Lincoln National Corp (LNC) 2024 Q3 法說會逐字稿

Good morning, and thank you for joining Lincoln Financial's third-quarter 2024 earnings conference call. (Operator Instructions)

早安，感謝您參加林肯金融公司 2024 年第三季財報電話會議。（操作員說明）

Now I would like to turn the conference over to the Senior Vice President and Head of Investor Relations, Tina Madon. Please go ahead.

現在我想將會議交給高級副總裁兼投資者關係主管蒂娜·馬登 (Tina Madon)。請繼續。

Thank you. Good morning, everyone, and welcome to our third-quarter earnings call. We appreciate your interest in Lincoln. Our quarterly earnings press release, earnings supplement and statistical supplement can all be found on the Investor Relations page of our website at www.lincolnfinancial.com. These documents include reconciliations of the non-GAAP measures used on today's call, including adjusted income from operations or adjusted operating income and adjusted income from operations available to common stockholders to their most comparable GAAP measures. Before we begin, I want to remind you that any statements made during today's call regarding expectations, future actions, trends in our businesses, prospective services or products future performance or financial results, including those related to deposits, expenses, income from operations, share repurchases, liquidity and capital resources, are forward-looking statements under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.

謝謝。大家早安，歡迎參加我們的第三季財報電話會議。我們感謝您對林肯的興趣。我們的季度收益新聞稿、收益補充資料和統計補充資料均可在我們網站 www.lincolnfinancial.com 的投資者關係頁面上找到。這些文件包括今天電話會議中使用的非公認會計原則衡量標準的調節表，包括調整後的營運收入或調整後的營運收入和調整後的營運收入，可供普通股股東與其最可比的公認會計原則衡量標準比較。在我們開始之前，我想提醒您，今天的電話會議中所做的有關預期、未來行動、我們業務趨勢、預期服務或產品未來業績或財務業績的任何聲明，包括與存款、費用、營運收入、股票相關的聲明回購、流動性和資本資源是根據 1995 年《私人證券訴訟改革法案》做出的前瞻性陳述。

These forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that could cause our actual results to differ materially from our current expectations. These risks and uncertainties include those described in the cautionary statement disclosures in our earnings release issued earlier this morning as well as those detailed in our 2023 annual report on Form 10-K, most recent quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, and from time to time in our other filings with the SEC. These forward-looking statements are made only as of today, and we undertake no obligation to update or revise any of them to reflect events or circumstances that occur after today.

這些前瞻性陳述涉及風險和不確定性，可能導致我們的實際結果與我們目前的預期有重大差異。這些風我們向 SEC 提交的其他文件中的時間。這些前瞻性陳述僅在今天作出，我們沒有義務更新或修改其中任何陳述以反映今天之後發生的事件或情況。

Presenting this morning are Ellen Cooper, Chairman, President, and CEO; and Chris Neczypor, Chief Financial Officer. After their prepared remarks, we'll address your questions.

今天早上出席會議的有董事長、總裁兼執行長艾倫·庫柏 (Ellen Cooper)；和財務長 Chris Neczypor。在他們準備好發言後，我們將回答您的問題。

Let me now turn the call over to Ellen.

現在讓我把電話轉給艾倫。

Thank you, Tina, and good morning, everyone. Thank you for joining our call today. We are pleased with our third quarter adjusted operating income, which was our highest quarterly earnings in over two years reflecting continued progress in our strategic realignment. These results were driven by strong underlying performance in all four businesses as we continue to achieve consistent momentum advancing against the operating initiatives we outlined earlier this year.

謝謝蒂娜，大家早安。感謝您今天加入我們的電話會議。我們對第三季調整後營業收入感到滿意，這是我們兩年多來最高的季度收益，反映出我們策略調整的持續進展。這些業績是由所有四項業務強勁的基本業績推動的，因為我們繼續按照我們今年早些時候概述的營運計劃取得持續的發展勢頭。

We are executing on tangible actions to deliver sustained long-term value creation and support our strategy built upon three objectives: a strong capital foundation to ensure enterprise stability across market cycles and support investment for future growth and optimized operating model to advance a scalable framework to maximize our resources and businesses and products that deliver profitable growth to improve free cash flow and grow the franchise.

我們正在採取實際行動，以實現持續的長期價值創造，並支持我們基於三個目標的策略：強大的資本基礎，確保企業在整個市場週期的穩定性，支持未來成長的投資，以及優化的營運模式，以推進可擴展的框架最大限度地利用我們的資源、業務和產品來實現盈利增長，以改善自由現金流並發展特許經營權。

This is a multiyear journey. And as with any journey, a strong capital foundation lays the base for sustained long-term success. We continue to build capital with another sequential quarter of RBC in excess of our 420% upper. We also continue to progress in optimizing our operating model with a focus on expense efficiencies, investment strategy optimization and the launch of our Bermuda reinsurance subsidiary last quarter to further strengthen our ability to deliver against our priorities.

這是一個多年的旅程。與任何旅程一樣，強大的資本基礎為持續的長期成功奠定了基礎。我們繼續累積資本，RBC 的另一個連續季度超過了 420% 的上限。我們也繼續在優化營運模式方面取得進展，重點是費用效率、投資策略優化以及上季度推出百慕達再保險子公司，以進一步增強我們實現優先事項的能力。

Lastly, we advanced against our objective of delivering profitable growth as we transform Lincoln into an organization characterized by businesses, market segments and products with more stable cash flows and higher risk-adjusted returns. As we look ahead, we expect to continue to grow and diversify our group and retirement businesses with targeted segment strategies to serve the unique needs of our customers, evolve our annuity business with a diversified product mix that includes expansion of spread-based products and realign our life business to emphasize more risk sharing within accumulation and protection products.

最後，我們朝著實現獲利成長的目標邁進，將林肯轉變為一個以業務、細分市場和產品為特徵的組織，具有更穩定的現金流和更高的風險調整回報。展望未來，我們預計將透過有針對性的細分策略繼續發展和多元化我們的集團和退休業務，以滿足客戶的獨特需求，透過多元化的產品組合發展我們的年金業務，包括擴展基於利差的產品並重新調整我們的壽險業務強調在累積和保障產品中更多地分擔風險。

Our progress to date has clearly been driven by broad-based execution and sets the stage for continued success as we leverage our competitive advantages, including our powerful franchise, distribution leadership, broad product portfolio and trusted brand. On the topic of brand, I would be remiss if I did not spend a minute mentioning our recent brand refresh. Collectively, our four businesses delivered financial protection and security to more than 17 million customers today, customers who rely on us to support their financial futures.

迄今為止，我們的進步顯然是由廣泛的執行力推動的，並為我們利用我們的競爭優勢（包括強大的特許經營權、分銷領導力、廣泛的產品組合和值得信賴的品牌）的持續成功奠定了基礎。在品牌話題上，如果我不花一分鐘提及我們最近的品牌更新，那就是我的失職。如今，我們的四項業務總共為超過 1,700 萬名客戶提供了財務保護和安全，這些客戶依靠我們來支持他們的財務未來。

As we look forward, we seek to enable more people to confidently succeed their way, and we treat every customer's future with care. Our new logo is intended to drive brand recognition and our new tagline, your tomorrow, our priority, embodies our focus on stewardship and our enduring commitment to being there for our customers today and tomorrow.

展望未來，我們致力於讓更多的人充滿信心地取得成功，並精心對待每位客戶的未來。我們的新標誌旨在提高品牌知名度，而我們的新口號「您的明天，我們的首要任務」體現了我們對管理的關注以及我們對今天和明天為客戶提供服務的持久承諾。

Now turning to our third quarter performance, excluding the impact of our annual assumption review. Key highlights at the segment level included Group Protection delivering record third quarter results with earnings more than doubling year-over-year. Annuities earnings increased by 15% for the same period and delivered substantial sales growth. Retirement Plan Services sustained its momentum, producing another quarter of sequential earnings growth and first year sales that more than tripled year-over-year. Life insurance generated sequential sales growth for a second quarter. We have made significant progress against our objectives, and our results have exceeded our expectations.

