the end of the third quarter to nearly $35 billion, an increase of 9% in the quarter.
This growth was driven by strong retail annuity sales and F&G's interest into institutional markets.
Total assets under management have grown 31% since we closed the acquisition, and we are well on our way toward our goal of more than doubling assets under management in five years.
As F&G's assets continue to grow, they provide an increasingly important component of our overall earnings.
Looking forward, we will continue to evaluate our capital allocation strategy as we remain committed to long-term value creation for our shareholders while also focusing on supporting the future growth of our businesses.
Share buybacks are an important component of our strategy, and we were active once again, having purchased 1.3 million shares for $61 million at an average price of $46.29 per share through the third quarter.
In the first week of October, we reached our $500 million share buyback target, which we announced in the fourth quarter of 2020.
Lastly, we announced yesterday a quarterly cash dividend of $0.44 per share, an increase of 10% from our previous quarterly dividend.
This is the second consecutive quarter that we have increased our dividend, given our strong earnings and cash flows through the first three quarters of the year.
As Randy highlighted, our third quarter results were the best third quarter in the company's history.
For the third quarter, we had generated adjusted pre-tax title earnings of $669 million, a 27% increase over the third quarter of 2020.
Our adjusted pre-tax title margin was 21.7%, a 50 basis point increase over the prior year quarter.
The results were driven by a 25% increase in average fee per file, a 9% increase in daily purchase orders closed and a 31% increase in total commercial orders closed, partially offset by a 21% decrease in daily refinance orders closed.
Total commercial revenue was a record $366 million compared with the year-ago quarter of $216 million due to the 31% increase in closed orders and a 28% increase in total commercial fee per file.
For the third quarter, total orders opened averaged 10,800 per day, with July at 11,000, August at 11,000 and September at 10,300.
For October, total orders opened were 9,300 per day, as we saw solid demand and purchase activity, while the refinance market continues to moderate as compared with last year's robust levels.
Daily purchase orders opened were up 1% in the quarter versus the prior year.
And for October, daily purchase orders opened were up 4% versus the prior year.
Refinance orders opened decreased by 33% on a daily basis versus the third quarter of 2020.
For October, daily refinance orders opened were down 38% versus the prior year.
Lastly, total commercial orders opened per day increased by 15% over the third quarter of 2020.
Commercial opened orders per day were just under the record levels we saw in the second quarter.
For October, total commercial opened orders per day were up 15% over October of 2020.
Importantly, commercial opened orders per day have exceeded 1,000 orders each of the last nine months, having consistently been in record territory and will provide momentum as we close out 2021 and begin 2022, given the longer tail for closings in commercial as compared with residential.
Our Title business has performed very well through the third quarter with commercial and purchase volumes more than offsetting the decline in refinance activity.
Looking forward, while refinance volumes may continue to moderate, it is important to note that direct refinance revenue only contributed approximately 19% of total direct revenue in the third quarter compared with 27% in the third quarter of last year.
On a sequential basis, refinance revenue contributed 21% of total direct revenue in the second quarter and 33% in the first quarter of this year.
Additionally, refinance fee per file in the third quarter was approximately $1,000 as compared with nearly $3,400 for purchase, providing a strong counterbalance to declines in refinance revenue.
We will also continue to watch our expenses closely and react to changes in our opened and closed order volumes.
Another critical aspect of our business has been our longer-term focus on integrating and leveraging automation, which has significantly improved our performance, as can be seen by our profitability this cycle.
During the quarter, we reached a significant milestone as more than two million consumers have now been invited to begin their transactions on our digital inHere Experience Platform through Start inHere, and more than 1.3 million have chosen to do so.
As we have discussed, inHere transforms the real estate transaction by improving the safety and simplicity needed to start, track, notarize and close real estate transactions.
We are very pleased with our customers' adoption of our digital platform, as we believe it will not only improve their satisfaction with our service and product, but also improve our efficiency.
Ultimately, we believe the inHere Experience Platform, combined with our scale and our history and expertise in building market-leading technology solutions, positions FNF to grow market share.
