Athene USA, based in West Des Moines, was the No. 1 national seller of indexed annuities in the second quarter, unseating Allianz Life, which had held the leading sales position for more than a decade, according to the Wink’s Sales & Market Report for the annuity industry compiled by Wink Inc. Rounding out the top five companies in indexed annuity sales after Allianz Life were Fidelity & Guaranty Life, AIG and Sammons Financial Cos. Overall, second-quarter indexed annuity sales of $12.83 billion were down nearly 22% when compared with the previous quarter, and down nearly 35% when compared with the same period last year. Sales of all deferred annuities totaled $45.9 billion, a decline of 12.8% from the previous quarter and a decline of 21.2% from the same period last year. Noteworthy highlights for all deferred annuity sales in the second quarter include Jackson National Life ranking as the No.1 carrier overall for deferred annuity sales, with a market share of 7.5%. New York Life followed in second place, while Massachusetts Mutual Life Cos., Lincoln National Life and Equitable Financial rounded out the top five carriers in the market.