美國信安金融集團 (PFG) 2024 Q4 法說會逐字稿

Good morning, and welcome to the Principal Financial Group Fourth Quarter 2024 Financial Results and 2025 Outlook Conference Call. (Operator Instructions)

早安，歡迎參加 Principal Financial Group 2024 年第四季財務業績和 2025 年展望電話會議。（操作員指令）

I would now like to turn the conference call over to Humphrey Lee, Vice President of Investor Relations.

現在，我想將電話會議轉給投資人關係副總裁 Humphrey Lee。

Thank you, and good morning. Welcome to Principal Financial Group's Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2024 Earnings and 2024 (sic - 2025) Outlook Conference Call. As always, materials related to today's call are available on our website at investors.principal.com.

謝謝，早安。歡迎參加 Principal Financial Group 2024 年第四季和全年收益及 2024 年（原文如此 - 2025 年）展望電話會議。與往常一樣，今天電話會議的相關資料可在我們的網站 investor.principal.com 上找到。

Following a reading of the safe harbor provision, CEO Deanna Strable and Interim CFO, Joel Pitz, will deliver some prepared remarks. We will then open the call for questions. Members of senior management are also available for Q&A.

宣讀安全港條款後，執行長 Deanna Strable 和臨時財務長 Joel Pitz 將發表一些準備好的演講。然後我們將開始提問。高階管理人員也可以回答問題。

Some of the comments made during this conference call may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act. The company does not revise or update them to reflect new information, subsequent events or changes in strategy. Risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied are discussed in the company's most recent annual report on Form 10-K filed by the company with the US Securities and Exchange Commission.

本次電話會議中的一些評論可能包含《私人證券訴訟改革法案》所定義的前瞻性陳述。公司不會修改或更新它們以反映新資訊、後續事件或策略變化。本公司向美國證券交易委員會提交的最新 10-K 表年度報告中討論了可能導致實際結果與明示或暗示的結果存在重大差異的風險和不確定因素。

Additionally, some of the comments made during this conference call may refer to non-GAAP financial measures. Reconciliations of the non-GAAP financial measures to the most directly comparable US GAAP financial measures may be found in our earnings release, financial supplement and slide presentation.

此外，本次電話會議中的一些評論可能涉及非公認會計準則財務指標。非公認會計準則財務指標與最直接可比較的美國公認會計準則財務指標的對帳表可在我們的收益報告、財務補充和幻燈片簡報中找到。

Deanna?

迪安娜？

Thanks, Humphrey, and welcome to everyone on the call. Before I begin this morning, I'd like to recognize Dan Houston for his leadership as our CEO over the last 10 years. He has been instrumental in setting our growth agenda and has led us through significant transformation. Principal is in a position of strength today and is well positioned for continued growth, thanks to his tireless leadership. It has been an honor to work alongside Dan over the last seven years as his CFO. I look forward to building upon the strong foundation we've established under Dan's leadership. I am extremely grateful to continue to have him serve as the Executive Chair of our Board.

謝謝，漢弗萊，歡迎大家參加電話會議。今天上午開始之前，我想先對 Dan Houston 在過去 10 年擔任我們執行長期間所發揮的領導作用表示感謝。他在製定我們的成長議程方面發揮了重要作用，並帶領我們經歷了重大轉型。如今，由於他的不懈領導，Principal 實力雄厚，並且有望繼續增長。過去七年來，我很榮幸能作為財務長與丹共事。我期待在丹的領導下進一步鞏固我們已建立的堅實基礎。我非常感激他能繼續擔任我們董事會的執行主席。

This morning, I will discuss key milestones and highlights from the fourth quarter and full year 2024. Joel will follow with additional details.

今天上午，我將討論 2024 年第四季和全年的重要里程碑和亮點。喬爾將會後續提供更多詳細資訊。

Principal delivered a strong 2024. We began the year with an ambitious outlook. We committed to growing earnings per share in the 9% to 12% range, targeting a 75% to 85% free capital flow conversion and expanding our ROE towards our targeted range of 14% to 16%. I'm extremely pleased that we've delivered on this guidance. Our adjusted non-GAAP earnings per share growth in 2024 was 11%, with a strong 16% increase in the fourth quarter. This was driven by strong top line growth across the enterprise, as well as the benefits from equity market tailwinds, which more than offset impacts from foreign currency.

校長在 2024 年取得了豐碩的成果。我們以雄心勃勃的願景開啟新的一年。我們致力於將每股盈餘提高 9% 至 12% 左右，將自由資本流轉換率設定為 75% 至 85%，並將 ROE 擴大至 14% 至 16% 的目標範圍。我非常高興我們實現了這項指導。我們 2024 年調整後非 GAAP 每股盈餘成長 11%，其中第四季強勁成長 16%。這是由整個企業強勁的營收成長以及股票市場順風帶來的好處所推動的，這些好處遠遠抵消了外匯帶來的影響。

Our free capital flow conversion ratio ended the year at the midpoint of our 75% to 85% target, and we improved our ROE by 90 basis points year-over-year and are on track to achieve our 14% to 16% target in 2025. Our strong capital position and free capital flow enabled us to deliver on our capital deployment guidance. We returned $1.7 billion of capital to shareholders in 2024. Our total capital return to shareholders included share buybacks which were above the midpoint of our targeted range and a 10% increase in our annual common stock dividend. Our Board of Directors just approved a new share repurchase authorization for $1.5 billion. This is in addition to the nearly $800 million remaining under the prior authorization at the end of the year.

我們的自由資本流轉換率在年底達到了 75% 至 85% 目標的中間值，我們的 ROE 同比提高了 90 個基點，並有望在 2025 年實現 14% 至 16% 的目標。我們強大的資本狀況和自由的資本流動使我們能夠實現資本配置指導。2024年，我們向股東返還了17億美元的資本。我們向股東提供的總資本回報包括高於我們目標範圍中點的股票回購和年度普通股股息 10% 的成長。我們的董事會剛剛批准了價值 15 億美元的新股票回購授權。這是截至年底前授權剩餘的近 8 億美元的額外金額。

At our recent Investor Day, we laid out our strategic areas of focus for sustained growth, the broad retirement ecosystem, small and midsized businesses and global asset management. I'm happy to highlight some of our achievements related to these. As part of our retirement ecosystem strategy, we recently expanded our suite of target date offerings to now include both personalized and passive options, addressing the evolving needs of plan sponsors and participants. Our differentiated capabilities across retirement and asset management also led to an off-platform retirement investment mandate win of nearly $1 billion into our hybrid target date in the fourth quarter. This highlights our opportunity to unlock incremental value at the intersection of our businesses.

在我們最近的投資者日上，我們列出了我們的策略重點領域，即持續成長、廣泛的退休生態系統、中小型企業和全球資產管理。我很高興強調我們與此相關的一些成就。作為我們退休生態系統策略的一部分，我們最近擴展了目標日期產品套件，現在包括個人化和被動選項，以滿足計劃發起人和參與者不斷變化的需求。我們在退休和資產管理方面的差異化能力也使我們在第四季度的混合目標日期獲得了近 10 億美元的平台外退休投資授權。這凸顯了我們在業務交叉點釋放增量價值的機會。

Over decades, we have built a resilient and valuable SMB customer base. This segment is large, with significant opportunities for growth. We remain uniquely positioned to serve this market and look to expand on our leadership position in a disciplined way.

幾十年來，我們已經建立了一個有彈性且有價值的中小企業客戶群。這個領域規模龐大，具有巨大的成長機會。我們仍以獨特的優勢服務於這個市場，並期待以嚴謹的方式擴大我們的領導地位。

In RIS, we continue to experience strong growth in this segment, with 8% recurring deposit growth in 2024 outpacing the large case segment. In Specialty Benefits, our customers, on average, have more than three products with us, up 4% compared to 2023. We have deep customer relationships, a strong leadership position and a long track record of above-market growth in the attractive SMB segment.

在 RIS 中，我們繼續經歷該領域的強勁成長，2024 年 8% 的經常性存款成長率超過了大額存款領域。在特殊福利方面，我們的客戶平均擁有我們三種以上的產品，與 2023 年相比成長了 4%。我們與客戶建立了深厚的關係，擁有強大的領導地位，並且在頗具吸引力的中小企業領域擁有長期高於市場的成長記錄。

In Asset Management, we continue to expand our private and multi-asset solutions, gaining traction in next-generation real estate and credit strategies with clients globally. Our largest real estate fund data center growth and income fund has currently raised over $3.6 billion across 11 countries in 18 months. This will materialize through net cash flow over time. Notably, new institutional clients represent 36% of the fund's total commitments.

在資產管理方面，我們繼續擴展我們的私人和多元資產解決方案，在全球客戶中贏得下一代房地產和信貸策略的青睞。我們最大的房地產基金資料中心成長和收入基金目前已在 18 個月內在 11 個國家籌集了超過 36 億美元。這將隨著時間的推移透過淨現金流實現。值得注意的是，新機構客戶佔該基金總承諾金額的 36%。

Beyond real estate, we are advancing our private and multi-asset capabilities, including the launch of a private credit REIT fund and the build-out of a private infrastructure debt team. Our clear strategy and strong execution across these three distinct growth platforms delivered strong results in 2024 and will continue going forward.

除了房地產之外，我們還在提升我們的私人和多元資產能力，包括推出私人信貸房地產投資信託基金和建立私人基礎設施債務團隊。我們在三個不同成長平台上的明確策略和強大執行力在 2024 年取得了強勁業績，並將繼續保持這種勢頭。

We ended 2024 with $712 billion of total company-managed AUM, down 4% sequentially but up 3% from 2023. Strong market performance despite market volatility in the final weeks of the year more than offset the impacts from FX and net cash flow. Total company net cash flow improved for both the fourth quarter and full year 2024 compared to the year ago period. Specifically, positive institutional and retail flows in the quarter helped to partially offset what is typically our weakest quarter due to seasonality in US retirement sales and lapse activity.

截至 2024 年，我們的公司管理的資產管理規模總額為 7,120 億美元，較上季下降 4%，但較 2023 年成長 3%。儘管今年最後幾週市場波動較大，但市場表現強勁，抵消了外匯和淨現金流的影響。與去年同期相比，第四季和 2024 年全年公司總淨現金流均有所改善。具體而言，本季積極的機構和零售流量幫助部分抵消了由於美國退休銷售和失效活動的季節性而導致的通常最疲軟的季度。

Now turning to our business segments. In Retirement, we generated strong revenue and earnings growth in 2024. This was driven by favorable market conditions and continued growth in our business due to the breadth and depth of our integrated suite of retirement solutions spanning recordkeeping, asset management and retirement income. The underlying fundamentals across retirement remain healthy. Recurring deposits for our total block in 2024 increased 7% over 2023, driven by the strength in the SMB segment. The number of individuals deferring and receiving employer matches are up 3% compared to fourth quarter of 2023. In addition, the dollar amount of these deferrals and matches increased by over 7% during the same period.