現在轉向我們第三季的業績，不包括年度假設審查的影響。該部門層級的主要亮點包括團體保護第三季業績創紀錄，營收年增了一倍以上。年金收入同期成長 15%，銷售額大幅成長。退休計劃服務保持了成長勢頭，實現了另一個季度的連續盈利增長，第一年銷售額同比增長了兩倍多。人壽保險第二季銷售額環比成長。我們在實現目標方面取得了重大進展，結果超出了我們的預期。

Now shifting to our businesses and starting with Retail Solutions, which includes our annuities and life businesses. Our annuity strategy is taking hold as we execute on growing while diversifying our earnings mix to more spread-based products. We aim to achieve this with the continued expansion of our addressable market and increasing our competitiveness by enhancing our capabilities, including an optimized investment strategy, capital-efficient reinsurance solutions and increased expense efficiencies.

現在轉向我們的業務，從零售解決方案開始，其中包括我們的年金和壽險業務。我們的年金策略正在紮根，因為我們執行成長，同時將我們的收入組合多元化到更多基於利差的產品。我們的目標是透過不斷擴大我們的目標市場並透過增強我們的能力來提高我們的競爭力，包括優化投資策略、資本效率高的再保險解決方案和提高費用效率，從而實現這一目標。

Total annuity sales for the quarter of $3.4 billion were up nearly 25% from the prior year quarter with increases in all product categories and double-digit growth in spread-based products. We remain focused on delivering profitable growth over top line growth that meets our targeted risk-adjusted returns in each product segment, while leading with our distribution network to provide a broad, holistic set of product solutions that address customer preferences in various market environments.

本季年金銷售額總額為 34 億美元，比去年同期成長近 25%，所有產品類別均有所成長，基於利差的產品出現兩位數成長。我們仍專注於實現利潤成長超過營收成長，以滿足我們在每個產品領域的風險調整目標回報，同時利用我們的分銷網絡提供廣泛、全面的產品解決方案，以滿足不同市場環境中的客戶偏好。

RILA continues to be a strategic focus and demonstrated another quarter of solid momentum with sales increasing year-over-year by 13% and 10% sequentially to the highest sales level in nearly two years. We successfully launched our second-generation RILA product last quarter, and its refreshed features and unique crediting strategies are resonating in the market. While our fixed annuity sales increased by more than 30% year-over-year and were approximately $1 billion for the quarter, sales levels were down sequentially.

RILA 繼續成為戰略重點，並展現了另一個季度的強勁勢頭，銷售額同比分別增長 13% 和 10%，達到近兩年來的最高銷售水平。上季我們成功推出了第二代RILA產品，其更新的功能和獨特的積分策略引起了市場的共鳴。雖然我們的固定年金銷售額年增超過 30%，本季銷售額約為 10 億美元，但銷售額水準較上季下降。

As a reminder, we built the capabilities over the course of the last year to sustain a consistent and growing presence in the fixed marketplace and expect to leverage our new Bermuda affiliate for this product in the future. Spread-based products represented 2/3 of our total sales in the quarter as we continue to extend our reach to new segments.

提醒一下，我們在去年的過程中建立了能力，以維持在固定市場上的持續和不斷增長的影響力，並期望在未來利用我們新的百慕達附屬公司來開發該產品。隨著我們繼續將業務範圍擴展到新的細分市場，基於點差的產品占我們本季總銷售額的 2/3。

Finally, our traditional variable annuity sales increased 31% year-over-year as we experienced strong growth in variable products with and without guaranteed living benefits. Variable annuities further enhance the diversification of our product suite while delivering strong risk-adjusted returns. As we look ahead to the fourth quarter, while we anticipate sales to be lower than the record 2023 fourth quarter, we expect sales growth for the full year. In summary, with the depth of our distribution leadership and the breadth and diversification of our product suite, we believe we are uniquely positioned to competitively differentiate. This is and will continue to be reflected in the results that drive the strength of our annuities business.

最後，我們的傳統可變年金銷售額年增了 31%，因為我們在有或沒有保證生活福利的可變產品方面經歷了強勁增長。可變年金進一步增強了我們產品組合的多元化，同時提供了強勁的風險調整回報。展望第四季度，雖然我們預計銷售額將低於 2023 年第四季創紀錄的水平，但我們預計全年銷售額將成長。總而言之，憑藉我們在分銷方面的領先地位以及我們產品套件的廣度和多樣化，我們相信我們處於獨特的競爭優勢。這已經並將繼續反映在推動我們年金業務實力的表現中。

Now turning to our Life business. Life achieved sequential sales growth of 16% for a second consecutive quarter of double-digit growth as our distribution and product actions gained further traction. We remain focused on realigning our life product portfolio to offer solutions that generate more stable cash flows and higher risk-adjusted returns. Specifically, this means we are targeting growth in accumulation and protection products, which have more risk sharing.

現在轉向我們的人壽業務。隨著我們的分銷和產品行動獲得進一步的推動，人壽保險的銷售額環比增長 16%，連續第二個季度實現兩位數增長。我們仍然專注於重新調整我們的壽險產品組合，以提供能夠產生更穩定的現金流和更高的風險調整回報的解決方案。具體來說，這意味著我們的目標是增加累積和保護產品，這些產品具有更多的風險分擔。

As I mentioned last quarter, we are supporting this objective with our repositioned life distribution team to optimize our wholesaler footprint. This improves our customer reach and elevates our coverage to better enable and accelerate our product shift. While realigning our life business will continue to take time, and we expect that sales growth may not be linear, we are confident that leveraging our product, distribution and underwriting teams will increase our competitive differentiation and drive higher earnings growth over time.

正如我上季度提到的，我們正在透過重新定位的生活分銷團隊來支持這一目標，以優化我們的批發商足跡。這擴大了我們的客戶範圍並擴大了我們的覆蓋範圍，以更好地實現和加速我們的產品轉變。雖然重新調整我們的壽險業務將繼續需要時間，而且我們預計銷售成長可能不是線性的，但我們相信，利用我們的產品、分銷和承保團隊將提高我們的競爭優勢，並隨著時間的推移推動更高的獲利成長。

Next, turning to Workplace Solutions, which includes our Group Protection and Retirement Plan Services businesses. As I highlighted earlier, group's earnings more than doubled year over year as we continue to execute on our strategy to grow profitably by prioritizing margin expansion over topline growth. Year-over-year premium growth remained at 3% in the third quarter, reflecting our disciplined pricing approach to both new and renewal business, where we are achieving persistency in line with our expectations while undertaking a repricing effort, reinforcing the strength of our relationships and ability to deliver value to our customers.

接下來，轉向工作場所解決方案，其中包括我們的團體保護和退休計畫服務業務。正如我之前強調的，隨著我們繼續執行利潤成長優先於營收成長的利潤成長策略，集團的獲利年增了一倍多。第三季保費年增率維持在3%，這反映出我們對新業務和續保業務採取嚴格的定價方法，在進行重新定價的同時，我們實現了持續符合我們預期的目標，從而增強了我們的關係實力以及為顧客創造價值的能力。

In what is typically our lowest sales volume quarter of this year, group sales increased 18% year over year and supplemental health sales doubled during the same period. These outcomes reflect the significant progress we have made in executing on our targeted segment strategies, which are key pillars of our margin expansion efforts as we build on the tailored solutions we offer with unique products and services within each segment. In our local market segment, we are expanding our growth through enhancements to our products and upgrading our operating model to improve access, ease and affordability.

