Equitable Holdings Inc (EQH) 2024 Q3 法說會逐字稿

Hello, and thank you for standing by. My name is Regina, and I will be your conference operator today. At this time, I would like to welcome everyone to the Equitable Holdings Third Quarter Earnings Conference Call. (Operator Instructions)

您好，感謝您的支持。我叫雷吉娜，今天我將擔任你們的會議操作員。現在，我歡迎大家參加 Equitable Holdings 第三季財報電話會議。（操作員說明）

I would now like to turn the conference over to Erik Bass, Head of Investor Relations. Please go ahead.

我現在想將會議交給投資者關係主管 Erik Bass。請繼續。

Thank you. Good morning, and welcome to Equitable Holdings Third Quarter 2024 Earnings Call. Materials for today's call can be found on our website at ir.equitableholdings.com.

謝謝。早安，歡迎參加 Equitable Holdings 2024 年第三季財報電話會議。今天電話會議的資料可以在我們的網站 ir.equitableholdings.com 上找到。

Before we begin, I would like to note that some of the information we present today is forward-looking and subject to certain SEC rules and regulations regarding disclosure. Our results may differ materially from those expressed in or indicated by such forward-looking statements. Please refer to the Safe Harbor language on slide 2 of our presentation for additional information.

在開始之前，我想指出，我們今天提供的一些資訊具有前瞻性，並受到 SEC 某些有關披露的規則和法規的約束。我們的結果可能與此類前瞻性陳述中表達或顯示的結果有重大差異。請參閱我們簡報投影片 2 上的安全港語言，以了解更多資訊。

Joining me on today's call are Mark Pearson, President and Chief Executive Officer of Equitable Holdings; Robin Raju, our Chief Financial Officer; Nick Lane, President of Equitable Financial; Jackie Marks, AllianceBernstein's Chief Financial Officer; and Onur Erzan, Head of AllianceBernstein's Global Client Group and Private Wealth business.

參加今天電話會議的還有 Equitable Holdings 總裁兼執行長 Mark Pearson； Robin Raju，我們的財務長； Nick Lane，Equitable Financial 總裁； Jackie Marks，聯博集團財務長；奧努爾‧艾爾贊 (Onur Erzan)，聯博全球客戶集團與私人財富業務主管。

During this call, we will be discussing certain financial measures that are not based on generally accepted accounting principles, also known as non-GAAP measures. Reconciliations of these non-GAAP measures to the most directly comparable GAAP measures and related definitions may be found on the Investor Relations portion of our website and in our earnings release slide presentation and financial supplement.

在本次電話會議中，我們將討論某些不基於公認會計原則的財務指標，也稱為非 GAAP 指標。這些非公認會計準則衡量標準與最直接可比較的公認會計準則衡量標準和相關定義的調節可以在我們網站的投資者關係部分以及我們的收益發布幻燈片演示和財務補充中找到。

I will now turn the call over to Mark.

我現在將把電話轉給馬克。

Good morning, and thank you for joining today's call. Equitable Holdings third quarter results demonstrate continued strong growth momentum, both in terms of new business activity and earnings per share. We once again had positive net flows across our retirement, asset management and wealth management businesses. And firm-wide assets under management surpassed the $1 trillion mark.

早安，感謝您參加今天的電話會議。Equitable Holdings 第三季業績在新業務活動和每股盈餘方面都顯示出持續強勁的成長勢頭。我們的退休、資產管理和財富管理業務再次實現正淨流量。公司管理的資產規模超過了 1 兆美元大關。

Equitable’ s integrated business model positions us well to capitalize on the tremendous opportunity in the US retirement market and deliver value to all our stakeholders. On slide 3, I'll provide a few highlights from the third quarter.

Equitable 的綜合業務模式使我們能夠充分利用美國退休市場的巨大機遇，並為所有利害關係人創造價值。在幻燈片 3 上，我將提供第三季的一些亮點。

Non-GAAP operating earnings were $501 million or $1.53 per share which is up 34% year-over-year on a per share basis. Adjusting for notable items, non-GAAP operating EPS was $1.59, which is up 22% compared to the prior year and above our 12% to 15% annualized growth guidance. Assets under management and administration increased 20% year-over-year and now exceed $1 trillion.

非 GAAP 營業利潤為 5.01 億美元，即每股 1.53 美元，每股年增 34%。在對值得注意的項目進行調整後，非 GAAP 營運每股收益為 1.59 美元，比上一年增長 22%，高於我們 12% 至 15% 的年化成長指引。管理和管理的資產年增 20%，現已超過 1 兆美元。

We returned $330 million to shareholders during the quarter, which equates to a 65% payout ratio within our targeted range of 60% to 70%. Holding company cash increased to $2 billion from the second quarter, reflecting a $440 million ordinary dividend from our Arizona entity paid in July. For the full year, we now expect cash generation to come in at the high end, about $1.4 billion to $1.5 billion guidance range.

本季我們向股東返還 3.3 億美元，相當於 65% 的派息率，在我們 60% 至 70% 的目標範圍內。控股公司現金從第二季增加到 20 億美元，反映出我們亞利桑那州實體 7 月支付的 4.4 億美元普通股息。就全年而言，我們現在預計現金產生量將達到上限，約為 14 億至 15 億美元的指導範圍。

During the third quarter, we completed our annual assumption update which resulted in no major changes and had only modest impact on our GAAP earnings. This validates our conservative approach to assumption setting, particularly for policyholder behaviour.

在第三季度，我們完成了年度假設更新，沒有造成重大變化，並且對我們的 GAAP 收益影響不大。這驗證了我們對假設設定的保守方法，特別是對於保單持有人的行為。

Turning to our reporting segments, we continue to execute well on our growth strategy. In Retirement, sustained demand for our individual retirement offerings drove net inflows of $1.7 billion in the quarter. Across Individual and Group Retirement, sales were up 25% year-over-year.

談到我們的報告部門，我們繼續良好地執行我們的成長策略。在退休領域，對個人退休產品的持續需求推動本季淨流入 17 億美元。個人和團體退休產品的銷售額年增 25%。

As expected, we did not have any new BlackRock LifePath Paycheck plans fund during the quarter, but we remain bullish on the in-plan annuity opportunity. In August, JPMorgan Asset Management announced plans to collaborate with Equitable on its new smart retirement, lifetime income offering.

正如預期的那樣，我們在本季度沒有任何新的貝萊德 LifePath Paycheck 計劃基金，但我們仍然看好計劃內年金機會。8 月，摩根大通資產管理公司宣布計劃與 Equitable 合作推出新的智慧退休、終身收入產品。

In Asset Management, AB reported its third consecutive quarter of organic growth, with total net inflows of $1.1 billion and active net inflows of $2.2 billion. AB also completed its real estate relocation during the third quarter, which will contribute 100 to 150 basis points of margin expansion on a go-forward basis. AB now expects a baseline adjusted operating margin of 33% in 2025, assuming neutral markets, which is up more than 400 basis points compared to the full year 2022.

在資產管理領域，AB 報告連續第三個季度實現有機成長，淨流入總額為 11 億美元，主動淨流入為 22 億美元。 AB第三季也完成了房地產搬遷，這將有助於未來利潤率擴張100至150個基點。AB 目前預計，假設市場處於中性狀態，2025 年基準調整後營業利潤率為 33%，與 2022 年全年相比增長超過 400 個基點。

Moving to Wealth Management. Our business reported record advisory net inflows of $1.9 billion, and assets under administration now exceeds $100 billion. We're seeing strong momentum in both adviser recruiting and productivity improvement, which are good leading indicators for future growth in earnings and margins.

轉向財富管理。我們的業務報告諮詢淨流入創紀錄地達到 19 億美元，管理資產現已超過 1,000 億美元。我們看到顧問招募和生產力提高的強勁勢頭，這是未來收益和利潤成長的良好領先指標。

Turning to slide 4. I want to spend a couple of minutes discussing our competitive position in the US retirement market. This is a fantastic market with a growing need for the solutions we provide and emerging opportunities to reach customers in new ways. Not surprisingly, others have identified this as well, and we expect competition. That said, we fully believe we have the right business model to be a long-term winner.

