Lincoln National Corp (LNC) 2025 Q1 法說會逐字稿

Good morning, and thank you for joining Lincoln Financial's 2025 first-quarter earnings conference call. (Operator Instructions)

早安，感謝您參加林肯金融 2025 年第一季財報電話會議。（操作員指示）

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

現在，我想將電話轉給高級副總裁、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 first-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, 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.

謝謝。大家早安，歡迎參加我們的第一季財報電話會議。感謝您對林肯的關注。我們的季度收益新聞稿、收益補充和統計補充均可在我們網站 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上使用的非 GAAP 指標的對賬，包括調整後的營業收入或調整後的營業收入，以及普通股股東可獲得的調整後的營業收入與其最可比的 GAAP 指標的對帳。

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 relating to deposits, expenses, income from operations, free cash flow, or free cash flow conversion ratios, share repurchases, liquidity, and capital resources, as well as any statements relating to the expected timing of the closing of the Bain Capital transaction and the expected benefits of in-use of proceeds from the transaction are forward-looking statements under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.

在我們開始之前，我想提醒您，今天電話會議上做出的任何有關預期、未來行動、業務趨勢、預期服務或產品、未來業績或財務結果的陳述，包括與存款、費用、營業收入、自由現金流或自由現金流轉換比率、股票回購、流動性和資本資源有關的陳述，以及與貝恩資本交易法，預計完成時間和交易收益

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 2024 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。這些風險和不確定性包括我們今天早上發布的收益報告中的警示聲明披露中所述的風險和不確定性，以及我們 2024 年 10-K 表年度報告、10-Q 表最新季度報告以及我們不時向美國證券交易委員會提交的其他文件中詳述的風險和不確定性。這些前瞻性陳述僅截至今天作出，我們不承擔更新或修改任何陳述以反映今天之後發生的事件或情況的義務。

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. Let me now turn the call over to Ellen. Ellen?

今天早上出席演講的是董事長、總裁兼執行長 Ellen Cooper；以及財務長 Chris Neczypor。在他們發表準備好的發言後，我們將回答您的問題。現在讓我把電話轉給艾倫。埃倫？

Thank you, Tina, and good morning, everyone. We appreciate you joining our call today. Before I discuss our first-quarter results, I want to briefly touch on the macroeconomic environment we have been experiencing. Market volatility remains high and the external backdrop remains uncertain. While these conditions are challenging, we are navigating this landscape with discipline and focus.

謝謝你，蒂娜，大家早安。感謝您今天參加我們的電話會議。在討論第一季業績之前，我想先簡單談談我們所經歷的宏觀經濟環境。市場波動性依然較大，外部環境仍不明朗。儘管這些條件充滿挑戰，但我們仍以紀律和專注力應對這項挑戰。

The strategic actions we have taken over the past two years to fortify our foundation, including strengthening our balance sheet, optimizing our operating model, enhancing our general account investment strategy, pursuing strategic reinsurance initiatives and shifting to a more diversified business mix create greater flexibility and resiliency, better positioning us to manage through a period of market turbulence.

過去兩年來，我們採取了一系列策略行動來鞏固基礎，包括加強資產負債表、優化營運模式、增強一般帳戶投資策略、推行策略再保險計劃以及轉向更加多元化的業務組合，從而創造了更大的靈活性和彈性，使我們能夠更好地度過市場動盪時期。

Additionally, as we have previously highlighted, we are holding a capital buffer as a proactive safeguard in the event of a market downturn, have implemented hedging programs with explicit capital targets to improve capital stability and have made progress in diversifying our business, for example, expanding group protection and growing spread-based businesses to reduce our sensitivity to equity market volatility and position our earnings mix for enhanced durability.

此外，正如我們先前強調的那樣，我們持有資本緩衝，作為在市場低迷時採取的主動保障措施，實施了具有明確資本目標的對沖計劃，以提高資本穩定性，並在業務多元化方面取得了進展，例如，擴大集團保護和發展基於利差的業務，以降低我們對股票市場波動的敏感性，並使我們的盈利組合具有更強的持久性。

We maintain a long-term investment strategy with a high-quality and well-diversified investment portfolio that is tightly aligned to our liability profile. Chris will elaborate on these points further in his remarks.

我們堅持長期投資策略，擁有與我們的負債狀況緊密結合的高品質、多元化的投資組合。克里斯將在他的發言中進一步闡述這些觀點。

Now turning to our results. We delivered another solid quarter with adjusted operating income increasing by 14% over the past year, excluding the impact of significant items in the prior year period. This performance demonstrates our continued execution of the strategic initiatives underpinning our multiyear journey to reposition Lincoln to deliver sustained shareholder value.

現在來看看我們的結果。我們又度過了一個穩健的季度，扣除去年同期重大項目的影響，調整後的營業收入比去年同期增長了 14%。這項業績表明，我們將繼續執行多年來重塑林肯、為股東創造持續價值的策略性舉措。

We have consistently advanced our vision, which is anchored upon three objectives, demonstrating a track record of delivering results with tangible impact. The first is strong foundational capital. We continue to maintain an estimated RBC ratio well above 420%, consistent with our goal to hold a buffer level of capital above our 400% target designed to provide a cushion in the event of adverse economic conditions.

我們不斷推進我們的願景，該願景以三個目標為基礎，並展現出取得實際成果的記錄。一是基礎資本雄厚。我們繼續將預期的 RBC 比率維持在 420% 以上，這與我們將資本緩衝水準保持在 400% 以上的目標一致，以便在出現不利的經濟狀況時提供緩衝。

The second is an optimized operating model. We have taken a number of actions to increase our operational efficiency and position our enterprise for future growth, including reducing expenses while strategically investing in technology, talent, and infrastructure to further elevate our customer experience and enhance our ability to scale effectively. We also launched our Bermuda-based reinsurance subsidiary to support our financial objectives.

二是優化營運模式。我們採取了一系列措施來提高營運效率並為企業未來成長做好準備，包括降低開支，同時策略性地投資於技術、人才和基礎設施，以進一步提升客戶體驗並增強有效擴展的能力。我們也成立了位於百慕達的再保險子公司來支持我們的財務目標。

And the third is delivering profitable growth and more stable cash flows by evolving the product mix and distribution strategies across our four businesses. We have made notable progress in growing our Group business with disciplined margin expansion, evolving our Annuity business towards a more balanced mix with a higher proportion of spread-based products further repositioning our Life product portfolio and continuing to build upon the products and capabilities of our Retirement business.

第三是透過改善四大業務的產品組合和分銷策略，實現獲利成長和更穩定的現金流。我們透過嚴格的利潤率擴張在集團業務成長方面取得了顯著進展，使我們的年金業務朝著更加均衡的組合發展，其中利差產品的比例更高，進一步重新定位了我們的人壽產品組合，並繼續鞏固我們退休業務的產品和能力。

Our recently announced long-term partnership with Bain Capital is expected to further enhance these actions and strengthen our foundation for effective execution. Through this partnership, Bain Capital will become a strategic investment manager for a portion of Lincoln's general account assets, enabling expanded scale and differentiated cross-platform access to private asset origination.

我們最近宣布與貝恩資本建立長期合作夥伴關係，預計將進一步加強這些行動並加強我們有效執行的基礎。透過此次合作，貝恩資本將成為林肯部分一般帳戶資產的策略性投資經理，從而擴大規模並透過差異化的跨平台存取私人資產發起。

Beyond investment management, Bain will also be a collaborative trusted partner engaged on broader value streams that underscore the competitive advantages of our retail and workplace brands and leverage the unique strengths, experience, and discipline of both organizations to accelerate product innovation, broaden our offerings and deliver compelling customer value propositions to drive accelerated growth.

除了投資管理之外，貝恩還將成為一個值得信賴的合作夥伴，致力於更廣泛的價值流，強調我們零售和工作場所品牌的競爭優勢，並利用兩個組織的獨特優勢、經驗和紀律來加速產品創新，拓寬我們的產品範圍並提供引人注目的客戶價值主張，以推動加速增長。

Importantly, Bain Capital's minority investment in Lincoln will further align our interest, validate the strength of our franchise and provide us with even greater flexibility to adapt to evolving market dynamics. We're excited about these strategic and financial benefits and opportunities alongside the deep cultural fit and shared values that we believe will further differentiate us competitively. This represents another pivotal milestone in advancing our vision, positioning Lincoln to deliver sustainable, profitable growth and create long-term value for all our stakeholders.

重要的是，貝恩資本對林肯的少數股權投資將進一步協調我們的利益，驗證我們特許經營的實力，並為我們提供更大的靈活性以適應不斷變化的市場動態。我們對這些策略和財務利益與機會以及深厚的文化契合度和共同價值觀感到興奮，我們相信這將進一步提升我們的競爭力。這代表著我們推進願景的又一個關鍵里程碑，使林肯能夠實現可持續的獲利成長，並為所有利害關係人創造長期價值。

In short, the disciplined actions we've taken over the last two years, not simply the events of any single quarter, are why Lincoln is more balanced, more resilient and better positioned to navigate a normal recessionary environment. We are well prepared to fulfill our commitments to shareholders and policyholders despite the ongoing uncertainty.

簡而言之，我們在過去兩年中採取的嚴謹行動，而不僅僅是任何一個季度的事件，都是林肯更加平衡、更有彈性、更有能力應對正常衰退環境的原因。儘管存在不確定性，我們仍已做好充分準備履行對股東和保單持有人的承諾。

Now turning to first-quarter highlights. Our Group Protection business generated excellent results, delivering a 26% year-over-year increase in earnings and 120 basis points of margin expansion. Annuities achieved robust year-over-year sales growth, supported by our ongoing focus on building and sustaining a diversified product mix. The underlying results in our Life business continued to improve and year-over-year sales increased by 7%, reflecting additional progress in emphasizing products with more risk sharing. Retirement Plan Services generated year-over-year first-year sales in line with the prior period and an 8% increase in total deposits.

