Manulife Financial Corp (MFC) 2025 Q1 法說會逐字稿

Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to the Manulife Financial first quarter 2025 financial results conference call. I would now like to turn the meeting over to Mr. Hung Ko. Please go ahead, sir.

女士們、先生們，早安。歡迎參加宏利金融2025年第一季財務業績電話會議。現在我想將會議交給 Hung Ko 先生。先生，請繼續。

Thank you. Welcome to Manulife's earnings conference call to discuss our first quarter 2025 financial and operating results. Our earnings materials, including webcast slides for today's call, are available on the investor relations section of our website at manulife.com.

謝謝。歡迎參加宏利收益電話會議，討論我們 2025 年第一季的財務和經營業績。我們的獲利資料（包括今天電話會議的網路廣播投影片）可在我們網站 manulife.com 的投資者關係部分找到。

Before we start, please refer to Slide 2 for a caution on forward-looking statements and Slide 34 for notes on non-GAAP and other financial measures used in this presentation. Please note that certain material factors or assumptions are applied in making these forward-looking statements, and actual results may differ materially from what is stated.

在我們開始之前，請參閱投影片 2 中有關前瞻性陳述的警告，並參閱投影片 34 中有關本簡報中使用的非 GAAP 和其他財務指標的註釋。請注意，在做出這些前瞻性陳述時應用了某些重要因素或假設，實際結果可能與所述結果有重大差異。

Turning to Slide 4. We'll begin today's presentation with Roy Gori, our President and Chief Executive Officer, who will provide a highlight of our first quarter of 2025 results and our strategic update. Following Roy, Colin Simpson, our Chief Financial Officer, will discuss the Company's financial and operating results in more detail, before we hand it back over to Roy for closing remarks. After the prepared remarks, we'll move to the live Q&A portion of the call.

翻到幻燈片 4。今天的演講將由我們的總裁兼執行長 Roy Gori 開始，他將重點介紹我們 2025 年第一季的業績和策略更新。在 Roy 之後，我們的財務長 Colin Simpson 將更詳細地討論公司的財務和營運業績，然後我們將發言交還給 Roy 進行總結發言。準備好的演講結束後，我們將進入電話會議的現場問答部分。

Before I pass over to Roy, I would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge that this will be his last earnings call with us as CEO. I would like to thank him for his leadership and transforming Manulife during his tenure.

在將權力移交給羅伊之前，我想藉此機會宣布，這將是他作為首席執行官與我們進行的最後一次財報電話會議。我要感謝他在任職期間的領導者以及宏利的改造。

With that, I'd like to turn the call over to Roy.

說完這些，我想把電話轉給羅伊。

Thanks, Hung. And thank you, everyone, for joining us today. Yesterday, we announced our first quarter 2025 financial results. We delivered strong first quarter results and maintained the momentum that we built through 2024. We generated strong growth across our top line metrics for each of our insurance segments. Of note, Asia APE sales increased 50%, reflecting strong customer demand and continued execution in the region. Global WAM once again generated positive net flows, which is a solid result given the increased market volatility.

謝謝，Hung。感謝大家今天的參與。昨天，我們公佈了 2025 年第一季的財務表現。我們在第一季取得了強勁的業績，並保持了 2024 年建立的勢頭。我們每個保險部門的營收指標都實現了強勁成長。值得注意的是，亞洲 APE 銷售額成長了 50%，反映了強勁的客戶需求和該地區的持續執行。全球 WAM 再次產生正淨流量，考慮到市場波動性加劇，這是一個可靠的結果。

Core EPS increased 3%, reflecting the continued momentum in our Asia and Global WAM businesses, as well as the impact of share buybacks. Though you'll see, our first quarter results include a charge in our P&C reinsurance business related to the California wildfires, as well as the higher ECL provision reflecting market conditions in the first quarter. After normalizing for these two items, our core EPS would have increased 9%.

核心每股收益成長 3%，反映了我們亞洲和全球 WAM 業務的持續成長勢頭，以及股票回購的影響。不過，您會看到，我們的第一季業績包括與加州野火相關的財產和意外傷害再保險業務費用，以及反映第一季市場狀況的更高的預期信用損失準備金。在對這兩項進行標準化之後，我們的核心每股收益將增加 9%。

Despite the increasingly volatile operating environment, I'm proud of our results, which are a function of our disciplined execution and a testament to the strength of the Manulife franchise and our team.

儘管經營環境日益動盪，但我對我們的業績仍感到自豪，這是我們嚴謹執行的結果，也是宏利特許經營權和我們團隊實力的證明。

I know this is top of mind for many of you, and while we won't be immune to the potential macroeconomic headwinds brought on by the trade tensions, I'm going to spend a few moments reinforcing the work that we've done with the transformation of Manulife to put us in a position of strength.

我知道這是你們許多人最關心的問題，雖然我們無法免受貿易緊張局勢帶來的潛在宏觀經濟逆風的影響，但我將花一些時間來強調我們為宏利轉型所做的工作，以使我們處於優勢地位。

First, as expected, our results are more stable under IFRS 17. And during the quarter, we continue to steadily grow our book value while returning capital to shareholders. In addition, our balance sheet remains robust, supported by our strong LICAT ratio of 137% and a leverage ratio of 23.9%, which is well below our 25% medium term target. Our robust balance sheet is a significant source of strength, which coupled with our business and geographic diversity, positions us well to navigate and capitalize on opportunities through times of change.

首先，正如預期的那樣，在 IFRS 17 下我們的業績更加穩定。在本季度，我們持續穩定增加帳面價值，同時向股東返還資本。此外，我們的資產負債表依然強勁，這得益於我們強勁的 LICAT 比率 137% 和槓桿率 23.9%，遠低於我們 25% 的中期目標。我們強勁的資產負債表是我們的重要優勢源泉，再加上我們的業務和地理多樣性，使我們能夠在變革時期掌握和利用機會。

Moving to Slide 7. Manulife is certainly a very different company today than during the Global Financial Crisis. We have taken meaningful actions to de-risk our business, including implementing hedging strategies and executing multiple reinsurance transactions. Together with the implementation of IFRS 17, we've significantly reduced our book value sensitivity to interest rate and equity market movements, which is now similar to our Canadian peers.

移至幻燈片 7。如今的宏利與全球金融危機期間相比，顯然已經截然不同。我們已採取有意義的行動來降低業務風險，包括實施對沖策略和執行多項再保險交易。隨著 IFRS 17 的實施，我們大幅降低了帳面價值對利率和股票市場變動的敏感度，目前與加拿大同業相似。

On Slide 8, our portfolio transformation towards higher return and lower risk has been supported by our recent milestone LTC transactions and Canadian Universal Life transaction. We also reinsured the majority of our U.S. variable annuity book several years ago. These transactions have been instrumental in reducing risk both on the asset and liability sides, and have improved our return profile, all while securing attractive terms.

在幻燈片 8 中，我們最近的里程碑式 LTC 交易和加拿大萬能壽險交易支持了我們的投資組合向更高回報和更低風險的轉型。幾年前，我們也對大部分美國變額年金進行了再保險。這些交易有助於降低資產和負債方面的風險，改善我們的回報狀況，同時確保有吸引力的條款。

The right half of this slide further demonstrates one way that we've improved our risk profile for shareholders. Over the past eight years, we've reduced the proportion of total ALDA with direct shareholder exposure by 24 percentage points. And it now only represents 7% of our total invested assets. This reflects the benefits of reducing ALDA as part of our reinsurance transactions, as well as transforming our product portfolio. Looking forward, we'd expect this trend to continue with a growing proportion of our ALDA-backing participating or pass-through business, where experience is shared or passed through to policyholders.

這張投影片的右半部進一步展示了我們為股東改善風險狀況的一種方式。在過去的八年中，我們將直接股東持股的 ALDA 總比例降低了 24 個百分點。現在它只占我們總投資資產的7％。這反映了在我們的再保險交易中減少 ALDA 以及轉變我們的產品組合所帶來的好處。展望未來，我們預計這一趨勢將持續下去，我們的 ALDA 支援的參與或直通業務的比例將不斷增加，在這些業務中，經驗將與保單持有人共享或傳遞。

As you can see on Slide 9, our diversification is another key source of strength. First, as a fundamental need, economic uncertainty could actually spur demand for protection products in the future. Second, it's important to remember that most of our products and services are sold within each market, so we don't expect any direct impact to our products or services from tariffs. While we could see second-order impacts, such as lower market returns, elevated unemployment, or slowing growth, these would be industry-wide impacts and not specific to Manulife.

正如您在幻燈片 9 上看到的，我們的多樣化是另一個主要優勢來源。首先，作為一種基本需求，經濟不確定性實際上可能會刺激未來對保護產品的需求。其次，重要的是要記住，我們的大多數產品和服務都在各個市場內銷售，因此我們預計關稅不會對我們的產品或服務產生任何直接影響。雖然我們可能會看到二階影響，例如市場回報率下降、失業率上升或成長放緩，但這些影響將是整個產業的影響，而不是宏利獨有的。

Moments like this highlight the importance of our transformation journey and the benefits of the diversification of our franchise, which we've strengthened over the past decade. We've made significant progress growing Asia and Global WAM, two of our highest-potential businesses. This is consistent with our strategy, but as you can see, our Canada and U.S. businesses are material contributors to total company earnings and remain attractive businesses with large in-force books.

這樣的時刻凸顯了我們轉型之旅的重要性以及特許經營多元化的好處，我們在過去十年中不斷加強特許經營多元化。我們在發展亞洲和全球 WAM（我們最具潛力的兩項業務）方面取得了重大進展。這與我們的策略一致，但如您所見，我們的加拿大和美國業務對公司總收益做出了重要貢獻，並且仍然是具有吸引力的業務，擁有大量有效帳簿。

Within Asia, we've made tremendous progress growing a diverse set of markets, including Hong Kong, Singapore, mainland China, International High Net Worth, and several emerging markets. The mega-trends in the region, including growth of the middle class, large protection gaps, and aging populations, which are important drivers of demand for our business, will persist despite current macroeconomic or geopolitical headwinds.

在亞洲，我們在發展多元化市場方面取得了巨大進展，包括香港、新加坡、中國大陸、國際高淨值市場和幾個新興市場。儘管當前宏觀經濟或地緣政治面臨阻力，但該地區的大趨勢仍將持續下去，包括中產階級的成長、巨大的保障缺口和人口老化，這些都是我們業務需求的重要驅動力。

On Global WAM, we're also diversified by geography. Additionally, we're not over-indexed to any particular business line, which is an asset during market volatility. For example, our Retirement business includes administration fees, which are less driven by markets and AUM. Our broad business diversification provides a resilient earnings profile that is less exposed to equity market performance.