轉到投影片 4。我想花幾分鐘討論我們在美國退休市場的競爭地位。這是一個奇妙的市場，對我們提供的解決方案的需求不斷增長，並且以新方式接觸客戶的機會不斷湧現。毫不奇怪，其他人也發現了這一點，我們期待競爭。也就是說，我們完全相信我們擁有成為長期贏家的正確商業模式。

It starts with our ability to capture the full retirement value chain. We are a leading product manufacturer in the individual and group retirement space, and we also capture economics as a distributor through Equitable advisers and on the assets managed by AllianceBernstein. This provides significant advantage versus companies that are pure manufacturers, which shows up in multiple ways.

首先是我們掌握完整退休價值鏈的能力。我們是個人和團體退休領域的領先產品製造商，我們也透過公平顧問和聯博管理的資產獲取經銷商的經濟效益。與純粹製造商的公司相比，這提供了顯著的優勢，這體現在多種方面。

There are four key drivers of economics in the retirement business. The investment yield you can generate, the fees you collect, the cost of funds on your liabilities, and your G&A expense ratio. To be successful over time, a company needs to have advantages in at least one, and ideally more than one of these areas.

退休業務有四個主要的經濟驅動因素。您可以產生的投資收益、您收取的費用、您負債的資金成本以及您的一般管理費用比率。為了長期取得成功，公司需要在至少一個領域（最好是多個領域）擁有優勢。

Equitable partners, closely with AB, to source the assets needed to generate competitive risk-adjusted yields. And it's a symbiotic relationship as the capabilities built for our general account can also be monetized through third-party net flows. While there's been a lot of focus on the growth in our spread-based earnings, given the success of our RILA product, we also generate a significant amount of high-return fee-based earnings from separate account products and through AB and Equitable Advisors.

公平合作夥伴與 AB 密切合作，尋找產生具有競爭力的風險調整收益所需的資產。這是一種共生關係，因為為我們的普通帳戶建立的功能也可以透過第三方淨流量來貨幣化。雖然人們非常關注我們基於點差的收益的成長，但考慮到我們的 RILA 產品的成功，我們也透過獨立帳戶產品以及 AB 和公平顧問產生了大量高回報的收費收益。

The value of Equitable Advisors also shows up in our low cost of funds. Having proprietary distribution provides better persistency and enables us to retain more of the economics. In addition, we can launch new products through Equitable Advisors, which allows us to innovate and create new markets like we did with the RILA.

公平顧問的價值也體現在我們的低成本資金上。擁有專有分銷可以提供更好的持久性，並使我們能夠保留更多的經濟效益。此外，我們可以透過 Equitable Advisors 推出新產品，這使我們能夠像 RILA 一樣創新並創造新市場。

Finally, Equitable has a top quartile expense ratio in individual retirement compared to our peers. Putting it all together, our company is well positioned to adapt and thrive as the competitive landscape evolves. Another area of focus for investors has been the sustainability of the recent strength in industry sales across individual retirement products.

最後，與我們的同行相比，Equitable 在個人退休方面的費用比率名列前茅。總而言之，我們公司已做好充分準備，能夠隨著競爭格局的發展而適應並蓬勃發展。投資者關注的另一個領域是近期個人退休產品產業銷售強勁的可持續性。

Turning to slide 5. I want to highlight why we continue to be very bullish about the retirement growth story. As we've highlighted before, demographic trends create increased need for retirement savings and income solutions, regardless of the macro environment.

轉到投影片 5。我想強調為什麼我們繼續非常看好退休成長的故事。正如我們先前強調的，無論宏觀環境如何，人口趨勢都會增加對退休儲蓄和收入解決方案的需求。

There are 4.1 million Americans turning 65 each year, and the large and growing retirement gap underscores the need for the advice and products we provide. This need has been recognized by the government, with bipartisan support for the two SECURE Acts, which expanded access to workplace retirement savings plans and provide planned sponsors with a Safe Harbor to include annuities within 401(k) plans.

每年有 410 萬美國人年滿 65 歲，巨大且不斷擴大的退休差距凸顯了對我們提供的建議和產品的需求。這項需求已得到政府的認可，兩黨支持兩項《安全法案》，擴大了工作場所退休儲蓄計劃的使用範圍，並為計劃發起人提供了安全港，將年金納入 401(k) 計劃。

We see this as creating a significant new market by enabling insurers to access the $7 trillion of assets currently sitting in 401(k) plans. We're encouraged by the initial interest shown in guaranteed lifetime income options by both plan sponsors and asset managers with sizable target date fund complexes. During the third quarter, we announced plans to develop a secure income solution with JPMorgan Asset Management, which will complement our existing offerings with AB and BlackRock.

我們認為這將創造一個重要的新市場，使保險公司能夠獲得目前 401(k) 計劃中 7 兆美元的資產。計劃發起人和擁有規模龐大目標日期基金綜合體的資產管理公司對保證終身收入選擇表現出最初的興趣，這令我們感到鼓舞。第三季度，我們宣布計劃與摩根大通資產管理公司合作開發安全收入解決方案，這將補充我們與 AB 和貝萊德合作的現有產品。

Equitable has had positive net flows in our Retirement business every year since IPO, during a period which covers a wide range of macro backdrops. Over the last 12 months, net inflows of $6.8 billion are more than double what we reported in 2018.

自首次公開募股以來，Equitable 的退休業務每年都有正的淨流量，期間涵蓋了廣泛的宏觀背景。過去 12 個月，淨流入 68 億美元，是我們 2018 年報告的兩倍多。

A key reason we've been able to do this is the all-weather portfolio of insurance and asset and wealth management solutions that we offer to our clients. Most of these fill a specific need, such as for protected equity exposure or guaranteed lifetime income, that is present regardless of the level of interest rates or equity markets.

我們能夠做到這一點的一個關鍵原因是我們為客戶提供的全天候保險組合以及資產和財富管理解決方案。其中大多數滿足了特定的需求，例如受保護的股票敞口或保證的終身收入，無論利率或股票市場水平如何，這種需求都存在。

Looking ahead, I'm excited about the growth momentum in our business and continue to believe this is a fantastic time to be in the US retirement market. I'll now turn it over to Robin to discuss our financial results in more detail.

展望未來，我對我們業務的成長勢頭感到興奮，並繼續相信這是進入美國退休市場的絕佳時機。我現在將把它交給羅賓，更詳細地討論我們的財務表現。

Thanks, Mark. Turning to slide 6. I will highlight our results from the quarter. On a consolidated basis, Equitable Holdings reported non-GAAP operating earnings of $501 million in the quarter, or $1.53 per share, up 34% year-over-year. We had $20 million of notable items, which includes $13 million of lower-than-planned alternative investment returns and $10 million of onetime model updates, partially offset by $3 million favourable impact from our annual assumption review.

謝謝，馬克。轉到投影片 6。我將重點介紹我們本季的業績。在合併基礎上，Equitable Holdings 報告本季非 GAAP 營業利潤為 5.01 億美元，即每股 1.53 美元，年增 34%。我們有2000 萬美元的值得注意的項目，其中包括1300 萬美元低於計劃的另類投資回報和1000 萬美元的一次性模型更新，部分被我們年度假設審查帶來的300 萬美元的有利影響所抵消。

Adjusting for these items, non-GAAP EPS was $1.59 per share, up 22% year-over-year, driven by organic growth across our businesses, favourable markets and share repurchases. We reported a GAAP net loss of $134 million in the quarter, driven by noneconomic impacts from our hedge portfolio, which were largely offset by gains in OCI.

在對這些項目進行調整後，在我們業務的有機成長、有利的市場和股票回購的推動下，非 GAAP 每股收益為 1.59 美元，較去年同期成長 22%。我們報告本季 GAAP 淨虧損為 1.34 億美元，這是由於我們的對沖投資組合的非經濟影響造成的，這在很大程度上被 OCI 的收益所抵消。

The net income impact of our assumption updates were modestly positive and they had a neutral to slightly positive impact on statutory basis. Assets under management and administration increased 20% year-over-year to a record $1 trillion, driven by market appreciation, positive net inflows across our retirement, asset management and wealth management businesses.

我們的假設更新對淨利潤的影響是適度正面的，並且在法定基礎上產生中性至輕微的正面影響。受市場升值、退休、資產管理和財富管理業務正淨流入的推動，管理和管理的資產年增 20%，達到創紀錄的 1 兆美元。

Segment details are provided in the appendix, but I want to highlight a few items from the quarter. Starting with retirement. We experienced a 9% trailing 12-month organic growth rate in Individual Retirement, but it was a mixed quarter across the businesses in terms of earnings.