現在來看看第一季的亮點。我們的團體保護業務取得了優異的業績，收益年增 26%，利潤率擴大 120 個基點。由於我們持續致力於建立和維持多元化的產品組合，年金銷售額實現了強勁的同比增長。我們的人壽業務的基本業績持續改善，銷售額年增 7%，這反映出我們在強調更多風險分擔產品方面取得了進一步進展。退休計畫服務第一年的銷售額與上一期持平，總存款增加了 8%。

Now turning to Retail Solutions, which includes our Annuities and Life businesses. We made additional progress in Annuities during the quarter as total sales of $3.8 billion increased 33% from the prior year quarter and were also up sequentially. Traditional VA sales sustained solid momentum while we benefited from additional actions taken to support accelerated growth in our spread-based products, which comprised approximately 60% of the quarter's new business mix.

現在轉向零售解決方案，其中包括我們的年金和人壽業務。本季度，我們在年金業務方面取得了進一步進展，總銷售額達 38 億美元，較去年同期增長 33%，且環比也有所增長。傳統 VA 銷售保持強勁勢頭，同時我們受益於為支持利差產品加速成長而採取的額外措施，利差產品約佔本季新業務組合的 60%。

These included enhanced product features, leveraging the strength of our distribution relationships and optimizing our investment strategy. We also saw the momentum in RILA and fixed annuities increase throughout the quarter.

這些包括增強產品功能、利用我們的分銷關係的優勢以及優化我們的投資策略。我們也看到 RILA 和固定年金在整個季度呈現成長動能。

Within the fixed annuity category, sales levels were up sequentially by more than 50% as we applied the capabilities built over the last year to sustain a consistent and growing competitive presence in the fixed marketplace. RILA demonstrated another quarter of growth with sales increasing year over year and sequentially as the unique features of the second-generation RILA product we introduced last year continue to resonate with customers.

在固定年金類別中，由於我們運用過去一年建立的能力在固定市場中保持持續且不斷增長的競爭力，銷售水平環比增長了 50% 以上。RILA 再次實現季度增長，銷售額同比增長，並且由於我們去年推出的第二代 RILA 產品的獨特功能繼續引起客戶的共鳴。

We also benefited from further leveraging our deep relationships with our distribution partners to drive additional market penetration and growth. Sales of our traditional variable annuities were also strong in the quarter with sales volumes up year over year. Our variable product suite offers robust features and benefits that meet customer needs and remain integral to our overall offering.

我們也受惠於進一步利用與分銷合作夥伴的深厚關係來推動額外的市場滲透和成長。本季度，我們傳統變額年金的銷售也表現強勁，銷售量較去年同期成長。我們的多種產品套件提供強大的功能和優勢，可滿足客戶需求並成為我們整體產品不可或缺的一部分。

It is worth mentioning that during periods of market volatility, we have typically seen customer demand for annuity shift towards spread-based products with less demand for variable annuities. Given the volatile market environment, our broad product portfolio enables us to meet customer preferences as they evolve.

值得一提的是，在市場波動期間，我們通常會看到客戶對年金的需求轉向基於利差的產品，而對變額年金的需求減少。鑑於動盪的市場環境，我們廣泛的產品組合使我們能夠滿足客戶不斷變化的偏好。

We are a leading provider in the annuity market given the depth of our distribution and the breadth and diversification of our product suite. This is a key competitive strength, enabling us to be a holistic solutions provider that can nimbly adapt to customer preferences in ever-changing market environments.

鑑於我們分銷的深度以及產品套件的廣度和多樣性，我們是年金市場的領先供應商。這是一個關鍵的競爭優勢，使我們能夠成為整體解決方案供應商，能夠在不斷變化的市場環境中靈活適應客戶偏好。

Now turning to our Life business. Life sales were 7% higher year over year as our product and distribution actions over the last year gained further traction. As I have previously mentioned, we are refocusing this business to deliver accumulation and protection products with more risk sharing. We are currently in these markets today and have been building out additional features to expand our solution set, positioning us for future growth.

現在轉向我們的人壽業務。由於我們去年的產品和分銷活動獲得了進一步的推動，人壽銷售額比去年同期增長了 7%。正如我之前提到的，我們正在重新調整這項業務的重點，以提供具有更多風險分擔的累積和保護產品。目前，我們已經進入這些市場，並一直在建立附加功能來擴展我們的解決方案集，為未來的成長做好準備。

Additionally, we optimized our wholesaler footprint last year to extend our customer reach and elevate our coverage to support the acceleration of our product shift over time. While repositioning our Life business for profitable growth will continue to take time, we are confident that leveraging our product, distribution, and underwriting teams will increase our competitive differentiation and drive future growth.

此外，我們去年優化了批發商的佈局，以擴大客戶範圍並提高覆蓋率，從而支持我們產品隨著時間的推移而加速轉變。雖然重新定位我們的人壽業務以實現盈利增長仍需要時間，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差異化並推動未來的成長。

Next, turning to Workplace Solutions, which includes our Group Protection and Retirement Plan Services businesses. As I mentioned earlier, Group delivered another excellent quarter, reflecting continued momentum as the earnings increased by 26% year over year and margin expanded by 120 basis points to 7.4%. These results highlight our strong execution in diversifying this business while prioritizing profitable growth.

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。正如我之前提到的，該集團又一個季度表現出色，反映出持續的成長勢頭，獲利年增 26%，利潤率擴大 120 個基點至 7.4%。這些結果凸顯了我們在實現業務多元化的同時優先考慮獲利成長的強大執行力。

Premiums were 7% higher than the prior year quarter, driven by record sales growth last year and strong persistency. These results are supported by disciplined pricing and ongoing investments to expand our offerings across products, capabilities, and service quality. Our ongoing commitment to disciplined pricing while growing also reflects the strength of our customer relationships and our ability to consistently deliver enhanced value.

受去年創紀錄的銷售成長和強勁的持續性推動，保費比去年同期高出 7%。這些結果得益於嚴格的定價和持續的投資，以擴大我們的產品、功能和服務品質。我們在發展的同時持續致力於嚴格的定價，這也反映了我們與客戶關係的強度以及我們持續提供增值的能力。

Group sales grew 9% year over year with all market segments contributing to this result. From a product perspective, we achieved robust growth in supplemental health, supporting a more balanced and diversified book of business.

集團銷售額年增 9%，所有細分市場都為此業績做出了貢獻。從產品角度來看，我們在補充健康方面實現了強勁成長，支持了更均衡和多樣化的業務。

We built further momentum in each of our three target segments during the quarter. In our Local Market segment, we are delivering integrated solutions that emphasize ease, access and efficiency. To grow market share in this segment, we are continuing to invest in our operating model, delivering quality service and providing a robust product offering, including bundling multiple products.

本季度，我們在三個目標領域均取得了進一步的發展。在我們的本地市場領域，我們提供強調便利性、可近性和效率的整合解決方案。為了擴大該領域的市場份額，我們將繼續投資於我們的營運模式，提供優質的服務和強大的產品，包括捆綁多種產品。

In our Regional segment, we are maintaining a strong presence as we focus on strengthening key strategic broker partnerships to support our customers and their benefit decisions. We are making ongoing investments in enhancing the customer experience with more digital capabilities and providing a comprehensive product suite with an emphasis on supplemental health and leave management.

在我們的區域部門，我們保持著強大的影響力，專注於加強關鍵的策略經紀人合作夥伴關係，以支持我們的客戶及其利益決策。我們正在持續投資，透過更多的數位化功能來提升客戶體驗，並提供全面的產品套件，重點是補充健康和休假管理。

In our National segment, where we are a market leader, we are leveraging our disability and leave management expertise and remain focused on enhancing our voluntary products such as supplemental health and providing customer engagement tools and processes to further differentiate our value proposition and generate profitable growth.

在我們作為市場領導者的國家市場領域，我們正在利用我們的殘疾和休假管理專業知識，並繼續專注於增強我們的自願產品（如補充健康）並提供客戶參與工具和流程，以進一步區分我們的價值主張並產生盈利增長。

In summary, Group's performance again exceeded our expectations this quarter, driven by disciplined execution to deliver profitable growth. We continue to raise the bar as we leverage our competitive advantages to further position this business to become a larger and more profitable contributor to our overall earnings mix over time.

總而言之，本季集團業績再次超出我們的預期，這得益於嚴格的執行，實現了獲利成長。我們將繼續提高標準，利用我們的競爭優勢進一步定位這項業務，使其隨著時間的推移成為我們整體獲利組合中更大、更有利可圖的貢獻者。

Now turning to Retirement Plan Services or RPS. First-year sales were in line with the 2024 first quarter, which was a strong result and were broad-based across products and market segments. Sales in this business can be lumpy from quarter to quarter. However, our 2025 pipeline is robust, reflecting new business momentum that we anticipate will translate into sales growth later this year.

現在轉向退休計劃服務或 RPS。第一年的銷售額與 2024 年第一季持平，這是一個強勁的業績，並且涵蓋了各個產品和細分市場。該行業的銷售額每季都可能出現波動。然而，我們的 2025 年規劃十分穩健，反映了新的業務勢頭，我們預計這將在今年稍後轉化為銷售成長。

Year over year, total deposits were up 8%, driven by growth in recurring deposits due to higher salaries and increasing levels of participant contributions resulting from our proactive engagement to improve retirement savings.

與去年同期相比，總存款成長了 8%，這得益於薪資上漲導致的定期存款成長，以及我們積極參與改善退休儲蓄導致的參與者繳款水準增加。

We remain focused on solving the needs of our customers, whether they are employers, participants or our intermediary partners. We are further enhancing the capabilities in our retirement business, expanding our products and services, improving our customer experience and increasing operational efficiency as we further optimize our operating model to drive sales and earnings growth.