At F&G, we're fully executing on our product and channel diversification strategy while leveraging our core capabilities and modernizing our operating platform.
This year has demonstrated our transformation from a previously monoline business into a well-diversified and leading provider of solutions in both retail and institutional markets.
We achieved record sales in the third quarter, surpassing $3 billion in total sales for the quarter and $7 billion in total sales for the first nine months of the year, which in turn have boosted ending assets under management to nearly $35 billion as of September 30, as Randy mentioned previously.
In the third quarter, annuity sales in our retail channel were $1.5 billion, up 43% from the third quarter of 2020 and down slightly from the record sequential quarter.
We see ongoing success with our independent agent distribution and continue to expand our bank and broker-dealer channels.
We are now distributing through a dozen active bank and broker-dealer distribution partners.
We are very pleased that our recent expansion into institutional markets has been exceptionally strong.
Let me provide a few brief details.
F&G has issued $1.2 billion of funding agreement-backed notes in September, following our inaugural $750 million issuance in June.
Both issuances saw extremely strong market demand and attractive pricing.
F&G has also successfully entered the pension risk transfer market, closing $371 million of transactions in the third quarter and securing an additional $564 million of transactions in the fourth quarter.
Based on transactions secured to date, F&G will assume approximately $900 million in pension liabilities and provide annuity benefits to over 22,000 retirees.
Overall, institutional sales were $2.6 billion for the first nine-month period.
And with the additional $500 million pension risk transfer volume secured in the fourth quarter, we're on track to achieve $3 billion of institutional sales in 2021.
With these strong top line results, average assets under management, or AAUM, has reached $32.7 billion, driven by approximately $2.3 billion of net new business flows in the third quarter.
We are focused on generating scale benefits by increasing assets under management while continuing to leverage Blackstone's unique investment management capabilities to deliver consistent spread.
Our results continue to be strong.
Total product net investment spread was 285 basis points in the third quarter and FIA net investment spread was 335 basis points.
Adjusting for favorable notable items, total product spread was 248 basis points and FIA spread was 293 basis points, both in line with our historical trends and consistent with our disciplined approach to pricing.
Let me wrap up with a few thoughts on earnings.
First, F&G's net earnings attributable to common shareholders of $373 million for the third quarter included a $224 million onetime favorable adjustment from an actuarial system conversion, reflecting modeling enhancements and other refinements and represents less than 1% of reserves.
This conversion was a significant milestone in our multiyear effort to deliver a modern, scalable platform, which will provide operating leverage with scale over time.
This onetime favorable adjustment was excluded from adjusted net earnings along with other standard items.
Next, F&G's adjusted net earnings for the third quarter were $101 million.
Strong earnings were driven by record AAUM and strong spread results from disciplined pricing actions on both new business as well as our in-force book.
Net favorable items in the period were $27 million.
Adjusted net earnings, excluding notable items, were $74 million, up from $70 million in the second quarter.
In summary, during the third quarter, we've delivered record sales and strong earnings for F&G.
Our profitable growth strategy is firing on all cylinders, and we have successfully diversified our sources of premiums.
We remain excited about the opportunity to further contribute to the overall FNF strategy in the years ahead.
We generated $3.9 billion in total revenue in the third quarter, with the Title segment producing $2.9 billion, F&G producing $927 million and the Corporate segment generating $44 million.
Third quarter net earnings were $732 million, which includes net recognized losses of $154 million versus net recognized gains of $73 million in the third quarter of 2020.
The net recognized gains and losses in each period are primarily due to mark-to-market accounting treatment of equity and preferred stock securities, whether the securities were disposed of in the quarter or continue to be held in our investment portfolio.
Excluding net recognized gains and losses, our total revenue was $4 billion as compared with $2.9 billion in the third quarter of 2020.
Adjusted net earnings from continuing operations were $604 million or $2.12 per diluted share.
The Title segment contributed $521 million.
F&G contributed $101 million.
And the Corporate segment had an adjusted net loss of $18 million.
Excluding net recognized losses of $169 million, our Title segment generated $3.1 billion in total revenue for the third quarter compared with $2.5 billion in the third quarter of 2020.