在全球 WAM 方面，我們也根據地域進行多元化發展。此外，我們並沒有過度依賴任何特定的業務線，這在市場波動時是一種資產。例如，我們的退休業務包括管理費，而管理費較少受到市場和 AUM 的驅動。我們廣泛的業務多元化提供了有彈性的獲利狀況，且不太受股票市場表現的影響。

On to Slide 10, which dives deeper into Asia. The segment has been focused on execution and has delivered strong growth. We've grown from the sixth largest Pan-Asian life insurer in 2014 to top three today. And we are outperforming our peers, as you can see from the growth in NBV. And this has continued in the first quarter. This success has been supported by productivity gains as well as improving the customer experience, where our net promoter score improved from -2 in 2017 to +57 today. Manulife's substantial digital transformation has been a key contributor to both outcomes.

請參閱投影片 10，深入了解亞洲。該部門一直專注於執行並實現了強勁增長。我們從2014年第六大汎亞人壽保險公司發展到今天的前三大。從新業務價值 (NBV) 的成長就可以看出，我們的表現優於同業。這種情況在第一季也一直持續著。這一成功得益於生產力的提高以及客戶體驗的改善，我們的淨推薦值從 2017 年的 -2 提高到今天的 +57。宏利金融的深度數位轉型是實現這兩個成果的關鍵因素。

With that, I'll hand it over to Colin to review the highlights of our first quarter financial results. Colin?

接下來，我將把時間交給科林來回顧我們第一季財務表現的亮點。科林？

Thanks, Roy. Coming off a strong 2024, we maintained our momentum into the first quarter. And while the macroeconomic environment has become more challenging, I'm encouraged by the strong set of results we've delivered.

謝謝，羅伊。繼 2024 年強勁成長之後，我們在第一季仍保持了強勁勢頭。儘管宏觀經濟環境變得更具挑戰性，但我們取得的強勁業績仍令我感到鼓舞。

Let's begin on Slide 12. We delivered strong growth of over 30% and record results across APE sales, new business CSM, and new business value. Our APE sales increased 37% from the prior year, with contributions from all our segments, in particular, tremendous growth of 50% in Asia. This supported our significant growth in value metrics with 36% growth in new business value and 31% growth in new business CSM, with the latter contributing to a strong 11% annualized organic CSM growth. This strong top line momentum, particularly in Asia, where we continue to execute, will drive earnings for many years to come, including through higher CSM amortization.

讓我們從第 12 張投影片開始。我們實現了超過 30% 的強勁成長，並在 APE 銷售額、新業務 CSM 和新業務價值方面取得了創紀錄的成績。我們的 APE 銷售額比上年增長了 37%，這得益於我們所有部門的貢獻，尤其是亞洲地區實現了 50% 的大幅增長。這支持了我們價值指標的顯著成長，新業務價值成長了 36%，新業務 CSM 成長了 31%，其中後者貢獻了 11% 的年化有機 CSM 強勁成長。這種強勁的營收勢頭，特別是在我們繼續執行的亞洲，將在未來許多年推動盈利，包括透過更高的合約服務條款攤提。

Global WAM continued to deliver positive net flows of half a billion dollars, despite the challenging market environment, demonstrating the resilience of our diversified business, with strength in our Institutional business offset by outflows in our Retirement business.

儘管市場環境充滿挑戰，但 Global WAM 仍繼續實現 5 億美元的正淨流入，彰顯了我們多元化業務的韌性，其中機構業務的強勁表現被退休業務的流出所抵消。

Our core earnings results on Slide 13, and I'd like to highlight some of the key drivers of our earnings relative to the prior year. Our insurance businesses continue to grow, contributing to higher insurance service results. Improved overall insurance experience across all insurance segments also supported this increase. But this was partially offset by a P&C reinsurance charge of US$35 million pre-tax related to the California wildfires, which is reported in our corporate segment.

投影片 13 是我們的核心獲利結果，我想強調一下與前一年相比，我們的獲利的一些關鍵驅動因素。我們的保險業務持續成長，保險服務績效不斷提升。所有保險領域整體保險體驗的改善也支持了這一成長。但這部分被與加州野火相關的 3500 萬美元稅前財產和意外傷害保險再保險費用所抵消，該費用已在我們的公司部門中報告。

Our net investment result was impacted by lower investment spreads and a net charge in the expected credit loss or “ECL” provision, which compares with an ECL release in the prior year when the credit environment was fairly benign. While our actual credit experience was immaterial, the $46 million pre-tax ECL charge was driven by updates to our ECL model to reflect the deteriorating economic environment through the first quarter and is still within our guidance of $30 million to $50 million. The impact of the P&C reinsurance charge and higher ECL moderated our core earnings growth by 5 percentage points.

我們的淨投資結果受到較低的投資利差和預期信用損失或「ECL」準備金的淨費用的影響，與上一年信貸環境相當溫和時的 ECL 釋放相比。雖然我們的實際信貸經驗並不重要，但 4600 萬美元的稅前 ECL 費用是由我們的 ECL 模型更新推動的，以反映第一季不斷惡化的經濟環境，並且仍在我們 3000 萬至 5000 萬美元的指導範圍內。財產和意外保險再保險費用和更高的預期信用損失的影響使我們的核心獲利成長降低了 5 個百分點。

You will note that Global WAM remained the second largest contributor to core earnings and once again generated strong growth, achieving over 20% growth in pre-tax core earnings for the sixth consecutive quarter. I would also highlight that the three reinsurance transactions with RGA and Global Atlantic over the past year reduced core earnings by $12 million across multiple lines of the DOE.

您會注意到，Global WAM 仍然是核心收益的第二大貢獻者，並再次實現強勁增長，連續六個季度實現稅前核心收益超過 20% 的增長。我還要強調的是，過去一年與 RGA 和 Global Atlantic 的三筆再保險交易導致 DOE 多個業務線的核心收益減少了 1,200 萬美元。

On to Slide 14. Core EPS increased 3% as the modest decline in core earnings was more than offset by the impact of share buybacks. During the quarter, we reported a non-core charge of $781 million from realized losses, mostly from fixed income asset disposals related to our LTC reinsurance transaction with RGA, which closed in the beginning of January. This impact was largely offset in OCI, resulting in a neutral impact on book value and capital. We also took a $208 million charge during the quarter as public equity returns were lower than expected. And we reported a charge of $275 million in our ALDA portfolio, mainly due to lower-than-expected return on commercial real estate and private equity investments.

轉到投影片 14。核心每股盈餘成長 3%，因為核心收益的溫和下降被股票回購的影響所抵銷。在本季度，我們報告了 7.81 億美元的非核心費用，這些費用來自已實現損失，主要來自與我們與 RGA 的 LTC 再保險交易相關的固定收益資產處置，該交易於 1 月初結束。這種影響在很大程度上被其他綜合收益所抵消，導致對帳面價值和資本的影響為中性。由於公開股權回報低於預期，我們還在本季提列了 2.08 億美元的費用。我們報告稱，ALDA 投資組合的費用為 2.75 億美元，主要原因是商業房地產和私募股權投資的回報低於預期。

While this disrupted the recent trend of sequential improvement in our ALDA experience, we remain confident that we will return to our long-term return assumptions. The impact of the current challenging macroeconomic environment on our performance, however, does mean that our expected normalization will likely be delayed in the near term.

雖然這擾亂了我們 ALDA 經驗近期連續改善的趨勢，但我們仍然相信我們將恢復我們的長期回報假設。然而，當前充滿挑戰的宏觀經濟環境對我們業績的影響確實意味著我們預期的正常化可能會在短期內被推遲。

Moving on to the segment view of results. We'll start with Asia on Slide 15. Our Asia segment continued to generate very strong growth in new business metrics with record level results. APE sales increased strongly by 50% from the prior year, primarily driven by growth in Hong Kong, which delivered growth across all channels, and Japan, as well as mainland China and Singapore within Asia Other. The overall increase in sales contributed to robust growth in new business CSM and new business value of 38% and 43%, respectively.

繼續查看結果的分段視圖。我們將從第 15 張投影片上的亞洲開始。我們的亞洲分部在新業務指標上持續保持強勁成長，業績創下新高。APE 銷售額較上年強勁成長 50%，主要得益於香港地區（所有通路均實現成長）、日本以及亞洲其他地區的中國大陸和新加坡。整體銷售額的成長帶動新業務CSM和新業務價值分別強勁成長38%和43%。

We also generated record core earnings in Asia this quarter with a solid 7% growth year-on-year, reflecting continued business growth momentum, partially offset by an increase in the ECL provision and the impact of foregone earnings from the Global Atlantic reinsurance transaction that closed in early 2024. In addition, we generated strong sequential growth of 8% in core earnings and delivered another quarter of favorable insurance experience in both core earnings and CSM.

本季度，我們在亞洲的核心盈利也創下了歷史新高，同比增長 7%，反映出持續的業務增長勢頭，但部分抵消了預期信用損失撥備的增加以及 2024 年初完成的全球大西洋再保險交易的收益損失的影響。此外，我們的核心收益實現了 8% 的環比強勁增長，並在核心收益和合約服務邊際利潤 (CSM) 方面再創季度佳績。

Moving to one of our other high potential businesses, Global WAM, on Slide 16. Global WAM had another strong quarter with 24% growth in core earnings. This was again supported by higher average third-party AUMA, higher performance fees, and our ongoing focus on expense management. We delivered positive net flows for the quarter of half a billion dollars, driven by inflows from our Institutional business. But these were largely offset by net outflows from our Retirement business due to pension plan redemptions and member withdrawals in North America. We again generated positive operating leverage with a core EBITDA margin of 28.4%, which expanded 290 basis points from the prior year.

前往我們的另一項高潛力業務，即第 16 張投影片上的 Global WAM。Global WAM 又度過了一個強勁的季度，核心收益成長了 24%。這再次得到了更高的平均第三方 AUMA、更高的績效費以及我們對費用管理的持續關注的支持。我們本季實現了 5 億美元的正淨流入，這主要得益於我們機構業務的流入。但由於北美退休金計劃贖回和成員退出，這些資金在很大程度上被我們退休業務的淨流出所抵消。我們再次實現了正向經營槓桿，核心 EBITDA 利潤率為 28.4%，比前一年擴大了 290 個基點。

Next, we come to Canada on Slide 17, where we delivered strong new business results during the quarter. APE sales increased 9% from a year earlier with contributions from all business lines, which supported the double-digit growth in new business CSM and new business value. Core earnings increased by 3%, thanks to another quarter of favorable overall insurance experience and continued Group Insurance business growth. But this was partially offset by an increase in the ECL provision as well as lower Manulife bank earnings, with the latter impacted by a reduction in net interest margin following the Bank of Canada's recent interest rate cuts.