我們始終專注於解決客戶的需求，無論他們是雇主、參與者或我們的中介合作夥伴。我們正在進一步增強退休業務的能力，擴展我們的產品和服務，改善我們的客戶體驗，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 demonstrates our sustained momentum as we build upon our competitive advantages to grow profitably, advance operational efficiency, and build the capital flexibility of our franchise. As we move forward, we remain focused on disciplined execution, advancing our strategic priorities and delivering strong outcomes for our shareholders, customers, partners, and employees. While market dynamics may create some near-term headwinds if they persist, we are confident that the actions we are taking today are building a durable path to delivering sustainable long-term value.

最後，本季我們的強勁表現證明了我們持續的發展勢頭，我們利用競爭優勢實現盈利增長、提高營運效率並增強特許經營的資本靈活性。在我們前進的過程中，我們將繼續專注於嚴謹的執行，推進我們的策略重點，並為我們的股東、客戶、合作夥伴和員工帶來強勁的成果。儘管市場動態如果持續下去可能會在短期內帶來一些阻力，但我們相信，我們今天採取的行動正在為實現可持續的長期價值建立一條持久的道路。

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

說完這些，現在讓我把電話轉給克里斯。

Thank you, Ellen, and good morning, everyone.

謝謝你，艾倫，大家早安。

Our first-quarter performance marks the third consecutive quarter of year-over-year adjusted operating income growth and another quarter of strong execution against our strategic and financial priorities, underscoring the momentum we are building across the enterprise. Each of our businesses continue to advance on their respective operating initiatives as we position Lincoln to deliver more stable cash flows and higher risk-adjusted returns.

我們第一季的業績標誌著我們連續第三個季度實現調整後營業收入同比增長，並且又一個季度強勁執行我們的戰略和財務重點，凸顯了我們在整個企業中正在構建的勢頭。隨著我們致力於讓林肯提供更穩定的現金流和更高的風險調整回報，我們的每項業務都在各自的營運計劃上不斷取得進展。

This morning, I'll focus on three areas. First, I'll walk through our consolidated and segment level performance for the first quarter. Second, I'll touch on our investment portfolio. And third, I'll briefly recap our recently announced transaction with Bain Capital.

今天上午，我將重點談三個方面。首先，我將介紹第一季的綜合和分部業績。其次，我想談談我們的投資組合。第三，我將簡要回顧我們最近宣布的與貝恩資本的交易。

Let's begin with a quick summary of the quarter's results. This morning, we reported first-quarter adjusted operating income available to common stockholders of $280 million or $1.60 per diluted share. There were no significant items in the quarter. Our alternative investments portfolio delivered roughly a 7.6% annualized return in the quarter or $75 million. On an after-tax basis, this amount was $18 million below our return target or $0.10 per diluted share. Normalizing for the below-target alternative investment returns, adjusted operating income was $298 million or $1.70 per diluted share.

讓我們先快速總結一下本季的業績。今天上午，我們報告了第一季普通股股東調整後的營業收入為 2.8 億美元，即每股攤薄收益 1.60 美元。本季沒有重大項目。我們的另類投資組合本季實現了約 7.6% 的年化報酬率，即 7,500 萬美元。以稅後計算，該金額比我們的回報目標低 1800 萬美元，即每股攤薄收益 0.10 美元。將低於目標的另類投資回報進行標準化，調整後的營業收入為 2.98 億美元或每股稀釋收益 1.70 美元。

Turning to net income for the quarter. We reported a net loss available to common shareholders of $756 million or $4.41 per diluted share. The primary difference between the GAAP net loss and adjusted operating income was driven primarily by the negative movement in market risk benefits amid lower interest rates and lower equity markets. Importantly, our hedge program, which explicitly targets capital and the present value of distributable earnings continued to perform in line with expectations during the quarter.

談到本季的淨收入。我們報告普通股股東淨虧損 7.56 億美元，即每股攤薄虧損 4.41 美元。GAAP 淨虧損與調整後營業收入之間的主要差異主要是由於利率降低和股票市場走低導致市場風險收益出現負面變動所致。重要的是，我們的對沖計劃明確針對資本和可分配收益的現值，其在本季度的表現繼續符合預期。

Now turning to our segment results. Let's start with Group, which continued its strong momentum following a record 2024. Operating income was $101 million, up 26% from earnings of $80 million in the prior year first quarter, and the margin was 7.4%, up 120 basis points for the same period due to the continued focused execution of the business driven by expanding our customer base, diversifying our book of business, and maintaining discipline in our pricing actions.

現在談談我們的分部表現。讓我們從集團開始吧，該集團在 2024 年創下紀錄後繼續保持強勁勢頭。營業收入為 1.01 億美元，較去年第一季的 8,000 萬美元增長 26%，利潤率為 7.4%，比同期增長 120 個基點，這得益於我們繼續專注於業務執行，包括擴大客戶群、實現業務多樣化以及保持定價行為的紀律性。

The year-over-year improvement stems from three key drivers. First, robust and profitable premium growth, higher new sales volumes and strong persistency delivered while maintaining our pricing discipline supported profitable growth. Put simply, we expanded our top line in a way that should continue to support healthy margins. Second, our disability results remained strong, supported by a tight labor market and a still supportive interest rate environment, coupled with incidence levels near historic lows and sustained healthy long-term disability recoveries.

年比成長源自於三個關鍵驅動因素。首先，強勁且獲利的保費成長、更高的新銷售和強大的持久性，同時保持我們的定價紀律，並支持了獲利成長。簡而言之，我們擴大了營業收入，以便繼續支持健康的利潤率。其次，受緊俏的勞動力市場和仍然有利的利率環境的支撐，以及接近歷史低點的發病率和持續健康的長期殘疾恢復，我們的殘疾結果仍然強勁。

And third, our purposeful shift toward higher-margin business, including our supplemental health strategy, continued to gain traction and the earnings contribution from this product diversification is becoming more meaningful each quarter.

第三，我們有意轉向利潤率更高的業務，包括我們的補充健康策略，這項舉措繼續獲得關注，而這種產品多樣化帶來的獲利貢獻每季都變得更加有意義。

Of note, while expenses grew versus the prior year quarter, the increase reflected continued investments in digital capabilities, distribution and claims management. Importantly, we continue to achieve margin expansion, demonstrating our commitment to profitably grow while investing in this business.

值得注意的是，雖然支出較去年同期有所增長，但這一增長反映了對數位化能力、分銷和索賠管理的持續投資。重要的是，我們繼續實現利潤率的擴大，表明了我們在投資該業務的同時實現盈利增長的承諾。

Now turning to Group product line results for the quarter. The disability loss ratio was 70%, improving by over 400 basis points year over year. The loss ratio remained favorable relative to our long-term expectations with continued low LTD incidence rates and strong return to work outcomes for our claimants.

現在來看看本季集團產品線的業績。傷殘損失率為70%，較去年同期改善超過400個基點。相對於我們的長期預期，損失率仍然保持有利，LTD 發生率持續處於低位，索賠人的工作重返情況良好。

Additionally, our repricing execution contributed to the year-over-year loss ratio improvement. The group life loss ratio was 75%, roughly a 100-basis point improvement versus the prior year quarter. While mortality was modestly higher year over year, it remained in line with our expectations and was more than offset by continued growth in supplemental health, resulting in an overall year-over-year improvement in the loss ratio.

此外，我們的重新定價執行也促進了損失率的年比改善。團體人壽損失率為 75%，與去年同期相比改善了約 100 個基點。雖然死亡率同比略有上升，但仍符合我們的預期，並且被補充健康保險的持續增長所抵消，導致損失率同比總體有所改善。

As we look ahead, risk results have historically improved from first to the second quarter, and we expect that seasonal pattern to repeat this year. That said, should macro conditions shift, particularly if unemployment were to rise, we would expect some easing in disability performance relative to today's levels. Even in that environment, our pricing discipline, product diversification and operational execution give us confidence in sustaining strong margins throughout 2025.

展望未來，風險結果從第一季到第二季一直有所改善，我們預計今年這種季節性模式將會重演。話雖如此，如果宏觀條件發生變化，特別是失業率上升，我們預計殘疾人的表現相對於今天的水平會有所緩和。即使在這樣的環境下，我們的定價原則、產品多樣化和營運執行力也讓我們有信心在 2025 年全年保持強勁的利潤率。

Now turning to Annuities. Annuities reported first quarter operating income of $290 million, consistent with the prior year quarter, excluding the unfavorable significant items that impacted last year's results. Average account balances net of reinsurance ended the quarter 5% above the prior year period, supported by 20% growth in RILA balances, which have experienced positive net flows over the past year.

現在轉向年金。年金部門報告第一季營業收入為 2.9 億美元，與去年同期持平，但不包括影響去年業績的重大不利項目。本季度扣除再保險後的平均帳戶餘額比去年同期高出 5%，這得益於 RILA 餘額增長 20%，而 RILA 餘額在過去一年中經歷了正淨流量。

Sequentially, earnings declined from $303 million in the fourth quarter, reflecting two fewer fee days and lower average account balances. Additionally, ending account balances net of reinsurance were 3 percentage points lower versus the prior quarter, driven by the equity market decline and continued variable annuity net outflows.

與上一季相比，獲利較上一季的 3.03 億美元有所下降，原因是手續費天數減少兩天，平均帳戶餘額下降。此外，受股市下跌和持續的變額年金淨流出影響，扣除再保險後的期末帳戶餘額較上一季下降了 3 個百分點。

Volatility has continued in the second quarter. And if this volatility persists, we anticipate additional pressure on fee income beyond the initial headwinds resulting from lower starting account balances. As a rule of thumb, we expect roughly a $15 million impact to annualized earnings for every 1% change in annuity AUM due to markets.

第二季波動持續。如果這種波動持續下去，我們預計除了起始帳戶餘額較低造成的最初不利因素外，費用收入還會面臨額外的壓力。根據經驗，我們預計，由於市場原因，年金 AUM 每發生 1% 的變化，就會對年化收益產生約 1500 萬美元的影響。

Turning to spreads. Spread income continues to grow with spread-based products now representing 28% of total account balances net of reinsurance, up 3 percentage points year over year. RILA account balances increased 11% over the prior year quarter and now represent 21% of total balances, also net of reinsurance, making RILA the primary driver of spread growth.