附錄中提供了細分市場的詳細信息，但我想重點介紹本季度的一些項目。從退休開始。我們的個人退休業務過去 12 個月的有機成長率為 9%，但就獲利而言，該季度各業務的表現好壞參半。

Group Retirement continues to benefit from positive earnings leverage to rising market, but Individual Retirement earnings declined on a sequential basis. We saw some quarterly noise in net interest margin, which I will discuss in more detail shortly.

團體退休收入繼續受益於市場上漲的積極獲利槓桿，但個人退休收入則是環比下降。我們看到淨利差出現了一些季度噪音，我很快就會對此進行更詳細的討論。

Commission expense also increased due to strong record sales, particularly at Equitable Advisors, where not all expenses are eligible to be capitalized in DAC. While this is a short-term headwind for the Individual Retirement earnings, it will drive future growth and profits.

由於銷售記錄強勁，佣金費用也有所增加，特別是在 Equitable Advisors，並非所有費用都有資格在 DAC 中資本化。雖然這對個人退休收入來說是一個短期阻力，但它將推動未來的成長和利潤。

Turning to Asset Management, AB had a strong result, delivering a third consecutive quarter of positive net flows, a stable base fee rate and a 330 basis point year-over-year margin improvement. AB will begin to recognize the full benefit of its US real estate relocation strategy in the fourth quarter. and we expect the baseline adjusted operating margin of 33% in 2025, assuming flat markets.

談到資產管理，AB 取得了強勁的業績，連續第三個季度實現正淨流量、穩定的基本費率以及同比利潤率提高 330 個基點。AB 將在第四季度開始認識到其美國房地產搬遷策略的全部好處。假設市場持平，我們預期 2025 年基準調整後營業利益率為 33%。

In Protection Solutions, mortality came in at the favourable end of our expectations and we reported (technical difficulty) of operating earnings ex notables. Year-to-date, operating earnings ex notables are $196 million, putting this segment on track to be within our $200 million to $300 million annual guidance range.

在保護解決方案中，死亡率符合我們的預期，並且我們報告了（技術難度）除知名人士之外的營業收入。今年迄今為止，扣除知名人士的營業利潤為 1.96 億美元，使該細分市場預計將在我們 2 億至 3 億美元的年度指導範圍內。

Finally, our consolidated tax rate was in line with our 19% guidance. The tax rate for our insurance segments came in below our 17% expectation due to some favourable tax settlements, but this was offset by a lower tax benefit in Corporate and Other. We now project the full-year 2024 insurance tax rate to be below 17%, but it should revert to 17% in 2025. We still expect the full year tax rate for AB and Wealth Management to be 29% and 26%, respectively.

最後，我們的綜合稅率符合 19% 的指導價值。由於一些有利的稅收解決方案，我們保險部門的稅率低於我們 17% 的預期，但這被企業和其他部門較低的稅收優惠所抵消。我們現在預計2024年全年保險稅率將低於17%，但到2025年應該會恢復到17%。我們仍預期AB和財富管理的全年稅率分別為29%和26%。

Turning to slide 7. I will provide more details on the drivers of our earnings growth. Results continue to benefit from growth in both spread and fee-based income. Individual Retirement net interest margin increased 5% year-over-year, supported by the continued growth of the RILA business, while group retirement NIM was up 12% year-over-year.

轉到投影片 7。我將提供有關我們獲利成長驅動因素的更多詳細資訊。業績持續受益於利差和收費收入的成長。在 RILA 業務持續成長的支持下，個人退休淨利差年增 5%，而團體退休淨利差較去年同期成長 12%。

As I mentioned last quarter, we expect individual retirement spreads to be relatively stable moving forward, as new business margins have normalized and are consistent with our 15% IRR target. However, we now have a $60 billion block of RILA business, and so there will be some quarterly noise in NIM.

正如我上季度提到的，我們預計個人退休利差將相對穩定，因為新業務利潤率已經正常化，並且與我們 15% 的 IRR 目標一致。然而，我們現在擁有價值 600 億美元的 RILA 業務，因此 NIM 中將會出現一些季度噪音。

In the third quarter, our underlying core spread was consistent with the first half of the year. While we add a couple of non-tradable items that affected Individual Retirement reported spread income. Most notably, we saw a sharp decline in market value adjustment gains on early surrenders, which show up as an offset to interest credited. These can vary from quarter-to-quarter. But if we were to take an average level from the past 10 quarters, NIM would have been $15 million higher this quarter.

第三季度，我們的基礎核心利差與上半年一致。雖然我們加入了一些影響個人退休報告利差收入的非貿易項目。最值得注意的是，我們看到早期退保的市場價值調整收益急劇下降，這表現為對貸記利息的抵銷。這些可能因季度而異。但如果我們採用過去 10 個季度的平均水平，本季的淨利差將增加 1500 萬美元。

Turning to fee income. We saw healthy growth across retirement, asset management and wealth management. Fees are charged on average AUM levels that they should continue to trend higher if markets remain at or above current levels.

轉向費用收入。我們在退休、資產管理和財富管理領域看到了健康成長。費用按照平均資產管理規模水平收取，如果市場保持在或高於當前水平，費用應該會繼續走高。

Finally, I want to provide an update on our outlook for variable investment income. Our alternatives portfolio produced an annualized return of 6% in the third quarter. We saw solid private equity returns and real estate equity funds had slightly positive performance. We project a similar level of return for our portfolio in the fourth quarter.

最後，我想介紹一下我們對可變投資收益的展望的最新情況。我們的另類投資組合第三季的年化報酬率為 6%。我們看到私募股權回報穩健，房地產股票基金表現略顯正面。我們預計第四季我們的投資組合將獲得類似的回報水準。

Turning to slide 8. I would like to discuss Equitable’ s macro sensitivities and how to think about the implications of different macro environments. First and foremost, we fully hedged the interest rate and equity market exposures underlying all product guarantees, protecting our balance sheet against any movements. Therefore, markets really only affect earnings and potentially sales.

轉到投影片 8。我想討論公平的宏觀敏感度以及如何思考不同宏觀環境的影響。首先也是最重要的是，我們充分對沖所有產品擔保所涉及的利率和股市風險，保護我們的資產負債表免受任何波動的影響。因此，市場實際上只影響收益和潛在的銷售額。

Starting with short-term interest rates. Our primary exposure is through our wealth management cash sweep balances. We ended the third quarter with cash balances of $2.8 billion, and they generate approximately only 1% to 2% of total company earnings. So it's a small exposure for our businesses. We also have exposure to floating rate assets where yields are tied to short-term interest rates. But these are largely matched with floating rate liabilities like FHLB lending and one-year RILA segments.

從短期利率開始。我們的主要風險是透過我們的財富管理現金週轉餘額。截至第三季末，我們的現金餘額為 28 億美元，但它們產生的收益大約僅占公司總收益的 1% 到 2%。所以這對我們的企業來說是一個很小的風險。我們也持有浮動利率資產，其收益率與短期利率掛鉤。但這些在很大程度上與 FHLB 貸款和一年期 RILA 部分等浮動利率負債相匹配。

Long-term interest rates are more meaningful for our businesses as our portfolio duration is about six years, but the earnings impact is still relatively modest. A 50 basis point parallel shift in yield curve would have a $40 million to $45 million impact on annual after-tax earnings, which represents less than 2% of total earnings. This does not include a potential offset from higher fixed income fees earned at AB.

長期利率對我們的業務更有意義，因為我們的投資組合期限約為六年，但對獲利的影響仍然相對較小。殖利率曲線平行移動 50 個基點將對年度稅後收益產生 4,000 萬至 4,500 萬美元的影響，佔總收益的不到 2%。這不包括 AB 賺取的較高固定收益費用的潛在抵銷。

From a growth perspective, there are a few dynamics to consider. In general, a steeper yield curve is positive for annuity demand as the interest rate paid to policyholders is tied to the intermediate portion of the curve. Lower cash yield may also spare investors to put more money to work, which would be good for flows in wealth management and AB.

