Brighthouse Shield Annuities are designed to help clients take advantage of growth opportunities in equity markets through index-tracking, while providing a pre-defined level of protection in down markets. Clients have the potential to earn returns up to the contract's Cap Rate or Step Rate each term, with the assurance of downside protection against index loss up to the contract's Shield Rate. Shield Level Selector SM, the first product launched in the Shield family, was recently named one of Barron's Top 50 Annuities in the "Annuities for Tax-Deferred Investing" category of the publication's 2017 ranking.