接下來，我們來到第 17 張投影片上的加拿大，我們在本季取得了強勁的新業務成果。APE銷售額較上年同期成長9%，得益於所有業務線的貢獻，支持了新業務CSM和新業務價值的兩位數成長。核心收益成長了 3%，這得益於本季整體保險體驗良好以及團體保險業務持續成長。但這部分被預期信貸損失準備金的增加以及宏利銀行獲利的下降所抵消，後者受到加拿大銀行近期降息後淨利差下降的影響。

Lastly, our U.S. segment’s results on Slide 18. In the U.S., we once again delivered solid APE sales growth of 6%. Demand for accumulation insurance products from affluent customers has remained firm, contributing to the growth in new business value of 30%. Core earnings decreased 25% from a year earlier due to unfavorable net claims experience recorded in earnings, lower investment spreads, an increase in the ECL provision, as well as the net impact of the basis change last year, partially offset by favorable lapse experience.

最後，第 18 張幻燈片展示了我們美國分部的業績。在美國，我們的 APE 銷售額再次實現了 6% 的穩健成長。富裕客戶對累積保險產品的需求持續強勁，帶動新業務價值成長30%。核心利潤較上年同期下降 25%，原因是盈利中記錄的淨索賠經驗不利、投資利差下降、預期信用損失撥備增加以及去年基礎變化的淨影響，但有利的失效經驗部分抵消了這些影響。

Our U.S. earnings have been declining over the last few quarters due to a few factors, including: the impact of the LTC reinsurance transactions, though this was offset in core EPS through share buybacks; a higher ECL provision given the current macroeconomic challenges; lower investment spreads; and last year's basis change, which reduced the CSM. Despite these recent headwinds, we remain confident in the U.S. segment's ability to deliver steady earnings given the growth in profitable new business.

過去幾個季度，我們的美國收益一直在下降，原因如下：長期照護再保險交易的影響，儘管這透過股票回購在核心每股收益中被抵消了；鑑於當前的宏觀經濟挑戰，提高預期信用損失撥備；降低投資利差；以及去年的基礎變化，這降低了 CSM。儘管近期面臨這些不利因素，但鑑於獲利性新業務的成長，我們仍然對美國分部實現穩定獲利的能力充滿信心。

Bringing to our book value on Slide 19, you can see we are continuing to steadily grow our adjusted book value per share, with 12% growth from the first quarter of 2024 to $36.66, even after returning nearly $6.4 billion of capital to shareholders through dividends and share buybacks over the past year.

將我們的帳面價值放在幻燈片 19 上，您可以看到，即使在過去一年中透過股息和股票回購向股東返還了近 64 億美元的資本，我們的每股調整後帳面價值仍在繼續穩步增長，從 2024 年第一季度起增長了 12%，達到 36.66 美元。

As previously announced, we launched a new buyback program in late February 2025, allowing us to return freed-up capital from our recent LTC reinsurance transaction to shareholders. And together with dividends and share buybacks, we returned over $1.2 billion of capital to shareholders during the quarter.

正如先前宣布的那樣，我們在 2025 年 2 月下旬啟動了一項新的回購計劃，使我們能夠將最近的 LTC 再保險交易中釋放的資本返還給股東。加上股利和股票回購，我們本季向股東返還了超過 12 億美元的資本。

On to our robust balance sheet on Slide 20. Our LICAT capital ratio remains strong at 137%, and our financial leverage ratio was 23.9%, staying well below our 25% medium-term target. These metrics reflect our strong financial resilience. Together with our significantly lower risk profile, they reinforce my confidence in our ability to operate from a position of strength in today's uncertain economic environment. While we have observed heightened market volatility in the second quarter, our robust balance sheet management and regular monitoring suggests very little impact to these metrics as we stand today.

請看投影片 20 上的我們穩健的資產負債表。我們的 LICAT 資本比率保持強勁，為 137%，財務槓桿率為 23.9%，遠低於 25% 的中期目標。這些指標反映了我們強大的財務韌性。加上我們的風險狀況明顯較低，這些都增強了我對我們在當今不確定的經濟環境中保持強勁營運能力的信心。雖然我們觀察到第二季度市場波動加劇，但我們穩健的資產負債表管理和定期監控表明，就目前情況而言，這些指標受到的影響很小。

And finally, on Slide 21, you will see the summary of how we're tracking against our 2027 and medium-term targets.

最後，在第 21 張投影片上，您將看到我們如何實現 2027 年和中期目標的摘要。

To conclude, while we saw an impact on our bottom line due to a few factors that I noted earlier, we are pleased that our top line results continued to exhibit strong momentum. And I'm proud of the results we've achieved this quarter. We remain focused on executing against our targets, and I'm confident that we are well-positioned to navigate through the economic cycle and capitalize on growth opportunities as they rise.

總而言之，雖然我之前提到的幾個因素對我們的底線產生了影響，但我們很高興看到我們的營收業績繼續保持強勁勢頭。我對我們本季取得的成績感到自豪。我們將繼續專注於實現我們的目標，我相信我們有能力渡過經濟週期並抓住不斷湧現的成長機會。

With that, I will turn it back over to Roy for some closing remarks.

接下來，我將把發言權交還給羅伊，請他做最後的總結發言。

Thanks, Colin. In closing, I want to say that it's truly been an honor to serve as CEO of Manulife. Today marks my 41st and final quarterly earnings call, and it is bittersweet for me. I'm incredibly proud of our transformation, our achievements, and of the momentum that we've created: We've become a Digital, Customer leader, growing our highest-potential businesses, and reduced our risk profile and volatility, while significantly improving shareholder returns; we also have a strong capital and financial position; Our high-performing leadership team and our diverse business and geographic footprint will allow us to continue delivering profitable growth, outpacing our peers, while delivering superior returns to our shareholders. Our strong business momentum, particularly in a challenging environment, is a testament to the strength of our franchise.

謝謝，科林。最後，我想說，能夠擔任宏利金融的執行長真的是一種榮幸。今天是我第 41 次也是最後一次季度財報電話會議，對我來說，這真是苦樂參半。我對我們的轉型、成就和所創造的勢頭感到無比自豪：我們已經成為數位化、客戶化的領導者，發展我們最具潛力的業務，降低我們的風險狀況和波動性，同時顯著提高股東回報；我們還擁有強大的資本和財務狀況；我們高效的領導團隊以及多元化的業務和地理覆蓋範圍將使我們能夠繼續實現增長，超越同行增長，超越同行的回報。我們強勁的業務勢頭，特別是在充滿挑戰的環境中，證明了我們特許經營的實力。

While I will miss the incredible team and culture that we've built, looking forward, I know the company is in great hands with Phil. We've worked together for many years, and he has a tremendous track record of execution and delivery. I couldn't be more excited to watch him take Manulife to even greater heights.

雖然我會懷念我們建立的令人難以置信的團隊和文化，但展望未來，我知道公司在菲爾的領導下會做得很好。我們已經合作多年，他在執行和交付方面有著出色的記錄。我非常高興看到他帶領宏利走向更高的高度。

Before moving to Q&A, I'd like to thank our customers, without whom we wouldn't have a business. Thank you to our outstanding global team - your dedication and engagement has been inspiring, and I continue to believe that our culture remains a real source of differentiation. And thank you to our analysts and shareholders. You haven't shied away from holding us accountable but have also recognized our progress and accomplishments when deserved.

在進入問答環節之前，我想感謝我們的客戶，沒有他們我們就沒有生意。感謝我們傑出的全球團隊—你們的奉獻和參與令人鼓舞，我仍然相信我們的文化仍然是真正的差異化來源。並感謝我們的分析師和股東。您不僅毫不避諱地要求我們承擔責任，而且還在適當的時候認可我們的進步和成就。

With that, this concludes our prepared remarks. Operator, we will now open the call to questions.

我們的準備好的演講到此結束。接線員，我們現在開始問答環節。

(Operator Instructions)

（操作員指示）

John Aiken, Jefferies.

約翰艾肯，傑富瑞。

Good morning. You obviously highlighted the strong sales that we saw in Asia. I was wondering if you could give us a sense in terms of what you're seeing on the ground and what that may translate for the remainder of the year.

早安.您顯然強調了我們在亞洲看到的強勁銷售表現。我想知道您是否可以告訴我們您在實地看到的情況以及這對今年剩餘時間可能產生的影響。

Great. Thank you, John. This is Phil. You're right. And as Colin and Roy referenced, it has been a very strong start to 2025 for Asia. And that's off the back of a record 2024. What we're seeing in the first quarter, and it's really a continuation of the trend from last year, is very strong demand for savings solutions, to support retirement needs, generational wealth transfer needs, and this is across Hong Kong, Singapore, China. And we're also seeing strong growth in Japan as well where we had launched towards the end of last year a new product that has proved to be very successful in financial institution channels.

偉大的。謝謝你，約翰。這是菲爾。你說得對。正如科林和羅伊所提到的，對於亞洲來說，2025 年將是一個非常強勁的開端。這是在 2024 年創下的紀錄之後。我們在第一季看到的情況是，這實際上是去年趨勢的延續，即對儲蓄解決方案的需求非常強勁，以滿足退休需求和代際財富轉移需求，這種情況遍及香港、新加坡和中國。我們在日本也看到了強勁的成長勢頭，去年年底我們在日本推出了一款新產品，事實證明該產品在金融機構通路中非常成功。

You asked about the outlook on sales. And I will draw your attention to last year. Across Q2 and Q3 we did have a step-up in sales momentum. So I would expect as we go through the course of 2025 to see the growth rate normalized to more typical levels. But I think the run rate that you see in sales is something that I feel good about. Now of course, we are operating in an environment of some macroeconomic uncertainty. And while that doesn't have, I suppose, a direct impact on us, what I would draw your attention to is that an uncertain external environment can impact consumer sentiment and cause them to defer buying decisions. But at this point, I remain cautiously optimistic about the year ahead.

您詢問了銷售前景。我想提請大家關注去年的情況。在第二季和第三季度，我們的銷售動能確實有所提升。因此，我預計到 2025 年，成長率將恢復到更典型的水平。但我認為，您所看到的銷售運行率是令我感到滿意的。當然，我們現在正處於一些宏觀經濟不確定的環境中。雖然我認為這不會對我們產生直接影響，但我要提請您注意的是，不確定的外部環境會影響消費者情緒並導致他們推遲購買決定。但目前，我對未來一年仍持謹慎樂觀的態度。

Thanks, Phil. I just wanted to pass on my congratulations to Roy. All the best in your retirement.