今年通常是我們銷量最低的季度，集團銷售額年增 18%，同期補充保健品銷售額翻了一番。這些成果反映了我們在執行目標細分市場策略方面取得的重大進展，這些策略是我們利潤擴張努力的關鍵支柱，因為我們在每個細分市場內透過獨特的產品和服務提供客製化解決方案。在我們的本地市場領域，我們正在透過增強產品和升級營運模式來擴大成長，以提高可及性、便利性和可負擔性。

In our regional segment, we are creating a unique value proposition focused on elevating the customer experience and further strengthening key strategic partnerships. As a market leader in our national segment, we are continuing to leverage our consultative approach and expanded product strategy to grow profitably. We are strategically investing in the capabilities to meet our customers where they want to be met, including talent, technology and infrastructure to improve the customer experience by expanding our digital and self-serve capabilities, upgrading our underwriting technology and reengineering our client service model. These investments, along with our expanded product offerings are driving our growth.

在我們的區域部門，我們正在創建獨特的價值主張，專注於提升客戶體驗並進一步加強關鍵策略夥伴關係。作為國內細分市場的市場領導者，我們將繼續利用我們的諮詢方法和擴展的產品策略來實現獲利成長。我們正在策略性地投資於滿足客戶需求的能力，包括人才、技術和基礎設施，以透過擴展我們的數位和自助服務能力、升級我們的承保技術以及重新設計我們的客戶服務模式來改善客戶體驗。這些投資以及我們不斷擴大的產品供應正在推動我們的成長。

As we look forward to the fourth quarter, which seasonally accounts for the majority of our full-year sales, we anticipate year-over-year sales growth while maintaining our focus on profitability.

當我們展望第四季度時，該季度季節性占我們全年銷售額的大部分，我們預計銷售額將同比增長，同時保持對盈利能力的關注。

In summary, group's performance this year has exceeded our expectations, driven by our strategic actions and supported by a favorable macro backdrop. Our focus remains on delivering a long-term sustainable margin, and we are confident we have the appropriate strategies to do so.

綜上所述，在策略行動的推動下，在有利的宏觀背景的支撐下，集團今年的表現超出了我們的預期。我們的重點仍然是提供長期可持續的利潤，我們相信我們有適當的策略來做到這一點。

Now turning to Retirement Plan Services or RPS. RPS sustained its momentum, producing another quarter of sequential earnings growth and first year sales, which more than tripled over the prior year. Our strategy to continue growing in our core record-keeping in institutional market segments through our differentiated service model and product innovation is resonating with the market. The robust pipeline we previously communicated materialized into strong sales in the quarter of $1.7 billion and drove positive net flows as our targeted segment strategy and increased engagement with our distribution partners continued to deliver results.

現在轉向退休計劃服務或 RPS。RPS 保持了成長勢頭，實現了又一個季度的連續盈利增長和第一年銷售額，比上一年增長了兩倍多。我們的策略是透過差異化的服務模式和產品創新，在機構市場領域繼續發展我們的核心記錄，而這項策略引起了市場的共鳴。我們先前傳達的強勁管道在本季度實現了 17 億美元的強勁銷售額，並隨著我們的目標細分市場策略和與分銷合作夥伴的加強互動繼續取得成果，推動了正淨流量。

Our small market sales reflected the strength of our LFD distribution franchise and ongoing product innovation. In the mid-large segment, we leveraged our service model, which drives high client satisfaction to attract new plan sponsors in markets where our value proposition is resonating. We continue to innovate and build capabilities in our retirement business improving our products and services, enhancing our customer experience and increasing operational efficiency as we further optimize our operating model to drive sales and earnings growth.

我們的小市場銷售額反映了我們 LFD 分銷專營權和持續產品創新的實力。在中大型細分市場，我們利用我們的服務模式，提高客戶滿意度，在我們的價值主張產生共鳴的市場中吸引新的計劃贊助商。我們繼續在退休業務方面進行創新和能力建設，改善我們的產品和服務，增強客戶體驗並提高營運效率，同時進一步優化我們的營運模式，以推動銷售和獲利成長。

In closing, our strong performance this quarter reinforces the momentum of our strategic execution as we continue to reposition Lincoln for sustainable growth and value. We are leveraging our competitive advantages to grow profitably, advance operational efficiency and build the capital flexibility of our franchise. While our transformation is a multiyear journey, we are building a durable path to deliver lasting value for our shareholders, customers, partners and employees.

最後，我們本季的強勁表現增強了我們策略執行的勢頭，我們繼續重新定位林肯以實現永續成長和價值。我們正在利用我們的競爭優勢來實現利潤成長、提高營運效率並建立我們特許經營的資本靈活性。雖然我們的轉型是一個多年的旅程，但我們正在建立一條持久的道路，為我們的股東、客戶、合作夥伴和員工提供持久的價值。

With that, let me turn the call over to Chris.

現在，讓我把電話轉給克里斯。

Thank you, Ellen, and good morning, everyone. Our third quarter results demonstrate broad-based improvements across all our businesses, highlighting the positive momentum driven by our strategic priorities and disciplined execution. While the strength we experienced across all four businesses may not always occur simultaneously like we saw this quarter, overall, we are pleased with continued progress in our results. I'm going to focus on three areas this morning.

謝謝你，艾倫，大家早安。我們第三季的業績顯示了我們所有業務的廣泛改善，凸顯了我們的策略重點和嚴格執行所驅動的積極勢頭。雖然我們在所有四項業務中所經歷的優勢可能並不總是像本季那樣同時出現，但總體而言，我們對業績的持續進步感到高興。今天早上我將重點放在三個領域。

First, I'll recap our third quarter results, including a review of our segment level financials and our annual review of reserve assumptions. Second, I'll touch on capital. And third, I'll review our investment portfolio. So let's start with a recap of the quarter. This morning, we reported third quarter adjusted operating income available to common stockholders of $358 million or $2.06 per share.

首先，我將回顧我們第三季的業績，包括對我們部門級財務狀況的審查以及對準備金假設的年度審查。其次，我要談資本。第三，我將回顧我們的投資組合。讓我們先回顧一下本季的情況。今天早上，我們報告了第三季普通股股東調整後的營業收入為 3.58 億美元，即每股 2.06 美元。

This includes the impact from this year's assumption review, which increased earnings by $8 million or $0.05 per share. Additionally, our alternative investments portfolio delivered an 11% annualized return in the quarter or $100 million. On an after-tax basis, this amount was $7 million above our return target or $0.04 per share.

這包括今年假設審查的影響，該假設審查使收益增加了 800 萬美元，即每股 0.05 美元。此外，我們的另類投資組合在本季實現了 11% 的年化報酬率，即 1 億美元。以稅後計算，這筆金額比我們的回報目標高出 700 萬美元，即每股 0.04 美元。

Turning to net income for the quarter. We reported a net loss available to common stockholders of $562 million or $3.29 per diluted share. The difference between the net loss and adjusted operating income was predominantly driven by two factors. First, there was a negative change of $446 million in the fair value of the GAAP embedded derivative related to the Fortitude Re reinsurance transaction. This change was primarily driven by the impact of lower interest rates on available-for-sale securities in the funds withheld portfolio backing the agreement with the corresponding offset flowing through accumulated other comprehensive income, or AOCI.

轉向本季的淨利潤。我們報告普通股股東的淨虧損為 5.62 億美元，即稀釋後每股 3.29 美元。淨虧損和調整後營業收入之間的差異主要由兩個因素造成。首先，與 Fortitude Re 再保險交易相關的 GAAP 嵌入式衍生性商品的公允價值出現了 4.46 億美元的負變動。這項變更主要是由於支持該協議的基金預扣投資組合中可供出售證券的利率較低的影響以及透過累積其他綜合收益（AOCI）流動的相應抵銷所致。

And second, there was unfavorable noneconomic impact of $381 million within nonoperating income, in part driven by the negative movement in market risk benefits as the impact of lower interest rates more than offset the impact from higher equity markets. Of note, our hedge program continues to perform in line with our expectations. And as a result, we were able to take a $50 million distribution from LNBar. Before turning to our segment results, I want to briefly touch on the impacts of our annual review of reserve assumptions. As I noted earlier, the net operating impacts from the review this quarter were minimal, resulting in an $8 million benefit to adjusted operating income.