從成長的角度來看，有一些動態需要考慮。一般來說，較陡的殖利率曲線對年金需求有利，因為支付給保單持有人的利率與曲線的中間部分有關。較低的現金收益率也可能讓投資者不必投入更多資金，這將有利於財富管理和AB的資金流動。

On the other hand, if long rates come down, this would result in less attractive pricing for guaranteed variable annuities and life insurance products, which could hurt demand. For Equitable, the level of interest rates has limited impact on the demand in the primary markets we operate in, including RILA's 403(b) savings plans and in-plan annuities.

另一方面，如果長期利率下降，將導致保證可變年金和人壽保險產品的定價吸引力下降，從而可能損害需求。對 Equitable 而言，利率水準對我們營運的主要市場的需求影響有限，包括 RILA 的 403(b) 儲蓄計畫和計畫內年金。

Turning to equity markets. This is an important driver of the fee-based earnings we generate in our retirement business AB and wealth management. Each 10% change in market returns has about $150 million impact on annual earnings. From a sales perspective, we could see lower flows for AB and Wealth Management if markets declined. For protected equity solutions like RILA's could benefit. As a reminder, higher volatility is good for RILA caps, allowing us to offer more attractive terms to policyholders.

轉向股票市場。這是我們在退休業務 AB 和財富管理中產生收費收入的重要驅動力。市場報酬率每變化 10%，就會對年收益產生約 1.5 億美元的影響。從銷售角度來看，如果市場下跌，我們可能會看到 AB 和財富管理的流量減少。對於像 RILA 這樣的受保護股權解決方案來說，可能會受益。提醒一下，較高的波動性有利於 RILA 上限，使我們能夠為保單持有人提供更具吸引力的條款。

Overall, as Mark described, this is a great retirement market that we operate in with our diversified and integrated business model. We have an all-weather portfolio of products that has been able to deliver profitable growth in a wide range of interest rate and equity market environment.

總體而言，正如馬克所描述的，這是一個巨大的退休市場，我們以多元化和一體化的業務模式運作。我們擁有全天候的產品組合，能夠在廣泛的利率和股票市場環境中實現獲利成長。

On slide 9, we highlight Equitable’ s capital management program position and cash flow outlook. In the quarter, we returned $330 million to shareholders, including $254 million of share repurchases. This translates to a 65% payout ratio of non-GAAP operating earnings, excluding notable items, consistent with our 60% to 70% payout target.

在投影片 9 上，我們重點介紹了 Equitable 的資本管理計畫狀況和現金流前景。本季度，我們向股東返還 3.3 億美元，其中包括 2.54 億美元的股票回購。這意味著非 GAAP 營運收益（不包括顯著項目）的股利支付率為 65%，與我們 60% 至 70% 的派息目標一致。

We ended the quarter with $2 billion of cash and liquid assets at Holdings, which is up from the second quarter, following the receipt of a $440 million ordinary dividend from our Arizona insurance entity in July.

在 7 月從我們的亞利桑那州保險實體收到 4.4 億美元的普通股息後，本季結束時，我們 Holdings 的現金和流動資產為 20 億美元，比第二季度有所增加。

We now expect to achieve the upper end of our $1.4 billion to $1.5 billion cash generation guidance for 2024, with about 50% of this coming from noninsurance entities. We'll provide an outlook for 2025 cash generation next quarter, but we remain confident in achieving the $2 billion of annual cash generation by 2027. Our predictable cash flow in combination with our strong HoldCo cash position enables us to consistently return capital to shareholders, while also funding the growth in the retirement market.

我們現在預計將實現 2024 年 14 億至 15 億美元現金產生指引的上限，其中約 50% 來自非保險實體。我們將在下個季度提供 2025 年現金產生的展望，但我們仍然有信心在 2027 年實現 20 億美元的年度現金產生。我們可預測的現金流與強大的控股公司現金狀況相結合，使我們能夠持續向股東返還資本，同時也為退休市場的成長提供資金。

As we mentioned on previous calls, we're also exploring ways to further optimize our balance sheet, such as establishing a sidecar or Bermuda entity. We're also reviewing ways to improve our return on capital and reduce the earnings volatility in our life businesses. We're making good progress, and I expect we'll be in a position to provide updates early in 2025.

正如我們在先前的電話會議中所提到的，我們也正在探索進一步優化資產負債表的方法，例如建立 sidecar 或百慕達實體。我們也正在審查提高資本回報率和減少壽險業務獲利波動的方法。我們正在取得良好進展，我預計我們將能夠在 2025 年初提供更新。

Now let me turn the call back over to Mark for closing remarks. Mark?

現在讓我把電話轉回給馬克，讓他發表結束語。標記？

Thanks, Robin. In closing, Equitable delivered another solid quarter with sustained organic growth momentum across our businesses, translating into strong growth in earnings per share. Looking forward, I'm excited about the growth opportunities across US retirement, asset management and wealth management.

謝謝，羅賓。最後，Equitable 又實現了一個穩健的季度，我們的業務保持了持續的有機成長勢頭，轉化為每股收益的強勁成長。展望未來，我對美國退休、資產管理和財富管理領域的成長機會感到興奮。

I'm also convinced that Equitable’ s integrated business model provides us with real competitive advantages that will enable us to deliver value to all our stakeholders.

我還相信 Equitable 的綜合業務模式為我們提供了真正的競爭優勢，使我們能夠為所有利害關係人創造價值。

We'll now open the line for questions.

我們現在將開通提問熱線。

(Operator Instructions) Suneet Kamath, Jefferies.

（操作員說明）Suneet Kamath，Jefferies。

I wanted to ask a couple on annuities. So first, Mark, we've seen industry sales $100 billion for four quarters in a row. I get all the information that you have on slide 5. But frankly, we could have made a lot of these demographic arguments a few years ago.

我想問一些關於年金的問題。首先，馬克，我們看到產業銷售額連續四個季度達到 1,000 億美元。我在幻燈片 5 上得到了您所掌握的所有資訊。但坦白說，幾年前我們本來可以提出很多這樣的人口論點。

So what do you think is causing these sales to be as strong as they are? And what do you think is the biggest risk to this kind of growth outlook that you're talking about?

那麼您認為是什麼原因導致這些銷售如此強勁呢？您認為您所說的這種成長前景面臨的最大風險是什麼？

Thanks for the question, Suneet. I think as we said on the prepared remarks here, we are very confident and optimistic about the market. The demographics have been around for a while, but they have not peaked. I think that's the key point here. Americans reaching age 65, 4.1 million a year, and we have yet to reach that peak. So the demographics have been around for a while. You see that in the retirement savings gap but they are actually increasing.

謝謝你的提問，蘇尼特。我認為正如我們在準備好的發言中所說的那樣，我們對市場非常有信心和樂觀。人口統計數據已經存在了一段時間，但尚未達到頂峰。我認為這是關鍵點。美國人年滿 65 歲，每年有 410 萬人，而我們還沒有達到那個高峰。所以人口統計數據已經存在了一段時間了。你可以在退休儲蓄缺口中看到這一點，但實際上它們正在增加。

And I think secondly, there's an awful lot more attention in this market. I mean, we're very proud that we were -- the people that innovated and created the RILA market, you see new entrants coming in. That's creating a lot more awareness amongst distributors.

我認為其次，這個市場受到了更多的關注。我的意思是，我們非常自豪，我們是創新和創造 RILA 市場的人，你會看到新進入者的加入。這提高了經銷商的意識。

And you see that coming through in money coming out of 401(k)s and into these types of products. So looking out, we remain very bullish and very confident on the market, demographics, awareness and the distributors are reacting to the products we have out there.

您將看到 401(k) 中的資金流入這些類型的產品。因此，展望未來，我們對市場、人口統計、意識以及分銷商對我們現有產品的反應仍然非常樂觀和充滿信心。

And then on the risk side?

那麼風險方面呢？

Risks for, I think, as Robin said in that particular slide, you can see risks of -- interest rates would have come down, sort of fixed annuity type products tend to be less attractive, but protected equity stories like RILA tend to do well in those markets as we showed through 2021 and 2022. So it's looking very positive, Suneet. We're feeling very good about the market. I think it's the best conditions for the industry for many decades.

我認為，正如 Robin 在這張投影片中所說，您可以看到以下風險：利率會下降，固定年金類型產品的吸引力往往較低，但像 RILA 這樣的受保護股票故事往往表現良好正如我們在2021 年和2022 年所展示的。所以看起來非常積極，Suneet。我們對市場感覺非常好。我認為這是幾十年來該行業最好的條件。

Got it. And then my second question is just on your product lineup in annuities. We are hearing other companies talk about having the full gamut of annuity products from fixed indexed, traditional VA, RILA. It seems like you guys are more focused on RILA. Have you given any thought to expanding your product portfolio?