謝謝，菲爾。我只是想向羅伊表示祝賀。祝您退休後一切順利。

Much appreciated. Thank you, John.

非常感謝。謝謝你，約翰。

Doug Young, Desjardins Capital Markets.

道格楊 (Doug Young)，德斯雅爾丹資本市場 (Desjardins Capital Markets)。

Good morning. Maybe I could dig a little further into the sales still, in Asia. I mean, Japan's sales were strong, as you talked about. I'm just curious, how much of your Japan sales are linked to U.S. dollar denominated products? And is there an anticipation of a shift in demand for this product in light of everything and something to fill the void? So that's on the Japan side. And then, Hong Kong sales were strong. New business value growth was strong. Can you talk a bit about the drivers there? And any kind of sense -- like was there stuff pulled forward this quarter? And what the drivers were? Thanks.

早安.也許我可以進一步了解亞洲的銷售情況。我的意思是，正如您所說，日本的銷售很強勁。我只是好奇，你們在日本的銷售額有多少與以美元計價的產品有關？鑑於目前存在的一切以及可以填補空白的東西，是否預計對該產品的需求會發生轉變？這是日本方面的情況。隨後，香港的銷售表現強勁。新業務價值成長強勁。您能談談那裡的司機嗎？還有什麼意義──例如本季是否有東西提早了？驅動因素是什麼？謝謝。

Great. Thank you, Doug. This is Phil. So, I'll tackle the Japan sales question first. You're right to highlight that one of our differentiators in Japan is the fact that we bring international capabilities to the Japan market. And quite a large proportion of our overall business, something in the order of 80% of our business, is U.S. dollar denominated. And that the driver of demand for U.S. dollar denominated business is really the diversification that that brings for our customers, as well as the yield differential between U.S. dollars and the Japanese yen. And both of those drivers of demand remain in place. So I think while we may see fluctuations in currency exchange rates, I don't see the exchange rate itself as the main driver of demand for foreign currency denominated products.

偉大的。謝謝你，道格。這是菲爾。因此，我將首先解決日本的銷售問題。您說得對，我們在日本的差異化因素之一就是我們將國際能力帶入日本市場。我們整體業務的很大一部分（約佔 80%）都是以美元計價的。美元計價業務需求的驅動因素實際上是它為我們的客戶帶來的多樣化，以及美元和日圓之間的收益差異。這兩個需求驅動因素仍然存在。因此我認為，雖然我們可能會看到貨幣匯率波動，但我並不認為匯率本身是外幣計價產品需求的主要動力。

So, I think when we look at Japan new business, we had seen quite a big second quarter last year and a step-up from the second quarter in our sales volumes, there were various factors driving that. So, I would expect the growth rate to sort of moderate as we look forward to Q2, Q3, Q4. But I think the run rate that you see is actually a run rate that I feel good about and is sustainable, particularly in the context of a new product launch towards the end of last year that has provided some momentum in financial institutional channels.

因此，我認為，當我們審視日本的新業務時，我們看到去年第二季度業績相當可觀，而且我們的銷售量較第二季度有所增長，推動這一增長的因素有很多。因此，我預計第二季、第三季和第四季的成長率將會放緩。但我認為您看到的運行率實際上是一個令我感到滿意的運行率，而且是可持續的，特別是在去年年底推出新產品的背景下，這為金融機構管道提供了一些動力。

Moving on to your question of Hong Kong, the drivers. So in Hong Kong, we continue to see really strong customer demand. And this is visible in all of our channels, as Colin referenced in his remarks. So, agency, bancassurance, as well as broker channels. Notably broker channels are growing faster than other channels, but all channels are growing strongly. The demand is both from our core domestic customer segment as well as continued growth in the Mainland Chinese Visitor or “MCV” customer segment. It's predominantly driven by demand for savings solutions, although we have recently launched a couple of critical illness protection products that we expect to sort of drive higher demand to fulfill the health and protection needs of both our domestic and Mainland Chinese Visitor customers. So, I feel good about the growth in Hong Kong.

繼續回答你關於香港司機的問題。因此，在香港，我們繼續看到非常強勁的客戶需求。正如科林在演講中提到的那樣，這在我們所有的管道中都可以看到。因此，有代理商、銀保以及經紀人管道。值得注意的是，經紀通路的成長速度快於其他管道，但所有管道都在強勁成長。需求既來自我們的核心國內客戶群，也來自持續成長的中國大陸遊客或「MCV」客戶群。這主要是由儲蓄解決方案的需求所推動的，儘管我們最近推出了幾款重大疾病保障產品，我們預計這些產品將推動更高的需求，以滿足國內和中國大陸遊客客戶的健康和保障需求。因此，我對香港的發展感到滿意。

Clearly, there is some uncertainty in the external environment that may impact customer sentiment that could cause some customers to defer their buying decisions. And again, similar to my earlier comments in the context of Japan, from the second quarter of last year and into the third quarter, we saw quite a step change in our sales volumes in Hong Kong. So, I would expect the growth rate to normalize as we go through the course of this year.

顯然，外部環境存在一些不確定性，可能會影響客戶情緒，導致一些客戶推遲購買決定。而且，與我之前對日本的評論類似，從去年第二季度到第三季度，我們看到香港的銷售量發生了相當大的變化。因此，我預計今年的成長率將會正常化。

Okay. Just a second question and I'm sorry, Phil, I'm going to pick on you again here, but you put out an earnings growth target for Asia of 15% and I know that's medium term. Just trying to gauge how you feel about achieving that in this year or in 2026. And this quarter, Japan was down and I think I understand why that was. And the other was flat. Hong Kong was obviously the big driver of the beat. And there's lots going on in the region right now, you got the GMT. So, I'm just trying to get a sense of how you're feeling about that target as we look at 2025 and into 2026.

好的。這只是第二個問題，抱歉，菲爾，我又要在這裡挑你的毛病了，但你提出的亞洲盈利增長目標是 15%，我知道這是中期目標。只是想衡量一下您對今年或 2026 年實現這一目標的感受。本季，日本經濟下滑，我想我明白其中的原因。另一個是平的。香港顯然是這節拍的主要推動者。目前該地區發生了很多事情，您了解格林威治標準時間。所以，我只是想了解一下，當我們展望 2025 年和 2026 年時，您對這個目標有何感受。

Okay. Thanks, Doug. So, our earnings guidance really applies at the total company level, 10% to 12%. Though we have in the past sort of indicated how that breaks down across segments, it's not specific guidance across segments. When I look at the momentum that we've had in Asia, clearly, very strong earnings growth through 2024. It's been a little lower in the first quarter of 2025, 7% growth. But as you highlight, that's been distorted by year-on-year movements in ECL. And recall, a year ago in the first quarter, we had a favorable impact in Asia from the Global Atlantic reinsurance transaction, a big chunk of which related to Japan. So, normalizing for that, actually, the growth in Asia would have been about 11% year-on-year. And it's actually 8% higher than Q4, so you see that momentum building quarter-on-quarter.

好的。謝謝，道格。因此，我們的獲利預測實際上適用於整個公司層面，即 10% 至 12%。儘管我們過去曾指出如何在各個細分市場中細分，但這並不是針對各個細分市場的具體指導。當我看到我們在亞洲的發展勢頭時，顯然到 2024 年我們的獲利成長將非常強勁。2025年第一季的成長率略低，為7%。但正如您所強調的，這一數字因 ECL 的同比變動而被扭曲。回想一下，一年前的第一季度，全球大西洋再保險交易對亞洲產生了積極影響，其中很大一部分與日本有關。因此，以這個標準來看，亞洲的成長率實際上應該達到 11% 左右。實際上比第四季度高出 8%，因此你會看到這一勢頭逐季增強。

My expectation for the full year is that the run rate that you see in the first quarter is a good run rate, upon which you will see business-as-usual growth from expansion of the CSM, subject to normal fluctuations in ECL and policyholder experience. And I think what really gives me confidence in the potential for continued earnings growth is when you look at the contractual service margin, we saw a 16% growth in 2024. And first quarter of 2025, the organic growth rate -- normalized organic growth rate in the CSM was 12%. So, I think they're encouraging signs.

我對全年的預期是，您在第一季看到的運作率是一個良好的運作率，在此基礎上，您將看到 CSM 擴充功能帶來的正常業務成長，但要受到 ECL 和保單持有人經驗的正常波動的影響。我認為真正讓我對持續獲利成長潛力充滿信心的是，當你看合約服務利潤率時，我們看到 2024 年的成長率為 16%。2025 年第一季度，CSM 的有機成長率－標準化有機成長率為 12%。所以，我認為這些都是令人鼓舞的跡象。

Appreciate the color. And Roy, thanks for everything and all the best.

欣賞色彩。羅伊，謝謝你所做的一切，祝你一切順利。

Thank you, Doug.

謝謝你，道格。

Gabriel Dechaine, National Bank Financial.

加布里埃爾·德尚 (Gabriel Dechaine)，國家銀行金融。

Hey. Just a different Asia sales question. Sales numbers have been pretty good. For a while, not very good. I'm wondering if mix is still a bit of a challenge from margin standpoint. I know for a while there you're selling the savings products that aren't super profitable. And if you're seeing a shift there or have seen a shift there, what the outlook for the trend particularly looks like? And I have a follow-up.

嘿。這只是一個不同的亞洲銷售問題。銷售數字相當不錯。有一段時間，不太好。我想知道從利潤率的角度來看混合是否仍然是一個挑戰。我知道有一段時間你們銷售的儲蓄產品利潤並不高。如果您看到或已經看到那裡發生轉變，那麼趨勢的前景具體是什麼樣的？我還有一個後續問題。

Okay. Thanks, Gabriel. This is Phil. You are right. Over the course of the past year, we've seen strong demand for savings solutions. And that's been across Hong Kong, it's been in Singapore, it's been in mainland China. And these are all big markets that are driving some of the key trends in the numbers. We're really focused on fulfilling customer needs and we have a range of different solutions on the shelf. As we look forward, I do see the potential for supplementing the savings demand with the fulfillment of other customer needs, health and protection needs. I referenced earlier the launch of some critical illness products in Hong Kong. I expect that to generate a little bit of excitement. And when you look at, actually, the quarter-on-quarter margin trends, particularly for Hong Kong, what you'll see is that there has been a bit of an uplift, a bit of a pickup in Q1 relative to Q4.