轉向利差。利差收入持續成長，利差產品目前佔再保險淨帳戶餘額的 28%，較去年同期成長 3 個百分點。RILA 帳戶餘額比去年同期增加了 11%，目前佔總餘額的 21%，扣除再保險後，RILA 成為利差成長的主要驅動力。

Stepping back, while the recent market declines could be a headwind to fee income, our strategic emphasis on diversifying our product mix to increase the proportion of spread-based products, coupled with disciplined expense management, position annuities to remain a steady contributor to earnings and free cash flow throughout 2025.

退一步說，雖然最近的市場下跌可能會對費用收入造成不利影響，但我們的策略重點是實現產品組合多元化，以增加基於利差的產品的比例，再加上嚴格的費用管理，年金將在 2025 年全年繼續成為盈利和自由現金流的穩定貢獻者。

Retirement Plan Services posted first-quarter operating income of $34 million compared with $36 million a year ago, driven by a one-time operational loss related to a plan termination. Excluding this impact, earnings were essentially unchanged as growth from equity markets offset the impact of stable value outflows. Our base spread increased to 103 basis points, 2 basis points above the fourth quarter and 1 basis point above the prior year period. We continue to expect spreads to stabilize at current levels.

退休計畫服務部第一季營業收入為 3,400 萬美元，而去年同期為 3,600 萬美元，這主要是由於與計畫終止相關的一次性營運損失。排除此影響，收益基本上保持不變，因為股票市場的成長抵消了穩定價值流出的影響。我們的基準利差增加至 103 個基點，比第四季高出 2 個基點，比去年同期高出 1 個基點。我們繼續預期利差將穩定在當前水準。

Net outflows were $2.2 billion, stemming from a previously announced large plan termination. Excluding this termination, net flows were positive. Sales momentum remains strong, while total deposits grew 8%, driven by a 13% increase in recurring deposits. Average account balances grew 10% year over year to $113 billion. End-of-period balances were $109 billion, down 3% sequentially, reflecting both market volatility and the large case termination.

淨流出金額為 22 億美元，源自於先前宣布的一項大型計畫終止。除此終止外，淨流量為正。銷售動能依然強勁，總存款成長 8%，其中定期存款成長 13%。平均帳戶餘額年增 10%，達到 1,130 億美元。期末餘額為 1090 億美元，比上一季下降 3%，反映了市場波動和大量案件的終止。

As a rule of thumb, we expect roughly a $2 million impact to annualized earnings for every 1% change in retirement AUM due to markets. Although year-over-year headwinds could persist in the interim, we are focused on transforming this business by prioritizing initiatives that will lead to sustainable earnings growth over time.

根據經驗，我們預計，由於市場原因，退休 AUM 每發生 1% 的變化，就會對年化收益產生約 200 萬美元的影響。儘管在此期間同比逆風可能會持續存在，但我們專注於透過優先考慮能夠帶來長期可持續盈利增長的舉措來轉變這一業務。

Lastly, turning to Life Insurance. Life reported a first-quarter operating loss of $16 million compared to an operating loss of $35 million in the prior year quarter. Improved mortality and lower net G&A expenses were partially offset by lower alternative investment returns.

最後，談談人壽保險。人壽報告第一季營運虧損為 1,600 萬美元，而去年同期營運虧損為 3,500 萬美元。死亡率的改善和淨一般及行政費用的降低被另類投資回報率的降低部分抵消。

Turning to mortality. Despite the seasonal headwinds typical of the first quarter, mortality improved sequentially with claim incidents and severity better than our expectations. Severity in particular, normalized meaningfully after the elevated impact from a handful of large claims in the prior quarter.

談到死亡率。儘管第一季存在典型的季節性逆風，但死亡率仍比前一季有所改善，索賠事件和嚴重程度也比我們的預期好。尤其是嚴重程度，在上一季發生多起大額索賠事件造成較大影響之後，已顯著正常化。

Now touching on expenses. Net G&A expenses declined $11 million or 8% versus the prior year quarter, reflecting the targeted actions we've taken to align our cost structure with our product and distribution repositioning. We expect these actions to remain a key driver of year-over-year earnings growth in 2025.

現在談談費用。淨一般及行政費用較去年同期下降 1,100 萬美元，降幅為 8%，這反映了我們為調整成本結構以適應產品和分銷重新定位而採取的有針對性的措施。我們預計這些舉措仍將是 2025 年獲利年增的主要驅動力。

Moving on to alternative investment returns. As a reminder, the majority of our alternatives portfolio is allocated to our Life business, supporting the long-duration nature of these liabilities. During periods of market volatility, returns may vary both positively and negatively. Despite recent variability, we have achieved alternative investment returns averaging over 10% annually during the past five years.

轉向另類投資報酬率。提醒一下，我們的另類投資組合大部分分配給了我們的人壽業務，以支持這些負債的長期性質。在市場波動期間，回報可能會出現正向或負向的變化。儘管近期出現了一些波動，但過去五年來，我們的另類投資報酬率平均每年仍超過 10%。

Looking ahead to the second quarter, while continued market volatility could create additional near-term pressure on returns, over time, we anticipate these returns will converge toward our historical averages, ultimately providing a meaningful tailwind to earnings growth in the Life business.

展望第二季度，雖然持續的市場波動可能會在短期內對回報造成額外的壓力，但隨著時間的推移，我們預計這些回報將趨向於歷史平均水平，最終為壽險業務的獲利成長提供有意義的推動力。

Overall, first-quarter results reflect mortality experience that improved sequentially and returned to levels more in line with our expectations while also realizing the benefits of operating with a streamlined expense base aligned with our focus on profitable growth.

總體而言，第一季的業績反映出死亡率環比改善並恢復到更符合我們預期的水平，同時也實現了以精簡的費用基礎運營帶來的好處，這與我們對盈利增長的關注相一致。

Now for a brief update on capital. We again ended the quarter with an estimated RBC ratio well above 420%, consistent with our strategy of maintaining a capital buffer above our 400% target. As we've previously indicated, we consider this 20 percentage point buffer a cushion to help manage through a normal recessionary environment.

現在簡單介紹一下資本的最新情況。本季結束時，我們的 RBC 比率估計值再次遠高於 420%，這與我們將資本緩衝維持在 400% 目標以上的策略一致。正如我們之前所指出的，我們認為這 20 個百分點的緩衝有助於我們度過正常的經濟衰退環境。

Additionally, delevering remains a strategic priority for the organization, and we made additional strides in reducing our leverage in the quarter. We ended the quarter with a leverage ratio of 27.5%, a sequential improvement of 30 basis points, predominantly driven by organic equity growth. And compared to the prior year quarter, our leverage ratio has improved over 250 basis points.

此外，去槓桿仍然是該組織的策略重點，我們在本季在降低槓桿率方面取得了進一步的進展。本季末，我們的槓桿率為 27.5%，季增 30 個基點，主要得益於有機股權成長。與去年同期相比，我們的槓桿比率提高了 250 多個基點。

Now shifting to our investment performance in the quarter. Overall performance remained solid in the first quarter, a reflection of our high-quality and well-diversified portfolio and our ongoing emphasis on optimizing our investment strategy. Our alternative investment portfolio delivered a 1.9% return in the quarter, modestly below our 2.5% target. As I mentioned earlier, given the current market backdrop, near-term results could continue to be volatile, but we remain well positioned to deliver returns in line with our historical performance over time.

現在轉向我們本季的投資表現。第一季整體表現依然穩健，這反映了我們高品質、多元化的投資組合以及我們對優化投資策略的持續重視。我們的另類投資組合本季實現了 1.9% 的回報率，略低於我們的 2.5% 的目標。正如我之前提到的，鑑於當前的市場背景，短期業績可能會繼續波動，但我們仍然能夠實現與歷史表現相符的回報。

Lastly, I'd like to recap the strategic partnership we announced a few weeks ago with Bain Capital for those who are unable to join our call. First, a brief overview of the transaction. Bain Capital will be taking a 9.9% common equity stake in Lincoln at $44 per share, a 25% premium to the 30-day volume-weighted average price as of April 8, with total cash consideration of roughly $825 million.

最後，我想為那些無法參加我們電話會議的人重述一下我們幾週前與貝恩資本宣布的策略夥伴關係。首先，簡單介紹一下本次交易的情況。貝恩資本將以每股 44 美元的價格收購林肯 9.9% 的普通股，較 4 月 8 日 30 天成交量加權平均價格溢價 25%，總現金對價約為 8.25 億美元。

Those shares carry a three-year lockup, after which Bain may sell one-third at each subsequent anniversary after the third year. At the same time, we will enter into a nonexclusive investment management agreement focused on targeted asset classes that include private and structured credit, residential mortgage loans, and private equity, among others. We will commit $1.4 billion of AUM shortly following the close of the transaction, growing to at least $20 billion by the end of year [six].

這些股份有三年的鎖定期，此後貝恩可以在第三年之後的每個週年紀念日出售三分之一。同時，我們將簽訂一份非排他性投資管理協議，專注於私人和結構性信貸、住宅抵押貸款、私募股權等目標資產類別。交易結束後不久，我們將投入 14 億美元的資產管理規模，到年底將成長至少 200 億美元[六]。

Second, as it relates to some of the key terms, it's important to understand that the IMA is a 10-year contract, but with the expectation of a much longer partnership. The ultimate investment management fees are in line at an asset class level with the fees we are currently paying today, and there's no exclusivity to any of the asset classes, allowing us to maintain our multi-manager framework, which was critical to us.

其次，由於它涉及一些關鍵條款，重要的是要了解 IMA 是一份為期 10 年的合同，但期望合作關係更長久。最終的投資管理費與我們目前支付的費用在資產類別水準上一致，並且對任何資產類別都沒有排他性，這使我們能夠維持多經理框架，這對我們至關重要。

And then third, as it relates to the rationale for the deal, I would think of three key drivers. First, we've talked a lot about our strategic priority of growing spread-based products, RILA, fixed annuities and FABN as key examples. Finding a strategic partner to help scale the asset sourcing needed to be successful in a bigger way there was critical with Bain's ownership stake then providing the appropriate alignment to support shared success.

