American Equity Investment Life Holding Co., a leading issuer of fixed index annuities based in West Des Moines, reported second quarter 2018 net income of $93.9 million, or $1.03 per share, compared with net income of $26.9 million, or 30 cents per share, for second quarter 2017. Policyholder funds under management on June 30 were $49.9 billion, up $787 million, or 1.6 percent, from March 31. Total sales by independent agents for American Equity Life increased 13 percent sequentially, while total sales by broker-dealers and banks for the company’s Eagle Life Insurance subsidiary increased by $58 million, or 34 percent, sequentially. American Equity Chairman and CEO John Matovina said in an earnings release that a new line of annuity products introduced in March, the IncomeShield Series, is already the company’s second-best-selling product line, accounting for 23 percent of American Equity Life’s sales in June. For the quarter, sales of fixed index annuities were up 13 percent sequentially to $1.1 billion, its third consecutive sequential quarterly increase, driven by the gain in sales for American Equity Life.