好的。謝謝，加布里埃爾。這是菲爾。你是對的。在過去的一年裡，我們看到了對儲蓄解決方案的強勁需求。這種現像在香港、新加坡和中國大陸都有發生。這些都是推動數據中一些關鍵趨勢的大市場。我們真正專注於滿足客戶的需求，並且我們提供一系列不同的解決方案。展望未來，我確實看到了透過滿足其他客戶需求、健康和保護需求來補充儲蓄需求的潛力。我之前提到香港推出了一些重大疾病產品。我希望這能引起一點興奮。實際上，當你查看季度環比利潤趨勢時，特別是香港的利潤趨勢，你會發現第一季相對於第四季度有所上升，有所回升。

So I think what you see in terms of sales and new business value momentum in the first quarter, I think that's a good indication of what you can expect in the near term, subject to sort of normal variability in sales volumes that can arise, particularly where we've got a presence in third-party channels. And notably, in Hong Kong, there has been quite a strong emergence in the industry of the broker channel. And broker channels can always give rise to greater variability quarter-on-quarter, year-on-year, relative to agency and bancassurance, which do of course remain our core channels, both in Hong Kong and across Asia.

因此，我認為您在第一季看到的銷售和新業務價值動能可以很好地預示您近期的預期，但要受到可能出現的銷售量正常波動的影響，特別是當我們在第三方管道有業務時。值得注意的是，在香港，經紀通路產業已經出現了相當強勁的崛起。與代理商和銀保相比，經紀通路的季度環比、年度變化總是會更大，而代理商和銀保當然仍然是我們在香港和整個亞洲的核心管道。

So, is it plausible that the sales numbers will still be good. But with this macro environment, maybe the shift to the more higher-margin mix might be deferred or delayed?

那麼，銷售數字仍然會很好嗎？但在這種宏觀環境下，向利潤率更高的產品組合的轉變可能會被推遲或延遲嗎？

It's hard to be specific about what scenario might play out. I think in the near term, I expect the demand for savings to continue. A big portion of our business, particularly in Hong Kong for example, is U.S. dollar denominated. And the yield on U.S. dollar business is attractive relative to other currencies.

很難具體說明會出現什麼情況。我認為短期內儲蓄需求將會持續下去。我們的業務很大一部分，特別是在香港，都是以美元計價的。而且美元業務的收益率相對於其他貨幣來說很有吸引力。

Gabriel, I'd just add that our savings products are still very good margin. So, I'd really want to dispel the myth that the savings products are low margin. We've got quite profitable savings products across the geographies in Asia. And as Phil said, I think one of the unique aspects of our franchise is the diversification, not just from a product perspective, but also from a channel perspective. So having a strong agency, strong bank capabilities, and then our broker, which is now a much more important part of our distribution, it allows us to continue that story of margin improvement. And as Phil said, at the end of the day, we're going to sell products that meet the needs of consumers. And again, we're delighted to have strong savings products that does that.

加布里埃爾，我只想補充一點，我們的儲蓄產品的利潤率仍然很高。所以，我真的想消除儲蓄產品利潤低的誤解。我們在亞洲各地都推出了利潤豐厚的儲蓄產品。正如菲爾所說，我認為我們特許經營的獨特之處之一是多樣化，不僅從產品角度，而且從通路角度。因此，擁有強大的代理商、強大的銀行能力以及我們的經紀人（現在是我們分銷中更重要的一部分），使我們能夠繼續提高利潤率。正如菲爾所說，歸根結底，我們將銷售滿足消費者需求的產品。再次，我們很高興能擁有能夠實現這一目標的強大儲蓄產品。

Got it. And then, the U.S. quickly, you mentioned some of the headwinds that have resulted in the trend line in profits going down. Expenses picked up quite a bit this quarter. I forget what it was last quarter there. But I'm just wondering what the story is there. Are you investing to reposition the business or what? Because on the consolidated level as well it contributed to the efficiency ratio, popping up over your 45% target.

知道了。然後，您很快就提到了美國的一些不利因素，這些因素導致利潤趨勢下降。本季支出大幅增加。我忘了上個季度那裡的情況如何。但我只是想知道那裡的故事是什麼。您進行投資是為了重新定位業務還是別的？因為在合併層面上，它也對效率比率做出了貢獻，超過了 45% 的目標。

Thanks, Gabriel. It's Brooks Tingle. I appreciate the question. I would look at Q1 expenses as very much an aberration tied to some unique and important investments and things like Gen AI, digital, things that will yield further efficiency gains in the future. If you look over multiple years now, U.S. has been extremely focused on efficiency ratios, taking out a lot of expense. And we intend to continue to operate with extreme expense discipline.

謝謝，加布里埃爾。我是布魯克斯·廷格爾。我很感謝你提出這個問題。我認為第一季的支出在很大程度上是一種異常現象，與一些獨特而重要的投資以及諸如人工智慧、數位化等未來將進一步提高效率的事物有關。如果回顧過去多年，就會發現美國一直非常注重效率比率，並花費了大量的開支。我們打算繼續嚴格控制開支。

Okay. Great. And Roy, I think I wished you a happy retirement or next phase last quarter. I'll do it again. Anyway, have a good one.

好的。偉大的。羅伊，我想上個季度我就祝你退休或進入新階段一切順利。我會再做一次。不管怎樣，祝你一切順利。

I'll take it twice, Gabriel. Thank you.

我會接受兩次，加布里埃爾。謝謝。

Tom MacKinnon, BMO Capital Markets.

湯姆麥金農 (Tom MacKinnon)，BMO 資本市場。

Thanks. Just before I ask a question, just want to say congratulations to Roy and thanks for all your help. And all the best as you move on to your next adventures.

謝謝。在我提問之前，我只想向 Roy 表示祝賀，並感謝你的幫助。祝您在接下來的冒險中一切順利。

Appreciate that, Tom.

非常感謝，湯姆。

I guess the first question would be maybe for Marc, if you can talk about appetite for further legacy transactions, what percent is legacy of your core earnings now? And you're generating a lot of capital. Your LICAT has been flat for the last 12 months despite, I don't know, like about $3.5 billion in buybacks here. So, you need to really do another transaction here. Any comments with respect to that? Thanks.

我想第一個問題可能是針對馬克的，如果您可以談談對進一步遺留交易的興趣，那麼現在遺留交易占您核心收益的百分之多少？你正在創造大量資本。儘管我不清楚你們的回購金額有多少，但在過去 12 個月裡，你們的 LICAT 一直保持穩定。所以，您實際上需要在這裡進行另一筆交易。對此有何評論？謝謝。

Good morning, Tom. It's Marc. Thanks for the question. I appreciate it. So, there's a few things that you mentioned to unpack. You talked about transactions and I think I'd be remiss if I didn't say that, as Roy mentioned in his opening remarks, we've done three transactions over the last, I'll say, 18 months that resulted basically in $2.8 billion of capital released, as you imply as well, in terms of what we've done in terms of returning that to shareholders.

早上好，湯姆。是馬克。謝謝你的提問。我很感激。所以，您提到的一些事情需要解決。您談到了交易，我想如果我不說的話，那就是我的失職了，正如羅伊在開場白中提到的那樣，我們在過去 18 個月內進行了三筆交易，基本上釋放了 28 億美元的資本，正如您所暗示的，就我們為回報股東所做的工作而言。

But more importantly, two of those transactions were including long-term care. And we basically reinsured over 18% of the risk. At the same time, as both Roy and Colin mentioned, we sold off $3.8 billion of ALDA assets tied to these things. And we traded the whole thing at book value. And long-term care itself was traded inside 5% negative cede to our book value, right? So we feel quite confident that we accomplished what we wanted and it's been demonstrated, obviously, by the results that have ensued.

但更重要的是，其中兩筆交易涉及長期照護。我們基本上為超過 18% 的風險提供了再保險。同時，正如 Roy 和 Colin 所提到的，我們出售了與這些事物相關的價值 38 億美元的 ALDA 資產。我們按照帳面價值對整個資產進行了交易。長期照護本身的交易價格對我們的帳面價值造成了 5% 的負向影響，對嗎？因此，我們非常有信心我們已經實現了我們的目標，而且顯然，已經取得的成果也證明了這一點。

And more importantly, when you combine that with the variable annuity transaction we did in 2022 and you combine it with these transactions, our long-term care and VA earnings are less than 10% of the firm's earnings. And I would venture to say that mission accomplished in terms of what we wanted to do in terms of de-risking the portfolio, what we wanted to do in terms of demonstrating the robustness of the liabilities, and the assets backing these liabilities.

更重要的是，如果將其與我們在 2022 年進行的變額年金交易結合起來，我們的長期照護和 VA 收益還不到公司收益的 10%。我敢說，就我們想要降低投資組合風險、證明負債和支持這些負債的資產的穩健性而言，我們已經完成了任務。

And more importantly, as we discussed a few times on these calls, we have very vibrant and robust organic plans to managing the business on a go-forward basis in long-term care. And those are showing a lot of very positive results. And actually, you can see in the quarterly results -- this quarter the overall long-term care experience was modestly positive, and it's been the case for a few quarters when we look at the experience.

更重要的是，正如我們在電話會議中多次討論的那樣，我們制定了非常活躍和強大的有機計劃，以管理長期護理業務。這些都顯示出了很多非常正面的結果。實際上，您可以從季度業績中看到——本季長期照護的整體體驗相當積極，從經驗來看，這種情況已經持續了幾個季度。

So we feel quite confident that there is absolutely no need to do another transaction. Having said so, the mandate of the Inforce group is to actively manage organically and inorganically and optimize the risk reward tradeoffs of the balance sheet. So, we will continue to do so. Our first mandate is to do so organically and then we will do so inorganically if it demands. But we feel no obligation. And as we demonstrated, we always do it for the benefit of our shareholders, while keeping the promises to our policyholders.

所以我們非常有信心，完全沒有必要再進行另一筆交易。話雖如此，Inforce 集團的任務是積極進行有機和無機管理，並優化資產負債表的風險回報權衡。因此，我們將繼續這樣做。我們的首要任務是有機地進行這項工作，然後，如果需要，我們才會無機地進行這項工作。但我們不認為有義務這麼做。正如我們所展示的，我們始終為股東謀福利，同時履行對保單持有人的承諾。

Hey Tom. It's Colin. If I could just -- I was just going to jump in on the buyback points. You referenced our capital position incredibly strong, 137% LICAT ratio, so we don't need a reinsurance transaction to do buybacks. But I will emphasize, buybacks don't rank ahead of investing in the business. That's our number one priority. But the good news about our capital base is that we can do both quite comfortably as well as look at inorganic opportunities.