第三，就交易的理由而言，我認為有三個關鍵驅動因素。首先，我們已經多次討論過我們的策略重點，即發展基於利差的產品，以 RILA、固定年金和 FABN 為主要例子。尋找策略夥伴來幫助擴大資產採購規模，從而取得更大成功，這一點至關重要，貝恩的所有權隨後提供適當的協調，以支持共同的成功。

Second, the equity capital provided will allow us to accelerate that growth over the next few years while maintaining the flexibility around deployment in other areas such as optimizing our legacy Life portfolio or future capital returns to shareholders.

其次，所提供的股本將使我們能夠在未來幾年加速成長，同時保持在其他領域部署的靈活性，例如優化我們傳統人壽投資組合或未來向股東的資本回報。

And then third, if you step back, the insurance industry has been going through an evolution over the past decade as alternative investment firms have been able to add considerable value to the insurance universe. You're seeing it in general account investing, in product development, in distribution and in capital sourcing.

第三，回顧過去十年，保險業經歷了一場變革，另類投資公司已經能夠為保險業增加相當大的價值。您可以在一般帳戶投資、產品開發、分銷和資本採購中看到它。

With this transaction, Lincoln and Bain Capital have committed to working together to grow existing products and explore the development of new ones. This is a partnership that reflects an innovative mindset that we believe will further differentiate us competitively and generate superior value for our shareholders, customers, distribution partners, and other stakeholders over time. We couldn't be more thrilled to enter this long-term strategic partnership with Bain Capital.

透過此次交易，林肯和貝恩資本承諾共同努力發展現有產品並探索新產品的開發。這種合作關係體現了一種創新思維，我們相信這種思維將進一步提升我們的競爭力，並隨著時間的推移為我們的股東、客戶、分銷合作夥伴和其他利害關係人創造卓越的價值。我們非常高興與貝恩資本建立長期策略夥伴關係。

Before I conclude, I'd like to expand briefly on Ellen's earlier comments regarding the current market environment. Downturns in markets can impact our earnings similar to many of our peers, with potential examples, including lower AUM impacting fee income, higher volatility impacting hedge costs and the potential for elevated credit losses should the economy enter a recession.

在結束之前，我想簡要闡述艾倫之前對當前市場環境的評論。與許多同業類似，市場低迷也會對我們的收益產生影響，例如，較低的 AUM 會影響費用收入，較高的波動性會影響對沖成本，以及經濟衰退時信貸損失可能增加。

However, it's worth reiterating the steps we've taken over the past two years to better insulate Lincoln from the impacts of a slowdown as we potentially head into a period of more uncertainty around the economy. While we've discussed these in the past, it's important to reemphasize some of the strategic initiatives that have been guiding the steps we've been taking.

然而，值得重申的是，我們在過去兩年中採取了措施，以便更好地保護林肯免受經濟放緩的影響，因為我們可能會進入一個經濟更加不確定的時期。雖然我們過去已經討論過這些問題，但再次強調指導我們所採取步驟的一些策略性舉措仍然很重要。

First is foundational capital. So whereas historically, Lincoln targeted a 400% RBC ratio. As a reminder, over the past 2 years, we have taken steps to build a buffer over that 400% level with the 20 points of RBC on top of the 400% designed to provide some cushion should we enter a prolonged downturn in the economy, with 1Q now representing the fourth quarter in a row of RBC in excess of that 420% level.

首先是基礎資本。因此，從歷史上看，林肯的目標是 400% 的 RBC 比率。提醒一下，在過去的兩年裡，我們已採取措施在 400% 的水平上建立緩衝，在 400% 的基礎上增加了 20 個點的 RBC，以便在經濟陷入長期低迷時提供一些緩衝，而第一季度已是 RBC 連續第四個季度超過 420% 的水平。

The second has been working toward minimizing the volatility of that capital. Examples here include the incremental hedge programs we've deployed in certain legacy variable blocks, discontinuing some of the variable life products with outsized capital volatility and the general focus on increased risk sharing in certain products of targeted growth.

第二是努力減少資本的波動。這裡的例子包括我們在某些​​遺留可變區塊中部署的增量對沖計劃，停止一些資本波動過大的可變壽險產品，並普遍關注某些目標成長產品中增加風險分擔。

Then lastly, we've talked a lot about the deliberate goal of diversifying our source of earnings and growing businesses with less equity market sensitivity and a great example has been the strategic emphasis of growing our Group business, which went from contributing less than 10% of our operating earnings mix pre-COVID to over 25% today.

最後，我們多次討論多元化獲利來源和發展對股市敏感度較低的業務這一刻意目標，一個很好的例子就是我們戰略重點放在發展集團業務上，集團業務在新冠疫情之前對我們營業盈利的貢獻率不到 10%，而如今已上升到 25% 以上。

Overall, while we are monitoring the market headwinds that emerged at the start of the second quarter and the potential impact those may have on the broader economic environment, we are confident the steps we have taken will position us for growth. We are pleased with another solid quarter of strong execution against our strategic and financial priorities, and we remain focused on disciplined execution and remain confident in our ability to generate long-term shareholder value.

總體而言，雖然我們正在監測第二季初出現的市場逆風及其可能對更廣泛的經濟環境的潛在影響，但我們相信，我們所採取的措施將為我們帶來成長。我們很高興看到本季在策略和財務重點方面執行得非常出色，我們將繼續專注於嚴格的執行，並對我們創造長期股東價值的能力充滿信心。

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

說完這些，讓我把電話轉回給蒂娜。

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

謝謝你，克里斯。現在，我將把電話轉給接線員，開始問答環節。操作員？

(Operator Instructions) Ryan Krueger, KBW.

（操作員指示）Ryan Krueger，KBW。

My first question was on the Bain partnership. When you announced this, you guided to an improvement in 2027 free cash flow per share. Can you give us a little bit more color on the key components that you expect to drive that? And also, is it mostly driven by an expectation of higher free cash flow in dollars? Or is there also a component of potential share repurchase that would get you to that?

我的第一個問題是關於貝恩合作關係的。當您宣布這項消息時，您預計 2027 年每股自由現金流將會改善。您能否向我們詳細介紹一下您期望推動這項進程的關鍵組件？而且，這是否主要受美元自由現金流增加的預期所驅動？或者是否有潛在的股票回購因素可以幫助您實現這一目標？

Thanks for the question. So embedded in the comments around accretion is purely the deployment of the capital into the things that we talked about. So growing our spread-based earnings in things like fixed annuities and institutional spread like FABN and then thinking about deploying into the legacy life block where if we see opportunities either on the reinsurance side or from repositioning the asset portfolio.

謝謝你的提問。因此，關於增值的評論中純粹涉及將資本部署到我們所談論的事情中。因此，我們在固定年金和 FABN 等機構利差方面增加基於利差的收益，然後考慮部署到傳統人壽保險領域，如果我們在再保險方面或重新定位資產組合時看到機會。

But there wasn't an expectation purely around using any of those proceeds for share repurchases, which is not to say that we wouldn't contemplate that outside of the Bain proceeds. But when we look at the $800 million coming in and we think about accretion dilution, it's purely relative to what our baseline was and how we're going to deploy those proceeds and the things that we talked about.

但我們並不期望純粹使用這些收益來回購股票，這並不是說我們不會考慮在貝恩收益之外進行股票回購。但是，當我們看到這 8 億美元的收入並考慮增值稀釋時，這純粹與我們的基準以及我們將如何部署這些收益以及我們談論的事情有關。

Okay. Great. And then on the Life business, can you, I guess, give a rough sense of how favorable mortality was relative to your expectations? And then remind us of how much seasonality you would expect in a typical first quarter?

好的。偉大的。那麼關於人壽業務，我想您能否大致了解一下死亡率相對於您的預期有多好？然後提醒我們，您預計典型的第一季會有多少季節性？

So it's a good question. I mean, as you saw, we really did have better underlying earnings for the life business this quarter. And in fact, if you normalize for the underperformance on alts, it was almost breakeven. First quarter tends to be seasonally higher, as I think you're alluding to. And so there's two things going on when you look quarter over quarter as well.

所以這是一個好問題。我的意思是，正如您所看到的，本季度我們的人壽業務確實獲得了更好的基本收益。事實上，如果你將替代資產的表現不佳進行標準化，它幾乎是損虧平衡的。我認為您暗示的是，第一季的銷售額往往呈現季節性成長。因此，當你逐季度觀察時，你會發現有兩件事正在發生。

Fourth quarter, we had significant severity. So that looked worse than expected. And then first quarter broke the other way. So I think we're not going to get into ADE in specifics as it relates to dollars, but it certainly was a favorable mortality on the retail life side.

第四季度，我們遭遇了顯著的嚴峻情況。所以情況看起來比預期的還要糟糕。然後第一季就出現了另一種情況。因此，我認為我們不會詳細討論與美元相關的 ADE，但從零售生命方面來看，這無疑是一個有利的死亡率。

And on the seasonality, I think -- Ryan, just real quick. On the seasonality in the outlook deck that we had given about a year ago, we had given some sensitivities as it relates to the seasonality. I would probably point you back to some of the pluses and minuses there. Obviously, that can change a little bit over time depending on how things move, but that should give you a good rough justice sense for the seasonality.

關於季節性，我認為──瑞安，說得非常快。關於我們大約一年前給出的展望報告中的季節性，我們給出了一些與季節性相關的敏感性。我可能會向你指出那裡的一些優點和缺點。顯然，隨著時間的推移，根據情況的變化，這可能會發生一些變化，但這應該能讓您對季節性有一個大致的了解。

Thank you.

謝謝。

Suneet Kamath, Jefferies.