現在轉向我們的業務部門。在退休方面，我們在 2024 年實現了強勁的收入和獲利成長。這是由有利的市場條件和我們業務的持續成長所推動的，這得益於我們涵蓋記錄保存、資產管理和退休收入的綜合退休解決方案套件的廣度和深度。退休生活的基本面依然健康。受中小企業部門強勁推動，我們 2024 年總區塊的定期存款較 2023 年成長了 7%。與 2023 年第四季相比，推遲並獲得雇主匹配的人數增加了 3%。此外，這些延期和匹配的金額在同一時期增加了7%以上。

There is growing interest and participation in employer-sponsored retirement plans. Employers and plan sponsors are choosing to partner with us because of our full suite of solutions we offer and how we serve advisers, plan sponsors and participants. And while higher account values driven by strong equity markets over the last couple of years has led to an increase in withdrawal amounts, we are encouraged that the rate of participant withdrawals stabilized in the quarter.

人們對雇主贊助的退休計畫的興趣和參與度日益增長。雇主和計劃發起人選擇與我們合作，因為我們提供全套解決方案以及我們為顧問、計劃發起人和參與者提供的服務。儘管過去幾年強勁的股票市場推動帳戶價值上漲，導致提款金額增加，但我們很高興看到本季參與者的提款率趨於穩定。

Contact retention rates also improved substantially in 2024 compared to the previous two years. Better retention and an improved sales pipeline are generating strong momentum in our business. Pension risk transfer sales were nearly $900 million in the fourth quarter, bringing our full year sales to over $3 billion at attractive returns. The PRT market remains robust, and we are positioned to take advantage of it.

與前兩年相比，2024 年的聯絡人保留率也大幅提高。更好的保留和改進的銷售管道為我們的業務帶來了強勁的發展勢頭。第四季退休金風險轉移銷售額接近 9 億美元，使我們的全年銷售額超過 30 億美元，回報率相當可觀。PRT 市場依然強勁，我們已準備好利用這一優勢。

Our defined benefits business continues to be a valuable source for PRT new business, with nearly 40% of our 2024 new contracts coming from existing defined benefit customer relationships. In Asset Management, we realigned our businesses into investment management and international pension in the fourth quarter. Asset Management ended the year with $683 billion of AUM. Strong market performance in 2024 was partially offset by nearly $28 billion of FX impacts. Net flows for the year improved compared to 2023 in investment management as nonaffiliated flows benefited from improvement across all channels.

我們的固定福利業務繼續成為 PRT 新業務的寶貴來源，我們 2024 份新合約中近 40% 來自現有的固定福利客戶關係。在資產管理方面，我們在第四季度將業務調整為投資管理和國際退休金。截至年底，資產管理規模達 6,830 億美元。2024 年強勁的市場表現被近 280 億美元的外匯影響部分抵銷。由於非關聯流量受益於所有管道的改善，今年投資管理的淨流量與 2023 年相比有所改善。

We continue to evolve our global asset management business, positioning against new opportunities for growth and even stronger client outcomes. Our strategic focus remains on attractive businesses that leverage our competitive differentiators and leadership positions. As evidence of this evolution, we recently took several actions to streamline our business portfolio within asset management. Most impactful is Hong Kong, where a changing regulatory environment necessitates us evolving our presence in the market, focusing on our core expertise of retirement asset management while pursuing a new partnership with an industry leader in pension services.

我們將繼續發展我們的全球資產管理業務，尋找新的成長機會並為客戶提供更出色的成果。我們的策略重點仍然是那些能夠發揮我們的競爭優勢和領導地位的有吸引力的業務。作為這種轉變的證據，我們最近採取了多項措施來簡化資產管理中的業務組合。影響最大的是香港，不斷變化的監管環境迫使我們不斷拓展市場影響力，專注於退休資產管理的核心專業知識，同時與退休金服務業的領導者建立新的合作關係。

Our transaction with Bank Consortium Trust, or BCT, when approved, will transition our MPF schemes to BCT and expand our role as an investment manager with assets from the combined pension schemes. The financial impact has been factored into our outlook.

我們與銀團信託（BCT）的交易一旦獲得批准，將把我們的 MPF 計劃過渡到 BCT，並擴大我們作為綜合退休金計劃資產投資經理的角色。財務影響已被考慮在我們的展望中。

Turning to benefits and protection, we continue to generate above-market growth of 7% in Specialty Benefits in 2024. This reflects net new business growth while maintaining pricing discipline. In life, our focus on the business owner is resonating as our business market premium and fees grew over 16% in 2024.

談到福利和保障，我們在 2024 年的特殊福利領域將繼續實現高於市場的 7% 的成長。這反映了在保持定價紀律的同時淨新業務的成長。在生活中，我們對企業主的關注得到了共鳴，因為我們的商業市場保費和費用在 2024 年增長了 16% 以上。

As I look at the opportunities in front of us, I am confident in our ability to drive value through deeper market penetration in SMB, expanding our offering within the retirement ecosystem and sharpening our focus in global asset management. Before turning it over to Joel, I'd like to highlight two important recognitions we received recently. Principal was named one of America's Most Just Companies by Just Capital, ranking number 11 on the 2025 Just 100 list. This recognition reflects our leadership in the industry and our commitment to serving our employees, customers, communities and shareholders.

當我看到擺在我們面前的機會時，我相信我們有能力透過更深入地滲透中小企業市場、擴大我們在退休生態系統中的服務範圍以及加強我們在全球資產管理方面的重點來創造價值。在將麥克風交給喬爾之前，我想強調我們最近收到的兩個重要認可。Principal 被 Just Capital 評為美國最公正公司之一，在 2025 年 Just 100 榜單中排名第 11 位。這項認可反映了我們在業界的領導地位以及我們為員工、客戶、社區和股東服務的承諾。

Additionally, for the 13th consecutive year, Principal Asset Management was named a Best Place to Work in Money Management by Pensions and Investments, earning this recognition every year since the inception of the award. Recognitions like this reinforce our culture and core values, help us attract and retain top talent and allow us to stand out in the competitive marketplace.

此外，自成立該獎項以來，信安資產管理公司每年均獲此殊榮，並連續 13 年被《退休金與投資》雜誌評為「最佳資金管理工作場所」。這樣的認可強化了我們的文化和核心價值觀，幫助我們吸引和留住頂尖人才，並使我們在競爭激烈的市場中脫穎而出。

We closed 2024 with momentum across our diverse portfolio of businesses. Our success is a testament to the focus and hard work of our 20,000 global employees. Their ongoing commitment to excellence and to our customers enabled us to seize opportunities and has set the stage for future growth.

我們在 2024 年結束時，業務多元化，發展勢頭強勁。我們的成功證明了我們全球 20,000 名員工的專注和辛勤工作。他們對卓越品質和客戶的持續承諾使我們抓住了機會並為未來的發展奠定了基礎。

Joel?

喬爾？

Thanks, Deanna. Good morning to everyone on the call. I'll walk through our financial performance for the fourth quarter and full year, provide updates on our investment portfolio and capital position and share details of our outlook for 2025.

謝謝，迪安娜。通話中的各位早安。我將介紹我們第四季度和全年的財務業績，提供我們的投資組合和資本狀況的最新信息，並分享我們對 2025 年的展望的細節。

As shown on slides 3 and 4, excluding significant variances, full year non-GAAP operating earnings were $1.8 billion or $7.65 per diluted share. This represents an 11% increase in EPS over 2023, comfortably within our 9% to 12% EPS guidance. Results for the quarter were equally strong, with non-GAAP operating earnings excluding significant variances of $485 million or $2.10 per diluted share, a 16% increase over the year ago quarter. You can find the significant variance items on slide 17 through 19.

如投影片 3 和 4 所示，排除重大差異，全年非 GAAP 營業利潤為 18 億美元，即每股攤薄收益 7.65 美元。這意味著每股盈餘將比 2023 年增加 11%，完全符合我們 9% 至 12% 的每股盈餘預期。本季業績同樣強勁，非 GAAP 營業利潤（不包括重大差異）為 4.85 億美元或每股攤薄收益 2.10 美元，較去年同期成長 16%。您可以在投影片 17 至 19 上找到顯著差異的項目。

Full year reported net income excluding exited business was $1.5 billion, with modest credit losses and drift, both slightly better than our expectations at the beginning of the year. Non-GAAP operating ROE for 2024 excluding our actuarial assumption review was 13.7%, an improvement of 90 basis points compared to the year ago period. We remain on track to deliver our 14% to 16% targeted ROE by 2025.

全年報告的淨收入（不包括退出業務）為 15 億美元，信貸損失和漂移適度，均略好於我們年初的預期。不包括我們的精算假設審查在內的 2024 年非 GAAP 營業 ROE 為 13.7%，比去年同期提高了 90 個基點。我們仍有望在 2025 年前實現 14% 至 16% 的目標 ROE。

2024 equity markets created favorable tailwinds with strong total returns across major indices. The S&P 500 gained 25% for the year, with more modest growth in small cap, mid-cap, real estate and international equities. Our diversified equity asset mix, along with our allocation to fixed income asset classes, results in market performance that varies from the S&P 500. This underscores the importance of recognizing the asset mix within our AUM, which can be found in the Appendix on slide 16.

2024 年股票市場創造了有利的順風，主要指數的總回報率強勁。標準普爾 500 指數今年上漲了 25%，其中小型股、中型股、房地產和國際股票的漲幅較為溫和。我們多元化的股票資產組合，加上我們對固定收益資產類別的配置，導致市場表現與標準普爾 500 指數不同。這強調了認識我們 AUM 內的資產組合的重要性，可以在附錄第 16 頁找到。

Foreign exchange rates negatively impacted AUM by $28 billion for the full year and $17 billion for the quarter. Despite this impact, equity market performance more than offset the FX impacts for the full year. The following commentary excludes significant variances.

外匯匯率對 AUM 產生了負面影響，全年影響為 280 億美元，本季影響為 170 億美元。儘管受到這種影響，但全年股票市場的表現仍足以抵消外匯影響。以下評論排除了重大差異。

Our full year results demonstrate the strength of our integrated businesses, which enabled us to deliver on our 2024 enterprise guidance of 9% to 12% EPS growth. We delivered top line growth of 5% across the company in 2024. This, coupled with expense discipline while investing in our business, resulted in non-GAAP margin expansion of 60 basis points during the year. Starting with RIS, full year pretax operating earnings increased 9% over 2023, driven by strong business growth, favorable market conditions and higher net investment income. Net revenue growth of 7% for the full year exceeded our long-term target and our guidance for 2024. The 40% margin was at the high end of our guided range. These results highlight our disciplined focus on profitable revenue growth, supported by favorable macroeconomic tailwinds.

我們的全年業績證明了我們綜合業務的實力，這使我們能夠實現 2024 年企業每股收益成長 9% 至 12% 的預期。2024年，我們全公司的營收成長了 5%。這一點，加上我們在投資業務時嚴格控制費用，使得非公認會計準則利潤率在年內擴大了 60 個基點。從 RIS 開始，受強勁的業務成長、有利的市場條件和更高的淨投資收益推動，全年稅前營業收入比 2023 年增長了 9%。全年淨收入成長 7%，超過了我們的長期目標和 2024 年的預期。40%的利潤率處於我們指導範圍的高點。這些結果凸顯了我們在有利的宏觀經濟順風的支持下對獲利性收入成長的嚴格關注。

Principal Asset Management delivered strong results for the year. Specifically, investment management's pretax operating earnings increased 6% over 2023, driven by higher management fees resulting from strong market performance. Full year operating margin of 35% expanded 100 basis points from a year ago, a noteworthy accomplishment in a year with limited contributions from performance fees.