其次，非營業收入產生了 3.81 億美元的不利非經濟影響，部分原因是市場風險收益的負面變動，因為利率下降的影響遠遠抵消了股市上漲的影響。值得注意的是，我們的對沖計劃繼續符合我們的預期。結果，我們從 LNBar 獲得了 5000 萬美元的分配。在討論我們的部門表現之前，我想簡要談談我們對準備金假設進行年度審查的影響。正如我之前指出的，本季審查對營運的淨影響很小，調整後的營運收入收益為 800 萬美元。

The majority of the benefits stemmed from updates made in our life business, which favorably benefited earnings by $8 million. In our Annuities business, we had a small benefit of $1 million, which was offset by an equally small negative impact in our group business of $1 million. As it relates to our life assumptions, it is important to highlight that both GUL policyholder behavior and mortality assumptions continue to be in line with our experience and expectations. The impacts of our annual assumption review on our segment results in the prior year period are detailed in our earnings release issued this morning.

大部分收益源自於我們的壽險業務的更新，這使收入增加了 800 萬美元。在我們的年金業務中，我們獲得了 100 萬美元的小額收益，但這一收益被我們集團業務中同樣小的 100 萬美元的負面影響所抵消。由於它與我們的壽命假設相關，因此必須強調 GUL 保單持有人的行為和死亡率假設仍然符合我們的經驗和預期。我們的年度假設審查對上一年期間分部業績的影響詳見我們今天上午發布的收益報告。

Let's now start with group, which had a record third quarter. Excluding the impact of the assumption review, group reported operating income of $110 million and a margin of 8.5% compared to $44 million in the prior year quarter and a margin of 3.5%. The year-over-year improvement was driven by several factors, and given the considerable improvement in our results, not only in the third quarter but also year-to-date, I want to provide additional color on the drivers supporting our earnings growth.

現在讓我們從第三季創紀錄的小組開始。排除假設審查的影響，集團報告營業收入為 1.1 億美元，利潤率為 8.5%，而去年同期為 4,400 萬美元，利潤率為 3.5%。同比改善是由多個因素推動的，鑑於我們的業績不僅在第三季度而且在年初至今都有顯著改善，我想為支持我們盈利增長的驅動因素提供更多信息。

First, our strategic focus on diversifying our book of business, discipline in our pricing actions and strong operational execution within our disability business has led to improvements in the core earnings of the business. This will continue to be supportive of our results in the quarters to come. Second, we continue to experience improving mortality trends. And while there can be some volatility in mortality results in any given quarter, overall, we expect that trend to persist as we become further removed from the pandemic. And third, the benefits from the favorable macro backdrop persisted supporting the strong results within disability.

首先，我們的策略重點是業務多元化、定價行為嚴格以及殘疾業務中強大的營運執行力，這些都導致​​了業務核心收益的改善。這將繼續支持我們未來幾季的業績。其次，我們持續經歷死亡率趨勢的改善。雖然任何特定季度的死亡率結果可能會出現一些波動，但總體而言，我們預計隨著我們進一步遠離大流行，這種趨勢將持續下去。第三，有利的宏觀背景帶來的好處持續支持殘疾領域的強勁業績。

However, as the current tailwinds from the macro backdrop are unlikely to persist indefinitely, we anticipate that when these conditions normalize, overall growth could moderate for a period of time as the benefits from our strategic actions and improving mortality will temporarily be offset.

然而，由於當前宏觀背景帶來的有利因素不太可能無限期地持續下去，我們預計，當這些條件正常化時，整體成長可能會在一段時間內放緩，因為我們的策略行動和死亡率改善帶來的好處將暫時被抵消。

Now turning to group product line results for the quarter, excluding the impacts of the annual assumption review. The disability loss ratio was 71%, improving by approximately 5 percentage points year-over-year. The loss ratio remains favorable relative to our longer-term expectations and benefited from low claim incidents and strong LTD recoveries, enabling positive return-to-work outcomes for our claimants. The group life loss ratio was 72%, a 9 percentage point improvement versus the prior year quarter. The lower loss ratio was driven by favorable volatility in group life incidents, which more than offset slightly elevated severity.

現在轉向本季集團產品線業績，不包括年度假設審查的影響。傷殘損失率為71%，較去年增加約5個百分點。相對於我們的長期預期，損失率仍然有利，並受益於低索賠事件和強勁的長期責任賠付，為我們的索賠人帶來積極的重返工作成果。團體壽命損失率為 72%，比去年同期提高了 9 個百分點。較低的損失率是由團體生活事件的有利波動所推動的，這足以抵消輕微上升的嚴重程度。

As we look to the fourth quarter, consistent with historical trends, we expect seasonal headwinds within our disability results to drive a sequential decline in earnings but continue their improvement year-over-year. Overall, with our focused execution against our margin expansion strategy and the benefits from the favorable macro tailwinds, we are positioned to deliver over 200 basis points of margin expansion over our 2023 result. As we look beyond 2024, while the results this year are encouraging and reflect our focus on expanding group to become a larger and more profitable part of our overall business, our priority remains sustaining a margin at or above 7% in the quarters to come.

展望第四季度，與歷史趨勢一致，我們預期殘障績效中的季節性逆風將導致收入連續下降，但年比持續改善。總體而言，憑藉我們針對利潤擴張策略的集中執行以及有利的宏觀順風帶來的好處，我們預計在 2023 年的業績基礎上實現利潤率擴張超過 200 個基點。展望2024 年以後，雖然今年的業績令人鼓舞，並反映出我們致力於擴大集團規模，使其成為整體業務中規模更大、盈利能力更強的一部分，但我們的首要任務仍然是在未來幾個季度將利潤率維持在7% 或以上。

Now turning to annuities. Excluding the impact of the assumption review, Annuities reported operating income of $300 million compared to $260 million in the prior year quarter. The strength we experienced in the first half of the year continued this quarter, resulting in year-over-year improvement, driven by a broad set of factors, including higher account balances, increased spread income and reduced expenses.

現在轉向年金。排除假設審查的影響，年金報告營業收入為 3 億美元，而去年同期營業收入為 2.6 億美元。本季我們延續了上半年的強勁勢頭，在帳戶餘額增加、利差收入增加和費用減少等一系列因素的推動下，業績同比有所改善。

Turning to account balances. Ending account balances totaled $165 billion, a nearly 13% increase versus the prior year quarter as higher equity markets more than offset the impact of outflows. RILA account balances surpassed 20% of total account balances for the first time and were up 3 percentage points versus the prior year quarter. As we continue to optimize our investment strategy and leverage our capital-efficient strategies, total spread earnings will continue to grow as RILA and fixed products become a larger part of our overall business mix.

轉向帳戶餘額。期末帳戶餘額總計 1,650 億美元，比上年同期增長近 13%，因為股市上漲足以抵消資金外流的影響。RILA 帳戶餘額首次超過總帳戶餘額的 20%，比去年同期增加 3 個百分點。隨著我們不斷優化投資策略並利用資本效率策略，隨著 RILA 和固定產品成為我們整體業務組合的重要組成部分，總利差收益將繼續增長。

Our annuities results this quarter reflect the benefits of higher account balances and improving spread income. While we expect seasonally higher expenses and elevated reinsurance financing charges in the fourth quarter to outweigh the tailwinds we've been experiencing through the first 3 quarters of the year, overall annuities will continue to be supported by the strong underlying fundamentals of the business.