知道了。我的第二個問題是關於您的年金產品陣容。我們聽到其他公司談論擁有來自固定指數、傳統 VA、RILA 的全系列年金產品。看來你們更關注RILA。您是否考慮過擴大您的產品組合？

Sure. This is Nick. Look, we're very intentional about focusing on segments where we can leverage our unique business model to generate attractive returns for both shareholders and clients.

當然。這是尼克。看，我們非常有意專注於可以利用我們獨特的商業模式為股東和客戶創造有吸引力的回報的細分市場。

As you highlighted, we're the market leader in the fastest-growing segment of the annuity market, sales were up 45% year-to-date. So we continue to focus on that and leverage the strength of the privileged distribution that we've created over the last decade to include Equitable Advisors.

正如您所強調的，我們是年金市場成長最快的領域的市場領導者，今年迄今銷售額成長了 45%。因此，我們繼續關注這一點，並利用我們在過去十年中創建的特權分配的優勢，將公平顧問納入其中。

In terms of the emerging needs within retirement that Mark mentioned, look, it's a [USD 30 trillion] retirement market. And so we are seeing money in motion. As Mark alluded to, Cerulli projects that there's over $500 billion of assets coming out of 401(k)s every year, which is creating new opportunities for both forms of secure income, income, and protected equity stories as well as advice to guide clients through that next stage. So we like where we're at, and we continue to focus on those areas.

就馬克提到的退休領域的新興需求而言，這是一個[30兆美元]的退休市場。所以我們看到資金在流動。正如 Mark 所提到的，Cerulli 預計每年有超過 5000 億美元的資產來自 401(k) 計劃，這為安全收入、收入和受保護股權故事以及指導客戶的建議創造了新的機會通過下一階段。所以我們喜歡我們所處的位置，並且我們將繼續關注這些領域。

Tom Gallagher, Evercore ISI.

湯姆·加拉格爾，Evercore ISI。

Robin, just a follow-up to your point you made on market value adjustment gains in early surrenders. I think you said it was $15 million. Should we assume that these go away based on what you're seeing? Or do you think you'll see a bounce back, and we'll see some level of that coming back through earnings in individual retirement?

羅賓，只是您對早期退保中的市場價值調整收益的觀點的後續。我想你說過這是 1500 萬美元。我們是否應該根據您所看到的情況假設這些會消失？或者你認為你會看到反彈，而我們會看到一定程度的反彈透過個人退休收入來實現？

Thanks, Tom. So just to remind you, though, if I take a step back, we're seeing the strong growth that Mark and Nick talk spoke about in the RILA market, and it's really shifted the mix of the earnings in the Individual Retirement business. So it's great that we can finally talk about spread income in that business because it's now about 50% of the general account business across the board.

謝謝，湯姆。不過，我要提醒您的是，如果我退後一步，我們會看到馬克和尼克談到的 RILA 市場的強勁增長，這確實改變了個人退休業務的收入結構。因此，很高興我們終於可以談論該業務的利差收入，因為它現在約佔一般帳戶業務的 50%。

In the quarter, we continue to see strong growth in NIM. It's up 5% year-over-year, driven by the strong inflows. And IR sales have nearly doubled over the past three years, which drove -- has driven that asset base to about $60 billion of AUM. So as you noted in the quarter, and as I noted before, we're going to see some noise on a quarterly basis, but margins are still strong, and we're writing business at a 15% IRR target.

本季度，我們繼續看到淨利差（NIM）強勁成長。在強勁資金流入的推動下，該數字年增 5%。IR 銷售額在過去三年中幾乎翻了一番，推動資產基礎達到約 600 億美元的 AUM。因此，正如您在本季度所指出的，以及我之前指出的，我們將在每個季度看到一些噪音，但利潤率仍然強勁，而且我們的內部收益率目標為 15%。

The market value adjustment, we see -- we're going to see some noise quarter-to-quarter. But as I mentioned, over the last 10 quarters, it's averaged about $15 million. So given where interest rates are, I think adding $15 million back would be a good -- would be something good to do in your models going forward, I suppose. But there's going to be noise. But over time, we're going to continue to grow NIM with the growth in the RILA business.

我們看到，市場價值調整——我們將在每個季度看到一些噪音。但正如我所提到的，在過去 10 個季度中，平均約為 1500 萬美元。因此，考慮到利率水平，我認為增加 1500 萬美元會是一件好事，我認為這將是您未來模型中值得做的事情。但會有噪音。但隨著時間的推移，我們將隨著 RILA 業務的成長而持續成長 NIM。

Okay. That's helpful. And then the -- I guess just a follow-up question on competition. Corebridge announced they're entering the RILA business. Apollo in their Investor Day talked about growing RILA being a big strategic imperative. Just curious -- and I -- Mark, I heard what you said about the market, I agree, I think is a very good future path.

好的。這很有幫助。然後——我想這只是一個關於競爭的後續問題。Corebridge 宣布他們將進入 RILA 業務。Apollo 在投資者日上談到，發展 RILA 是一項重要的策略要務。只是好奇 - 我 - 馬克，我聽到你所說的有關市場的內容，我同意，我認為這是一條非常好的未來道路。

But do you think while these new like strong competitors are entering, would you expect to lose share? Are you going to have to adjust pricing to deal with that? Or do you think you'll be able to see similar growth at similar returns in 2025?

但您是否認為，當這些新的強大競爭對手進入時，您會期望失去份額嗎？您是否需要調整定價來解決這個問題？或者您認為 2025 年您能看到類似的成長和類似的回報嗎？

Thinking more near term and less long term, maybe it is things will be good enough for everyone to get their fair share. But what do you think will happen in 2025 based on the competitive dynamics?

多考慮近期而不是長遠，也許事情會足夠好，讓每個人都能得到公平的份額。但根據競爭動態，您認為 2025 年會發生什麼事？

Thanks very much, Tom. I'll give just an overview, and then I'll ask Nick to follow up. Look, it's a very, very big market. It's not going to be a market where there's only one player wins. It's a huge market. It's a growing market, 45% up year-to-date. And we see that huge retirement savings gap. And also, as I should have mentioned in my answer with Suneet, we have bipartisan support for SECURE Act in plan guarantees. So there's a lot of momentum in the market.

非常感謝，湯姆。我將只提供一個概述，然後我會請尼克跟進。你看，這是一個非常非常大的市場。這不會是一個只有一名玩家獲勝的市場。這是一個巨大的市場。這是一個不斷成長的市場，今年迄今成長了 45%。我們看到了巨大的退休儲蓄缺口。而且，正如我在對 Suneet 的回答中應該提到的那樣，我們在計劃擔保方面得到了兩黨對《安全法案》的支持。因此，市場有很大的動力。

Yes, there's a lot of competition that's bound to be. To answer your question directly, will market share come down? Yes, I think it will, but the growth will not slow for us. If you think about it, Tom, we had 100% of this market because we were the only play, we were the ones who innovated. So it's going to come down as more competitors come in. But I think we had something like 28% sales growth year-to-date. And margins are meeting our 15% IRR hurdle. So the competition hasn't been hurting us on that side.

是的，必然會有很多競爭。直接回答你的問題，市佔率會下降嗎？是的，我認為會，但我們的成長不會放緩。湯姆，如果你想一想，我們擁有這個市場 100% 的份額，因為我們是唯一的參與者，我們是創新的人。因此，隨著更多競爭對手的加入，這一數字將會下降。但我認為今年迄今為止我們的銷售額成長了 28% 左右。利潤率也達到了我們 15% IRR 的目標。所以競爭並沒有在這方面傷害我們。

I think there's three things which are really going for us. One is the business model we have. So we participate in all parts of the value chain. We source yield from AB. We get distribution margin through Equitable Advisors, and we're a manufacturer as well.

我認為有三件事對我們來說是真正有利的。一是我們擁有的商業模式。因此，我們參與價值鏈的各個部分。我們從 AB 取得產量。我們透過公平顧問獲得分配利潤，而且我們也是一家製造商。

So we participate more in the economics that many of our competitors can do including the ones you just mentioned. And secondly, we have the established position. So I think that makes us good. Maybe, Nick, do you want to add a few things in terms of what we see on the competitive side?