本年度，信安資產管理取得了強勁的業績。具體而言，投資管理的稅前營業收入比 2023 年增長了 6%，這得益於強勁的市場表現所導致的管理費增加。全年營業利益率為 35%，較去年同期擴大了 100 個基點，在績效費貢獻有限的一年裡，這是一個值得注意的成就。

International pensions pretax operating earnings were relatively flat compared to 2023 due to $26 million of FX impacts in the year. On a constant currency basis, earnings increased 9%, driven by 4% growth in net revenue. Operating margin improved by 100 basis points, reflecting growth and strong execution in our targeted markets. Although we revised the presentation, it is worth noting that PGI delivered on full year guidance, as did Principal International on a constant currency basis.

由於當年 2,600 萬美元的外匯影響，國際退休金稅前營業收入與 2023 年相比相對持平。以固定匯率計算，獲利成長 9%，受淨收入成長 4% 的推動。營業利潤率提高了 100 個基點，反映了我們目標市場的成長和強勁執行力。儘管我們修改了報告內容，但值得注意的是，PGI 實現了全年預期，而 Principal International 則按照固定匯率計算也實現了全年預期。

Specialty Benefits continues to deliver attractive premium and fees growth, up 7% compared to full year 2023. Quarter-over-quarter comparisons are impacted by a large single premium sale in the fourth quarter of 2023, which makes direct comparisons less meaningful. Notably, Specialty Benefits produced record earnings in the fourth quarter as well as full year 2024. Loss ratio for the year of 60.4% was favorable and at the low end of our guided range. An operating margin of 15% was above the midpoint of our guided range. These results underscore the effectiveness of management actions to drive profitable growth.

特殊福利繼續提供具有吸引力的保費和費用增長，與 2023 年全年相比增長 7%。2023 年第四季的一筆大額保費銷售影響了季度環比比較，這使得直接比較的意義變小。值得注意的是，特殊福利業務在第四季和 2024 年全年都創造了創紀錄的收益。全年損失率為 60.4%，處於我們指導範圍的低端。15% 的營業利潤率高於我們指導範圍的中點。這些結果強調了管理行動推動獲利成長的有效性。

In our Life business, growth in our business market continues to outpace the roll-off of the legacy block. Full year life premium and fees increased 1% overall, with business market premium and fees up 16% year-over-year. We executed another YRT reinsurance transaction as we continue to derisk the legacy Life portfolio. This had an immaterial impact on earnings and a slight decrease to premium and fees. Excluding the 2024 reinsurance transactions, premium and fees growth was 3% in 2024.

在我們的壽險業務中，業務市場的成長速度持續超過遺留業務的成長速度。全年壽險保費和費用整體上漲 1%，其中商業市場保費和費用較去年同期上漲 16%。我們執行了另一項 YRT 再保險交易，繼續降低遺留人壽投資組合的風險。這對收益的影響並不大，保費和費用略有下降。不包括 2024 年的再保險交易，2024 年保費和費用成長率為 3%。

Turning to our investment portfolio. We maintain a well-diversified and high-quality portfolio that aligns with our liability profile, is well positioned to perform across a variety of economic conditions. While commercial mortgage loans may still be on some investors' minds, our portfolio is of high quality. With an average loan-to-value ratio of 50% and debt service coverage ratio of 2.3 times, we continue to re-underwrite our office loans each quarter.

談到我們的投資組合。我們維持著與我們的負債狀況相符的多元化、高品質投資組合，能夠在各種經濟條件下保持良好表現。儘管一些投資者可能仍關注商業抵押貸款，但我們的投資組合品質很高。平均貸款價值比率為 50% 且債務償還比率為 2.3 倍，我們每季都會繼續重新承保我們的辦公室貸款。

After successfully resolving our 2024 office loan maturities, we entered 2025 with continued optimism. Maturities in the coming year are lower than in 2024 at $310 million. We are off to a good start, with $75 million already having been paid off. [Revital] and capital market activity will help the office market continue its recovery path. For more detailed information, we have provided supplemental investment slides available on our website.

在成功解決 2024 年辦公室貸款到期問題後，我們滿懷樂觀地邁入 2025 年。未來一年的到期金額低於 2024 年的 3.1 億美元。我們已經有了一個良好的開端，目前已經償還了 7500 萬美元。 [Revital] 和資本市場活動將有助於辦公大樓市場繼續復甦。欲了解更詳細的信息，請參閱我們在網站上提供的補充投資幻燈片。

Turning to capital and liquidity. We ended the year in a very strong position, with $1.6 billion of excess and available capital. This includes $830 million at the holding company, above our $800 million targeted level, $300 million in our subsidiaries, and $430 million in excess of our targeted 375% risk-based capital ratio, which is 404% at year-end. On a full year basis, we delivered 80% free capital flow conversion, comfortably within our 75% to 85% targeted range.

轉向資本和流動性。我們以非常強勁的地位結束了這一財年，擁有 16 億美元的剩餘和可用資本。其中包括控股公司的 8.3 億美元，高於我們 8 億美元的目標水平，我們的子公司的 3 億美元，以及超出我們 375% 風險資本比率目標的 4.3 億美元，該比率在年底為 404%。從全年來看，我們實現了 80% 的自由資本流轉換，輕鬆達到我們 75% 至 85% 的目標範圍。

As shown on slide 3, we returned $1.7 billion to shareholders in 2024, including $1 billion via share repurchases and $660 million in common stock dividends. As Deanna noted previously, this was above the midpoint of our 2024 guidance. This included just under $470 million of capital returned to shareholders in the fourth quarter, $300 million in share repurchases and $170 million in dividends.

如投影片 3 所示，我們在 2024 年向股東返還了 17 億美元，其中包括透過股票回購返還的 10 億美元和透過普通股股息返還的 6.6 億美元。正如迪安娜之前提到的，這高於我們 2024 年預期的中點。其中包括第四季返還給股東的近 4.7 億美元資本、3 億美元的股票回購和 1.7 億美元的股息。

Last night, we announced a $0.75 common stock dividend, payable in the first quarter. This represents a $0.02 increase over the prior quarter's dividend, a 10% dividend growth rate on a trailing 12-month basis and aligns with our targeted 40% dividend payout ratio, underscoring our confidence in continued growth and strong performance. Our results reinforce our balanced approach to capital deployment, creating long-term value for shareholders while maintaining financial flexibility to support growth opportunities.

昨晚，我們宣布派發 0.75 美元的普通股股息，將於第一季支付。這比上一季的股息增加了 0.02 美元，過去 12 個月的股息成長率為 10%，與我們 40% 的目標股息支付率一致，突顯了我們對持續成長和強勁業績的信心。我們的績效強化了我們平衡的資本配置方法，為股東創造長期價值，同時保持財務靈活性以支持成長機會。

Turning to our outlook, starting on slide 11. We are well positioned to deliver on our enterprise long-term financial targets again in 2025. These were reaffirmed at Investor Day, with 9% to 12% growth in earnings per share, 75% to 85% free capital flow conversion and 14% to 16% return on equity. As a reminder, these targets are excluding significant variances. We expect to see even stronger EPS growth on a reported basis.

轉向我們的展望，從第 11 張幻燈片開始。我們已做好準備，在 2025 年再次實現企業長期財務目標。這些在投資者日得到了重申，每股收益增長 9% 至 12%，自由資本流轉換率增長 75% 至 85%，股本回報率增長 14% 至 16%。需要提醒的是，這些目標不包括重大差異。我們預計報告基礎上的每股盈餘成長將更加強勁。

We remain committed to returning excess capital to shareholders and are targeting $1.4 billion to $1.7 billion of capital deployments in 2025. This includes $700 million to $1 billion of share repurchases and a 40% dividend payout ratio. Our guidance assumes run rate variable investment income, or VII. We will continue to quantify the impact to reported results from higher lower-than-expected VII and a significant variance in our earnings cost throughout the year. For 2025, we expect VII to improve compared to 2024.

我們將繼續致力於向股東返還多餘的資本，並計劃在 2025 年實現 14 億至 17 億美元的資本部署。其中包括7億至10億美元的股票回購和40%的股利支付率。我們的指導假設運行率可變投資收益，或 VII。我們將繼續量化低於預期的 VII 和全年獲利成本的大幅差異對報告結果的影響。對於 2025 年，我們預計 VII 將比 2024 年有所改善。

Turning to our business units. Slide 12 outlines our 2025 enterprise outlook, medium-term business unit expectations for 2025 through 2027 and modeling considerations for 2025. Business unit guidance assumes normal market conditions. Taken together, this guidance reinforces our confidence in the sustained delivery of our financial targets at the enterprise level.

轉向我們的業務部門。投影片 12 概述了我們對 2025 年企業的展望、2025 年至 2027 年的中期業務部門預期以及 2025 年的建模考慮因素。業務部門指導假設市場條件正常。總的來說，指引增強了我們對在企業層面持續實現財務目標的信心。

In RIS, building on the strong results in 2024, we are revising our margin guidance upward, and net revenue guidance of 2% to 5% remains intact. In investment management, medium-term guidance reflects the underlying strength of our global asset management business. We expect revenue growth and margin to be within these ranges in 2025.

在 RIS 中，基於 2024 年的強勁業績，我們正在上調利潤率指引，而 2% 至 5% 的淨收入指引保持不變。在投資管理方面，中期指引反映了我們全球資產管理業務的潛在實力。我們預計 2025 年的收入成長和利潤率將在這些範圍內。

In international pension, our guidance looks different from what we showed in the past for Principal International due to the re-segmentation and the change in the net revenue metric to better align with the rest of the enterprise. We expect net revenue to be at the midpoint of the range on a constant currency basis, but below the range on a reported basis due to the strengthening of the US dollar relative to last year. Margin is expected to improve from 2024 levels, be at the low end of the range in 2025 and improving thereafter.

在國際退休金方面，我們的指引與過去對 Principal International 的指引有所不同，因為進行了重新細分，並改變了淨收入指標，以便更好地與企業的其他部分保持一致。我們預計，以固定匯率計算，淨收入將處於該範圍的中間點，但由於美元相對於去年走強，因此按報告計算的收入將低於該範圍。預計利潤率將從 2024 年的水準開始提高，到 2025 年達到該範圍的低端，隨後繼續提高。

In Specialty Benefits, the dental market was dynamic during 2024. We maintained our underwriting discipline, resulting in lower sales in the second half of the year. As a result, we are revising our medium-term premium fees guidance to 6% to 9%, which remains above industry growth. In 2025, we expect growth to be near the low end of this range, with growth improving throughout the year.

在專業福利方面，牙科市場在 2024 年充滿活力。我們維持了核保紀律，導致下半年銷售下降。因此，我們將中期保費指導價格修改為 6% 至 9%，仍高於產業成長率。到 2025 年，我們預計成長率將接近此範圍的低端，並且全年成長率將會改善。

The ongoing discipline in underwriting is contributing to continued strength in our block, leading us to improve our loss ratio and margin targets, reflecting confidence in the overall business fundamentals and health of this business. In Life, premium fees growth is expected to be at or above the high end of the range for the year, with high-teens growth in our business market block, partially offset by the runoff of our legacy block. Our revised margin guidance reflects improvement over 2024.