我們本季的年金業績反映了帳戶餘額增加和利差收入改善的好處。雖然我們預計第四季度季節性費用上升和再保險融資費用上升將超過今年前三個季度所經歷的不利因素，但整體年金將繼續受到強勁的業務基本面的支撐。

Now turning to Retirement Plan Services, which reported operating income of $44 million compared to $43 million in the prior year quarter as tailwinds from higher equity markets were offset by elevated participant driven stable value outflows over the last 12 months, driven by the higher interest rate environment. Our base spread for the quarter was 105 basis points, compressing roughly 5 basis points compared to the prior year quarter. And while we've experienced a modest level of sequential expansion over the last 2 quarters, as we look ahead, we expect our fourth quarter spread to stabilize at around 100 basis points.

現在轉向退休計劃服務，該公司報告的營業收入為4400 萬美元，而去年同期為4300 萬美元，原因是股市上漲的推動力被過去12 個月利率上升推動的參與者驅動的穩定價值流出增加所抵消環境。我們本季的基差為 105 個基點，與去年同期相比壓縮約 5 個基點。雖然過去兩個季度我們經歷了適度的連續擴張，但展望未來，我們預計第四季利差將穩定在 100 個基點左右。

Turning to net flows for the quarter. Net flows were $651 million, which were supported by the strong sales that Ellen noted, in addition to an improvement in stable value participant activity. While we are pleased with the moderating levels of stable value outflows and the overall level of net inflows during the quarter, as we look ahead, it is important to remember that fourth quarter sales and terminations can be lumpy as plans typically change providers. As a result, we anticipate that net flows will be impacted by the timing of known plan terminations, challenging positive net flows for the fourth quarter. Now turning to account balances. Average account balances for the quarter increased 15% year-over-year and end-of-period account balances were nearly $114 billion, up 21% versus the prior year quarter. Overall, earnings continue to trend in a positive direction as a number of the headwinds that pressured the business over the last year dissipate. While spreads will be a slight headwind as we look towards the fourth quarter, overall, higher account balances, increased sales and our ongoing focus on expenses will continue to be supportive of retirement earnings.

轉向本季的淨流量。淨流量為 6.51 億美元，這得益於艾倫指出的強勁銷售以及穩定價值參與者活動的改善。雖然我們對本季穩定價值流出的緩和水平和淨流入的總體水平感到滿意，但展望未來，重要的是要記住，第四季度的銷售和終止可能會不穩定，因為計劃通常會更換提供者。因此，我們預期淨流量將受到已知計畫終止時間的影響，對第四季的正淨流量構成挑戰。現在轉向帳戶餘額。本季平均帳戶餘額年增 15%，期末帳戶餘額接近 1,140 億美元，比去年同期成長 21%。總體而言，隨著去年對業務造成壓力的一些不利因素消散，獲利繼續朝著正面的方向發展。雖然我們展望第四季度，利差將是一個輕微的阻力，但總體而言，帳戶餘額增加、銷售額增加以及我們對支出的持續關注將繼續支持退休收入。

Lastly, turning to Life Insurance. Life reported operating income of $14 million compared to operating income of $23 million in the prior year quarter, excluding assumption review impacts in both periods and $40 million of significant items in the prior year quarter. The run rate impacts of the Fortitude Re transaction and slightly elevated mortality in the quarter were partially offset by above-target alternative investment income and lower expenses. Expanding on mortality results for the quarter, the slightly elevated mortality we experienced was primarily due to an increase in severity from a small number of large claims in our universal life type products.

最後，轉向人壽保險。人壽報告營業收入為 1,400 萬美元，而去年同期營業收入為 2,300 萬美元，不包括這兩個時期的假設審查影響以及去年同期 4,000 萬美元的重要項目。Fortitude Re 交易對運行率的影響以及本季​​度死亡率的略微上升被高於目標的另類投資收入和較低的支出部分抵消。擴大本季的死亡率結果，我們經歷的死亡率略有上升主要是由於我們的萬能壽險類型產品中少數大額索賠的嚴重程度增加。

Our term experience for the quarter was in line with expectations. Net G&A expenses were down $12 million versus the prior year quarter. The improvements in the expense base highlight our ongoing focus on targeted expense reductions and over time, we continue to see an opportunity to further increase operating leverage in the Life business. As we look towards the fourth quarter, we currently expect elevated mortality driven by a small number of large claims that have occurred this month. While this could create quarter-over-quarter pressure on life results, this type of volatility is within the range of our long-term expectations.

我們本季的任期經歷符合預期。淨 G&A 費用與去年同期相比減少了 1,200 萬美元。費用基礎的改善凸顯了我們對有針對性的費用削減的持續關注，隨著時間的推移，我們繼續看到進一步提高壽險業務營運槓桿的機會。展望第四季度，我們目前預計本月發生的少數大額索賠將導致死亡率上升。雖然這可能會給生活業績帶來季度環比的壓力，但這種波動在我們的長期預期範圍內。

Let me now touch briefly on company-wide expenses. Expenses continued to trend favorably relative to the prior year, driven by the broad-based actions we took in the first half of the year focused on reducing organizational complexity. Although seasonal items that typically contribute to sequential expense growth throughout the year resulted in slightly higher expenses compared to the previous quarter, we also took further actions during the quarter to continue streamlining the expense base. This quarter, our efforts have been centered on identifying specific actionable opportunities to reduce our expense base, particularly where ongoing expenses were misaligned with ongoing free cash flow.

現在讓我簡單談談公司範圍內的開支。在我們上半年採取的旨在降低組織複雜性的廣泛行動的推動下，費用繼續向好於上一年。儘管通常會導致全年費用環比增長的季節性項目導致費用比上一季略高，但我們在本季度還採取了進一步行動，繼續精簡費用基礎。本季度，我們的工作重點是確定具體的可行機會，以減少我們的支出基礎，特別是在持續支出與持續自由現金流不一致的情況下。

While the benefits from the actions we took in the third quarter will begin to materialize in 2025, in the fourth quarter, we will have a seasonal increase in expenses. Our focus on expense management will continue to be targeted as we seek opportunities for efficiency in alignment with our earnings that will manifest as both reductions and investments as our businesses dictate.

雖然我們在第三季採取的行動所帶來的好處將於 2025 年開始顯現，但在第四季度，我們的費用將出現季節性增長。我們將繼續專注於費用管理，因為我們尋求與我們的收益一致的效率機會，這將根據我們的業務要求表現為減少和投資。

Shifting to capital. We ended the quarter with an estimated RBC ratio above 420%, as our capital position continues to strengthen. The RBC ratio improvement this year has been driven by free cash flow, tracking above expectations and the execution of strategic initiatives, such as the sale of our wealth management business. Delevering remains a strategic priority for the organization. And sequentially, the leverage ratio improved 50 basis points, driven by organic equity growth.

轉向資本。隨著我們的資本狀況持續增強，本季末我們的 RBC 比率估計超過 420%。今年 RBC 比率的改善是由自由現金流、追蹤高於預期以及策略性舉措的執行（例如出售我們的財富管理業務）所推動的。去槓桿化仍然是組織的策略重點。隨後，在股權有機成長的推動下，槓桿率提高了 50 個基點。

Lastly, as we announced last quarter, with the creation of Alpine, our affiliate reinsurer in Bermuda, we continue to work towards establishing an increased reinsurance capacity centered around affiliate flow reinsurance. We remain on track to achieve the initial phase of this new business flow support starting in 2025.