蘇尼特‧卡馬斯（Suneet Kamath），傑富瑞集團（Jefferies）。

I wanted to go back to the Bain agreement as well. I understand the strategic rationale for why you did the transaction. But I guess I'm wondering the rationale for issuing new equity as opposed to Bain just buying stock in the open market. And the reason I ask is you've mentioned many times on this call that your RBC is robust. You have the Bermuda solution. So I was not -- in my head, I wasn't thinking that there was a capital need at the company, but I just was hoping you could discuss that a little bit.

我也想回到貝恩協議。我理解你進行這筆交易的戰略理由。但我想知道的是發行新股而不是貝恩在公開市場上買股票的理由。我之所以問這個問題，是因為您在這次電話會議中多次提到您的 RBC 非常強大。您有百慕達解決方案。所以，我心裡並沒有想到公司需要資金，但我只是希望你能稍微討論一下這個問題。

Yeah. Thanks for the question, Suneet. So look, I think that the important thing is that when you enter into a transaction like this, creating alignment, right? And so we've talked about all the strategic benefits and at the end of the day, having Bain as a partner is really going to help us to accelerate some of the things that we've been talking about as our strategic priorities, notably growing our spread-based earnings.

是的。謝謝你的提問，Suneet。所以，我認為重要的是，當你進行這樣的交易時，要創造一致性，對嗎？因此，我們已經討論了所有的戰略利益，最終，擁有貝恩作為合作夥伴確實會幫助我們加速我們一直在談論的一些戰略重點，特別是增加基於利差的收益。

As it relates to -- so first of all, trying to buy 10% in the open market is not really a realistic scenario, I would argue. More important was the idea that by purchasing capital at the holdco, we're able to then utilize that capital for growth in areas that are going to accelerate some of the things that we've been talking about.

就其相關而言——首先，我認為，試圖在公開市場上購買 10% 並不是一個現實的情況。更重要的是，透過購買控股公司的資本，我們能夠利用這些資本來促進某些領域的成長，從而加速我們一直在談論的一些事情。

So over the past two years, right, we've generated a lot of capital. We've used it to invest in the business. We do contemplate returning capital to shareholders over the next couple of years after we've gotten the leverage ratio back to the levels that we've talked about. We've made big improvements there and continuing to invest in the business.

所以在過去的兩年裡，我們已經累積了大量的資本。我們用它來投資業務。當我們將槓桿率恢復到我們談論的水平後，我們確實考慮在未來幾年內向股東返還資本。我們在那裡取得了巨大的進步，並繼續對該業務進行投資。

So we can see continued momentum and improvement in the businesses, what the equity capital that Bain will provide for the system really does is allow us to step on the accelerator in some of the things that we've been talking about.

因此，我們可以看到業務持續成長的勢頭和改善，貝恩為系統提供的股權資本實際上讓我們能夠在我們一直在談論的一些事情上加速發展。

So as it relates to our strategic priorities and diversifying the business, you've seen a lot of momentum in Group. We've been able to remove some inefficiencies there and then reinvest back into the business. You're seeing it come through in margin expansion. You've heard us talk about building a buffer as it relates to capital. So when we sold LFN last year, that really helped to get us to the point where we now feel comfortable from a foundational capital perspective.

因此，就我們的策略重點和業務多元化而言，您已經看到集團的強勁發展勢頭。我們已經能夠消除那裡的一些低效率，然後重新投資於業務。您會看到它透過利潤率的擴大而實現。您已經聽過我們談論建立與資本相關的緩衝區。因此，當我們去年出售 LFN 時，這確實幫助我們從基礎資本的角度達到了現在感到舒適的程度。

And then the third thing we've talked a lot about is really growing spread-based earnings and products in order to diversify, in particular, the equity risk and our annuities business. So that can take time. But if you have incremental capital to deploy into things like fixed annuities and RILA and FABN, then you should be able to see growth accelerate.

我們經常討論的第三件事是真正增加基於利差的收益和產品，以實現多元化，特別是股票風險和年金業務。所以可能需要一些時間。但如果您有增量資本可以部署到固定年金、RILA 和 FABN 等方面，那麼您應該可以看到成長加速。

So everything that we've done over the past two years has really been about executing on the strategic priorities that we've talked about, and we feel the partnership with Bain is a big step forward for that as well.

因此，我們在過去兩年中所做的一切實際上都是為了執行我們所談論的戰略重點，我們認為與貝恩的合作也是向前邁出的一大步。

Thank you for that. And then I guess on the annuity business, the ROA has been kind of coming down over the past couple of quarters. And I'm assuming some of that is just the business mix. But do you have like a sense of where you think that could stabilize as we look forward?

謝謝你。然後我想，就年金業務而言，ROA 在過去幾季一直在下降。我認為其中一些只是業務組合。但是，您是否認為未來這種情況會穩定下來？

So you're spot on, Suneet. It's really the mix shift that's happening where VA is just a higher ROA on an average basis relative to RILA and fixed annuities and so forth. And so as we emphasize growing RILA and fixed annuities, and you see outflows, which have been happening for a while in VA, you will see that ROA come down over time.

所以你說得對，Suneet。這實際上是一種混合轉變，其中 VA 相對於 RILA 和固定年金等的平均 ROA 更高。因此，當我們強調增加 RILA 和固定年金時，您會看到 VA 中已經出現一段時間的資金流出，您會看到 ROA 隨著時間的推移而下降。

But importantly, the risk-adjusted returns over time as we grow the spread part of that will generate better overall sort of through-the-cycle returns. So I don't have a target for you as it relates to where that stabilizes, but you can kind of do the math if you think about some of the ROAs in VA relative to what you might get in RILA and fixed roll that for a couple of years. And again, back to the pain point as we've got capital to really step on the accelerator for emphasizing that growth in spread, you will see that continue to move.

但重要的是，隨著我們擴大利差部分，風險調整後的回報將產生更好的整體週期回報。因此，我沒有為你設定一個與穩定程度相關的目標，但如果你考慮一下 VA 中的一些 ROA 與你在 RILA 中可能獲得的 ROA 的關係，並將其固定幾年，你就可以進行計算。再次回到痛點，因為我們有資本來真正踩下油門，強調利差的成長，你會看到這種情況繼續發展。

Okay. Thanks for the answers.

好的。謝謝您的回答。

Wes Carmichael, Autonomous Research.

韋斯·卡邁克爾，自主研究。

First question, just on the RBC ratio. There's maybe a slight decline there, but could you maybe provide a little bit of color on the quarter and just given macro volatility? Is there any way to think about the sensitivity of RBC to equity and interest rate volatility?

第一個問題是關於 RBC 比率。那裡可能略有下降，但考慮到宏觀波動，您能否提供一些有關本季度的情況？有什麼方法可以考慮 RBC 對股票和利率波動的敏感度嗎？

Yeah, Wes, I wouldn't read anything into the disclosure. That's the same disclosure that we've given in the past couple of quarters, except for the fourth quarter where we actually filed our financial statements on the RBC. What we've been saying for four quarters now except for fourth quarter is that we're in excess of the $420 million. So I wouldn't look at it as any material change to capital.

是的，韋斯，我不會對披露做出任何解讀。這與我們在過去幾個季度中披露的資訊相同，除了第四季度我們實際上在 RBC 上提交了財務報表。除了第四季以外，我們已經連續四個季度表示我們的收入超過了 4.2 億美元。因此我不會將其視為資本的任何實質變化。

We're still in that same range that we've been in that $425 million to $435 million level any given quarter, there will be timing differences, things like seasonality or higher preferred dividends one quarter versus the next taxes that have to be paid for the holdco. But I wouldn't read anything into the disclosure as a material change.

我們仍然處於同一範圍內，任何一個季度都處於 4.25 億美元至 4.35 億美元的水平，會有時間差異，例如季節性或某個季度的優先股股息更高，而下一個季度必須為控股公司支付的稅款更高。但我不會將任何披露的內容解讀為重大變化。

Big picture from a capital perspective. I would say it's the same drivers, free cash flow and earnings and so forth. As we talked about, Group was better than expected. Retail life mortality was better than expected. -- and all were just a little bit worse.

從資本角度看大局。我想說的是相同的驅動因素、自由現金流和收益等等。正如我們所說的，集團表現比預期的要好。零售人壽死亡率優於預期。 ——而且一切都變得更糟了。

Got it. That's helpful, Chris, on the disclosure. And then just thinking about in your prepared remarks, Chris, you mentioned about group disability and if macro conditions or employment deteriorate a little bit, you might see some easing in performance. Is there a way to think about in a recessionary environment, how much pressure you might see on the disability loss ratio. Is there a rule of thumb for that?

知道了。克里斯，這對於披露很有幫助。然後想想克里斯，在你準備好的發言中，你提到了群體殘疾，如果宏觀條件或就業情況稍微惡化，你可能會看到績效有所下降。有沒有辦法考慮在經濟衰退的環境下，傷殘損失率可能面臨多大的壓力。對此有沒有什麼經驗法則？

So it's a good question, Wes. I guess what I would point you to is the conversation we had during the fourth-quarter call where we spiked out the improvement in the margin year over year in 2024. And what we said was there was, call it, 300 basis points of margin improvement relative to 2023 last year.

所以這是個好問題，韋斯。我想向大家指出的是我們在第四季電話會議上的談話，我們在談話中提到，2024 年的利潤率將比去年同期大幅提高。我們所說的是，相對於去年的 2023 年，利潤率提高了 300 個基點。

Of that $300 million, $200 million was from free pricing execution on our strategy, growing supplemental health, et cetera. And then we had estimated about 100 basis points of the margin improvement just due to the fact that the macro is very supportive and disability incidents was below sort of what we would think of in a more normal environment.

在這 3 億美元中，有 2 億美元來自我們策略的免費定價執行、不斷增長的補充健康等等。然後，我們估計利潤率將提高約 100 個基點，這僅僅是因為宏觀經濟非常支持，而且殘疾事件發生率低於我們在更正常環境下所認為的水平。

Now what I would say is first quarter, we obviously exceeded what we had thought we would do. And partly continued execution on the team's part but also because the macro environment is supportive. And what I would say, frankly, is April continues to look pretty good, but we're obviously all watching what happens from an economy perspective. But to the specific question around the tailwind from the backdrop, I would point you to the fourth-quarter call and some of the details we went through there.