持續的核保紀律有助於我們持續保持強勁勢頭，從而引導我們改善損失率和利潤率目標，反映出我們對整體業務基本面和業務健康狀況的信心。在壽險方面，預計今年的保費成長將達到或超過預期範圍的高端，其中商業市場板塊的成長率將達到高位，但會被傳統市場板塊的流失部分抵消。我們修訂後的利潤率指引反映了 2024 年的改善。

Before opening for questions, I want to remind you of a few seasonality impacts. In Investment Management, the first quarter is typically our lowest quarter for earnings due to the seasonality of deferred compensation and elevated payroll taxes. Specifically, we expect approximately $40 million of seasonally higher expenses in the first quarter with no impact to full year outlook.

在開始提問之前，我想提醒大家注意一些季節性的影響。在投資管理方面，由於遞延薪資和工資稅增加的季節性影響，第一季通常是我們獲利最低的季度。具體來說，我們預計第一季的季節性支出將增加約 4,000 萬美元，但不會對全年前景產生影響。

In Specialty Benefits, dental claims are typically higher in the first half of the year. Similar to the pattern in 2024, these factors will contribute to earnings being meaningfully higher in the second half than the first half of 2025. Additionally, they drive the seasonal pattern of free capital flow, which is typically lightest in the first half of the year and increases in the second half.

在特殊福利方面，牙科索賠在上半年通常較高。與 2024 年的模式類似，這些因素將導致 2025 年下半年的收益明顯高於上半年。此外，它們也推動自由資本流動的季節性模式，通常上半年自由資本流動最少，下半年則增加。

We have good momentum as we start 2025 with a strong capital position, and we are well positioned to deliver on our long-term financial targets. We are grounded in our growth drivers of the retirement ecosystem, small and midsized businesses and global asset management while continuing to drive long-term shareholder value.

我們以強大的資本狀況開啟 2025 年，發展勢頭良好，並且已準備好實現我們的長期財務目標。我們立足於退休生態系統、中小型企業和全球資產管理的成長動力，同時持續推動長期股東價值。

This concludes our prepared remarks. Operator, please open the call for questions.

我們的準備好的演講到此結束。接線員，請打開電話詢問問題。

(Operator Instructions) Ryan Krueger, KBW.

（操作員指示）Ryan Krueger，KBW。

My first question was, can you provide some initial thoughts on the pension reform that was passed in Chile and how to think about how that may impact Principal going forward?

我的第一個問題是，您能否對智利通過的退休金改革提供一些初步看法，以及如何看待這將如何影響 Principal 的未來？

Yes. Thanks, Ryan, for the question. I'll give a brief comment and then pass it over to Kamal. As you know, we've been in Chile for a long time, and we remain committed to supporting our customers there. We are optimistic that this reform will provide additional clarity on how we navigate the future, but will take time to play out. With that, I'll ask Kamal to give a further update on what we're seeing there.

是的。謝謝 Ryan 提出這個問題。我將做一個簡短的評論，然後將其交給卡馬爾。如您所知，我們已經在智利經營很長時間了，並且我們始終致力於為那裡的客戶提供支援。我們樂觀地認為，這項改革將為我們如何駕馭未來提供更清晰的指引，但這需要時間來實現。接下來，我將請卡邁勒進一步報告我們在那裡看到的情況。

Sure. Thanks, Deanna. Just to add to Deanna's comments. So first, the reform will bring some positive changes. Particularly, they are reaffirming the defined contribution system, which is important to us and reducing [inkahe], which will improve -- which will help improve the system's efficiency.

當然。謝謝，迪安娜。只是想補充一下迪安娜的評論。首先，改革會帶來一些正面的改變。特別是，他們重申了對我們很重要的固定繳款制度，並減少了 [inkahe]，這將有助於提高系統的效率。

We also anticipate a smoother transition to target data investment vehicles, which we believe is a key step forward for the marketplace. At this stage, we are confident in our ability to navigate these changes over time as we have done in the past and are optimistic about the long-term outlook for our business in Chile.

我們也預期目標數據投資工具的過渡將更加平穩，我們相信這是市場向前邁出的關鍵一步。在現階段，我們有信心像過去一樣應對這些變化，並對我們在智利的業務的長期前景感到樂觀。

Yes, Ryan. And obviously, we'll continue to update as more of this gets firmed up as we move forward. But do you have an additional question?

是的，瑞安。顯然，隨著我們不斷推進，越來越多的問題得到解決，我們將繼續更新。但您還有其他問題嗎？

Yes. This is a bit of a higher-level question. There has been more talk of, I guess, particularly by alternative asset managers about getting more private assets within 401(k) plans. Would be interested in your thoughts on that and how that could evolve over time for the industry.

是的。這是一個稍微高級一點的問題。我想，人們討論得比較多，特別是另類資產管理者關於在 401（k）計劃中獲取更多私人資產的討論。我很想知道您對此的看法以及隨著時間的推移該行業將如何發展。

Yes. As you know, we've obviously have a focus on private and have been in real estate for decades, but I'll see if Chris has some comments specifically around privates within the 401(k) lineup.

是的。如您所知，我們顯然一直專注於私人領域，並且已在房地產行業工作了幾十年，但我會看看克里斯是否對 401（k）系列中的私人領域有一些具體評論。

Yes. Thanks for the question, Ryan. Yes, I think we see, and I think the industry sees some significant opportunity for increased use of privates in retirement plans. There's obviously some regulatory hurdles that need to be overcome and some other issues in terms of liquidity buffers and the like that would need to be paired along for retirement customers.

是的。謝謝你的提問，Ryan。是的，我認為我們看到了，我認為業界也看到了在退休計劃中增加使用私人資產的一些重大機會。顯然，需要克服一些監管障礙，也需要為退休客戶解決流動性緩衝等方面的一些其他問題。

So we do think that there is significant potential for privates in retirement, but I think there is a little bit of work to do still on the regulatory environment and getting a product in a vehicle that works for sort of retirement customers. And I think that will take a little bit of time before we see momentum. I think you'll see it initially packaged in target dates or managed account offerings. So I think you'll see some innovation in that space over the course of the next year or two.

因此，我們確實認為私人退休金市場具有巨大的潛力，但我認為在監管環境和開發適合退休客戶的產品方面仍有一些工作要做。我認為我們還需要一點時間才能看到勢頭。我認為您會看到它最初被打包在目標日期或託管帳戶產品中。因此我認為您將在未來一兩年內看到該領域的一些創新。

Thanks, Ryan, for the questions.

謝謝 Ryan 提出的問題。

Joel Hurwitz, Dowling & Partners.

喬爾‧赫爾維茲 (Joel Hurwitz)，道林及合夥人。

I wanted to unpack some of the comments you guys made on RIS flows. Could you provide some more color on just the level of stabilization you saw with participant withdrawals? And then just how much contract lapses improve year-over-year? And then, I guess, just any color on the pipeline as we enter 2025 and how the outlook at least maybe for the first quarter looks on flows?

我想解析一下你們對 RIS 流程提出的一些評論。您能否提供更多關於參與者退出的穩定程度的詳細資訊？那麼，合約失效的情況年比去年改善了多少呢？然後，我想，當我們進入 2025 年時，管道上的任何顏色以及至少第一季的流量前景如何？

Yes, Joel, thanks for the question. RIS had a great year when you look at the revenue growth and how that translated into margin and earnings. And as we've talked about in the past, that really is our primary focus. But I'll have Chris talk about all the specifics that you mentioned there, both for the year and the quarter as well as we think about first quarter of '25.

是的，喬爾，謝謝你的提問。從收入成長及其如何轉化為利潤和收益來看，RIS 度過了非常輝煌的一年。正如我們過去談到的，這確實是我們的主要關注點。但我會讓克里斯談談您提到的所有具體情況，包括年度、季度以及我們對 25 年第一季的看法。

Yes. Thanks, Joel. And thanks for that, Deanna. I think as we've stated in previous quarters, before I dive deeply into flows, I mean, we do prioritize revenue and margin overflows. Flows are important, but our focus is on generating profitable revenue growth, which we did in '24, exceeding our net revenue guidance and being at the top end of our margin. So we feel really good about that.

是的。謝謝，喬爾。謝謝你，迪安娜。我認為，正如我們在前幾個季度所說的那樣，在我深入研究流量之前，我的意思是，我們確實優先考慮收入和利潤溢出。流量很重要，但我們的重點是創造獲利性收入成長，我們在'24年做到了這一點，超出了我們的淨收入預期，並處於利潤率的最高水平。因此我們對此感到非常高興。

I think as you all know on the call as well, rising equity markets are positive for our fee-based businesses, but they do create pressures for us in other metrics, including net flows and fee revenue rates. In the fourth quarter, our fee-based flows were improved sequentially and over the year ago because we saw a healthy recurring deposit growth of over 6%. We saw strong transfer deposits. And we had record retention in WSRS, which resulted largely from a slightly lower participant withdrawal rate as well as lower contract lapses, particularly in the large market. So again, what we saw in the fourth quarter is lower withdrawal rate. And so all of the flows are really attributable to those higher-performing equity markets.

我想大家在電話會議上也都知道，股市上漲對我們的收費業務有利，但它確實給我們的其他指標帶來了壓力，包括淨流量和收費收入率。在第四季度，我們的費用流較上年同期和上年均有改善，因為我們看到經常性存款健康成長超過 6%。我們看到了強勁的轉會存款。我們在 WSRS 的記錄保留率較高，這主要歸功於參與者的退出率略低以及合約失效率較低，尤其是在大型市場中。因此，我們再次看到第四季的提款率下降。因此，所有的資金流動其實都歸功於那些表現較好的股票市場。

I think another thing that I want to note with respect to flows is if you look at the sort of full year, we are seeing pressure from VA lapses, VAs with GMWB of about $1 billion over the course of 2024. And many of those are being exchanged into our RILA, which are registered index-linked annuity product with income, and we're capturing a very significant percentage in RILA, but that is converting from a fee-based flow to a spread-based flow. So we are seeing that dynamic as well.

關於流量，我想指出的另一件事是，如果看一下全年情況，我們會看到 VA 失效帶來的壓力，2024 年 VA 的 GMWB 約為 10 億美元。其中許多都被兌換成我們的 RILA，即與收入掛鉤的註冊指數年金產品，我們在 RILA 中佔據了非常大的比例，但這正在從基於費用的流量轉換為基於利差的流量。因此我們也看到了這種動態。

The other thing I'd say about flows is we do see -- continue to see very good health and SMB flows. Our recurring deposit growth is higher than the averages, and we're seeing positive net cash flow in SMB. So again, we feel really good about the position in SMB.

關於流量我想說的另一件事是，我們確實看到——繼續看到非常好的健康狀況和 SMB 流量。我們的經常性存款成長高於平均水平，我們看到中小企業的淨現金流為正。因此，我們對 SMB 的地位感到非常滿意。

As we turn to the outlook for 2025, we currently forecast the participant withdrawal rate will stabilize and that we'll continue to see health and recurring and transfer deposits, but we do expect the flows to be impacted by higher market performance and the lingering impact of the strong equity markets from 2024. We expect to see continued net outflows from the VA traditional block, which is an overall industry trend, but capturing those -- some of those are a good portion of those in RILA.

