Wilma Jackson Burdis • Raymond James

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Stephen McAnena, EVP & COO, stated that April's catastrophe activity was in line with expectations and the full-year estimate is being maintained. Ryan Greenier, EVP & CFO, reminded listeners that Q2 is historically the heaviest cat quarter, accounting for about 50% of the $90 million annual guidance. Marita Zuraitis, President & CEO, added that 2025 will be the first year to see the full impact of property volatility mitigation efforts like roof schedules.

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EVP and CFO Ryan Greenier stated that the company is at an "inflection point" with CMLs, forecasting a 6.25% return for 2025, and clarified that the catastrophe loss guidance of $90 million is slightly lower than 2024's actuals. President and CEO Marita Zuraitis, along with executive Mark Desrochers, added that the cat loss estimate is exposure-adjusted and reflects significant underwriting and mitigation efforts. Regarding growth, Ms. Zuraitis noted that detailed strategic plans would be unveiled at the upcoming Investor Day in May.

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CFO Ryan Greenier explained that with a clear path to double-digit ROEs, the primary capital priority is funding profitable growth, followed by the dividend, with share buybacks remaining an opportunistic lever. President and CEO Marita Zuraitis added that capital accumulation is on track. Regarding PYD, Marita Zuraitis reiterated that the company's consistent reserving process identified clear favorable trends in prior-year injury lines during the third quarter, which prompted the reserve release.

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Chief Risk Officer Jonathan Porter noted encouraging trends of lower excess mortality in the general population and stated that while RGA is encouraged by the potential of GLP-1s, their impact is not yet explicitly reflected in assumptions. CEO Tony Cheng clarified that 'repricing' the Equitable block refers to the initial pricing of the reinsurance transaction itself, where RGA applies its own assumptions and data to determine the terms for taking on the business.

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Chief Financial Officer Axel Philippe Andre explained that the economic impact of claims experience is typically amortized into accounting results over the life of the business, estimated at around 15-plus years. He also noted that it can take up to 12 to 18 months to fully reposition acquired asset portfolios to achieve their full earnings run rate.

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CEO Margi Tooth stated that while the pace of rate increases will slow, the company continues to get necessary rate adjustments as part of its cost-of-goods model. CFO Fawwad Qureshi explained that strong cash flow was primarily driven by higher AOI, not reduced spending, and the company remains focused on its full-year free cash flow target.

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CFO Fawwad Qureshi explained that the margin guidance assumes veterinary inflation continues at 15% and includes some fixed expense headwinds in H1 2025. CEO Margi Tooth reiterated the long-term 15% margin goal and noted they are on track for significant two-year margin expansion. She also confirmed inflation trends are in line with expectations. Fawwad Qureshi clarified that while pet months in the 'other revenue' segment are declining, ARPU growth from partners taking pricing actions is slowing the overall revenue decline.

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CFO Fawwad Qureshi confirmed a one-time benefit of $0.5 million (20 basis points) in the subscription segment from prior period development, smaller than the $2.1 million benefit in Q2. For the 'other business' segment, he explained the higher loss ratio was due to inflation impacting partner Pets Best and a favorable reserve development in the prior quarter. He reiterated that Trupanion's margin on this business is unaffected due to the loss-sensitive nature of the agreement.

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CFO John McCallion expressed optimism for MIM's five-year strategy, highlighting its differentiated, high-quality solutions and a strong business development pipeline. Regarding the Talcott deal, he explained that MetLife secured a mandate to manage roughly $6 billion in assets. Half of this relates to assets from the transaction, while the other half is a separate mandate won through the relationship, consisting mostly of public fixed income assets.

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CFO John McCallion explained that RIS earnings have been impacted by interest rate cap roll-offs but should now stabilize, while Group Benefits seasonality and some one-off items affected the current quarter. He noted that a return to normal VII levels would be supported by a stabilization in interest rates and the yield curve, which would improve exit options like M&A and IPOs for the private equity sector.

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Masatoshi Koide, President of Aflac Japan, clarified the issue involved Japan Post Company's inappropriate use of non-public information and was not related to an Aflac product. He stated that preventative measures are being implemented and that sales activities for Aflac's new cancer product are continuing across the Japan Post Group as of April.

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CFO Max Broden stated there is no change to the reinsurance strategy, with about 6% of the block ceded so far toward the 10% internal cap, and noted satisfaction with the results. He also explained that while a weaker yen impacts GAAP financials, the company's economic value is protected through a comprehensive enterprise hedging program involving dollar-denominated assets, yen-denominated debt, and FX forwards.

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Daniel Amos stated his plans haven't changed and he serves at the pleasure of the Board, but emphasized his responsibility for succession planning. He highlighted the strength of the management bench, specifically mentioning Virgil Miller as a potential successor. Virgil Miller, President of Aflac U.S., noted that despite a slow start to the year, sales have rebounded due to success in the jumbo case market and improved agent recruiting, which saw a 10% increase.

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CFO Robin Raju explained the deal's primary benefit to credit risk is the capital release, which will increase the RBC ratio by 75-100 basis points, providing a larger cushion. He stated that major portfolio repositioning is complete and the current focus is on deploying capital into private credit through AllianceBernstein.

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CFO Robin Raju confirmed that mortality results are in line with expectations and that the company is comfortable with its $200-$300 million annual earnings guidance for the segment. Onur Erzan, Head of AB's Global Client Group, detailed that AB's third consecutive quarter of positive flows was broad-based, driven by strong performance and demand in fixed income, retail equities, and its growing alternatives franchise, including a successful ETF platform.