因此，我們更參與許多競爭對手可以做的經濟活動，包括您剛才提到的那些。其次，我們有既定的立場。所以我認為這讓我們變得更好。尼克，也許您想就我們在競爭方面看到的情況添加一些內容嗎？

Sure. First, I'd highlight, look, we have benefited from the growing pie over the last three years. We more than doubled our sales volume. Look, we are mindful of competitive trends on pricing as new entrants come in. There does tend to be a period of teaser rate pricing as they tend to gain a foothold. We've seen this before. And it tends to be temporary because it's not sustainable. As both Mark and Robin alluded to, we're generating attractive returns and continue to hit our 15% IRRs.

當然。首先，我要強調的是，我們從過去三年不斷增長的蛋糕中受益。我們的銷量增加了一倍多。看，隨著新進入者的加入，我們注意到定價的競爭趨勢。由於它們往往會站穩腳跟，因此往往會經歷一段預告利率定價的時期。我們以前見過這個。而且它往往是暫時的，因為它不可持續。正如馬克和羅賓所提到的，我們正在創造有吸引力的回報，並繼續達到 15% 的 IRR。

I think our business model gives us a competitive edge. And that allows us to focus on value and remain disciplined on our cap rates. Over the last year-to-date, we've generated $5.4 billion of individual net flows. It's -- you can file a product, but it's hard to build distribution.

我認為我們的商業模式給了我們競爭優勢。這使我們能夠專注於價值並嚴格遵守資本化率。去年迄今為止，我們已經產生了 54 億美元的個人淨流量。它是——你可以歸檔產品，但很難建立分發。

And with Equitable Advisors and the third-party privileged distribution that we've created over the last decade, these are third-party partners that have a more curated shelf space. We think we're well positioned to capture a disproportionate share of the value as the pie continues to grow.

憑藉 Equitable Advisors 和我們在過去十年中創建的第三方特權分銷，這些第三方合作夥伴擁有更精心策劃的貨架空間。我們認為，隨著蛋糕不斷變大，我們有能力獲得不成比例的價值份額。

Ryan Krueger, KBW.

瑞安·克魯格，KBW。

Not sure -- I don't think you said this in the prepared remarks, but can you give us any insight into the expected flows from the BlackRock LifePath Paycheck product in the fourth quarter?

不確定——我認為您在準備好的發言中沒有說過這一點，但您能否向我們介紹一下貝萊德 LifePath Paycheck 產品第四季度的預期流量？

It's Mark. Thanks for the question. As we mentioned earlier, we are very excited to be working with BlackRock. I think one of the patterns I hope you see with Equitable is this innovation and first-mover advantage we look to gain as we've seen in RILA.

是馬克。謝謝你的提問。正如我們之前提到的，我們很高興與貝萊德合作。我認為我希望您在 Equitable 中看到的模式之一是我們希望獲得的創新和先發優勢，就像我們在 RILA 中看到的那樣。

We feel the same way about the implant guarantees. We have partnership with BlackRock. We have a partnership with AB, and we're working now with JPMorgan as well. So we're well, well positioned on this. And as I say to the team internally, when you have innovation, you've got to move fast on first mover because the competition follow soon after.

我們對植入保證也有同樣的看法。我們與貝萊德有合作關係。我們與 AB 建立了合作夥伴關係，現在也與摩根大通合作。所以我們在這方面處於有利位置。正如我在內部對團隊所說的那樣，當你有創新時，你必須快速行動，因為競爭很快就會隨之而來。

Specifically with BlackRock, as we mentioned, it is going to be lumpy. And we're not anticipating any flows in this quarter but we are anticipating flows starting again in first half of 2025. And we remain very bullish on the longer-term outlook for this.

特別是對於貝萊德，正如我們所提到的，它將會變得不穩定。我們預計本季不會有任何資金流動，但預計資金流動將於 2025 年上半年再次開始。我們仍然非常看好這一點的長期前景。

The other thing just to remember, Ryan, on the implant guarantees, none of our 2027 targets are reliant on this business. In particular, the $2 billion cash generation target we gave you. So this really is a future and additional growth.

Ryan，要記住的另一件事是，關於植入保證，我們的 2027 年目標都不依賴這項業務。特別是我們給你們設定的 20 億美元現金產生目標。所以這確實是一個未來和額外的成長。

Great. And then just a quick one on the floating rate or floating rate assets and liabilities. It sounds like you don't expect much impact from that over time. Would you -- would you anticipate any noise initially? I just want to make sure there's no -- are there any timing differences between the floating rate assets and the liabilities or anything like that we should be thinking about for the fourth quarter following the Fed cut?

偉大的。然後簡單介紹一下浮動利率或浮動利率資產和負債。聽起來您預計隨著時間的推移不會產生太大影響。您一開始會預料到會有噪音嗎？我只是想確保浮動利率資產和負債之間是否存在任何時間差異，或者我們應該在聯準會降息後第四季考慮的類似問題？

Ryan, yes. No, as I mentioned earlier, related to individual retirement, you could see some noise on a quarterly basis, but since we're matched over a 12-month period, you're not going to -- you should be -- continue to have stable NIM in that business across the board.

瑞安，是的。不，正如我之前提到的，與個人退休相關，您可能會按季度看到一些噪音，但由於我們在 12 個月的時間內進行匹配，因此您不會（您應該這樣做）繼續該業務全面擁有穩定的淨利差。

But yes, so in any given quarter, if rates go lower, depending on the resets of the liabilities, there could be some quarterly noise, but I don't expect it to be material given the size of our floating rate exposure.

但是，是的，因此在任何特定季度，如果利率下降（取決於負債的重置），可能會出現一些季度噪音，但考慮到我們浮動利率風險敞口的規模，我認為這不會是實質性的。

Joel Hurwitz, Dowling & Partners.

喬爾‧赫維茲 (Joel Hurwitz)，道林合夥人事務所。

Robin, one more on the market value adjustment. Would you say this quarter was driven by the decline in rates? And if we were to see rates pull back again, do you think you would see a similar market value adjustment impact and that become more of a recurring trend?

羅賓，市值又一調整。您是否認為本季是由利率下降所推動的？如果我們看到利率再次回落，您認為您會看到類似的市場價值調整影響，並且這會成為一種反覆出現的趨勢嗎？

Joe, as I mentioned earlier in the question, look, the RILA business is now a $60 billion spread-oriented product for the individual retirement, and we continue to capitalize on that opportunity. Yes, you'll see some noise here and there. I wouldn't attribute it to one specific thing. Yes, lower interest rates, but also you had a mix of where the surrenders are coming from. So it could be multiple factors in there across the board.

喬，正如我之前在問題中提到的，你看，RILA 業務現在是一個價值 600 億美元的個人退休的利差產品，我們將繼續利用這個機會。是的，您會到處看到一些噪音。我不會將其歸因於一件特定的事情。是的，利率較低，但退保的來源也很複雜。因此，這可能是多種因素共同作用的結果。

As I guided earlier, over the last 10 quarters, we saw about that having about a $15 million impact. So I would add back $15 million and I would expect -- that's probably the best guidance we can give you at this time. And yes, you'll see some noise. But overall, you see a 5% growth in NIM year-over-year, and you can continue to expect us to grow spread-related income in the Individual Retirement business.

正如我之前所指出的，在過去 10 個季度中，我們看到這產生了約 1500 萬美元的影響。因此，我會加回 1500 萬美元，我希望這可能是我們目前可以為您提供的最佳指導。是的，您會看到一些噪音。但總體而言，您會看到淨利差年增 5%，並且您可以繼續期望我們在個人退休業務中增加與利差相關的收入。

All right. Got it. And then just shifting to Group. So earnings and Group Retirement were very strong. Obviously, you have some fee-based tailwinds there. But anything else you would call out as driving the strong growth in that business? Or do you think this level is sustainable at current market levels?

好的。知道了。然後就轉移到集團。因此，收益和團體退休金非常強勁。顯然，你在那裡有一些基於費用的順風車。但您認為還有哪些因素可以推動該業務的強勁成長呢？或者您認為這個水平在當前的市場水平上是可持續的嗎？

Yes, the earnings, we continue to see high leverage in those earnings related to equity markets and spread related income. You saw spread-related income up 12% year-over-year and strong fee-based income. So as you've seen historically with that business, it's pretty stable, sticky and we get good leverage on the fees related. So we continue to expect that going forward.