展望 2025 年，我們目前預測參與者的提款率將趨於穩定，並且我們將繼續看到健康和經常性存款和轉帳存款，但我們確實預計資金流動將受到更高的市場表現和強勁股票市場的持續影響從 2024 年開始。我們預計 VA 傳統區塊的淨流出將繼續，這是整個行業的趨勢，但捕捉這些資金 — — 其中一些佔 RILA 資金的很大一部分。

In the first quarter, we do know that we have one large market outflow of about $2.3 billion with minimal fee revenue impact. A client, again, as we look at profitable business that we chose to terminate that relationship, but that will be one outflow in the first quarter. And then we expect to see a more normalized, maybe slightly lower contract retention rate compared to the record retention we saw in 2024.

我們確實知道，第一季有一次約 23 億美元的大規模市場資金流出，但對費用收入的影響卻微乎其微。再次，當我們考慮獲利業務時，我們選擇終止與客戶的合作關係，但這將是第一季的一筆資金流出。然後，我們預計合約保留率將更加正常化，與 2024 年的記錄保留率相比，可能略低。

All that being said, again, net cash flow is a measure, and it's -- and we do look at it but flows all have a different profile on revenue and profit, and our focus is really remaining disciplined on pricing, generating profitable revenue growth and delivering on our net revenue and margin guidance in 2025.

話雖如此，但淨現金流是一個衡量標準，我們確實會關注它，但所有現金流對收入和利潤的影響都不同，我們的重點實際上是保持定價紀律，創造盈利收入增長，實現我們的淨收入和利潤率在 2025 年實現預期。

We hope that helps. You have an additional question?

我們希望這能有所幫助。您還有其他問題嗎？

Yes. Then just shifting to sort of real estate transactional activity. What are you expecting for '25? And just any more color on variable investment income expectations and performance fees in Investment Management for the year?

是的。然後轉向房地產交易活動。您對'25 年有何期待？還有更多關於年度投資管理中可變投資收益預期和績效費用的詳細資訊嗎？

Yes. Thank you for that question. Obviously, real estate is a core competency, both as we drive flows to unaffiliated clients, but also within our general account. I'm going to ask Kamal to give some general comments regarding kind of the state of the real estate market. And then I'll ask Joel to add in specific color regarding our general account and the implications on VII.

是的。感謝您的提問。顯然，房地產是一項核心競爭力，不僅因為我們為非關聯客戶帶來流量，而且也在我們的一般帳戶內。我將請卡邁勒 (Kamal) 對房地產市場的狀況發表一些總體評論。然後我會請喬爾補充有關我們的總體說明和 VII 的含義的具體內容。

So let me pick up where Deanna left off on the state of the real estate market. So from where we sit, we do see commercial real estate sort of entering these early stages of a gradual but probably a more volatile recovery period than we have seen in the past.

那麼，讓我接著迪安娜之前談論的房地產市場的狀況繼續說下去。因此，從目前的情況來看，我們確實看到商業房地產正進入一個緩慢但可能比過去更不穩定的復甦期的早期階段。

One of the things that has started to happen is we are actually seeing real transactional activity happen in the marketplace. And in parallel, there has been robust growth in CRE credit that is available to real estate transactions. Those are very important signals for this market to continue to expand. In fact, when you look at 4Q, there has been a substantial increase in equity transaction activity, 32% year-over-year. So clearly, transactions are starting to happen now, which is important because it leads to price discovery, and that allowed the marketplace to find a floor.

已經開始發生的事情之一是我們實際上看到市場上發生了真實的交易活動。同時，房地產交易的CRE信貸也強勁成長。這些都是該市場繼續擴張的非常重要的訊號。事實上，從第四季來看，股票交易活動大幅增加，年增 32%。顯然，交易現在已經開始發生，這很重要，因為它可以帶來價格發現，從而使市場找到底層。

The CMBS market has been unusually strong. We had over $100 billion of new issuance just in 2024. So that's certainly helping on the credit side. Just to look at our own book in 4Q, we almost put $1.9 billion of private capital to work. That was up from $1 billion earlier in the year, so almost 2x increase. So I feel confident on the transactional side. I'll turn it over to Joel on the second part.

CMBS 市場表現異常強勁。光是 2024 年，我們的新發行量就超過 1000 億美元。所以這在信貸方面絕對有幫助。僅從我們第四季的帳簿來看，我們幾乎投入了 19 億美元的私人資本。這比今年稍早的 10 億美元有所增加，幾乎增長了兩倍。因此我對交易方面充滿信心。我將把第二部分交給喬爾。

Yes. So Joel, thanks for the question. We do expect improved returns in 2025 relative to 2024 for all of our VII portfolio. And importantly, with key asset classes at or approaching long-term expectations in '25. And as you know, within our alts portfolio, real estate is a very prominent part of that, making up 50% of our portfolio, and we have much less concentration in PE and hedge funds.

是的。所以喬爾，謝謝你的提問。我們確實預計，我們所有 VII 投資組合在 2025 年的回報率將比 2024 年有所提高。重要的是，主要資產類別在25年達到或接近長期預期。如您所知，在我們的另類投資組合中，房地產是一個非常突出的部分，占我們投資組合的 50%，而我們對 PE 和對沖基金的關注度要低得多。

Real estate returns have improved from 2023 to 2024, and we expect that trend to continue in 2025. Given our strong capabilities that Kamal referenced, we invest directly in real estate. Therefore, these assets are not fair valued every quarter, as will be the case if we're investing under a fund structure.

2023 年至 2024 年房地產回報率有所提高，我們預計這一趨勢將持續到 2025 年。鑑於卡馬爾提到的強大實力，我們直接投資房地產。因此，這些資產並不是每個季度都得到公允估值，就像我們在基金結構下投資時的情況一樣。

So as you can see in the investment supplement that we provided on slide 5, these real estate properties are sitting in a meaningful unrealized gain position. So this appreciation and those unrealized gains will be recognized at the time of sale, resulting in some quarterly volatility within our VII metric. When this emerges, we'll be sure to highlight that activity over time, on which we expect to be weighted towards the middle and latter half of the year in 2025. So in summary, with some volatility along the way due to timing of sales, we do expect relevant improvement in VII for the upcoming year.

因此，正如您在我們在第 5 張投影片中提供的投資補充資料中所看到的，這些房地產正處於有意義的未實現收益狀態。因此，這種升值和未實現的收益將在銷售時確認，從而導致我們的 VII 指標出現一些季度波動。當這種情況出現時，我們一定會隨著時間的推移強調這項活動，我們預計重點將集中在 2025 年中下半年。總而言之，儘管由於銷售時機的原因會出現一些波動，但我們確實預計 VII 在來年會有所改善。

Wilma Burdis, Raymond James.

威爾瑪伯迪斯、雷蒙詹姆斯。

There's been some litigation in the larger end of the PRT market. I understand that the set of a different for PSG. Given some of that's been more -- a little bit more focused on the offshore model. But could you see this moving into the smaller end of the market? Or have you, I guess, observed any activity yet?

在 PRT 市場較大的一端存在一些訴訟。我理解這對巴黎聖日耳曼來說是不同的一套。鑑於其中一些更為關注離岸模式。但您是否認為這種趨勢會朝向小端市場發展？或者我猜你已經觀察到任何活動了？

Yes. Thanks, Wilma, for the question. We've obviously been in the PRT business for decades, have a great expertise there, and I'll see if Chris can directly answer your question regarding the recent litigation.

是的。謝謝威爾瑪提出這個問題。我們顯然已經在 PRT 業務領域工作了幾十年，並且擁有豐富的專業知識，我會看看 Chris 是否可以直接回答您關於最近訴訟的問題。

Yes. Thanks, Wilma. I mean I think as Deanna pointed out, we've been in this business for over 80 years and haven't ever missed a payment to a customer. I think we haven't seen the litigation migrate down. I think certainly, it's focused more on fee-backed providers of PRT transactions with one notable exception in a more traditional carrier. I suspect that they'll wait and see how those lawsuits turn out in terms of the validity of those lawsuits are not, again, I note, I don't believe any of those customers have not received their payments under those transactions. So I think from our perspective, it hasn't impacted our business. We haven't seen a lot of activity in the small to midsized business, and we remain a very trusted, reliable provider of risk transfer solutions for people that have pensions.

是的。謝謝，威爾瑪。我的意思是，我認為正如迪安娜指出的那樣，我們從事這個行業已經 80 多年了，從來沒有錯過向客戶付款。我認為我們還沒有看到訴訟的減少。我認為，它當然更側重於收費支援的 PRT 交易提供商，但更傳統的運營商有一個明顯的例外。我懷疑他們會等著看這些訴訟的結果，就這些訴訟的有效性而言，我再次指出，我不相信有任何客戶沒有收到這些交易的付款。因此我認為從我們的角度來看，它並沒有影響我們的業務。我們沒有看到中小型企業有太多的活動，但我們仍然是退休金領取者非常值得信賴、可靠的風險轉移解決方案提供者。

Thanks, Wilma, for that. We had a great PRT year, and we are confident that that's going to continue as we move into 2025. Do you have an additional question?

謝謝你，威爾瑪。我們度過了 PRT 豐碩的一年，我們相信，在邁入 2025 年時，這種豐碩的成果仍將繼續下去。您還有其他問題嗎？

Yes, 80 years, a pretty good track record. Yes. Can you just talk a little bit about what's going on in Specialty Benefits that you're exercising a little underwriting discipline in 2025?

是的，80 年了，相當不錯的紀錄。是的。您能否簡單談談特殊福利方面的情況，以及您在 2025 年實施的一些承保紀律？

Yes. Thanks, Wilma, for the question. Specialty Benefits had an incredible quarter and a really great year when you look at it from an earnings perspective, which again is -- our focus has been for decades on making sure we're driving profitable growth. And with that, I'll move it over to Amy to talk specifically about what we're seeing and how that translates to our discipline and our approach to underwriting and pricing.

是的。謝謝威爾瑪提出這個問題。從獲利角度來看，特殊福利業務度過了令人難以置信的一個季度和非常棒的一年，這再次表明——幾十年來，我們的重點一直是確保推動獲利成長。接下來，我將讓艾米具體談談我們所看到的情況，以及這如何轉化為我們的紀律以及承保和定價方法。

Sure. Thanks, Wilma. Thanks, Deanna. I do think when we look at SPD looking across all of the metrics that we've given guidance on for outlook, it's probably helpful to understand how the underwriting discipline comes back in. So just as a -- just as a reminder, we've tightened both the loss ratio and the margin ranges for our outlook. So we're moving the margin to the lower end up to 13% and then the loss ratio down to 64%. So we've also adjusted that overall premium growth to reflect those competitive factors that are really at the heart of your question.