現在我想說的是，第一季度，我們顯然超出了我們的預期。部分原因是團隊繼續執行，也是因為宏觀環境的支持。坦白說，我想說的是，四月的情況仍然很好，但我們顯然都在從經濟角度關注事態發展。但對於背景因素帶來順風的具體問題，我想向你指出第四季度的電話會議以及我們討論過的一些細節。

Tom Gallagher, Evercore ISI.

湯姆·加拉格爾，Evercore ISI。

First question is just on the Life Insurance segment. Chris, I heard what you said about the underlying claims experience. So that was good to hear that that got better. I don't want to geek out on you too much here, but if you look at the components of the GAAP P&L, it looks like the remeasurement experience was a lot better and the benefits were elevated, so maybe can you kind of like, I guess, explain those differences?

第一個問題是關於人壽保險部分。克里斯，我聽到了你所說的有關基本索賠經歷的事情。很高興聽到情況有所改善。我不想在這裡對你進行過多的探討，但如果你看一下 GAAP 損益表的組成部分，你會發現重新計量的體驗要好得多，而且收益也提高了，所以也許你可以解釋一下這些差異？

And are there -- are the claims experience flowing through both of those -- or are there like longer-term assumption changes that are influencing the remeasurement gains. And I guess just relatedly, how is the statutory results for life insurance? Were those also better from an underlying performance standpoint?

並且是否存在 — — 索賠經驗是否流經這兩者 — — 或是否存在影響重估收益的長期假設變化。我想，與此相關的是，人壽保險的法定結果如何？從底層性能的角度來看，這些是否也更好？

So I'm always happy to geek out with you, Tom, and we can take some of the accounting stuff and follow up the afterwards, but I'll answer your questions, big picture. So on a stack basis, yes, favorable mortality translates to both all translates to both. You get a little bit of a cushion on the stat side as it relates to alts because you're holding so much capital against those alts. And so there's a little bit of an offset. But for all intents and purposes, the better mortality will impact across the board.

所以我總是很高興與你一起討論，湯姆，我們可以討論一些會計事務並跟進後續事宜，但我會回答你的問題，總體情況。因此，從堆疊角度來看，是的，有利的死亡率可以轉化為兩者，所有都可轉化為兩者。由於您持有大量針對這些替代產品的資本，因此在與替代產品相關的統計方面，您會獲得一些緩衝。因此存在一點偏移。但無論從哪方面來看，死亡率的改善都會產生全面的影響。

So as it relates specifically to the policyholder remeasurement there's an offset in benefits from releasing reserves to cover the claims. And so with mortality coming down in the first quarter, the policyholder remeasurement for life was a positive.

因此，由於它與保單持有人重新衡量具體相關，因此釋放儲備金以支付索賠會產生收益抵消。因此，隨著第一季死亡率的下降，對終身保險投保人的重新評估是積極的。

So it's one of those things where you get the liability on products like GUL and term and the reserve is accrued over time and then cash flows changed from expected. There's a catch-up amount for how much reserve accrual should have changed historically. And that's really what that line is designed to capture.

因此，這是您在 GUL 和定期等產品上承擔責任的情況之一，準備金會隨著時間的推移而累積，然後現金流量會與預期不同。對於歷史上應該改變多少儲備金累積量，有一個補足金額。這確實就是這行字所要表達的意思。

Got you. That's helpful. And then I guess my follow up is just on RPS. The -- was there a one-time that large plant termination in the quarter that affected things. Was there a one-time earnings impact -- and will the run rate improve? Or is that now a reasonable run rate to think about going forward?

明白了。這很有幫助。然後我想我的後續工作就是 RPS。本季是否發生過一次大規模工廠停產事件，對情況產生了影響？是否會對收益產生一次性影響—並且運行率是否會提高？或者這是目前值得考慮的合理運行率嗎？

Yeah, Tom. So there's two things there. One, we had a large case termination, which we had talked about last quarter and the quarter before because we knew it was coming. And so we tried to set expectations there, and that was the impact that created the large net outflows for the segment.

是的，湯姆。因此，這裡有兩件事。首先，我們有一個大型案件終止，我們在上個季度和上個季度就討論過這個案件，因為我們知道它會發生。因此，我們試圖在那裡設定預期，而這種影響導致了該部門的大量淨流出。

Excluding that termination flows were positive. As specifically as it relates to the onetime item that we called out, that is actually due to a different plan, which is much smaller, you get plans leave from time to time. And that was a onetime issue. So I think we quantified it looking at the docks around $2 million. And so we would adjust for that -- for the quarter.

不包括終止流量為正值。具體來說，它與我們所提到的一次性項目有關，這實際上是由於不同的計劃，該計劃要小得多，你會不時地得到計劃離開。這只是一次性的問題。所以我認為我們把碼頭成本量化為 200 萬美元左右。因此，我們會針對本季的情況進行調整。

Now that being said, from a run rate perspective, I think that the trends that we've seen over the past couple of quarters continue. We've seen market support AUM on the full-service side. But offsetting that has been stable value outflows, really driven by the fact that markets were up and interest rates were up and so people move into other products.

話雖如此，從運行率的角度來看，我認為我們在過去幾季看到的趨勢將會持續下去。我們已經看到全方位服務方面的市場支援 AUM。但抵消這一影響的是穩定的價值流出，這實際上是由於市場上漲、利率上升，因此人們轉向其他產品。

That could reverse or mitigate depending on what happens with markets, it's too early to tell. So we'll see what the run rate actually looks like. But at the end of the day, specifically to the one-time item, that won't recur again.

根據市場情況，這種情況可能會逆轉或減輕，現在下結論還為時過早。因此我們將看看實際的運行率是什麼樣的。但最終，特別是對於一次性物品，這種情況不會再發生。

Okay. Thanks.

好的。謝謝。

Joel Hurwitz, Dowling & Partners.

喬爾‧赫爾維茲（Joel Hurwitz），道林及合夥人。

First, I want to see if you could just provide an update on your expense initiatives. The expenses in the quarter look pretty favorable relative to last year, particularly in life. And I don't know if there's some timing noise or if it's all just simply the benefits of some of these initiatives emerging in earnings?

首先，我想看看您是否可以提供您的支出計劃的最新情況。與去年相比，本季的支出看起來相當有利，尤其是生活支出。我不知道是否存在一些時機噪音，或者這是否只是這些措施在收益方面帶來的好處？

Yeah, no. I mean, Joel, it's the emergence of the things that we talked about last year that we were going through. Recall in the first quarter, we had a company-wide action where we had looked at some operational efficiencies, and what we've said at the time was there's a lag to when that comes through, right, because there's severance impact and some benefit issues and so forth.

是的，不。我的意思是，喬爾，這就是我們去年談論過的、正在經歷的事情的出現。回想一下，在第一季度，我們採取了全公司範圍的行動，研究了一些營運效率，我們當時說過，這些行動的實施會有一個滯後，因為這涉及到遣散費的影響和一些福利問題等等。

And so we really expect to start to see that across all the segments in 2025. And then we also called out in the fourth quarter that we took more targeted action on the life side and that you would start to see the benefits of that flow through starting this year as well. So the good news is it is coming through. And so you're starting to see it. And so to your specific question around the run rate we would expect that to continue.

因此，我們確實希望在 2025 年看到所有領域都出現這種情況。然後，我們也在第四季度呼籲，我們在生活方面採取更有針對性的行動，從今年開始，您也會開始看到這種流動的好處。所以好消息是它正在實現。所以你開始看到它了。因此，對於您關於運行率的具體問題，我們預計這種情況將會持續下去。

And then just to highlight the point that I made earlier around group as an example, in some of the businesses where we see big opportunities for growth, we're reinvesting those savings. And so when you look at the group expenses as the example, they're actually up. But what's happening is we're investing in the business, claims management, digital capabilities, distribution, and so forth and that's driving the margin expansion.

然後，為了強調我之前圍繞集團提出的觀點，在某些我們看到巨大成長機會的業務中，我們正在重新投資這些儲蓄。因此，當你以團體費用為例時，你會發現它們實際上正在上漲。但我們正在對業務、索賠管理、數位能力、分銷等進行投資，這推動了利潤率的擴大。

So where we see the opportunity to deploy those savings, we will deploy and then there are other areas in the company where we think that we can continue to sharpen the pencils. But generally speaking, you're seeing the impacts from the actions we took last year.

因此，只要我們看到了部署這些節省資金的機會，我們就會部署，然後我們認為公司的其他領域也可以繼續削減開支。但總的來說，您會看到我們去年採取的行動所產生的影響。

Okay. That makes sense. Helpful. And then just going back to group disability, right? So you called out the continued lower incidents but also the strong recoveries. Can you just help dimension how much of the improvement in results over the past couple of years and long-term disability has been driven by lower incidents versus an improvement in recovery rates.

好的。這很有道理。很有幫助。然後回到群體殘障問題，對嗎？因此，您指出事故發生率持續下降，但復甦勢頭強勁。您能否幫助衡量過去幾年的結果改善和長期殘疾有多少是由事故發生率的降低而不是康復率的提高所推動的。

So I think they -- I don't think we're going to get into the specific numbers for them. What I would say is they're somewhat linked, but also partly driven by the -- on the recovery rates, the investments we've been making in the business and the actions we've been taking. Disability is driven by things like pricing and the backdrop in the environment. So there's some correlation between the two. But at the end of the day, I don't think we're going to start to spike out the individual drivers, but they both have been very supportive and the benefits of a lot of hard work of the team.

所以我認為他們——我不認為我們會給出具體的數字。我想說的是，它們在某種程度上是相互關聯的，但也部分受到復甦率、我們在業務上進行的投資以及我們採取的行動的影響。殘疾是由價格和環境背景等因素決定的。所以兩者之間有一定的關聯。但最終，我認為我們不會開始淘汰個別車手，但他們都非常支持我們，並且受益於團隊的辛勤工作。

Okay. Thank you.