是的，我們繼續看到與股票市場相關的收益和利差相關收入的高槓桿率。您看到與利差相關的收入年增 12%，並且收費收入強勁。正如您在該業務的歷史中所看到的那樣，它非常穩定、有黏性，我們在相關費用方面獲得了良好的槓桿作用。所以我們繼續期待這種情況的發展。

Alex Scott, Barclays.

亞歷克斯·斯科特，巴克萊銀行。

First one I had is on protection. I just wanted to see mortality. It seems like it's gotten better. Would just be interested if you have any additional color you can provide on the performance you're seeing there and the sustainability of the better performance?

我的第一個是保護。我只是想看看死亡。看來情況已經好轉了。如果您能提供有關您所看到的性能以及更好性能的可持續性的任何其他信息，您是否會感興趣？

So protection continues to be about 10% of our earnings in aggregate for the company. So a small amount in total. We guided the year to have a $200 million to $300 million annual earnings guidance. And it looks like through the year, we expect to be in that range. We've gone away from the quarterly guidance because for that business, you can have one case with the large space amount and it could throw off any given quarter's earnings. So there's still some volatility in it.

因此，保護仍然占公司總收入的 10% 左右。所以總共的量很少。我們今年的年度獲利指引為 2 億至 3 億美元。看起來我們預計全年都會處於這個範圍內。我們放棄了季度指導，因為對於該業務，您可能會遇到一個空間很大的案例，並且它可能會影響任何給定季度的收益。所以它仍然存在一定的波動性。

But if you look back over the last two years, we guided we saw a pull forward in mortality, and you're really seeing that come through as -- you saw a pull forward last year and now you see back to some normalized mortality results coming through. So we feel good about where we are. We're sticking to that $200 million to $300 million annual guidance going forward, and we'll continue to look at ways to reduce volatility in that business.

但如果你回顧過去兩年，我們發現死亡率上升，你真的會看到這一點——去年你看到了死亡率的上升，現在你又看到了一些標準化的死亡率結果通過。所以我們對自己所處的位置感覺良好。未來我們將堅持 2 億至 3 億美元的年度指導，並將繼續尋找減少該業務波動性的方法。

Got it. That's helpful. And apologies if I missed some of this earlier on the call, but I just was interested if you have an update on the amount of cash that you expect to be able to take out heading into the end of the year? And just an update on capital management priorities as we think through 2025?

知道了。這很有幫助。如果我在早些時候的電話會議上錯過了一些內容，我深表歉意，但我只是想知道您是否有關於您預計在年底前能夠取出的現金數額的最新信息？以及我們對 2025 年資本管理優先事項的最新看法？

Sure. So we continue to benefit from the diverse and predictability of our cash flows. Reminder, 50% of our cash flows come from noninsurance businesses, asset, and wealth. And so in the call, what we mentioned is we guided towards the high end of our $1.4 billion to $1.5 billion guidance for the full year.

當然。因此，我們繼續受益於現金流的多樣性和可預測性。提醒一下，我們 50% 的現金流量來自非保險業務、資產和財富。因此，在電話會議中，我們提到的是，我們的全年指導目標是 14 億至 15 億美元的上限。

A big piece of that coming from the extraordinary dividend that we received approval in and we'll take out in the fourth quarter here. So we feel good about the cash flow, the diverse sources, the predictability, and that allows us to meet our cash flow commitments, and we feel really good about our $2 billion cash flow guidance for 2027.

其中很大一部分來自我們獲得批准的特別股息，我們將在第四季度支付。因此，我們對現金流、來源多樣化和可預測性感到滿意，這使我們能夠履行我們的現金流承諾，並且我們對 2027 年 20 億美元的現金流指導感到非常滿意。

[Nick Anita], Wells Fargo.

[尼克安妮塔]，富國銀行。

I guess maybe just another follow-up on capital. You guys have been running at a pretty, pretty strong buffer for, I guess, the past like two years now. And just thinking about that and the $2 billion guidance for cash generation for '27, I guess, what do you guys have to see like going forward to maybe bring that buffer down a bit? And is there any plan to bring it down? Or should we just assume that that's going to be the buffer for here on out?

我想這可能只是資本的另一個後續行動。我想，過去兩年來，你們一直在一個非常非常強大的緩衝狀態下運行。想想這個以及 27 年 20 億美元現金產生的指導，我想，你們認為未來可能會怎樣才能稍微降低緩衝？有沒有計劃將其降低？或者我們應該假設這將是接下來的緩衝區？

Thanks for the question, [Nick]. So look, we feel really good about our strong capital position. It gives us confidence to capitalize on this attractive growth market that we've seen and what Mark and Nick spoke about earlier, while also delivering on our 60% to 70% payout ratio.

謝謝你的提問，[缺口]。所以看，我們對我們強大的資本狀況感到非常滿意。它讓我們有信心利用我們所看到的以及馬克和尼克之前談到的這個有吸引力的成長市場，同時也實現我們 60% 至 70% 的派息率。

If you look year-to-date, we funded record levels of sales in the Individual Retirement business and the $500 million of inflows in the LifePath Paycheck product. At the same time, we paid out a 65% payout ratio at the midpoint of our earnings target.

如果你看看今年迄今為止，我們為個人退休業務創紀錄的銷售水平和 LifePath Paycheck 產品的 5 億美元資金流入提供了資金。同時，我們支付了獲利目標中點 65% 的派息率。

So our HoldCo cash does fluctuate on a quarterly basis, depending on the timing that we received dividend from the subsidiaries. The balance this quarter is at $2 billion, which we feel good about, but that's because we got $440 million from Arizona in July. So that's at an elevated level. We do expect to reduce the current excess cash position towards target levels.

因此，我們的控股公司現金確實會按季度波動，這取決於我們從子公司收到股利的時間。本季的餘額為 20 億美元，我們對此感覺良好，但那是因為 7 月我們從亞利桑那州獲得了 4.4 億美元。所以這是一個很高的水平。我們確實希望將目前的過剩現金部位減少到目標水準。

But we're cognizant that the markets and the macro environment can change quickly. So we'd rather do this in a disciplined way over time as opposed to a onetime extraordinary dividend or accelerated share repurchase.

但我們認識到市場和宏觀環境可能會迅速變化。因此，我們寧願隨著時間的推移以一種有紀律的方式來做到這一點，而不是一次性的特別股息或加速股票回購。

So again, this is a phenomenal growth environment. We're investing into growth. We're returning capital to shareholders, and we'll look to bring down the excess cash over time in a systematic way.

再說一遍，這是一個非凡的成長環境。我們正在投資於成長。我們正在向股東返還資本，我們將尋求隨著時間的推移以系統化的方式減少多餘的現金。

That's helpful. maybe just switching to Individual Retirement. It seemed like total surrenders picked up a bit in the quarter, I guess, year-over-year and sequentially. Anything to call out there? Or is that just -- is that a restatement issue? Or is that just normal business growth?

這很有幫助。也許只是轉向個人退休。我猜，本季的退保總額似乎比去年同期有所上升，而且連續不斷。那裡有什麼要喊的嗎？或者這只是——這是一個重述問題嗎？或者這只是正常的業務成長？

Now you're seeing -- look, with the interest rates, where they are, the growth that you see on top line, you're always going to see some increased level of surrender activity across the industry. Nothing out of the ordinary to call out here. We continue to capture a big share in the retirement market. And you see that with the $1.9 billion of positive net flows coming through Individual Retirement.

現在你會看到——看，隨著利率的變化，你在營收上看到的成長，你總是會看到整個產業的退保活動增加。這裡沒有什麼不尋常的地方。我們繼續在退休市場佔據很大份額。您可以看到，個人退休金帶來了 19 億美元的正淨流量。

Wilma Burdis, Raymond James.

威爾瑪·布爾迪斯，雷蒙德·詹姆斯。

Can you talk a little bit more about the mortality and protection? Was it favourable? Or is there any other trends in there?

能多談談死亡率和保護嗎？是有利的嗎？或者說還有其他的趨勢在裡面嗎？

Wilma, yes. As I mentioned, protection, it continues to be a small part of our overall business here at Equitable results have come in line with expectations. We gave the $200 million to $300 million of guidance, and we expect to be within that range for the full year.