當然。謝謝，威爾瑪。謝謝，迪安娜。我確實認為，當我們審視 SPD 的所有指標（我們已經給出了前景指導）時，了解承保紀律如何恢復可能會有所幫助。因此，只是提醒一下，我們已經收緊了損失率和保證金範圍的預期。因此，我們將利潤率下調至 13%，並將損失率降至 64%。因此，我們也調整了整體保費成長，以反映您問題的核心競爭因素。

So when I look at the competition, what we're seeing is, especially in the second half of 2024, we saw the market get a little bit more aggressive. We think that will continue in 2025. And the product that we've probably seen the most competitive pressures on is dental. We, along with the whole industry, have experienced pretty high utilization of dental, and that's meant that we're doing some repricing in 2024. So this has impacted some of the new sales in the back half of 2024, and it will impact, we think, at least that front half of 2025.

因此，當我觀察競爭時，我們看到的是，特別是在 2024 年下半年，市場變得更加激烈。我們認為這種情況將會持續到 2025 年。我們可能會看到競爭壓力最大的產品是牙科產品。我們和整個行業一樣，牙科的利用率都相當高，這意味著我們將在 2024 年重新定價。因此，這影響了 2024 年下半年的一些新車銷售，而且我們認為，至少會影響 2025 年上半年。

Do keep in mind that we sell as a bundle of products. And so dental does tend to be a meaningful product in that bundle. And when dental is impacted, you can see some impact on some of the other products. What we know, though, is that over the long term, disciplined underwriting for all of our products is really critical to building and maintaining a profitable growth and a profitable block. It's critical to maintaining stable predictable renewals, too. So it's not just that front end new sale. It's creating those stable predictable renewals that are -- both our brokers and our employer customers need from us.

請記住，我們是將多個產品捆綁在一起出售的。因此牙科確實是這個組合中很有意義的產品。當牙齒受到影響時，你可以看到對其他一些產品的影響。但我們知道，從長遠來看，對我們所有產品進行嚴格的承保對於建立和維持獲利成長和獲利區塊至關重要。維持穩定、可預測的更新也至關重要。因此，這不僅僅是前端新品銷售。它正在創造那些穩定、可預測的更新——我們的經紀人和雇主客戶都需要我們這樣做。

When we think about our expertise in that small market, we've got to have something that's a bit more predictable in that small market. Cash flow concerns are very significant for small and midsized customers. So keeping that stable, predictable flow is really important. And sometimes the trade-off is we'll take a little bit less -- looking a little bit less growthy to make sure that we've got the margin and make sure we've got the type of loss ratio that we need for that business.

當我們考慮我們在那個小市場中的專業知識時，我們必須在那個小市場中擁有一些更可預測的東西。對於中小型客戶來說，現金流問題非常重要。因此，保持穩定、可預測的流量非常重要。有時，我們需要權衡的是，我們會少花一點錢——少花一點增長錢，以確保我們有利潤，並確保我們有該業務所需的損失率。

So I'm really confident that that underwriting discipline is just part of the package over the course of time. And our ability to grow above the industry is going to be focused on that knowledge of the SMB market, that broad and deep broker relationships we have, our use of technology and then the service that we provide. So it's all a package, and I feel really comfortable with how 2025 looks.

因此我非常有信心，隨著時間的推移，承保紀律只是整個計劃的一部分。我們超越行業的能力將集中在對中小企業市場的了解、我們擁有的廣泛而深入的經紀人關係、我們對技術的使用以及我們提供的服務。所以這一切都是一個整體，我對 2025 年的前景感到非常滿意。

Thanks, Wilma for all the questions.

謝謝 Wilma 提出的所有問題。

Thank you.

謝謝。

Alex Scott, Barclays.

巴克萊銀行的亞歷克斯·斯科特 (Alex Scott)。

First one, I have views on the free cash flow. It looked like the outlook for capital return is pretty strong. And I think in the last few years, it's sort of -- time has been in excess of what you guide to in terms of free cash flow conversion of earnings. So I was just interested in commentary there. I mean, is it further drawdown of excess capital? Or is the free cash flow conversion getting better? How do I think through all that?

首先，我對自由現金流有自己的看法。看起來資本回報的前景相當強勁。我認為在過去幾年中，就自由現金流轉化為收益而言，這種情況已經超出了你的預期。所以我只是對那裡的評論感興趣。我的意思是，這是否進一步消耗過剩資本？還是自由現金流轉換正在變得更好？我該如何思考這一切？

Yes, Alex, thanks for the question. When we think about it, we look at both kind of the ongoing free cash flow that is generated for our business and then how that translates into our capital deployment. And you're right, over the last few years, partially just because of how we've started each of the years and drawing that down, there's been a little bit higher of deployment from that perspective. But again, we like our business model and all I'll just ask Joel to add some additional flavor there.

是的，亞歷克斯，謝謝你的提問。當我們考慮這個問題時，我們會考慮為我們的業務產生的持續自由現金流，以及如何將其轉化為我們的資本部署。您說得對，過去幾年，部分原因只是因為我們每年的開局和下降幅度，從這個角度來看，部署有所提高。但話說回來，我們喜歡我們的商業模式，我只想請喬爾添加一些額外的特色。

Yes, Alex, thanks for the question. As you said, we're starting to position of strength, $1.6 billion of excess available capital coming into 2025. And if you look at our long-term guidance, which is 40% dividend payout ratio and share repurchase of 35% to 45%, our share buyback plan for 2025 is outsized. A lot of that is because we do have a strong excess capital position coming into the year. And so again, really proud of the results that we're delivering there on that front. And we feel really good about our $700 million to $1 billion target that we have for the year.

是的，亞歷克斯，謝謝你的提問。正如您所說，我們開始佔據強勢地位，到 2025 年將有 16 億美元的過剩可用資本。如果你看看我們的長期指導，即 40% 的股息支付率和 35% 至 45% 的股票回購率，那麼我們 2025 年的股票回購計劃是超大規模的。這在很大程度上是因為我們今年確實擁有強勁的過剩資本狀況。因此，我再次對我們在這方面所取得的成果感到非常自豪。我們對今年 7 億至 10 億美元的目標感到非常滿意。

We did hear some comments looking at the reports about it seems less. And the big reason it's less is because we drew down more coming into '25, and we did come in at '24. If you look at our RBC ratio coming into the year, it was 427% coming into 2024. And as we sit here today, it's 404%. So again, we're still at excess, but just not the excess we had one year ago. So again, outsized share buybacks, $700 million to $1 billion translates to about 40% to 60% payout ratio, above our guidance, and that's a product of our strong capital flow generation.

我們確實聽到了一些評論，但從報告來看，似乎較少。而減少的主要原因是，我們在 25 年提取的資金更多，而在 24 年我們確實提取了更多。如果您查看我們今年的 RBC 比率，到 2024 年將達到 427%。今天，這一數字已升至 404%。因此，我們仍然處於過剩狀態，但已不再是一年前的過剩狀態。因此，再次強調，超額的股票回購，7 億至 10 億美元，相當於約 40% 至 60% 的派息率，高於我們的預期，這是我們強勁的資本流產生的產物。

Thanks, Alex. Do you have a follow-up question?

謝謝，亞歷克斯。您還有其他問題嗎？

Yes. So for a follow-up, I wanted to ask about sort of what to expect on the fees on RIS. And I guess, just as I look at your margins, record levels or near record levels. And Empower, same thing. I think Empower had the best margins they've ever had in the history of the company and guided to more expansion next year. So just thinking through how strong the profit margins are for your business and some of your biggest peers, what are you seeing in the competitive environment? I would think this is a pretty competitive business. Are you seeing signs that the strong margins are going to lead to more pricing competition?

是的。因此，為了後續問題，我想詢問一下 RIS 的費用是多少。我想，正如我看到的你的利潤率、記錄水準或接近記錄水準一樣。和 Empower 一樣。我認為 Empower 的利潤率是公司歷史上最高的，並且預計明年將進一步擴張。那麼，只要思考一下您的企業以及一些最大的同行的利潤率有多高，您在競爭環境中看到了什麼？我認為這是一個競爭相當激烈的行業。您是否看到高利潤率將導致更多價格競爭的跡象？

Yes. Thanks, Alex. I'll ask Chris to address that.

是的。謝謝，亞歷克斯。我會請克里斯解決這個問題。

Yes. I mean without commenting on our competitors' margins, I mean, I think our margin performance has been strong, and we expect it to improve from levels that we delivered in 2024. This has always been a very competitive market, and fee compression is something that we've consistently had to manage through and work through. We're not seeing anything that's particularly unusual. From what we've generally seen, it's just competition.

是的。我的意思是，我們不評論我們競爭對手的利潤率，我認為我們的利潤率表現一直很強勁，我們預計它會比 2024 年的水平有所提高。這一直是一個競爭非常激烈的市場，費用壓縮是我們一直需要管理和努力解決的問題。我們沒有發現任何特別不尋常的事情。從我們普遍看到的情況來看，這只是競爭。

I think there's also recognition that this is -- there's a lot of cost and complexity in managing a retirement business. And so I think it's also a recognition that when you look at the services that we provide, there needs to be a reasonable return on the services that we provide. So I don't think that there's sort of this irrational competition out there. I just think it's tough. The industry is consolidating. We're at scale. We've been part of that consolidation. I think that will continue. And as I've mentioned in the past, a lot of the consolidation is happening organically, not inorganically now. Obviously, you saw some smaller inorganic transactions.

我認為人們也意識到了這一點——管理退休業務需要花費很多成本，而且很複雜。因此，我認為這也是一種認可，當你看到我們提供的服務時，我們需要對所提供的服務給予合理的回報。所以我不認為有這種非理性的競爭。我只是認為這很難。該行業正在整合。我們已經達到規模了。我們是這項合併的一部分。我認為這種情況將會持續下去。正如我過去提到的那樣，許多整合都是有機發生的，而不是無機發生的。顯然，你看到了一些較小的無機交易。

So I would say it's tough. It's a tough market environment. We are winning in it, and we have confidence that we will be able to continue to win as a scale player in the space.

所以我想說這很難。這是一個嚴峻的市場環境。我們正在該領域取得勝利，我們有信心能夠作為該領域的規模參與者繼續獲勝。

And Chris, I think you've guided to that 2- to 3-basis-point range, which is where we landed this year at the high end, just given the equity market improvement, and I think we're guiding to that same as we think about 2025 as well.

克里斯，我認為你已經將預期引導到了 2 到 3 個基點的範圍，考慮到股票市場的改善，這是我們今年所達到的最高水平，我認為我們對 2025 年的預期也是同樣的。

Jimmy Bhullar, J.P. Morgan.

摩根大通的吉米·布拉爾 (Jimmy Bhullar)。

So first, I had a question for Chris on flows in the RISP business. And I realize there's some seasonality inflows as well, but the flows have been negative for the past three years because of some of the things you discussed on the call earlier. Is it reasonable to assume that there's not going to be a major change in your flows at least in the next one to two years? Or do you think there's a chance that they turn positive? And if yes, what would change?

所以首先，我有一個關於 RISP 業務流程的問題想問克里斯。我也意識到有一些季節性流入，但由於您之前在電話會議上討論的一些情況，過去三年的流入一直為負。是否可以合理地假設至少在未來一到兩年內您的流程不會發生重大變化？或者您認為它們有可能變成陽性嗎？如果是，那會發生什麼變化？

Yes. Thank you, Jimmy. And I think I've seen your prior notes and analysis as well. I think you've identified, there's some large macro pressures from people that have been saving for many decades in 401(k) systems that are now reaching retirement. And so we are certainly seeing some of that pressure in withdrawal rates. So I don't see an inflection where it's going to immediately turn greatly positive here over the next couple of years, but I think you've also identified the demographic trend that we get through the next couple of years.