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CEO Gary Bhojwani confirmed the Worksite geographic expansion has driven substantial sales growth and is expected to continue. CFO Paul McDonough detailed that ROE improvement is driven by a multitude of factors, not a 'single silver bullet,' including business growth, higher interest rates, in-force management, new business pricing, and disciplined capital management.

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CFO Paul McDonough detailed that the tech investment focuses on converting legacy systems to cloud-based SaaS solutions to enhance agility and leverage new technologies like GenAI. CEO Gary Bhojwani added this creates a modern foundation for future features. Regarding the ROE guidance, Bhojwani cited CNO's track record of delivering on commitments and having clear line of sight on multiple improvement levers. McDonough noted that compounding tailwinds from sales growth and higher interest rates also support their confidence.

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CFO Paul McDonough described expense management as a continuous focus to free up capital for growth investments. CEO Gary Bhojwani expressed a very bullish outlook on sales opportunities, citing powerful tailwinds from retiring baby boomers, rising healthcare costs, a lack of government retirement solutions, and CNO's strong competitive moat in the middle-income market.

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CEO Deanna Strable and Executive Amy Friedrich explained that while quarterly mortality can be volatile, the long-term trend remains aligned with expectations. Friedrich noted the quarter's results were driven by claim severity in individual life, including a single large $5 million claim. Regarding spread-based products, Executive Christopher Littlefield confirmed strong performance, citing over $800 million in PRT sales and strong growth in index-linked annuities as part of their core strategy.

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President of Retirement and Income Solutions Christopher Littlefield stated that the PRT litigation has not migrated to the small-to-midsize market and has not impacted PFG's business, highlighting their 80-year track record. On Specialty Benefits, President of U.S. Insurance Solutions Amy Friedrich explained that increased competition, particularly in dental, led to disciplined repricing in H2 2024. This discipline resulted in revised (but still above-market) premium growth guidance for 2025, alongside improved loss ratio and margin targets.

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Chairman and CEO Jim Cracchiolo stated that the recruiting pipeline remains strong and that while transition packages in the industry have become more competitive, Ameriprise's offerings are appropriate for attracting quality advisers. Regarding capital return, he confirmed that the new buyback authorization provides the flexibility to increase the pace of repurchases above the 80% target, depending on the market environment and share price.

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Executives Walter Berman and Jim Cracchiolo confirmed that Corporate costs in early 2025 would be similar to Q4 levels, with transformation costs dissipating through the first half. For overall G&A, they noted it is well-managed but will reflect investments for growth and volume-related variable expenses, particularly in AWM.

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CFO Walter Berman suggested that 80% is a good capital return assumption for 2025 and that corporate expenses should return to the $90 million range after temporary costs related to severance and cloud migration conclude within the next few quarters. CEO Jim Cracchiolo noted the strong excess capital position provides flexibility for 2025.

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CEO Glenn Williams explained that strong ISP sales are driven by large transactions like retirement rollovers, which are less sensitive to daily cost-of-living pressures. CFO Tracy Tan added that while life insurance lapses remain elevated, the trend is stabilizing, and cumulative persistency since the pandemic is better than pre-pandemic levels. She expects lapses to normalize over time.

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CFO Tracy Tan clarified that while lapses ticked down, the overall trend remains elevated due to cost-of-living pressures and will likely take years to normalize. CEO Glenn Williams and CFO Tracy Tan explained the remeasurement loss was a non-material refinement on a small, closed, run-off block of student life insurance from its National Benefit Life subsidiary.

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CEO Eric Steigerwalt explained that recent strain was driven by the growth of the Shield business, which prompted the change in hedging strategy. He also noted the company is exploring a flow reinsurance deal for new Shield business to alleviate capital strain. Chief Investment Officer John Rosenthal stated that while there are opportunities to increase yield, the firm maintains a risk-off approach and is positioned to act on market dislocations. Steigerwalt added that while expense discipline remains a focus, the primary goal is to grow revenues faster than expenses, and the company is not afraid to invest in growth.

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CFO Michael Katz reiterated a focus on rigorous case-level pricing, demanding current data, and enforcing a margin-over-growth strategy. CEO Heather Lavallee confirmed this approach, stating Voya focused on renewing its strong-performing cases while holding firm on underperformers, letting that business go if necessary. She also noted that the higher claims frequency observed in 2024 has been explicitly factored into the pricing for the 2025 book of business.

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Executive Michael Katz clarified the 86% loss ratio pick is for the January 2024 block of business, which is currently being repriced for 2025. Executive Donald Templin addressed the income and growth strategy, noting recent short-term underperformance due to its lower equity beta in a rally but highlighting its high distribution rate and top-decile long-term performance. He emphasized the continued strength of the partnership with AGI.

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CEO Kevin Hogan explained that while shorter-duration products were popular during peak rate uncertainty, the company has seen a return to more traditional 5- and 7-year products as the medium-term rate outlook has stabilized. He confirmed the overall environment for annuities remains excellent across the product spectrum, driven by strong underlying demand and a supportive adviser community.

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Rob Falzon, Vice Chairman, detailed that a licensed Prismic team in Japan is being established to capitalize on a large opportunity driven by the upcoming Economic Solvency Regime (ESR), which will be a catalyst for reinsurance. Caroline Feeney, Head of U.S. Businesses, confirmed strong tailwinds in the U.K. longevity market, citing high pension funding levels and an expected market size of around $70 billion for the year.

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