威瑪，是的。正如我所提到的，保護仍然是我們整體業務的一小部分，公平結果符合預期。我們給出了 2 億至 3 億美元的指導，我們預計全年都在這個範圍內。

So -- and mortality continues to fall in line with expectations this quarter. But as we've seen historically, there could be some volatility given our exposure to high face amount policies, but we feel good about where we stand here today.

因此，本季死亡率持續下降，符合預期。但正如我們從歷史上看到的那樣，鑑於我們持有高面額保單，可能會出現一些波動，但我們對今天的處境感到滿意。

And just a quick follow-up on that one. I mean, it seems like it's pretty much in the range now. I know for a few quarters, it seemed like there was a little bit of COVID, maybe excess swing on it. Just feels like it's been normal for a couple of quarters. Does that feel like a pretty good trend? And then I got one more quick one for you after that.

只是對此進行快速跟進。我的意思是，現在似乎已經在這個範圍內了。我知道在幾個季度裡，似乎有一點新冠病毒的影響，也許是過度的波動。感覺這幾個季度以來一直很正常。這感覺是一個很好的趨勢嗎？之後我又為你準備了一份快速的。

Yes. We feel comfortable with the $200 million to $300 million guidance that we've given to the market, and we'll stick with that.

是的。我們對向市場提供的 2 億至 3 億美元的指導感到滿意，並且我們將堅持這一點。

Okay. All right. Sounds good. And then could you dig a little bit more into what's driving the flows in investment management? Just maybe talk a little bit about products and other things.

好的。好的。聽起來不錯。那麼您能否更深入了解推動投資管理流程的因素呢？也許只是談論一些產品和其他事情。

Yes, we had a strong active net flow quarter in the third quarter, 2.2 net positive. This quarter marked our third consecutive net flow quarter in the year. So we have been on a positive streak. And if you look at our asset management business, active flows in total were around $8.5 billion net, and that is a much superior outcome than many of our public peers.

是的，我們第三季的活躍淨流量強勁，為 2.2 淨正值。本季是我們今年連續第三個淨流量季度。所以我們一直處於積極的狀態。如果你看看我們的資產管理業務，活躍資金淨額總計約為 85 億美元，這比我們的許多上市同行要好得多。

So we feel pretty good about our momentum. The momentum remains relatively broad-based. So we benefited from the strong demand in fixed income, backed by our strong performance. If you look at one-year performance, we have been beating in more than 90% of our assets. So that continues to support our continued fixed income growth. This is both Asia ex Japan, domestic tax exempt, so it's multiple channels.

所以我們對我們的勢頭感覺很好。這一勢頭仍然具有相對廣泛的基礎。因此，我們受惠於固定收益的強勁需求，以及我們強勁業績的支持。如果你看一年的表現，我們 90% 以上的資產都表現良好。因此，這繼續支持我們持續的固定收益成長。這都是亞洲（日本除外）國內免稅，所以有多種管道。

In equities, actually, we had another positive quarter in retail. So good to see. We benefited from some of the continued bull run in the equity markets, at least in our retail business. And then we continue to build our alternatives franchise. We are on track to our $100 billion goal for private alts. We closed the quarter at [$68 billion] and Private Wealth had a record annual fundraising in alt with $2.3 billion, so that demonstrates, again, the breadth and depth of our growth engines at AllianceBernstein.

實際上，在股票方面，零售業又迎來了一個正面的季度。很高興看到。我們從股票市場的持續牛市中受益，至少在我們的零售業務中是如此。然後我們繼續建立我們的替代品特許經營權。我們正朝著 1000 億美元的私人替代品目標邁進。我們本季的收盤價為 [680 億美元]，Private Wealth 的另類融資年度籌款額創紀錄，達到 23 億美元，這再次證明了聯伯恩斯坦成長引擎的廣度和深度。

In terms of the product pipeline, our ETF platform had a two-year mark in September, $5 billion plus with 15 products. So very pleased with the buildup of the ETF franchise as a new start-up. Our alternatives product lineup continue to expand.

在產品儲備方面，我們的ETF平台在9月已經突破兩年大關，規模超過50億美元，有15種產品。作為一家新的新創企業，我們對 ETF 特許經營權的建立感到非常滿意。我們的替代品產品陣容不斷擴大。

Now we have a perpetual vehicle in the market from CarVal, create opportunities funds. And that already has assets in it, and we are seeing some third-party interest. We already onboarded into a large custodian platform, another few clients are in the pipeline, both other custodians as well as RIA clients.

現在我們在市場上有 CarVal 的永久車輛，創造機會基金。其中已經有資產，我們看到了一些第三方的興趣。我們已經加入了一個大型託管平台，其他客戶正在籌備中，包括其他託管機構以及 RIA 客戶。

And then finally, last but not the least, obviously, a great synergy area for EQH's AB and insurance synergies, and we continue to expand our investment-grade lineup in private alts whether it's mortgages, NAV financing, specialty finance and extension of our private placement platform on the structured side. So you will continue to see us get deeper and broader in insurance through private alts.

最後，最後但並非最不重要的一點是，顯然，EQH 的AB 和保險協同效應是一個巨大的協同領域，我們將繼續擴大我們在私人另類投資領域的投資級陣容，無論是抵押貸款、資產淨值融資、專業金融還是我們私人的擴展結構化側的放置平台。因此，您將繼續看到我們透過私人替代品在保險領域變得更深入、更廣泛。

Mark Hughes, Truist Securities.

馬克休斯，Truist 證券公司。

Also on AB, you described a 33% baseline operating margin for 2025, assuming flat markets. If we do see continued good performance in the markets and some faster top line growth, is that -- what's the sensitivity of margins to that top line? Should there be improvement off that baseline?

同樣在 AB 上，您描述了 2025 年 33% 的基準營業利潤率（假設市場持平）。如果我們確實看到市場持續良好的表現以及更快的營收成長，那麼利潤率對營收的敏感度是什麼？是否應該在基線基礎上有所改進？

This is Jackie here from AB. We did guide 2025 at 33% which represents over 400 basis points of margin expansion, which is near the midpoint of what we gave at Investor Day in 2023 of 350 to 500 basis points. We do still expect further margin expansion over time as we continue to scale the business and as our private markets business continues to scale. That would then by 2027, push us to the higher range that we gave at Investor Day.

這是來自 AB 的 Jackie。我們確實將 2025 年的利潤率預期定為 33%，這意味著利潤率擴張超過 400 個基點，接近我們在 2023 年投資者日給出的 350 至 500 個基點的中點。隨著我們繼續擴大業務規模以及私募市場業務的不斷擴大，我們仍然預計隨著時間的推移，利潤率將進一步擴大。到 2027 年，這將推動我們達到投資者日上給出的更高區間。

Understood. And then a quick question, just maybe a small matter, but I understand within legacy when the folks annuitize those balances being captured in the individual retirement business, which makes perfect sense. Could that be material at all? And maybe the broader question of your experience with annuitization out of individual retirement, how much that perhaps extend the duration of those assets?

明白了。然後是一個簡單的問題，也許只是一件小事，但我理解在遺產中，當人們將個人退休業務中捕獲的這些餘額年金化時，這是完全合理的。這可能是實質的嗎？也許更廣泛的問題是您在個人退休金方面的經驗，這可能會延長這些資產的期限多少？

Yes. So when people do annuitize it goes into a payout annuity and it's issued a new contract. We have that already in Individual Retirement fee. So you saw us move some of the annuitization from legacy to Individual Retirement in the quarter, it's roughly $10 million in the quarter, and it's been pretty consistent over time.

是的。因此，當人們進行年金化時，它會變成支付年金，並簽發一份新合約。我們已經在個人退休費中包含了這一點。所以你看到我們在本季將一些年金從遺產轉移到個人退休金，本季大約是 1000 萬美元，而且隨著時間的推移，它非常穩定。

Yes, you do end up being into a spread-based product, which we like, spread-based earnings and had a longer duration as well along those products.

是的，您最終確實會進入基於利差的產品，我們喜歡這種產品，基於利差的收益並且這些產品的持續時間較長。

And that will conclude our question-and-answer session. We'd like to thank you all for joining Equitable Holdings' Third Quarter Earnings Call. You may now disconnect.

我們的問答環節就到此結束。我們感謝大家參加 Equitable Holdings 第三季財報電話會議。您現在可以斷開連線。