美國信安金融集團 (PFG) 2025 Q1 法說會逐字稿

Good morning and welcome to the Principal Financial Group first quarter 2025 financial results conference call.

早上好，歡迎參加 Principal Financial Group 2025 年第一季財務業績電話會議。

(Operator Instructions)

（操作員指示）

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

現在，我想將會議交給投資者關係副總裁 Humphrey Lee。

Thank you and good morning. Welcome to Principal Financial Group's first quarter 2025 earnings 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 2025 年第一季財報電話會議。與往常一樣，與今天電話會議相關的資料可在我們的網站 investors.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.

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。

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性。

Additionally, some of the comments made during this conference call may refer to the non-GAAP financial measures. Reconciliation 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 (non-GAAP) 財務指標與最直接可比較的美國公認會計準則 (US GAAP) 財務指標的對帳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. Good morning to everyone on the call.

謝謝，漢弗萊。各位電話裡的各位早安。

Before I get into the highlights for the quarter, I'd like to make a few comments on the current environment. We are operating in a market that is incredibly dynamic. Policy shifts and uncertainty surrounding the market outlook have contributed to a more cautious investor tone and heightened focus on resilience. The magnitude of the volatility we have seen in April has been extreme and unprecedented and impacts our fee revenue in retirement and asset management.

在介紹本季的亮點之前，我想對當前環境發表一些評論。我們正處於一個極為活躍的市場。政策變化和市場前景的不確定性導致投資者態度更加謹慎，並更加關注韌性。我們在四月看到的波動幅度是極端且前所未有的，並影響了我們在退休和資產管理方面的費用收入。

We expect market volatility to persist, making upcoming quarters more difficult to predict. While complex, we have successfully navigated market volatility before, with a clear strategy, a resilient and diversified business model, and a strong commitment to supporting our customers when it matters most. From a financial perspective, we will continue to focus on what we can control with a disciplined approach to aligning expenses with revenue. Actions to support this are underway.

我們預期市場波動將持續，使得未來幾季的走勢更加難以預測。儘管市場複雜，但我們憑藉著清晰的策略、靈活多樣的商業模式以及在最關鍵時刻為客戶提供支援的堅定承諾，成功應對了市場波動。從財務角度來看，我們將繼續專注於我們能夠控制的事情，採用嚴謹的方法來使支出與收入一致。支持這項措施的行動正在進行中。

In addition, the actions we have taken over the last few years to transform our business mix have uniquely positioned us to perform through market cycles. Our conviction and our strategy has never been stronger, with a laser focus on growth across the retirement ecosystem, SMBs, and global asset management. Each presents outsized market growth opportunities aligned with our strong differentiated capabilities.

此外，過去幾年我們為轉變業務組合所採取的行動，使我們在市場週期中表現出色。我們的信念和策略從未如此堅定，我們專注於退休生態系統、中小企業和全球資產管理的成長。每一個都為我們提供了與我們強大的差異化能力相適應的巨大市場成長機會。

Slide 4 of our materials highlights the progress we are making in advancing these growth drivers. Turning to the quarter, I am proud of our results, which reflect the strength and discipline of our strategy as well as the benefits of our diversified business.

我們的材料中的第 4 張投影片重點介紹了我們在推進這些成長動力方面所取得的進展。談到本季度，我對我們的業績感到自豪，這反映了我們策略的實力和紀律性以及多元化業務的優勢。

First quarter adjusted non-GAAP earnings, excluding significant variances was $439 million or $1.92 per diluted share, a 10% increase in EPS over the first quarter of 2024. We returned $370 million of capital to shareholders in the first quarter, including $200 million of share repurchases and a continued increase in our common stock dividend.

第一季調整後的非 GAAP 收益（不包括重大差異）為 4.39 億美元或每股攤薄收益 1.92 美元，比 2024 年第一季的每股收益增加 10%。我們在第一季向股東返還了 3.7 億美元的資本，其中包括 2 億美元的股票回購和持續增加的普通股股息。

We have the capital flexibility to continue supporting our customers, investing in growth, and returning capital responsibly. Our capital strategy remains grounded in long-term financial discipline. Despite market volatility, total company managed AUM increased to $718 billion at the end of the quarter, reflecting positive market performance and the beneficial impact of exchange rates.

我們擁有資本靈活性，可以繼續支持我們的客戶、投資成長並負責任地返還資本。我們的資本策略仍以長期財務紀律為基礎。儘管市場波動，但截至本季末，公司管理的資產總額仍增至 7,180 億美元，反映出正面的市場表現和匯率的有利影響。

Net cash flow was negative $4 billion in the quarter, driven by two low fee institutional fixed income withdrawals and investment management. Overall, higher fee inflows relative to outflows are driving a positive impact to run rate revenue from institutional flows. We saw strong results in key asset classes including private real estate, preferred, and stable value.