嘿，湯姆。是科林。如果可以的話——我只是想參與回購積分。您提到我們的資本狀況非常強勁，LICAT 比率為 137%，因此我們不需要再保險交易來進行回購。但我要強調的是，回購並不比投資事業重要。這是我們的首要任務。但關於我們資本基礎的好消息是，我們可以相當輕鬆地做到這兩點，同時也能尋找無機機會。

Okay. Great. And the second question or the final question is just with respect to the insurance experience gains we're seeing in Asia. Pretty solid $17 million, U.S., kind of the best we've seen in a while. What's driving that? Are we passed any of these Vietnam lapse issues right now? If you can just address some of that. And what should be the outlook for insurance experience gains in Asia going forward? Thanks.

好的。偉大的。第二個問題或最後一個問題是關於我們在亞洲看到的保險經驗的成長。相當可觀的 1700 萬美元，可以說是我們這段時間以來見過的最高值了。是什麼原因導致的呢？我們現在是否已經解決了越南問題中的任何一個？如果您能解決其中的一些問題。未來亞洲保險經驗的成長前景如何？謝謝。

Thanks, Tom. It's Steve here. And as you know, if we set aside the P&C provision, if we look at our other insurance segments, we had positive experience again in each of our insurance segments in terms of total insurance experience. You mentioned Asia. So, Asia, we saw favorable claims experience, both mortality and morbidity, across a number of markets in the region. And that was the big driver there. We saw some modest lapse losses across a few markets. But that was more than offset by other experience. So overall, solid results in Asia.

謝謝，湯姆。我是史蒂夫。如您所知，如果我們拋開財產和意外保險條款，看看我們的其他保險部門，我們會發現就整體保險經驗而言，我們在每個保險部門都獲得了積極的經驗。您提到了亞洲。因此，在亞洲，我們看到該地區多個市場的索賠經驗（包括死亡率和發病率）都表現良好。這就是最大的推動力。我們發現一些市場出現了輕微的失利損失。但其他經驗足以抵消這一點。整體而言，亞洲的業績表現穩健。

In the U.S., overall positive. Marc mentioned a net positive in terms of LTC experience, which has continued the trends we've largely seen both through and then after the pandemic. Life, we saw modest claims losses, which were normal seasonality. And in terms of outlook there, our experience has been in line or slightly better than assumptions since COVID, so we feel good about that.

在美國，總體而言是積極的。馬克提到了長期照護經驗方面的淨正面影響，這延續了我們在疫情期間和疫情之後基本上看到的趨勢。人壽方面，我們看到索賠損失不大，這是正常的季節性現象。就前景而言，自 COVID 以來，我們的經驗與假設一致或略好於假設，因此我們對此感到滿意。

Vietnam, those issues are behind us. We had gains in Vietnam for the quarter, and that headwind, as expected, was alleviated in the second half of last year and we've seen continued favorable.

越南，這些問題已經過去了。本季度我們在越南取得了成長，正如預期的那樣，這種不利因素在去年下半年得到緩解，並且我們看到了持續的利好。

Overall, while there can, of course, be variability, we're in the large-case market, particularly in U.S. Life business. We feel pretty good about the outlook.

總體而言，雖然可能存在變化，但我們處於大案市場，特別是在美國人壽業務中。我們對前景感到十分樂觀。

Okay. Thanks for the color.

好的。謝謝你的顏色。

Paul Holden, CIBC.

加拿大帝國商業銀行 (CIBC) 的保羅霍爾頓 (Paul Holden)。

Thank you. Good morning. First question is with respect to the negative ALDA experience this quarter. Not unexpected, but just want to drill down a little bit in terms of maybe you can give us some color and what drove the negative experience specifically and just confirmation that it's lower than assumed returns versus necessarily any impairments.

謝謝。早安.第一個問題是關於本季 ALDA 的負面經驗。這並不出乎意料，但我只是想深入一點，也許您可以給我們一些說明，具體是什麼導致了負面體驗，並確認它低於假設的回報，而不是必然的任何損害。

Hi Paul. It's Trevor. Thanks for the question. So just let me start by saying we still like the strategy. It's a good match for our long-term liabilities. And it produces strong returns with low volatility. But it is not going to be immune from the broader economic environment. As you noted, we did see weaker ALDA experience in the quarter, similar to some peers and consistent with slower public markets in Q4 and a little bit of increased economic uncertainty in Q1. Just to note, even in this environment, the portfolio continues to provide positive total returns.

你好，保羅。是特雷弗。謝謝你的提問。首先我要說的是，我們仍然喜歡這個策略。這與我們的長期負債非常吻合。並且它能以較低的波動性產生豐厚的回報。但它也無法免受更廣泛的經濟環境的影響。正如您所說，我們確實看到本季度 ALDA 的體驗較弱，與一些同行類似，並且與第四季度公開市場放緩以及第一季經濟不確定性略有增加的情況一致。值得注意的是，即使在這種環境下，投資組合仍繼續提供正的總回報。

To your question, the main driver of the non-core loss was again real estate. It does continue to improve slowly, while energy outperformed quite substantially. Private equity though, which, given some lumpy gains, had been quite strong in Q3 and Q4 of last year and was a little bit below target in Q1.

對於您的問題，非核心虧損的主要驅動因素再次是房地產。它確實繼續緩慢改善，而能源表現則大幅優於其他產業。不過，私募股權雖然取得了一些不平穩的收益，但在去年第三季和第四季表現相當強勁，而第一季則略低於目標。

And then in terms of the outlook, we do expect to get back to our long-term assumptions. I think given the current uncertainty, the timing is probably a little bit deferred from our prior expectations. And you may see performance from quarter to quarter being a little bit dependent on the broader economic environment. But we do still expect to get back to our long-term assumptions. Thanks for the question.

就前景而言，我們確實希望回到我們的長期假設。我認為，鑑於目前的不確定性，時間可能比我們之前的預期略有延遲。您可能會發現每季的表現有點取決於更廣泛的經濟環境。但我們仍然希望回到我們的長期假設。謝謝你的提問。

Thank you. So maybe just a follow-up question on that. Because it's been, I guess, I don't know if ALDA's negative experience this year, I think, it makes it four years in a row, if I'm not mistaken. I know these questions came up in past calls. But at what point do you kind of need to revise those return assumptions? And what would it take? Is it how many periods in a row it underperforms relative to current assumptions? Is it sort of a change in the base value, like more impairments versus just underperformance? What would it take to change the ALDA return assumption?

謝謝。所以也許這只是一個後續問題。因為，我想，我不知道 ALDA 今年是否有負面經歷，如果我沒記錯的話，我想這已經是連續四年了。我知道這些問題在過去的通話中出現過。但是什麼時候你需要修改這些回報假設呢？這需要什麼呢？相對於當前假設，它連續多少時期表現不佳？這是否是基礎價值的變化，例如更多的損害而不是只是表現不佳？要改變 ALDA 報酬率假設需要什麼？

Hi Paul. Trevor again. Thanks for the follow-up. I think we've said this before, but I guess the first thing I would say, I think we have underperformed our target returns for two years and one quarter. But in any event, these are very long-term assumptions, so they're not set for any specific year. And we do have a structured process to update them. It's not as mechanical, I think, as you sort of described. Our experience over time has actually been similar to our assumptions. But there have been periods of over- and underperformance, as we've seen over the last couple of years.

你好，保羅。又是特雷弗。感謝您的跟進。我想我們之前已經說過這​​個了，但我想我要說的第一件事是，我認為我們在兩年零一個季度內沒有達到目標回報。但無論如何，這些都是非常長期的假設，因此它們不是針對特定年份設定的。我們確實有一個結構化流程來更新它們。我認為它並不像您所描述的那麼機械。我們長期以來的經驗實際上與我們的假設相似。但正如我們在過去幾年所看到的，也存在著表現過度和表現不佳的時期。

In terms of our process, they are reviewed annually by both Steve and my teams. We do look at our own and benchmark experience. We look at market expectations, we also look at current transactions that we're actually underwriting, including transactions where expected yields are actually above our long-term assumptions. So, I think for 2025, we'll obviously pick up the sort of recent weaker experience and we'll also be considering the outlook for potentially slower, longer-term growth. But we do still feel that the assumptions are appropriate. So, while we do recognize the uncertainty that's out there, I do remain confident in the strategy and in achieving our long-term target returns.

就我們的流程而言，史蒂夫和我的團隊每年都會對其進行審查。我們確實會審視自己的經驗並參考其基準經驗。我們關注市場預期，也關注我們實際承保的當前交易，包括預期收益率實際上高於我們長期假設的交易。因此，我認為，到 2025 年，我們顯然會重拾近期較為疲軟的經驗，同時我們也會考慮可能較慢的長期成長前景。但我們仍然認為這些假設是合理的。因此，儘管我們確實認識到存在的不確定性，但我仍然對該策略以及實現我們的長期目標回報充滿信心。

It's Steve. I'll just add that while not giving a specific what would it take to change. If we look back, when we reduced the return assumptions back in 2017, one of the factors that drove that was interest rates had come down significantly. That was impacting cap rates and expectations of future return on our real estate portfolio. So that was one example. Obviously, interest rates are materially higher than at that point.

我是史蒂夫。我只是想補充一點，但沒有給出具體需要做什麼才能改變。如果我們回顧一下，當我們在 2017 年降低迴報假設時，推動這項變化的因素之一是利率大幅下降。這影響了我們的房地產投資組合的資本化率和未來回報預期。這就是一個例子。顯然，利率現在比那時高得多。

Got it. That's helpful. Thank you very much.

知道了。這很有幫助。非常感謝。

Meny Grauman, Scotiabank.

梅尼‧格勞曼，加拿大豐業銀行。

Good morning. Well, first, Roy, I want to join my peers in congratulating you and wishing you the best. And I wanted to ask about -- I wanted a little bit more detail on what drove the ECL line this quarter. Is this specifically economic assumptions or scenarios? I just want to get more detail really in the spirit of trying to understand the evolution of this ECL line as we think about it going forward.

早安.好吧，首先，羅伊，我想和我的同事們一起祝賀你，並祝你一切順利。我想問一下——我想更詳細地了解本季推動 ECL 系列發展的因素。這是具體的經濟假設或情境嗎？我只是想獲得更多細節，以便真正理解這條 ECL 線路的發展，並思考它的未來發展。

Hi Meny. It's Trevor. Thanks for the questions. Yes, in terms of the ECL, as you noted, the ECL charge was larger this quarter than in Q4. But to your point, the underlying investment rate credit experience remained actually quite benign. And so just to remind people, the ECL charge is broadly made up of two components. The first one is the impact of defaults and rating changes, and the second is this modeled impact that reflects changes in the broader economic environment. Our ECL under IFRS 9 is actually similar to the large Canadian banks, and we include both of those components in core earnings.