最後，正如我們在上季度宣布的那樣，隨著我們在百慕達的附屬再保險公司 Alpine 的成立，我們將繼續努力建立以附屬流量再保險為中心的增強再保險能力。我們仍有望從 2025 年開始實現這項新業務流程支援的初始階段。

Now moving to investments. Overall performance was solid as we continue to focus on maintaining a high-quality and well-diversified portfolio, while capitalizing on less liquid assets and structured asset class premiums. The portfolio remained high quality at 97% investment grade. Starting with an update on our general account optimization efforts, where we continue to leverage our multi-manager platform to drive increased value to the organization, we continue to source incremental yields driven by a targeted shift in our asset mix toward investment-grade private assets and high-quality structured products. As a result, despite declines in market interest rates during the quarter, we experienced year-over-year improvement in our new money yield with new money invested at a 6.4% yield, approximately 160 basis points above the yield on comparably rated public bonds during the quarter. While the prevailing interest rate environment will influence our overall new money yield, the execution of our optimization strategy will continue to generate an increased level of incremental spread.

現在轉向投資。由於我們繼續專注於維持高品質和多元化的投資組合，同時利用流動性較低的資產和結構性資產類別溢價，因此整體績效穩健。該投資組合仍保持高品質，投資等級達 97%。從我們的一般帳戶優化工作的更新開始，我們繼續利用我們的多經理平台為組織增加價值，我們繼續透過有針對性地將資產組合轉向投資級私人資產來獲取增量收益和高品質的結構性產品。因此，儘管本季市場利率下降，但我們的新資金收益率同比有所改善，新資金投資收益率為 6.4%，比 2017 年同等評級公共債券的收益率高出約 160 個基點。雖然目前的利率環境將影響我們的整體新貨幣收益率，但我們優化策略的執行將繼續產生更高水準的增量利差。

Turning to a brief update on our commercial mortgage loan portfolio. The portfolio remains high quality and represents 15% of total invested assets, with office representing only 3% of total invested assets. Despite near-term headwinds in the office sector, the broader office portfolio remains conservatively positioned from a debt service coverage and loan-to-value perspective. Additional information can be found in our quarterly earnings supplement. Lastly, our alternative investments generated a quarterly return of 2.7% this quarter, above our quarterly expectation of 2.5%. Our returns during the quarter were broad-based with positive contributions from all underlying asset categories.

接下來是我們商業抵押貸款組合的簡要更新。投資組合保持高品質，佔總投資資產的15%，其中辦公室僅佔總投資資產的3%。儘管辦公室產業近期面臨阻力，但從償債覆蓋率和貸款價值比的角度來看，更廣泛的辦公室投資組合仍然保持保守。更多資訊可以在我們的季度收益補充中找到。最後，我們的另類投資本季的季度回報率為 2.7%，高於我們 2.5% 的季度預期。本季我們的回報基礎廣泛，所有基礎資產類別都做出了積極貢獻。

In closing, I want to reiterate 3 points. First, our strong results this quarter reflect our sustained momentum supported by strong underlying fundamentals and continued progress towards strategic objectives. Second, our capital position continues to strengthen, supported by our free cash flow generation, and we are tracking well towards our 2026 outlook target. And third, as I've said in recent quarters, while we remain pleased with the progress we've made thus far, our broader focus remains unchanged as we continue to execute against our longer-term strategic objectives to maintain a strong balance sheet, improve free cash flow and grow the franchise.

最後，我想重申三點。首先，我們本季的強勁業績反映出我們在強勁的基本面和實現策略目標方面不斷取得進展的支持下保持了持續的勢頭。其次，在自由現金流產生的支持下，我們的資本狀況持續增強，並且我們正在順利實現 2026 年的展望目標。第三，正如我在最近幾季所說的那樣，雖然我們對迄今為止所取得的進展仍然感到滿意，但隨著我們繼續執行長期戰略目標以維持強勁的資產負債表，我們的更廣泛的關注點保持不變，改善自由現金流並發展特許經營權。

With that, let me turn the call back over to Tina.

接下來，讓我把電話轉回給蒂娜。

Thank you, Chris. Let me turn the call over to the operator to begin the Q&A.

謝謝你，克里斯。讓我將電話轉接給接線員開始問答。

(Operator Instructions) Suneet Kamath, Jefferies.

（操作員說明）Suneet Kamath，Jefferies。

I wanted to start with free cash flow. Chris, you gave us a couple of comments. I think you said above expectations and you took a dividend out of LNBar, so can you just maybe give us a sense of where you are kind of year-to-date in terms of your free cash flow and maybe how you still feel about that 2026 guide that you gave us previously.

我想從自由現金流開始。克里斯，你給了我們一些評論。我認為你所說的超出了預期，並且你從 LNBar 中提取了股息，所以你能否讓我們了解一下你今年迄今為止的自由現金流狀況，以及你對此有何感受？ 2026 年指南。

So first of all, you're right. We feel really good about the year so far and we're tracking well relative to the 2026 targets that we had put out. I think if you step back just to level set, we had talked about 2023 having a 35% free cash flow conversion ratio.

所以首先，你是對的。到目前為止，我們對這一年感覺非常好，並且相對於我們所製定的 2026 年目標，我們進展順利。我認為，如果你退一步回到設定的水平，我們曾討論過 2023 年的自由現金流轉換率為 35%。

And then in the outlook we gave earlier this year for 2026, we had talked about improving to 45% to 55%. I think -- and by the way, that's alongside growth in operating earnings at the same time, right? So one of the things we had said at the time was it won't be linear. But broadly, if you thought about 35%, 40%, 45%,50%, the question then is, how are we tracking along that.

然後，在我們今年早些時候給出的 2026 年展望中，我們談到了提高到 45% 到 55%。我認為——順便說一句，這與營業收入的成長同時發生，對吧？所以我們當時說過的一件事是它不會是線性的。但總的來說，如果你考慮 35%、40%、45%、50%，那麼問題是，我們要如何追蹤這個趨勢。

I think this year, as we've talked about, we've been generating free cash flow above what we had thought. We also had the sale of LFN. And at the same time, we're putting the building blocks in place to make sure that we get to that more sustained level of free cash flow just to reiterate some of the actions we took this year. We took action on expenses in the first half that was broad based. That was the use of some of that free cash flow. We took more targeted actions in the second half.

我認為今年，正如我們所討論的，我們產生的自由現金流量超出了我們的預期。我們也出售了 LFN。同時，我們正在建立基礎，以確保我們達到更持續的自由現金流水平，只是為了重申我們今年採取的一些行動。上半年我們對費用採取了廣泛的行動。這就是部分自由現金流的運用。下半年我們採取了更有針對性的行動。

But at the same time, we grew RBC from, call it, the low 400s to a level that's in excess of our buffer and continue to grow this quarter. We also established and capitalized the Bermuda sub. So at the end of the day, we're generating free cash flow and slightly above our expectations, and we're also using it to build capital, optimize our operating model and invest for the business.

但與此同時，我們將 RBC 從 400 左右的低點增長到超出我們緩衝的水平，並在本季度繼續增長。我們也建立了百慕達子公司並為其註資。因此，歸根結底，我們正在產生略高於我們預期的自由現金流，我們也利用它來建立資本、優化我們的營運模式並為業務進行投資。

So as it relates to numbers, you can back into some broad strokes if you think about the growth in RBC. If you think about the debt paydown that we did, we repaid about $100 million this year. We spent, call it, $140 million, $150 million in a combination of severance and some legal charges. And then we obviously are on track to pay $300 million of a dividend. So we're not going to give 2024, 2025 guidance, but I would just reemphasize that we feel really good about where we are. We feel good about the year, and we remain well on target to hit the 2026 numbers.