本季淨現金流為負 40 億美元，受兩筆低費用機構固定收益提款和投資管理的影響。總體而言，費用流入量相對於流出量的增加對機構資金流入的運作率收入產生了正面影響。我們在私人房地產、優先股和穩定價值等主要資產類別中看到了強勁的表現。

In addition, we saw strong local investment management flows of $700 million total in Mexico and Southeast Asia, reinforcing our local strategies and the benefits of our global business reach. We are also encouraged by signs of green shoots and high yield preferred real estate and international equities, some of which have already funded in April, pointing to additional growth in the quarters ahead.

此外，我們在墨西哥和東南亞看到了總計 7 億美元的強勁本地投資管理流動，這強化了我們的本地策略和全球業務覆蓋的優勢。我們也對經濟復甦跡象和高收益優先房地產和國際股票感到鼓舞，其中一些已於 4 月獲得融資，預示著未來幾季將進一步成長。

In retirement, we generated positive account value net cash flow of $400 million after adjusting for the low fee contract lapse discussed on our last call. We continue to see strong activity in our small and mid-sized market, delivering $1.3 billion of positive flows up from $1 billion in the year ago quarter.

在退休時，在調整了上次電話會議上討論的低費用合約失效後，我們產生了 4 億美元的正帳戶價值淨現金流。我們的中小型市場持續表現強勁，正向資金流從去年同期的 10 億美元增至 13 億美元。

Turning to sales, pension risk transfer volume grew year over year, reaching $800 million in the quarter. We remain a leader in the industry, ranking among the top-four providers by sales premium, and third by number of contracts based on the 2024 LIMRA results.

談到銷售額，退休金風險轉移額年增，本季達到 8 億美元。我們仍然是行業領先者，根據 2024 年 LIMRA 結果，按銷售額排名，我們位列前四大供應商之列，按合約數排名，我們位列第三。

Looking ahead, we see positive momentum in the pipeline across our retirement ecosystem. This momentum is being reinforced by recent industry recognition. Principal was top rated across all categories in the plan advisor survey and received 17 best-in-class awards from plan sponsor.

展望未來，我們看到整個退休生態系統呈現出正面的動力。近期業界的認可進一步強化了這一勢頭。信安在計劃顧問調查的所有類別中均名列前茅，並獲得了計劃發起人頒發的 17 項最佳獎項。

Moving to specialty benefits, underwriting results were strong, and overall growth is being impacted by the absence of new PFML markets and lower dental sales, a result of our discipline pricing actions. In life, sales were up 6% compared to the year ago quarter, driven by bondled business market sales and strong growth in non-qualified sales, a key component of our total retirement solutions.

轉向專業福利，承保結果強勁，整體成長受到新 PFML 市場缺乏和牙科銷售下降的影響，這是我們採取紀律定價行動的結果。在人壽保險方面，銷售額較去年同期成長 6%，這得益於債券業務市場銷售和非合格銷售的強勁成長，這是我們整體退休解決方案的關鍵組成部分。

Importantly, our well established and long tenured SMB block remains resilient. Findings from our recent SMB Pulse survey indicate our customers are focused on adapting to the current environment through pricing actions, shifting suppliers, and managing margin with less emphasis on reducing benefits or staff.

重要的是，我們完善且長期的 SMB 區塊仍然具有彈性。我們最近的 SMB Pulse 調查結果表明，我們的客戶專注於透過定價行動、轉移供應商和管理利潤來適應當前環境，而較少注重減少福利或員工。

Across all of our businesses, the key fundamentals remain strong, including recurring deposits, deferrals, matches, and wage and employment growth. We remain focused on what matters most delivering for our customers, operating with discipline, and executing on our long-term strategy. We have built this company to perform through many cycles resilient, diversified, and purpose-led.

在我們所有的業務中，關鍵基本面仍然強勁，包括定期存款、延期付款、匹配以及薪資和就業成長。我們始終專注於最重要的事情：為客戶提供服務、嚴格遵守紀律並執行我們的長期策略。我們建立這家公司是為了在多個週期中保持彈性、多元化和目標導向。

Importantly, our approach continues to be recognized. For the 14th time, Principal was named one of the 2025 world's most ethical companies by Ethisphere. This award reflects our ongoing commitment to doing what's right for our customers, employees, and shareholders, not just in times of strength, but especially in moments of uncertainty.