是的。謝謝你，吉米。我想我也看過您之前的筆記和分析。我想你已經發現，那些在 401（k）計劃中儲蓄數十年、現在即將退休的人面臨著巨大的宏觀壓力。因此我們確實看到了提款率方面的一些壓力。因此，我看不到未來幾年會立即出現非常積極的轉折，但我認為你也已經確定了未來幾年的人口趨勢。

What we are seeing is the generations that are earlier in their working careers, are saving earlier in their careers and saving more than those that are in -- have been in the sort of the Generation X generation. So we think the long-term dynamics are very positive for retirement, but we do see some short-term flow pressures, as I think you've rightly pointed out.

我們看到的是，那些職業生涯較早的人，在他們的職業生涯早期就開始儲蓄，而且比那些處於「X 世代」的人儲蓄更多。因此，我們認為長期動態對退休非常有利，但我們確實看到一些短期流動壓力，我認為您正確指出了這一點。

Yes. Even with those negative flows, Jimmy, our account values are increasing sizably over the last few years, which obviously then does translate into revenue and earnings. So do you have a follow-up question?

是的。吉米，即使有這些負流量，我們的帳戶價值在過去幾年仍然大幅增長，這顯然會轉化為收入和收益。您還有後續問題嗎？

Yes. Just for Amy on employee benefits, you've been in the process of repricing your dental book, I think, a couple of years now. But should we assume that that's done completely? Or is that an ongoing process? And margins, if we look stand-alone on dental, won't normalize until beyond 2025?

是的。僅就員工福利而言，艾米，我想，幾年前你就一直在重新定價你的牙科保險帳簿。但我們應該認為這已經完全完成了嗎？或者這是一個持續的過程？如果單獨看牙科業務，利潤率要到 2025 年以後才能恢復正常？

Amy, you can address that?

艾米，你能解決這個問題嗎？

Yes. Yes. So I would say the bulk of those actions are moving through our block right now. So what that really means is some of them are already going to be coming through the results that we see, and some of them will continue to flow through the first half of the year. I think the really important point to your question is are we going to see margins look better for dental if we looked at that as a stand-alone entity in 2025? And the answer is yes. I do expect the loss ratio to look a bit more like historical patterns. And I expect the production that comes from that line to look positive in 2025.

是的。是的。所以我想說，目前大部分行動都在透過我們的區塊進行。所以這實際上意味著其中一些已經透過我們看到的結果顯現，而其中一些將在今年上半年繼續流動。我認為你這個問題真正重要的一點是，如果我們將牙科視為 2025 年的獨立實體，其利潤率是否會更好？答案是肯定的。我確實希望損失率看起來更像歷史模式。我預計該生產線的產量在 2025 年將呈現正成長。

What I would make sure to put back into is we rarely sell any of these products alone. So again, these are always going to be a function of a bundle. I think we mentioned it in some of our opening comments. We're up -- our average bundle, whether you're talking about new sale or in-force, is up over three coverages for products. So it's rare that any of our relationships really just rely on any one product in terms of how we price and work with them.

我要確保的是，我們很少單獨銷售這些產品中的任何一種。所以再說一次，這些始終是捆綁的功能。我想我們在一些開場白中提到過這一點。我們的平均套餐價格（無論是新銷售還是現有銷售）增加了超過三種產品覆蓋範圍。因此，就定價和合作方式而言，我們與客戶的關係很少真正僅僅依賴某種產品。

Yes. And Jimmy, a couple of things there. One of the advantages of focusing on the SMB business is almost all of our business only has a one-year rate guarantee.

是的。還有吉米，那裡有幾件事。專注於中小企業業務的優勢之一是，我們的幾乎所有業務都僅提供一年的利率保證。

And then the other thing that I think is really important, really builds on Amy's last point, which is because there's bundles, you also have seen that we've had very positive underwriting results in life and disability. And so from a bundle perspective, we can take all of that into account, and they may see a little bit of increase in their dental rates.

然後，我認為另一件非常重要的事情確實建立在艾米的最後一點之上，那就是因為有捆綁服務，你也已經看到我們在人壽和殘障保險方面取得了非常積極的承保結果。因此，從捆綁的角度來看，我們可以將所有這些都考慮在內，他們的牙科費用可能會略有增加。

But as we look at the overall package, we can mute that increase across all of the products. And so again, feel good about how we're approaching that profitable growth and expect to see continued great results out of Specialty Benefits. So thank you, Jimmy.

但當我們從整體來看時，我們可以抑制所有產品的這種成長。因此，再次，我們對如何實現獲利成長感到滿意，並期望看到特殊福利繼續取得優異的成績。所以謝謝你，吉米。

Jack Matten, BMO Capital Markets.

傑克‧馬滕 (Jack Matten)，BMO 資本市場。

The first question I had is on the international pension growth guidance. And I know you resegmented and changed the definition of net revenue there. I guess if you adjust for those two things, was there any change at all to the growth outlook? I know you mentioned changes in Hong Kong. That changed throughout it at all, and were there any offsets in your other markets?

我的第一個問題是關於國際退休金成長指引。我知道你們重新劃分並改變了淨收入的定義。我想，如果針對這兩點進行調整，成長前景會發生任何變化嗎？我知道您提到了香港的變化。這在整個過程中發生了變化嗎？

Yes, Yes. First of all, thanks for initiating coverage. And we look forward to interacting with you more as we go forward. I'll ask Joel to address that. Obviously, FX continues to be pressure as we think of international pension and we did have some in [inkahe] impacts as well. But maybe as we think about the guidance, you can give some specific aspects there?

是的，是的。首先，感謝您的報道。我們期待在未來的合作中與您進行更多的互動。我會請喬爾解決這個問題。顯然，當我們考慮國際退休金時，外匯繼續帶來壓力，而且我們也受到了一些[inkahe]影響。但是也許當我們考慮指導時，您可以給出一些具體的方面？

Yes. So Jack, thanks for the question. On the international pension front, it's very similar to what we had in 2024. So on a constant currency basis, what we had in 2024 was 4% growth in revenues and 9% growth in earnings. As you fast forward to what we expect for 2025, it's going to be more of the same. It's going to be -- if you look at the midpoint of the range, it's all due to FX is why we're being drawn down to relatively flat year-over-year.

是的。傑克，謝謝你的提問。在國際退休金方面，它與 2024 年的狀況非常相似。因此，以固定匯率計算，到 2024 年，我們的營收將成長 4%，收益將成長 9%。當我們快轉到 2025 年時，我們預計情況將會大致相同。如果您看一下範圍的中點，您會發現這全是由於外匯導致的，這就是為什麼我們的同比數據相對持平。

But importantly, there's going to be continued margin expansion within that business in 2024, there was a 100-basis-point margin expansion within that business, and we're expecting continued expansion in 2025 and beyond. So really well positioned in those targeted markets and feel really good about the growth prospects within that business.

但重要的是，2024 年該業務的利潤率將繼續擴大，該業務的利潤率擴大了 100 個基點，我們預計 2025 年及以後還將繼續擴大。因此，我們在這些目標市場中佔據著非常有利的地位，並且對該業務的成長前景感到非常樂觀。

Jack, do you have a follow-up question?

傑克，你還有其他問題嗎？

Yes. And a follow-up on the investment management net cash flows. It seems like deposits are pretty healthy, but withdrawals continue to be somewhat elevated. I guess if you could just touch on trends impacting your net flows there and how you see things developing going into 2025.

是的。以及對投資管理淨現金流量的追蹤。看起來存款情況相當健康，但提款情況仍有些高。我想您可以談談影響淨流量的趨勢以及您認為 2025 年的情況將如何發展。

Yes. I'll ask Kamal to give some color on that. If you do look at our overall net cash flow on an AUM level for the enterprise, even though it's still negative, we have saw a significant improvement, both for the quarter and the full year. But I'll ask Kamal to give some specifics on the drivers there and also how we're thinking about that as we go into 2025.

是的。我會請卡馬爾對此作出解釋。如果您從企業的 AUM 水平來看我們整體淨現金流，儘管它仍然為負，但我們已經看到了顯著的改善，無論是本季度還是全年。但我會請卡邁勒具體介紹其中的驅動因素，以及我們在進入 2025 年時對此有何看法。

So I'll start with maybe the international pension piece first, when and give you more color on the [inwi]. One thing I would highlight for you in addition to what Joel said is we actually also had positive net cash flow in our international pension business. When you look at '24, we actually had positive $600 million of net cash flow growth. So not only managing the business well, but we're actually attracting new dollars in a very mature business.

所以我會先從國際退休金部分開始，然後再跟大家詳細介紹一下[因維]。除了喬爾所說的之外，我想向您強調的一件事是，我們的國際退休金業務實際上也實現了正的淨現金流。當你回顧 24 歲時，我們的淨現金流實際上增加了 6 億美元。因此，我們不僅管理好了業務，而且還在一個非常成熟的業務中吸引了新的資金。

But just turning back to Investment Management, I would say very, very strong results. Chris did talk about some of the affiliated flows. But when I look at nonaffiliated flows, we had a very strong quarter, almost $500 million of positive net cash flow. And the diversity of our cash flow is increasing. These flows came from multiple distribution channels for our clients, and they also came from a lot of international geographies, which is quite valuable for us.

但回顧投資管理，我想說的是結果非常非常強。克里斯確實談到了一些相關流程。但當我查看非關聯資金流時，我們發現本季我們的表現非常強勁，正淨現金流接近 5 億美元。我們的現金流的多樣性正在增加。這些流量來自我們客戶的多個分銷管道，也來自許多國際地區，這對我們來說非常有價值。

Just to highlight, net flows and international institutional were particularly strong. We had over a $2 billion large mandate win in credit. And then Deanna earlier talked about almost $1 billion win in US retirement solutions. So really strong wins in that space.

需要強調的是，淨流動和國際機構尤其強勁。我們贏得了超過20億美元的巨額信貸授權。然後迪安娜早些時候談到了美國退休解決方案的近 10 億美元收益。因此，我們在該領域取得了真正的強勁勝利。

If I look at full year from our local regional clients, we had almost $2.7 billion positive net cash flow for all of 2024, a significant milestone for us. And sequentially, year-over-year, nonaffiliated cash flow is up by $6.5 billion. And I'll just remind you, this is what we laid out at Investor Day, the power of global asset management as we diversify our client base and channels, you could see that in those numbers.

如果我從我們當地區域客戶的角度來看全年情況，那麼 2024 年全年我們的淨現金流接近 27 億美元，這對我們來說是一個重要的里程碑。與去年同期相比，非關聯現金流增加了 65 億美元。我只想提醒你，這就是我們在投資者日所闡述的，隨著我們實現客戶群和管道多元化，全球資產管理的力量，你可以從這些數字中看到這一點。

To the second part that Deanna raised, which is what do I see moving forward. I think we mentioned earlier that we are exceeding target on our largest real estate fundraise till date. It's going to be not only a milestone for us with respect to growing our business. We've actually added over 50 new sizable relationships across the world beyond just the clients we have historically had in public pensions. We have new relationships with foreign insurance companies now. We've added premier US endowment and foundations and now we also have regional asset managers in Asia who are investing with us.