你好，Meny。是特雷弗。感謝您的提問。是的，就 ECL 而言，正如您所說，本季的 ECL 費用比第四季更高。但正如您所說，基礎投資利率信貸體驗實際上仍然相當溫和。因此，需要提醒大家的是，ECL 費用大致由兩部分組成。第一個是違約和評級變化的影響，第二個是反映更廣泛經濟環境變化的模型影響。我們根據 IFRS 9 制定的預期信用損失實際上與加拿大大型銀行類似，我們將這兩個部分都納入核心收益中。

So, specifically to the Q1 experience, our underlying credit experience from rating changes and defaults was actually neutral, which is a pretty strong result, with the ECL increase that you see largely model-driven due to the volatility in investment markets in Q1. So, it really was basically the broader economic environment, as well as some changes to the scenario weights. We increased the weights of the adverse scenarios within the model.

因此，具體到第一季的經驗，我們從評級變化和違約中獲得的潛在信用經驗實際上是中性的，這是一個相當強勁的結果，而預期信用損失的增加主要是由模型驅動的，這是由於第一季投資市場的波動造成的。因此，這實際上基本上是更廣泛的經濟環境，以及情境權重的一些變化。我們增加了模型中不利情境的權重。

In terms of the outlook, I think Q2 has actually been quite volatile to date. So, it's probably too early to say where it's actually going to end up. But the portfolio, I think, is in pretty good shape. It's 96% investment grade and so we do still feel that the $30 million to $50 million a quarter that we've guided to is an appropriate run rate, I think, for normal conditions.

就前景而言，我認為第二季度迄今為止實際上相當不穩定。因此，現在判斷其最終結果可能還為時過早。但我認為，投資組合的狀況相當不錯。它的投資等級為 96%，因此我們仍然認為，在正常情況下，我們指導的每季 3,000 萬至 5,000 萬美元是合適的運行率。

Got it. And then second question on Asia, I just want to clarify, in terms of your commentary in terms of the impact of tariffs on consumer behavior in the business and wanted to see are you seeing any signs of customer behavior changing or your commentary, if I interpreted it correctly, you won't be surprised if you will see in the future some changes to behaviors. So, I just wanted to check if there's anything now that you can point to where tariffs are actually impacting anything in the business in terms of how consumers are behaving and consumer demand more specifically.

知道了。然後是關於亞洲的第二個問題，我只是想澄清一下，就您關於關稅對企業消費者行為的影響的評論而言，我想看看您是否看到任何客戶行為發生變化的跡象，或者您的評論，如果我的理解正確的話，如果您將來看到一些行為變化，您不會感到驚訝。所以，我只是想檢查一下，現在您是否可以指出關稅實際上對消費者行為和消費者需求等方面的業務產生了什麼影響。

Hey Meny. This is Phil. Thank you for that follow-up question. And you've interpreted my comments right, that we're not seeing anything right now that suggests any notable change in consumer sentiment. And of course, you referenced tariffs. There's no direct impact of tariffs on our business. Our products, to a large extent, are sold within each of our markets. But I think that there is inherently a risk that where there is uncertainty in the macro environment, that could start to impact customer sentiment and cause customers to defer some decisions around, particularly long-term financial product commitments. So, we're not seeing it yet. But it's just on the radar as something that could emerge in the quarters ahead. We'll keep you posted on that.

嘿，Meny。這是菲爾。感謝您的後續提問。您正確地理解了我的評論，我們現在沒有看到任何跡象表明消費者情緒發生顯著變化。當然，您提到了關稅。關稅對我們的業務沒有直接影響。我們的產品在很大程度上在各個市場內銷售。但我認為，如果宏觀環境存在不確定性，那麼本質上就存在風險，這可能會開始影響客戶情緒，並導致客戶推遲一些決定，特別是長期金融產品承諾。所以，我們還沒有看到它。但它只是在未來幾季內可能出現的現象。我們會及時向你通報情況。

And Meny, just to the broader question of impact of tariffs beyond Asia sales, I think what we've said many times in the past is that trade wars aren't going to be good for GDP, inflation, or unemployment. And as Phil said, we haven't seen it yet impact sentiment, though it could, and I think that that's largely a function of the fact that our products are typically needs, not wants. And I think that's true for not just us, but the entire industry, which has so far meant that we've been somewhat more immune to the impact of the uncertainty. However, who knows how that transpires over the course of the coming quarters. So, I think it's important to be cautious there.

梅尼，對於關稅對亞洲銷售以外的影響這一更廣泛的問題，我認為我們過去多次說過，貿易戰不會對 GDP、通貨膨脹或失業產生好處。正如菲爾所說，我們還沒有看到它對情緒產生影響，儘管它可能會產生影響，我認為這主要是因為我們的產品通常是需要的，而不是想要的。我認為這不僅適用於我們，也適用於整個產業，這意味著到目前為止，我們對不確定性的影響具有更強的免疫力。然而，誰知道未來幾季情況會如何發展呢？所以，我認為謹慎行事很重要。

I think the biggest impact as it relates to the uncertainty related to the trade war situation is that it will impact markets. And we saw that obviously in Q1 and to some extent, earlier in the period. And we highlighted earlier that we've reduced our sensitivity to market movements quite significantly over the last decade. Our interest and equity market sensitivity is a fraction of what it used to be. And under IFRS 17, the amortization of our earnings is really a function of our back book. So again, I don't want to paint too rosy a picture, but there is certainly a lot of resilience in our business that will put us in good stead.

我認為，與貿易戰局勢相關的不確定性最大的影響是它將影響市場。我們在第一季甚至更早的時期就明顯看到了這一點。我們之前強調過，過去十年來，我們對市場走勢的敏感度已經大幅降低。我們的興趣和股票市場敏感度已遠不及從前。根據 IFRS 17，我們的收益攤銷實際上是我們帳簿的功能。所以，我再次重申，我不想描繪過於樂觀的前景，但我們的業務確實具有很大的韌性，這將使我們處於有利地位。

Got it. Thank you so much.

知道了。太感謝了。

Mario Mendonca, TD Securities.

馬裡奧門東卡，道明證券。

Good morning. There've been a lot of good questions on Asia insurance sales and momentum. What I want to get to is more like a very practical question. The obvious impact is that it slows down the additions to CSM and then if it were to persist for a very long time, eventually it would slow down the amortization of that CSM into earnings. That's the obvious bit. The part that I'm not clear on is if there's anything I'm not thinking about, is there any other impact on the Asia drivers of earnings like expense loads, reserve adjustments, if sales were to decline and stay low for an extended period of time?

早安.關於亞洲保險銷售和發展勢頭，已經有很多好問題。我想要問的更像是一個非常實際的問題。明顯的影響是，它減緩了 CSM 的增加，如果這種情況持續很長時間，最終它會減緩 CSM 攤銷到收益中的速度。這是顯而易見的一點。我不清楚的是，如果有什麼我沒有考慮到的，如果銷售額下降並在較長時間內保持低位，是否會對亞洲盈利驅動因素（如費用負擔、儲備調整）產生其他影響？

Hey Mario. This is Phil. Thanks for the question. I'm happy to make a start and then Steve Finch can supplement from a technical perspective. So, if we were to see a sustained decline in sales over a long period of time, naturally what would happen is you'd see that flow through to the CSM. The CSM would remain stable and then start to decline. However, that would require quite a significant decline in sales and for it to be sustained.

嘿，馬裡奧。這是菲爾。謝謝你的提問。我很高興能開始，然後史蒂夫芬奇可以從技術角度補充。因此，如果我們看到銷售額長期持續下降，自然就會看到銷售額流向 CSM。CSM 將保持穩定，然後開始下降。然而，這需要銷售額大幅下降，而這種下降趨勢才能持續下去。

Everything that I've seen to date doesn't suggest that that's on the horizon. And when I look at the longer-term drivers of demand across Asia, they remain very strong. And it's partly the demographic mega-trends, but also the growing relevance of some of the key markets in Asia from a global perspective -- Hong Kong and Singapore as emerging international wealth centers, and the increased interest in generational wealth transfer given the wealth that's been generated in the region over the course of the past three to four decades. Steve, do you have any comments from a technical perspective?

到目前為止我所看到的一切並沒有表明這一天即將到來。當我觀察亞洲長期需求驅動因素時，我發現它們依然非常強大。這部分是由於人口大趨勢，但也是由於從全球角度來看亞洲一些主要市場的重要性日益增加——香港和新加坡作為新興的國際財富中心，以及鑑於過去三十十年來該地區創造的財富，人們對代際財富轉移的興趣日益濃厚。史蒂夫，從技術角度來說你有什麼評論嗎？

Yeah. I'd just add, Mario, you asked about sort of how does it impact the view on assumptions or expense assumptions in particular. And that tends to play out over a long period of time, and we actually saw some of that during COVID when sales across the industry were impacted in different markets at different times. And we looked at that through the expense studies. But certainly, the business takes actions if there's a very prolonged period of contraction, which we're not expecting here. But that would play out over a long period of time. We'd reflect expense actions and future outlook. So, I don't think you're missing anything from that perspective.

是的。我只想補充一點，馬裡奧，你問的是它對假設或費用假設的看法有何影響。這種現象往往會持續很長一段時間，我們實際上在 COVID 期間看到了一些這樣的情況，整個行業的銷售在不同時間在不同市場受到影響。我們透過費用研究來調查這個問題。但毫無疑問，如果出現一段很長的收縮期，企業就會採取行動，而這是我們所沒有預料到的。但這過程需要很長一段時間。我們會反映支出行動和未來前景。所以，從這個角度來看，我認為你沒有遺漏任何東西。

Mario, the only other thing I'd just chime in and add to that is that as we've thought about trade wars and the tariff situation and how it could unfold, from a risk management perspective, what we think as a source of strength for our franchise is that we've got a very diverse business. And where this trade war may create more pain is specifically one or two countries who are maybe more impacted, and the fact that we have such a diverse business globally, we think it's a source of strength. Again, we don't want to paint too rosy a picture, but that is something just to keep in the back of the mind as well.

馬裡奧，我唯一想補充的是，當我們考慮貿易戰和關稅情況及其將如何發展時，從風險管理的角度來看，我們認為我們特許經營的優勢源泉是我們擁有非常多元化的業務。這場貿易戰可能會給一兩個國家帶來更大的痛苦，這些國家可能會受到更大的影響，而我們在全球擁有如此多元化的業務，我們認為這是一個力量的來源。再說一次，我們不想描繪太過美好的前景，但這也是需要記住的事情。

Okay. Maybe for Phil as the incoming CEO. I'm interested in your philosophical view on share buybacks in a period of stress. Where I'm getting at this is the banks, you can see a change in their share buyback activity pretty abruptly when things turn sour. There were several that were very active in the first few months of their Q2 and then shut it down in April pretty hard, when Liberation Day came and passed. For you and for Manulife, is there a similar philosophy around buybacks that despite having plenty of excess capital, you shut it down in periods of extreme volatility? And perhaps it's a little unfair because you haven't really sat on the seat yet, but how do you look at that?