好的。謝謝。

Alex Scott, Barclays.

巴克萊銀行的亞歷克斯·斯科特。

First one I had for you is just on the competitive environment in annuities. One of the peers of yours in the publicly traded market had a little more pressure on MYGA sales and FIAs were a little down year-over-year as well. And just from commentary we've heard, it sounds like the market is getting a bit more competitive in terms of pricing.

我要問您的第一個問題是關於年金的競爭環境。你們在公開交易市場上的一位同行對 MYGA 銷售的壓力更大一些，而且 FIA 的同比銷量也略有下降。從我們聽到的評論來看，市場在定價上的競爭似乎變得更激烈了。

I know that may differ depending on which distribution you're talking about. So I just wanted to see if you could opine on the competitive environment and maybe what you're seeing in your various forms of distribution.

我知道這可能因您所談論的分佈而異。所以我只是想看看您是否可以對競爭環境以及您在各種分銷形式中看到的情況發表意見。

Absolutely. And so first of all, if I just take a step back and you look at the overall annuity sales for us for the quarter, $3.8 billion and the fact that we continue strategically to be focused and more spread-based businesses.

絕對地。首先，如果我退一步來看，我們本季的年金總銷售額為 38 億美元，事實上我們將繼續從策略上集中精力，開展更多基於利差的業務。

And additionally, as Chris talked about, our long-term partnership with Bain Capital also will support us, really continuing to accelerate with additional growth capital, our ability to continue to grow and expand our spread-based businesses. So having said all of that, we're focused, of course, on RILA and fix, while also recognizing the traditional VA is an important part of our overall solution set.

此外，正如克里斯所談到的，我們與貝恩資本的長期合作關係也將為我們提供支持，透過額外的成長資本真正繼續加速我們繼續發展和擴大基於利差的業務的能力。所以說了這麼多，我們當然專注於 RILA 和修復，同時也認識到傳統 VA 是我們整體解決方案的重要組成部分。

So while the environment itself, first of all, continues to remain competitive as it always has, for us, one of the things that we've said repeatedly is that we are really focused on profitable growth as opposed to top-line growth. So what's critical for us is that we are achieving our returns, our 12% plus targets as it relates to all of these products.

因此，雖然環境本身首先繼續保持一如既往的競爭態勢，但對我們來說，我們反覆強調的一件事是，我們真正關注的是獲利成長，而不是營收成長。因此，對我們來說至關重要的是，我們要實現與所有這些產品相關的回報，即 12% 以上的目標。

And some of the ways that we're doing that, and I'll just go through some of the things that we've talked about in the past. So first of all, as it relates to fixed and RILA, we've got broad distribution capability. And in particular, in fixed, when we built the capabilities there, some of what we really focused on were really two things. One was our ability to be on what we've called walled garden, so the ability to be able to compete on a shelf with a smaller number of competitors and to be able to provide solutions there.

我們正在採取的一些方法，以及我們過去討論過的一些事情。首先，就固定和 RILA 而言，我們擁有廣泛的分銷能力。特別是在固定方面，當我們在那裡建立能力時，我們真正關注的是兩件事。一是我們有能力進入所謂的“圍牆花園”，也就是說，我們有能力在貨架上與較少數量的競爭對手競爭，並能夠在那裡提供解決方案。

And the other thing, in particular, as it relates, for example, to FIA is to have unique crediting strategies there that also enable us to be able to compete in ways that aren't purely from a price perspective. You also see, as it relates to the RILA product, which we also think of as a spread-based product. And you know that we've seen a number of competitors that have come into that space, and it's been significantly more competitive.

另一件事，特別是與 FIA 相關的事情，就是在那裡制定獨特的信用策略，這也使我們能夠以非純粹從價格角度進行競爭。您還會看到，它與 RILA 產品相關，我們也認為它是一種基於價差的產品。你知道，我們已經看到許多競爭對手進入該領域，而且競爭更加激烈。

But there also, the introduction of our new product about a year ago, some of what we focused on there was utilizing our distribution shelf space and expanding but also the idea of introducing unique product features. And so indexed crediting rates, product features that aren't on anybody else's platforms have enabled us to be competitive.

但是，大約一年前我們推出新產品時，我們關注的重點是利用我們的分銷貨架空間並進行擴展，同時也考慮推出獨特的產品功能。因此，指數化信用利率和其他平台上沒有的產品功能使我們具有競爭力。

And then the final thing that I'll add is that as it relates to the long-term strategic partnership with Bain Capital, part of what we recognize as an important competitive advantage to have is to be able to have unique sourcing and unique differentiation as it relates to our asset strategy as well.

最後我要補充的是，就與貝恩資本的長期策略夥伴關係而言，我們認為重要的競爭優勢之一是能夠擁有獨特的採購和獨特的差異化，因為這與我們的資產策略有關。

So we spent the better part of the last year talking to all of you about optimizing our investment strategy. And the long-term partnership with Bain Capital will enable us to accelerate that while still maintaining our competitive position and ultimately being able to grow in these spaces.

因此，我們花了去年大部分時間與大家討論如何優化我們的投資策略。與貝恩資本的長期合作將使我們能夠加速這一進程，同時仍保持我們的競爭地位，並最終能夠在這些領域實現成長。

That's really helpful. Thanks. As a follow up, I wanted to ask one more on the Bain partnership. It's part of, I guess, a couple of different announcements, there's been two new products that are sort of being pursued as part of it with the fund distribution and FABN. Is this it? Or is there potential further product launches and expansion into, I guess, businesses that are adjacent, but potential opportunities for growth?

這真的很有幫助。謝謝。作為後續問題，我想再問一個有關貝恩合作關係的問題。我想，這是幾個不同公告的一部分，其中有兩種新產品正在與基金分配和 FABN 一起推出。是這個嗎？或者是否有可能進一步推出產品並擴展到相鄰但有潛在成長機會的業務？

Absolutely. So one of the things, as we have continued to, first of all, strategically execute on all of our objectives, one of the things that we have looked at are ways that we can expand and grow in adjacent markets, leveraging where we have competitive advantage.

絕對地。因此，首先，我們一直在策略性地執行我們的所有目標，我們研究的事情之一就是利用我們的競爭優勢，在鄰近市場擴張和發展。

So I do think that the announcement that we had about six weeks ago where we will be launching private funds in partnership with Bain Capital and also with Partners Group is an example of that. And so part of what we're doing is we are leveraging our distribution, our LFD distribution leadership first of all.

因此，我確實認為，我們大約六週前宣布的與貝恩資本和合眾集團合作推出私募基金就是一個例子。因此，我們正在做的事情之一就是利用我們的分銷管道，首先是我們的 LFD 分銷領導地位。

The second thing is that we recognize that one of our competitive advantages is our ability to be able to position with clients, customer solutions that are long term in nature and also complex. So the idea of a private fund that may have some complexity orientation to it, but also has long duration is very much complementary for us.

第二件事是，我們認識到我們的競爭優勢之一是我們能夠為客戶提供長期且複雜的解決方案。因此，私募基金的概念可能具有一定的複雜性，但持續時間也較長，這對我們來說是非常互補的。

And then importantly, as we looked at this opportunity, some of what was important to us was finding the right products finding the right partners and finding ultimately the right economics. And we feel that in the introduction of these two products that we've done exactly that. Our -- from our perspective, we are focused on getting these up and running and launched, and there's a lot of work going on from that perspective.

然後重要的是，當我們審視這個機會時，對我們來說重要的是找到合適的產品、找到合適的合作夥伴並最終找到合適的經濟效益。我們認為，在推出這兩款產品時，我們正是這樣做的。從我們的角度來看，我們專注於讓這些專案啟動、運行和推出，從這個角度來看，還有很多工作要做。

And then from there, we will see additional potential opportunities over the longer term. The other thing that I will add is that the other competitive advantage that we have is that in our variable funds right now, we have a whole series of mutual funds. And so we have a lot of overall experience as it relates to running a mutual fund complex. And so the idea of a retail fund also is directly related to a competitive advantage and a deep experience skill set there as well.

從那時起，我們將看到長期的更多潛在機會。我要補充的另一件事是，我們的另一個競爭優勢是，在我們目前的浮動基金中，我們擁有一系列共同基金。因此，我們在經營共同基金方面擁有豐富的經驗。因此，零售基金的理念也與競爭優勢和豐富的經驗技能直接相關。

And Alex, the only other thing I would add as it relates to the broader conversation around Bain is you're seeing the intersection of private asset management insurers across a lot of value streams. So to your point, I mean, we've -- to the conversation, I'll just add, we've looked at this from a distribution perspective.

亞歷克斯，關於貝恩的更廣泛的討論，我唯一想補充的是，你看到私人資產管理保險公司在許多價值流中存在交集。所以對於你的觀點，我的意思是，我們——對於談話，我只想補充一點，我們已經從分銷的角度來看了這個問題。

The general account value add is very straightforward, and we think that there's a lot of upside there and that will help to grow spread products, as I said. But you're also seeing the relationships between insurers and asset managers on the private equity side and things like retirement, capital sourcing, right, sidecars. I mean there's just a lot that's going on. And so we think that with the partnership that there's going to be a lot of value that we can create over the next couple of years.

一般帳戶價值的增加非常簡單，我們認為這有很大的優勢，正如我所說的，這將有助於增加價差產品。但你也會看到私募股權方面的保險公司和資產管理者之間的關係，以及退休、資金來源、對吧、側車之類的事情。我的意思是有很多事情正在發生。因此，我們認為，透過合作，我們可以在未來幾年創造很多價值。

This concludes the Q&A session. For those that were still in queue, we will follow up with them after the call. I'll now turn the call back over to Tina Madon for closing remarks.

問答環節到此結束。對於那些仍在排隊的人，我們將在通話後跟進他們。現在我將把電話轉回給蒂娜·馬登 (Tina Madon) 做結束語。

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

所以，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. You may now disconnect.

今天的電話會議到此結束。您現在可以斷開連線。