因此，由於它與數字相關，如果您考慮紅血球的增長，您可以回顧一些粗略的內容。如果你考慮我們償還的債務，我們今年償還了大約 1 億美元。我們總共花了 1.4 億美元，其中 1.5 億美元包括遣散費和一些法律費用。然後我們顯然有望支付 3 億美元的股息。因此，我們不會提供 2024 年、2025 年的指導，但我想再次強調，我們對目前的狀況感覺非常好。我們對這一年感覺良好，並且仍然很好地實現了 2026 年目標。

Okay. That sounds good. And then, I guess, maybe for Ellen on annuities. Sales were still pretty strong in the third quarter even with the pullback in rates. And so I guess my question is, do you think that there was any kind of pull forward if advisers were expecting that rates might be lower in '25, try to sell the annuities now?

好的。聽起來很好。然後，我想，也許艾倫會領年金。即使利率有所回落，第三季的銷售仍然相當強勁。所以我想我的問題是，如果顧問預計 25 年利率可能會降低，你認為現在會嘗試出售年金嗎？

And somewhat relatedly, if you can just give some comments on where the growth is coming from? Is it new money entering the industry? Or is it exchanges like we've seen in the past? Just any color on those two things would be helpful.

與此相關的是，您能否就成長的來源發表一些評論？是否有新資金進入該行業？還是像我們過去看到的那樣進行交流？這兩件事上的任何顏色都會有幫助。

Sure. So first of all, thanks for the question. We feel, first of all, really good about the broad-based overall annuity sales that we are seeing. And we also very much believe that we've got a unique holistic capability in that. We are really strong in all product categories that are of interest to customers and also to advisers.

當然。首先，感謝您提出問題。首先，我們對我們所看到的廣泛基礎的整體年金銷售感到非常滿意。我們也非常相信我們在這方面擁有獨特的整體能力。我們在客戶和顧問感興趣的所有產品類別上都非常強大。

Overall, with rates being higher, coupled with the fact that we've got demographics now where we just have more individuals that are approaching retirement and our ability to be able to provide both accumulation and income solutions in the annuity business are definitely important customer value proposition. So while it's true that we saw a blip of rates coming down in the third quarter, we see them back up again now. And we know that generally speaking, even as we look into 2025, that we also from just an interest rate environment perspective that we continue to see interest rates that are certainly at higher levels than they were previously. Coupled with the demographics, we expect to see continued strong demand. Additionally, what we have seen in the last couple of years is more advisers in the overall shops that we have been in for some significant period of time, be focused on annuities as a solution for their overall customers.

總體而言，隨著利率上升，再加上我們現在的人口統計數據，即將退休的人越來越多，我們在年金業務中提供累積和收入解決方案的能力絕對是重要的客戶價值主張。因此，雖然我們確實看到第三季利率略有下降，但現在我們看到利率再次回升。我們知道，一般來說，即使我們展望 2025 年，我們也從利率環境的角度來看，我們仍然看到利率肯定高於以前的水平。結合人口統計數據，我們預計需求將持續強勁。此外，我們在過去幾年中看到的是，在我們已經待了很長一段時間的整個商店中，有更多的顧問專注於年金作為其整體客戶的解決方案。

And again, we think that, that's going to continue as we move forward. What we've also seen, by the way, Suneet, is that we recognize that very much advisers are seeing that annuities are overall providing a solution. And with having multiple chassis and multiple product segments, we're able to do that. So we feel good about the levels. We believe that we will continue to be focused on profitable growth over top line growth.

我們再次認為，隨著我們的前進，這種情況將會繼續下去。順便說一句，Suneet，我們還看到，我們認識到，很多顧問都看到年金總體上提供了一個解決方案。透過擁有多個底盤和多個產品領域，我們能夠做到這一點。所以我們對水平感覺良好。我們相信，我們將繼續關注利潤成長而不是營收成長。

That is really what's most important for us because at the end of the day, we're looking to continue, as Chris mentioned, to accelerate and to increase our free cash flow. And we're going to be less concerned with the overall absolute volume in our annuity business and in all of our businesses.

這對我們來說確實是最重要的，因為歸根結底，我們希望繼續加速並增加我們的自由現金流。我們將不再那麼關心年金業務和所有業務的整體絕對數量。

Elyse Greenspan, Wells Fargo.

伊麗絲‧格林斯潘，富國銀行。

My first question was just on the assumption review in regards to your life business, recognized like there was a modest favorable impact. I know a couple of years ago, right, when Lincoln took a charge, there was an industry study that kind of drove that passion. And I believe that, that study was updated this year. So I was just hoping you can just kind of walk us through your assumptions and why you feel confident and didn't feel like you needed to change anything significantly this year.

我的第一個問題是關於您的人壽業務的假設審查，認為有適度的有利影響。我知道幾年前，當林肯上任時，有一項行業研究激發了這種熱情。我相信，這項研究今年得到了更新。所以我只是希望你能向我們介紹一下你的假設，以及為什麼你感到自信並且覺得今年不需要做任何重大改變。

So Elyse, what I would say is a couple of things. One, you're right, we had a positive $8 million impact for operating income for the company. That was largely in the life, look, we had a small $1 million benefit in annuity and then a small $1 million negative in group. But the $8 million in life, just to remind you, I mean, this is an end-to-end process across the company really over $100 billion in GAAP reserves. We look at industry studies, we look at our experience. It's a very, very rigorous process.

Elyse，我想說的是幾件事。第一，您是對的，我們為公司的營業收入帶來了 800 萬美元的正面影響。這主要是在生活中，看，我們有一小筆 100 萬美元的年金福利，然後在團體中有一小筆 100 萬美元的負額。但 800 萬美元的生命，只是提醒你，我的意思是，這是整個公司的端到端流程，GAAP 儲備金確實超過 1000 億美元。我們關注行業研究，關注我們的經驗。這是一個非常非常嚴格的過程。

And so what I would say is at the end of the day, this is another year under the management team from the past 2 years. We've had an extensive level of analysis over the past couple of years, to your point, we took a charge of size a couple of years ago. And this year, obviously, we look at the assumptions the same way that we do every year, and we feel good about where we are.

所以我想說的是，歸根結底，這是過去兩年在管理團隊領導下的另一年。在過去的幾年裡，我們進行了廣泛的分析，就您的觀點而言，我們幾年前就對規模進行了負責。顯然，今年我們以與每年相同的方式看待這些假設，並且我們對自己的處境感到滿意。

To your specific question, I would say that importantly, from the SGUL perspective, both policyholder behavior and mortality assumptions are continuing to now be in line with our experience and expectations. So there's always going to be some noise in any individual assumption. We look at policyholder behavior. We look at expenses, we look at yields. We look at reinsurance, we look at mortality.

對於你的具體問題，我想說，重要的是，從 SGUL 的角度來看，保單持有人的行為和死亡率假設現在仍然符合我們的經驗和預期。因此，任何個人假設中總會存在一些噪音。我們關注投保人的行為。我們看支出，我們看收益率。我們關注再保險，關注死亡率。

But even on an individual basis, the individual items weren't nearly as significant as they've been in years passed. So we feel good about the assumption review. Obviously, this is a very rigorous process, as we've talked about. And so we're pleased with the outcome this year.

但即使就個人而言，個別項目也不像過去幾年那麼重要。所以我們對假設審查感覺良好。顯然，正如我們所討論的，這是一個非常嚴格的過程。因此，我們對今年的結果感到滿意。

And then my second question, given you were talking earlier, right, about improved free cash flow conversion relative to how you guys had kind of laid things out earlier. And then obviously, you guys have spoken about in the past about a desire to pay down the preps when they come due. So how do we think about just improved free cash flow conversion balanced against playing down the press? You did take the LNBar dividend in the quarter. We put it all together, do you have any updated thoughts on when we perhaps could see return to buying back your shares?