重要的是，我們的方法繼續得到認可。信安集團第 14 次被 Ethisphere 評為 2025 年全球最具商業道德的公司之一。該獎項體現了我們持續致力於為客戶、員工和股東做正確的事情，不僅在強勁時期，而且尤其在不確定的時刻。

We're also being recognized for how we use technology to work strategically. Our proprietary generative AI powered assistant Page was honored with a CIO 100 award for its impact on employee productivity. In just one year, it's helped cut task completion time in half, streamlined training, and made it easier for teams to create content and serve our customers more efficiently.

我們也因如何利用科技進行策略性工作而受到認可。我們專有的生成式人工智慧助理 Page 因其對員工生產力的影響而榮獲 CIO 100 獎。在短短一年內，它幫助將任務完成時間縮短了一半，簡化了培訓，並使團隊更容易創建內容並更有效率地為客戶服務。

Overall, I am proud of our results this quarter and confident in the strength and resiliency of our integrated and diversified portfolio. We will continue to invest in growth, operate with discipline, and stay close to the evolving needs of our customers. And we will do so with the same clarity and commitment that have defined our success over the past 145 years.

整體而言，我對本季的業績感到自豪，並對我們綜合多元化投資組合的實力和彈性充滿信心。我們將繼續投資於成長，嚴格經營，並密切關注客戶不斷變化的需求。我們將以過去 145 年來成就我們的同樣清晰的目標和承諾來做到這一點。

With that, I'll turn it over to Joel to walk through the results in more detail. Joel?

接下來，我會把主題交給喬爾 (Joel)，讓他更詳細地介紹結果。喬爾？

Thanks, Deanna. Good morning to everyone on the call. I will walk through our financial performance for the first quarter and provide updates on our investment portfolio and capital position.

謝謝，迪安娜。各位電話裡的各位早安。我將介紹我們第一季的財務業績，並提供我們的投資組合和資本狀況的最新資訊。

As shown on slide 3, excluding significant variances, first quarter non-gap operating earnings were $439 million or $1.92 per diluted share. This represents a 10% increase in EPS over the first quarter of 2024 on an adjusted and a reported basis. As previously disclosed, first quarter earnings were impacted by year-over-year elevated seasonal expenses in investment management. This was offset by a lower tax rate during the quarter.

如投影片 3 所示，排除重大差異後，第一季非差距營業收入為 4.39 億美元，即每股攤薄收益 1.92 美元。這意味著，經調整和報告，每股盈餘較 2024 年第一季成長 10%。如前所述，第一季的收益受到投資管理季節性費用年增的影響。這被本季較低的稅率所抵消。

First quarter reported net income, excluding exit business was $299 million with immaterial credit losses of $4 million. Net income reflects the non-cash impact of the previously announced transition of our Hong Kong MPF schemes to Bank Consortium Trust or BCT.

第一季報告的淨收入（不包括退出業務）為 2.99 億美元，非物質信貸損失為 400 萬美元。淨收入反映了我們先前宣布的香港強積金計劃向銀團信託或BCT轉型的非現金影響。

Importantly, this has no impact to free capital flow. Non-GAAP operating ROE for the quarter, excluding our actuarial assumption review was 14%, a 100-basis point improvement from a year ago and within our targeted range. Equity markets created modest tailwinds for much of the first quarter though softened in the final weeks. The S&P 500, small and mid cap, and real estate all finished the quarter down, while international equities and fixed income products delivered positive returns.

重要的是，這對自由資本流動沒有影響。本季非公認會計準則營業淨資產收益率（不包括我們的精算假設審查）為 14%，比一年前提高了 100 個基點，並且在我們的目標範圍內。股市在第一季的大部分時間呈現溫和的順風走勢，但在最後幾週有所減弱。標準普爾 500 指數、中小型股和房地產指數在本季度均下跌，而國際股票和固定收益產品則實現了正回報。

Foreign exchange rates had a positive $8 billion impact on AUM for the quarter as spot rates improved. The following commentary excludes significant variances which can be found on slide 12. Our first quarter results demonstrate the strength of our integrated and diversified businesses which enabled us to deliver 10% year over year EPS growth.

由於即期匯率改善，本季外匯匯率對 AUM 產生了 80 億美元的正面影響。以下評論排除了投影片 12 上的重大差異。我們第一季的業績證明了我們綜合多元化業務的實力，這使我們能夠實現每股收益同比增長 10%。

Starting with RAS, first quarter top line growth was strong at 5%. This coupled with expense discipline while investing in the business, resulted in a 41% margin, a 120-basis point improvement over the prior year quarter. Pre-tax operating earnings increased 8% from the first quarter of 2024, driven by growth in the business. Higher net investment income and favorable year-over-year market performance.