Direct premiums increased by 22% versus the third quarter of 2020.
Agency premiums grew by 34%.
And escrow title-related and other fees increased by 14% versus the prior year.
Personnel costs increased by 15%.
And other operating expenses increased by 17%.
All in, the Title business generated a 21.7% adjusted pre-tax title margin, representing a 50 basis point increase versus the third quarter of 2020.
Interest and investment income in the Title and Corporate segments of $27 million declined $4 million as compared with the prior year quarter due to decreases in bond interest, dividends received on preferred stock and a slight decrease in income from our 1031 Exchange business.
In September, we closed an issuance of $450 million of 3.2% senior notes due September of 2051.
We're very pleased with the market's receptivity to our issuance as well as the very attractive rate that we were able to secure.
We also put in place a $400 million intercompany loan to fund F&G's growth and to better optimize their capital structure.
FNF debt outstanding was $3.1 billion on September 30 for a debt-to-total capital ratio of 24.9%.
Our title claims paid of $55 million, were $45 million lower than our provision of $100 million for the third quarter.
The carried reserve for title claim losses is currently $95 million or 5.9% above the actuary's central estimate.
We continue to provide for title claims at 4.5% of total title premiums.
Our title and corporate investment portfolio totaled $6.7 billion at September 30.
Included in the $6.7 billion are fixed maturity and preferred securities of $2.2 billion with an average duration of 2.8 years and an average rating of A2, equity securities of $1.2 billion, short-term and other investments of $500 million and cash of $2.8 billion.
We ended the quarter with $1.5 billion in cash and short-term liquid investments at the holding company level.
Let me end with a few thoughts on capital allocation.
Our capital allocation strategy remains a key focus of the Board.
We're focused on returning capital to shareholders while making strategic investments in our businesses.
Our current level of cash generation supports the following: first, FNF's $500 million annual common dividend; next, our $100 million annual interest expense on F&F debt; third, our $400 million 5.5% senior notes, which are due in September of 2022; and finally, our share repurchases.
We've continued to make share repurchases throughout the third quarter and into the fourth.
During the quarter, we purchased 1.3 million shares at an average purchase price of $46.29 per share.
And in the first week of October, we completed our previously announced $500 million share repurchase plan.
In total, we repurchased 12 million shares at an average price of $41.62 since announcing the plan in October of last year.
With regard to F&G, at the time of the merger last year, we stated that we expected F&G to double assets and earnings over five years through organic growth.
Given current momentum, we foresee that F&G's growth is running about one year ahead of schedule.
For 2021, F&G is on a trajectory to double its annual sales and has materially diversified its business with channel expansion in new retail and institutional markets.
Capital funding for this growth includes $400 million in debt capital from FNF in the third quarter as well as third-party financial reinsurance with an existing partner in the fourth quarter.
Based on current forecasts, we expect to contribute $200 million to $300 million of new equity capital in 2022.
And with F&G's 25% debt-to-capital target, we believe F&G has ample financial flexibility to execute on our growth strategy and capture market opportunities.
Beyond that horizon and subject to ongoing sales momentum, there may be an additional capital investment required in 2023, which could take the form of converting our existing $400 million term loan to equity capital.
But we believe at that point, we will be reaching a level where F&G is self-funding.
Given the compelling growth prospects, it is more attractive to defer any immediate return of capital from F&G in order to support its growing and stable source of earnings and target a return of capital a few years down the line.
FNF has enough capital generation to do all of the above, and we view the marginal return on capital into F&G as attractive and strategically important to our dynamic business model to achieve long-term value creation and attractive shareholder returns.

user
compname reports third quarter 2021 diluted earnings per share from continuing operations of $2.58 and adjusted diluted earnings per share from continuing operations of $2.12.
compname reports third quarter 2021 pre-tax title margin of 16.6% and adjusted pre-tax title margin of 21.7%.
q3 adjusted earnings per share $2.12 from continuing operations.
q3 revenue $3.9 billion versus $3.0 billion.

assistant