好的。也許對於即將上任的執行長菲爾來說。我對您對壓力時期股票回購的哲學觀點很感興趣。我的意思是，當銀行的情況變得更糟時，你可以看到他們的股票回購活動發生了相當突然的變化。有幾家公司在第二季的頭幾個月非常活躍，然後在四月份解放日到來並過去後，業務就大幅關閉了。對於您和宏利金融來說，在回購方面是否有類似的理念，即儘管擁有大量過剩資本，但在極端波動時期仍會停止回購？或許這有點不公平，因為你還沒有真正坐上這個位置，但你怎麼看待這件事？

Mario, thank you for the question, and it's a very fair question. Firstly, I'd just like to say how excited I am to be taking on the role. It's an incredible privilege that I take very seriously. But with specific reference to your buyback question, I do note that we're in a very strong capital position. Colin referenced that earlier. And it's not just that we're in a strong capital position now. The capital generation from our businesses, and that translating to remittance flows, is also very strong and that continues to be the case.

馬裡奧，謝謝你的提問，這是一個非常公平的問題。首先，我想說我對擔任這個角色感到非常興奮。這是一份令人難以置信的榮幸，我對此非常重視。但具體到您的回購問題，我確實注意到我們的資本狀況非常強勁。科林之前提到過這一點。我們現在不僅僅擁有雄厚的資本實力。我們業務產生的資本以及轉換為匯款流量的資本也非常​​強勁，而且這種情況將持續下去。

We also have a track record of delivering on share buyback programs when we've announced them. And so, Colin referenced the 2025 program that we announced in February. As I transition with Roy, there is absolutely no change to our intent with respect to that program. And of course, as is always the case with share buybacks, we will be responsible, we'll keep an eye on what's happening in the external environment. But the strength of our capital position provides us to be resilient. And actually sort of dollar cost average, if you like, consistency over time will serve us well with the share buyback.

我們還擁有在宣布股票回購計劃時順利完成的良好記錄。因此，科林提到了我們在二月宣布的 2025 計劃。當我和羅伊一起過渡時，我們對該計劃的意圖絕對不會改變。當然，就像股票回購一樣，我們會負責任，我們會密切關注外部環境的動態。但我們雄厚的資本實力使我們具有韌性。實際上，如果你願意的話，美元成本平均值隨著時間的推移保持一致將有利於我們的股票回購。

With respect to decisions on future share buyback programs, those decisions will be made at the appropriate time, taking into account the facts and circumstances internally, externally, including alternative opportunities to deploy capital. And as Colin said, our number one capital deployment preference is investing in our business and it's really the excess capital deployment that then gets given back to shareholders by way of buybacks.

關於未來股票回購計畫的決定，我們將在適當的時候做出，同時考慮內部和外部的事實和情況，包括部署資本的其他機會。正如柯林所說，我們的首要資本配置偏好是投資於我們的業務，而多餘的資本配置則透過回購的方式回饋給股東。

Okay. And Roy, as the outgoing CEO, I have no questions for you. Just my best wishes to you in retirement.

好的。羅伊，作為即將離任的首席執行官，我沒有什麼問題要問您。我謹向您致以最良好的祝愿，祝您退休後一切順利。

Appreciate that, Mario. Thank you.

非常感謝，馬裡奧。謝謝。

Lemar Persaud, Cormark.

Lemar Persaud，Cormark。

Thanks for squeezing me in here. And I'll start off by saying Roy, congratulations on your retirement. And then, maybe I'm reading too much into it here and there's been a lot of discussion about the outlook for Asia. But on your comments to remind us about the contributions of Canada and U.S. to earnings, it sounds like you're setting us up for a potential weakness in Asia. Obviously, that's not the way this conference call has gone, but tell me why I'm perhaps reading too much into it. But maybe there is something there, like maybe the singling out of tariffs on China and the impacts that could have on the broader Asia businesses, why you're reminding us about the contributions of Canada and the U.S. You’re not seeing it now, clearly, based on the answers on this call, but perhaps preparing us that there could be something in the coming quarters because of the interconnectedness and importance of China to these other Asian geographies. Hopefully that makes sense.

謝謝你把我擠到這裡。首先我要對羅伊說一聲祝賀，恭喜你退休。然後，也許我在這裡過度解讀了，關於亞洲前景已經有很多討論。但是，您提醒我們加拿大和美國對盈利的貢獻，這聽起來像是在為我們在亞洲的潛在弱點做準備。顯然，這次電話會議的進展並非如此，但請告訴我為什麼我可能過度解讀了。但也許其中有些東西，例如也許單獨針對中國徵收關稅以及這可能對更廣泛的亞洲企業產生的影響，為什麼你要提醒我們加拿大和美國的貢獻。根據這次電話會議的回答，你現在顯然沒有看到這一點，但也許讓我們做好準備，因為中國與其他亞洲地區的相互聯繫和重要性，未來幾季可能會發生一些事情。希望這是有意義的。

Thanks, Lemar. And firstly, thank you for your best wishes. I appreciate that and I appreciated engaging with you and your fellow analysts and obviously, the shareholders as well over the last 10 years. It's been an absolute pleasure.

謝謝，勒馬爾。首先，感謝您的美好祝福。我對此表示感謝，並且很高興在過去的 10 年裡與您和您的分析師同事以及股東們進行了交流。這真是一件令人高興的事。

I would say, you've misread maybe my comments, if you've interpreted us signaling for maybe weakness in Asia. The thing that I really want to emphasize is that one of the greatest strengths of our franchise is that we have a very diverse business. And I think that makes us more resilient. To be perfectly honest, if you think about the last decade, we've seen all boats rising and the value of a diversified business was actually much less. But as we look at the next chapter, with uncertainty both macroeconomically and geopolitically, having a diverse business that's not reliant on any one particular market, I think is a massive source of strength. That's true for our insurance business. But it's equally true for our Global WAM business, which again has demonstrated phenomenal resilience. And we've talked about the fact that we've had 14 years of positive net flows where again others have seen massive outflows.

我想說，如果您將我們發出的亞洲經濟疲軟的信號解讀為您可能誤解了我的評論。我真正想強調的是，我們特許經營的最大優勢之一是我們的業務非常多元化。我認為這讓我們更加堅韌。坦白說，如果你回顧過去十年，我們會發現所有企業都在蓬勃發展，而多元化企業的價值實際上卻低得多。但當我們展望下一章時，考慮到宏觀經濟和地緣政治的不確定性，我認為擁有不依賴任何特定市場的多元化業務是巨大的力量來源。對於我們的保險業務來說，情況確實如此。但這對我們的全球 WAM 業務來說也是如此，它再次展現了驚人的韌性。我們已經談到這樣一個事實：我們已經有 14 年的正淨流入，而其他國家卻再次出現了大規模的流出。

So, the message that I was certainly trying to deliver is that we will see challenges from time to time in one market or another, it could relate to trade and tariffs, quite frankly, it could relate to other factors. And having a business that is as diverse as ours, I think really puts us in a position of strength and resilience that will allow us to navigate the challenges. We saw that in '24. We had, as we've described, the banner year in '24. And that was again a year where there was lots of uncertainty and volatility. But I think we demonstrated the resilience of our franchise. But Phil, you should probably comment a little bit more specifically as it relates to the outlook for Asia.

所以，我想要傳達的訊息是，我們會不時在某個市場看到挑戰，這可能與貿易和關稅有關，坦白說，也可能與其他因素有關。我認為，擁有像我們這樣多元化的業務確實使我們處於實力和韌性的地位，使我們能夠應對挑戰。我們在 24 年就看到了這一點。正如我們所描述的，1924 年是我們輝煌的一年。那一年又充滿許多不確定性和波動性。但我認為我們展示了我們球隊的韌性。但是菲爾，你可能應該更具體地評論一下與亞洲前景相關的內容。

Yeah. Thanks, Roy. I agree with everything you've said, and when I look at the first quarter earnings, run rate for Asia, I think it's a good indication of what to expect in coming quarters, of course, plus or minus the impacts of ECL and routine policyholder experience variations from quarter to quarter. And that stability in earnings is one of the advantages of IFRS 17. So, I'm not too worried about the impact of short-term variations in sales volumes on earnings outcomes. And I think we had touched on that before.

是的。謝謝，羅伊。我同意您所說的一切，當我查看亞洲第一季的盈利和運行率時，我認為這很好地預示了未來幾個季度的預期，當然，加上或減去預期信用損失和常規保單持有人體驗每個季度的變化的影響。獲利穩定性是 IFRS 17 的優勢之一。因此，我並不太擔心短期銷售量變動對獲利結果的影響。我想我們之前已經討論過這個問題。

Lemar, you did reference mainland China in your comments a few moments ago and I will highlight that we've operated in the market for 125 years. It's over that time we've seen an awful lot happen, including in recent memory as well, introduction of tariffs, increases in tariffs, changes in tariffs. And what we've seen in that environment is continued sustained demand reflecting the sort of demographic drivers that we've talked about on so many occasions. So, I continue to remain optimistic about our opportunities in Asia. And if there are variations over the short term in sales volumes, earnings will be stable.

萊馬爾，您剛才的評論中確實提到了中國大陸，我要強調的是，我們已經在這個市場上經營了 125 年。在此期間，我們看到發生了很多事情，包括最近的關稅徵收、關稅上調、關稅調整。在這種環境下，我們看到持續的需求，反映了我們多次談到的人口驅動因素。因此，我對我們在亞洲的機會仍然保持樂觀。若短期內銷售量有所變化，收益將會維持穩定。

Appreciate it. Thank you.

非常感謝。謝謝。

Thank you. We have no further questions registered at this time. I would now like to turn the meeting back over to Mr. Ko.

謝謝。目前我們沒有其他問題。現在我想將會議交還給 Ko 先生。

Thank you, operator. We'll be available after the call if there are any follow-up questions. Have a good day everyone.

謝謝您，接線生。如果有任何後續問題，我們將在通話結束後為您解答。祝大家有個愉快的一天。

Thank you. The conference has now ended. Please disconnect your lines at this time, and we thank you for your participation.

謝謝。會議現已結束。此時請斷開您的線路，感謝您的參與。