關於迪安娜提出的第二部分，即我對未來發展的看法。我記得我們之前提到過，我們迄今為止最大的房地產融資已經超額完成了目標。這不僅是我們業務發展的一個里程碑。事實上，除了我們過去在公共退休金領域擁有的客戶之外，我們在全球範圍內還建立了 50 多個新的規模可觀的客戶關係。我們現在與外國保險公司建立了新的關係。我們增加了美國頂級捐贈基金和基金會，現在還有亞洲區域資產管理公司與我們一起投資。

So I would highlight that the momentum will continue to grow on the private market side. And the last thing I would highlight for you, as I look forward, we were also recently just highlighted as the top-performing investment grade US bond fund this year in 2024, and that's a category that actually continues to get active management flows. So hopefully, that helped you.

因此我想強調的是，私人市場的動能將持續成長。最後我想強調的是，展望未來，我們最近也被評為 2024 年表現最佳的投資等級美國債券基金，而這個類別實際上會繼續獲得主動管理資金。希望這對你有幫助。

Thanks, Jack, for the question.

謝謝傑克提出這個問題。

John Barnidge, Piper Sandler.

約翰·巴尼奇，派珀·桑德勒。

So the Hong Kong change and then the YRT in the quarter kind of show a perpetual focus on improvement here. How much further derisking do you see either in international markets or within the life insurance business?

因此，香港的變化以及本季的 YRT 都表明了我們持續關注改進。您認為國際市場或人壽保險業的風險降低程度會有多大？

Yes. The first thing I would say there is, as you know, I was very involved in our recent strategic review that led to some really sizable changes to our business portfolio, but more importantly, put us in a great position to deliver on our strategic and financial objectives. We have what the portfolio we need to deliver on what we laid out. But we will obviously continuously assess our portfolio, make changes as needed, derisk where it makes sense or in places where we just don't see the path to driving growth, we'll make the decisions to make pivots there.

是的。我想說的第一件事是，如你所知，我非常參與我們最近的策略評估，這導致我們的業務組合發生了一些重大變化，但更重要的是，使我們處於有利位置來實現我們的策略和財務目標。我們擁有所需的投資組合，可以實現我們所設定的目標。但我們顯然會不斷評估我們的投資組合，根據需要做出改變，在合理的地方降低風險，或者在我們看不到推動成長的途徑的地方，我們將做出決定進行調整。

And you did mention the one that we highlighted in this call, which was somewhat driven by the regulatory changes that are happening in that market. And so again, bottom line, we feel good about where we're at, both from a product portfolio perspective, then specifically in life and how we think about our risk exposure. But obviously, we'll continue to stay disciplined as we look at those facts going forward.

您確實提到了我們在這次電話會議中強調的問題，這在某種程度上是受到該市場正在發生的監管變化的推動。所以，總而言之，我們對自己的現狀感到滿意，無論是從產品組合的角度，還是具體到生活以及我們如何看待自己的風險敞口。但顯然，我們在審視這些事實時將繼續保持紀律。

And my follow-up question, completely understand the primary focus of principal serving the small, medium-sized customer. But within your retirement and benefits business, can you talk about how much exposure or non-exposure? You have to government nonprofit or government contracting in your businesses?

我的後續問題是，完全理解校長服務中小型客戶的主要重點。但是在您的退休和福利業務中，您能談談有多少風險或多少非風險嗎？你們的企業必須與政府非營利組織或政府簽訂合約嗎？

Yes. I'll maybe just ask Amy and Chris to quickly address that. And if we don't have the answers here today, we'll make sure we get back to you. But Chris, anything from a retirement perspective?

是的。我可能會要求艾米和克里斯快速解決這個問題。如果我們今天還沒有答案，我們一定會回覆您。但是克里斯，從退休的角度來看有什麼事情嗎？

I would say that we are not a large player in the governmental marketplace, John. So I don't have the exact composition of our business. We have some, but we're not known as a very large player in the governmental end of the business. But we could follow up with more details on the composition.

我想說的是，我們並不是政府市場上的重要參與者，約翰。所以我不知道我們業務的具體構成。我們有一些，但我們在政府業務方面並不是一個非常大的參與者。但我們可以進一步了解關於構圖的更多細節。

Yes. This is Amy. I'll chime in. I would agree with Chris's comment. I might even take it one step further for the Specialty Benefits business and say we are just not a player in the government marketplace. That's not been where we've seen some of our historical growth. And they tend to operate with a different set of variables that just don't align us clearly with how we build our machine and process and pricing and technology. And so we're just simply not a player in that market.

是的。這是艾米。我會附和的。我同意克里斯的評論。對於特殊福利業務，我甚至可以更進一步說，我們並不是政府市場的參與者。這並不是我們所看到的歷史性成長。而且它們傾向於使用一組不同的變數來運作，這些變數與我們如何建立機器、流程、定價和技術並沒有明確地結合。所以我們根本就不是該市場的參與者。

Suneet Kamath, Jefferies.

蘇尼特·卡馬斯（Suneet Kamath），傑富瑞（Jefferies）。

Deanna, I wanted to ask about M&A now that you're in the seat. Your 0% to 10% capital allocation suggests kind of small deals. But if something big were to come along, similar to kind of IRT, is that the kind of thing you look at and say, we know how to do these deals, if it pencils out, we'd be interested? Or is it sort of the other way, where we've already done a big deal, and we'd rather just focus on what we have and maybe take advantage of some lapses? Just want to get your sense as you're now the CEO.

迪安娜，既然您現在就位，我想問一下有關併購的問題。您的 0% 到 10% 的資本配置表明交易規模較小。但如果出現了類似 IRT 這樣的大項目，您是否會想說，我們知道如何做這些交易，如果成功的話，我們會感興趣？或者是另一種情況，我們已經做了一件大事，我們寧願只專注於我們已經做的事情，並可能利用一些失誤？只是想了解一下您現在作為執行長的感受。

Yes, Suneet, I'll start with -- obviously, I was involved in our strategy around M&A, pretty integral as forward. So I don't think you would expect any significant changes there. What I would say is we are inquisitive about M&A opportunities across all of our businesses. And if we did them, they would be focused around the growth areas that we really talked about at Investor Day.

是的，Suneet，我首先要說的是——顯然，我參與了我們的併購策略，這是非常重要的未來策略。因此我認為你不會期望那裡發生任何重大變化。我想說的是，我們對所有業務的併購機會都很感興趣。如果我們這樣做，我們就會集中在投資者日上我們真正談論的成長領域。

Yes, the allocation within our total capital allocation, that 0 to 10 is small. The other thing you have to marry that with is we have a very low leverage ratio. And so if something did come across that met all of our three thresholds, which is cultural fit, financial fit and strategic fit, we have the capabilities to lean into that if it made sense.

是的，我們在總資本配置中的配置，0到10是比較小的。與之結合的另一件事是我們的槓桿率非常低。因此，如果確實出現了滿足我們所有三個門檻的事物，即文化契合度、財務契合度和策略契合度，那麼我們就有能力在合理的情況下依靠它。

But I'd also say the bar is high as we think about M&A and how they fit into our overall growth platform going forward. I will kind of come back to where I started, is if you look at our financial targets, we don't need M&A activity to reach those. We feel our organic growth engines can deliver on those results. And ultimately, we'll continue to be disciplined, but obviously inquisitive about additions that would make sense.

但我也想說，當我們考慮併購以及它們如何融入我們未來的整體成長平台時，門檻很高。我將回到我開始的地方，如果你看看我們的財務目標，你會發現我們不需要透過併購活動來實現這些目標。我們相信我們的有機成長引擎可以實現這些結果。最終，我們將繼續嚴守紀律，但顯然也會對有意義的補充保持好奇。

Got it. And then just real quick for Chris. Any thoughts around these in-plan annuity products for target date funds that a lot of asset managers are rolling out?

知道了。然後對克里斯來說，一切都很順利。您對許多資產管理公司推出的目標日期基金計劃內年金產品有何看法？

Yes. Thanks, Suneet. So we think they're promising. I think as I've mentioned probably on prior quarters, I think the opportunity to package them in some sort of target date fund or a managed account solution, probably the best solution to increase penetration. So we're sitting on the shelf. So more and more planned sponsors are open to having it as an option in the plan lineup, we're still just not seeing a tremendous amount of participant deposits and utilization yet. But I do think that will change as people start understanding it and as those designs improve and change and enhance over the next little bit.

是的。謝謝，Suneet。因此我們認為它們很有前途。我想，正如我在前幾個季度所提到的那樣，我認為將它們打包成某種目標日期基金或託管帳戶解決方案的機會可能是增加滲透率的最佳解決方案。所以我們只能坐在架子上。因此，越來越多的計劃贊助商願意將其作為計劃陣容中的選項，但我們仍然沒有看到大量的參與者存款和利用率。但我確實認為，隨著人們開始理解它，隨著這些設計逐漸改進、變化和增強，情況將會改變。

So a lot of activity. I think you'll see a lot of activity from us and others over the course of the next year or two in this space. And I do think if you think about sort of that last frontier to address, it's really how do you convert the savings that Americans have accumulated in their 401(k) plan into that guaranteed retirement income for them that they won't outlive. And so I do think that there's some real promise here, but it's still early days in terms of utilization.

活動非常多。我認為未來一兩年內你會看到我們和其他人在這個領域進行大量活動。我確實認為，如果你考慮要解決的最後一個問題，那就是如何將美國人在 401（k）計劃中累積的儲蓄轉化為他們不會失去的有保障的退休收入。因此我確實認為這確實有一些前景，但就利用而言還為時過早。

Thanks, Suneet, for your questions.

謝謝 Suneet 的提問。

We have reached the end of our Q&A. Ms. Strable, your closing comments, please.

我們的問答環節已經結束。斯特拉布爾女士，請您發表結束語。

Yes. Thank you. As we close today's call, I want to reiterate that 2024 was a strong year, capped off by a very strong quarter. We delivered on all of our enterprise objectives, and we're well positioned to continue this success in 2025. Our ability to access and grow in the most attractive parts of the market, combined with our disciplined approach to everything we do, positions us well for the future. We remain focused on executing the strategy that we laid out at Investor Day, and those priorities guide our decisions every day as we navigate this evolving landscape.

是的。謝謝。在我們結束今天的電話會議時，我想重申 2024 年是強勁的一年，並以非常強勁的一個季度結束了。我們實現了所有企業目標，我們有能力在 2025 年繼續取得成功。我們有能力進入最具吸引力的市場領域並在其中發展，加上我們對所有工作的嚴謹態度，為我們的未來做好了準備。我們仍然專注於執行在投資者日制定的策略，這些優先事項指導著我們在不斷變化的情況下每天做出的決策。

Thank you for your time today, for your questions and your continued support of Principal. We look forward to connecting with many of you in the near future. Have a great day.

感謝您今天的時間、您的提問以及您對 Principal 的持續支持。我們期待在不久的將來與你們建立聯繫。祝你有美好的一天。

Thank you. This concludes today's conference call. You may disconnect your lines at this time, and we thank you for your participation.

謝謝。今天的電話會議到此結束。您現在可以斷開您的線路，我們感謝您的參與。