然後是我的第二個問題，考慮到你們之前談論過，相對於您之前的安排，自由現金流轉換有所改善。顯然，你們過去曾談到希望在預付款到期時支付預付款。那麼，我們該如何考慮改善自由現金流轉換與淡化媒體之間的平衡呢？您確實在本季度獲得了 LNBar 股息。我們把所有這些放在一起，您對我們什麼時候可以看到回購您的股票有什麼最新的想法嗎？

Thanks for the question. I would point you to the outlook that we gave earlier this year and just reiterate that we are tracking well to achieving those targets. To your point, repaying the preferred and bringing down the expense of cost of that security is a priority as is overall delevering. Our leverage ratio came down. I think it was another 50 basis points in the quarter.

謝謝你的提問。我想向您指出我們今年早些時候給出的前景，並重申我們正在順利實現這些目標。就您而言，償還優先股並降低該證券的成本費用是當務之急，整體去槓桿化也是如此。我們的槓桿率下降了。我認為本季又上漲了 50 個基點。

For the year, we've repaid $100 million of debt. So what I would say is as you look out over the next year or 2, the priorities are the same. We're going to invest in our business. We're going to delever. We're going to focus on fully leveraging Alpine, which is the Bermuda subsidiary as we think about establishing flow agreements for next year.

今年，我們償還了 1 億美元的債務。所以我想說的是，當你展望未來一兩年時，優先事項是相同的。我們將投資我們的業務。我們要去槓桿化。當我們考慮明年建立流量協議時，我們將專注於充分利用阿爾派（百慕達子公司）。

And we'll continue to take targeted action around our expense initiatives. So no update relative to the guidance that we gave earlier this year, but we do feel like we're tracking well relative to the building blocks that we had laid out.

我們將繼續圍繞我們的支出計劃採取有針對性的行動。因此，相對於我們今年早些時候給出的指導，沒有任何更新，但我們確實覺得，相對於我們所製定的構建模組，我們的跟踪情況良好。

(Operator Instructions) Dan Bergman, TD Cowen.

（操作員說明）Dan Bergman，TD Cowen。

With one of your competitors announcing a follow-on reinsurance transaction for guaranteed universal life blocks last quarter, I just wanted to get an update on how you're thinking about your remaining ULSG exposure. And just given that the seeming continued interest in these blocks (inaudible) and any updated thoughts on the possibility for a deal and kind of what the key considerations are from your standpoint?

上個季度，您的一位競爭對手宣布了一項針對保證萬能壽險塊的後續再保險交易，我只是想了解您對剩餘 ULSG 風險敞口的最新看法。考慮到人們對這些區塊的持續興趣（聽不清楚）以及對達成協議的可能性的任何最新想法以及從您的角度來看關鍵考慮因素是什麼？

Yes. Thanks for the question, Dan. So I would say that we are always looking at what is the right thing to do for Lincoln. Obviously, we did a large deal at the end of last year as it relates to the legacy Life Block. What I would say is the outlook guidance that we've given does not rely on doing another deal.

是的。謝謝你的提問，丹。所以我想說，我們一直在尋找對林肯來說正確的事情。顯然，我們在去年年底做了一筆大交易，因為它與遺留的 Life Block 有關。我想說的是，我們給出的前景指引並不依賴於達成另一筆交易。

We think that there's a lot of ways to improve the ongoing free cash flow from the Legacy Life Block and the GUL block in particular without having to do a deal. But to your point, there's certainly an attractive market from a bidders and folks that have appetite for those liabilities. So we will look at all the different options. I would say that our priorities at the moment or as I just laid out, getting the Bermuda affiliate up and running from a flow perspective, continuing to execute on our initiatives to drive profitable growth in our businesses and delevering. But at the end of the day, rest assured, we're always looking at what makes the most sense.

我們認為，有許多方法可以改善 Legacy Life 區塊和 GUL 區塊的持續自由現金流，特別是無需進行交易。但就你的觀點而言，對於那些對這些負債有興趣的競標者和人們來說，肯定存在著一個有吸引力的市場。因此，我們將研究所有不同的選項。我想說的是，我們目前的優先事項或正如我剛剛提出的那樣，從流程的角度啟動和運營百慕大附屬公司，繼續執行我們的舉措，以推動我們業務的盈利增長和去槓桿化。但歸根結底，請放心，我們總是在尋找最有意義的東西。

Got it. And then maybe just following up on the earlier question on annuity sales. RILA sales, in particular, were strong following the launch of the refreshed product in the prior quarter. So I just wanted to see if you could give any more detail on how that second generation product is being received in the market? How sales have compared to your expectations? And just any general update on that market and competitive conditions with, I think, another large annuity right or entering the RILA market earlier this month.

知道了。然後也許只是跟進之前有關年金銷售的問題。繼上一季推出更新產品後，RILA 的銷售尤其強勁。所以我只是想看看您是否可以提供有關第二代產品在市場上的接受度的更多詳細資訊？與您的預期相比，銷售情況如何？我認為，該市場和競爭條件的任何一般更新，還有另一項大額年金權利或本月早些時候進入 RILA 市場。

Absolutely. So RILA and exactly as you noted, we had $1.2 billion of sales in the quarter. This is our strongest sales quarter for RILA in nearly two years, first of all. As we step back, a couple of points to make about RILA. First of all, we have been in the RILA market since 2018. So we've got a pretty broad understanding. We've been in the market for a significant period of time. We've got very strong overall relationships as it relates to distribution in the RILA space. We have continued to see a number of new entrants into this market. There's no question. It's clearly a competitive market.

絕對地。因此，RILA 和您所說的一樣，我們本季的銷售額為 12 億美元。首先，這是 RILA 近兩年來最強勁的銷售季度。退後一步，我們要對 RILA 提出幾點看法。首先，我們從2018年就進入了RILA市場。所以我們已經有了相當廣泛的理解。我們已經進入市場很長一段時間了。我們在 RILA 空間的分銷方面擁有非常牢固的整體關係。我們不斷看到許多新進入者進入這個市場。毫無疑問。這顯然是一個競爭激烈的市場。

And at the same time, we've seen the overall addressable market grow as the customer value proposition, as I was talking about earlier, just becomes stronger. We definitely felt the need to refresh our product and the launch that we did in the middle of last quarter of Lincoln Level Advantage, 2.0. Part of what it did is it introduced a number of new features. And it's one of the things that we also have done quite a bit of, which is to offer unique product features in the market, and that enables us to compete against features, not solely against price as well.

同時，正如我之前所說，隨著客戶價值主張的不斷增強，我們看到整個潛在市場的成長。我們確實感到有必要更新我們的產品以及我們在上季度中期推出的 Lincoln Level Advantage 2.0。它所做的一部分是引入了許多新功能。這是我們也做了很多工作的事情之一，那就是在市場上提供獨特的產品功能，這使我們能夠與功能競爭，而不僅僅是與價格競爭。

And so we definitely saw some really nice traction encouraging in the quarter, and we just look forward to the continuation of that going forward. I think to your point around additional competitors entering, we do expect that we're going to continue to see the addressable market grow along with that. So yes, more competition. But yes, a larger market to go get.

因此，我們確實在本季度看到了一些非常好的牽引力令人鼓舞，我們只是期待著這種情況的繼續下去。我認為，就您對更多競爭對手進入的觀點而言，我們確實預計我們將繼續看到潛在市場隨之成長。所以是的，更多的競爭。但是，是的，還有一個更大的市場要爭取。

(Operator Instructions) There are no further questions at this time. I would like to turn the call back over to Tina Madon for closing remarks.

（操作員說明） 目前沒有其他問題。我想將電話轉回給蒂娜·馬登（Tina Madon），讓其致閉幕詞。

So thank you for joining us this morning. We're happy to address any follow-up questions you have. Please e-mail us at investorrelations@lfg.com.

感謝您今天早上加入我們。我們很樂意解答您的任何後續問題。請發送電子郵件至investorrelations@lfg.com。

This concludes today's conference call. Enjoy the rest of your day. You may now disconnect.

今天的電話會議到此結束。享受你一天剩下的時間。您現在可以斷開連線。