從 RAS 開始，第一季營收成長強勁，達到 5%。再加上在投資業務時嚴格控制費用，利潤率達到 41%，比去年同期提高了 120 個基點。受業務成長的推動，稅前營業收入較 2024 年第一季成長 8%。淨投資收益較高，市場表現較去年同期良好。

Underlying fundamentals in the business remained strong. Recurring deposit growth of 9% in the quarter was strong across all segments, with continued outperformance in our small and mid-size business market, generating 12% growth. The number of individuals deferring and receiving employer matches are up 4% compared to the first quarter of 2024.

業務基本面依然強勁。本季經常性存款成長 9%，所有細分市場均表現強勁，其中中小型企業市場持續表現出色，實現了 12% 的成長。與 2024 年第一季相比，推遲並獲得雇主匹配的個人數量增加了 4%。

In addition, the dollar amount of these deferrals and matches increased by 5% and 4% respectively during the same period. Net revenue growth and margin are at the high end of our targeted range this quarter, a product of our discipline focus on profitable revenue growth.

此外，這些延期付款和匹配付款的金額在同一時期分別增加了 5% 和 4%。本季淨收入成長和利潤率處於我們目標範圍的高端，這是我們專注於獲利性收入成長的紀律的結果。

In principal asset management, investment management revenue increased 4% compared to the year ago quarter within our targeted range. Management fees increased 5% year over year, driven by higher AUM and stable fee rate, while transaction and borrower fees remain muted. As discussed on last quarter's call, seasonality played out largely as anticipated.

在主要資產管理方面，投資管理收入較去年同期成長 4%，在我們的目標範圍內。管理費年增 5%，受更高的 AUM 和穩定的費率推動，而交易費和借款人費則保持在低位。正如上個季度的電話會議所討論的那樣，季節性基本上符合預期。

Investment management had $35 million of higher deferred compensation and payroll taxes compared to the fourth quarter, partially offset by lower variable expenses. These seasonal expenses are expected to return to normal levels while we continue to invest in our business. These are factored in our outlook.

與第四季相比，投資管理的遞延薪資和薪資稅增加了 3,500 萬美元，但部分被較低的變動費用所抵消。在我們繼續對業務進行投資的同時，這些季節性支出預計將恢復到正常水平。這些都已納入我們的展望。

In international pension, net revenue was down slightly, primarily due to impacts from foreign currency. On a constant currency basis, net revenue increased 4% year over year. Pre-tex operating earnings increased 5% from the prior year quarter, despite a $6 million dollar FX headwind driven by strong expense discipline. This resulted in marginal expansion of nearly 400 basis points over the year ago quarter and is at the high end of our targeted range.

在國際退休金方面，淨收入略有下降，主要原因是外匯的影響。以固定匯率計算，淨收入年增4%。儘管受到嚴格的費用控制影響，外匯市場出現了 600 萬美元的不利影響，但除此之外，稅收之前的營業利潤仍比去年同期增長了 5%。這導致與去年同期相比小幅擴張了近 400 個基點，並且處於我們目標範圍的高端。

In special benefits, premium fees growth was 4% compared to the year ago quarter. As Deanna mentioned, this result was impacted by lower dental sales and a difficult comparison from new PFML markets in the year ago quarter. These were factored into our full year outlook, implying higher growth in future quarters.

在特殊福利方面，保費與去年同期相比成長了 4%。正如迪安娜所提到的，這一結果受到牙科銷售額下降以及與去年同期新的 PFML 市場難以比較的影響。這些都已計入我們的全年展望中，這意味著未來幾季的成長將會更高。

While the environment is competitive, both employment and wage growth remain healthy and persistency remains stable, which contributed to the year over year growth. SPD pre-tax operating earnings grew 5% over the prior year quarter, driven by business growth, more favorable underwriting experience, and higher net investment income.

儘管競爭環境激烈，但就業和薪資成長依然健康，持續性維持穩定，有助於實現年成長。受業務成長、承保經驗改善以及淨投資收益增加的推動，SPD 稅前營業利潤較去年同期成長 5%。

Margin expanded compared to the year ago quarter and remains within our targeted range. SPD loss ratio improved by 40 basis points year over year to 60.7%. It was at the low end of our targeted range, driven by better group disability and group life results, partially offset by dental experience.

與去年同期相比，利潤率有所擴大，並且仍在我們的目標範圍內。SPD 損失率年增 40 個基點至 60.7%。它處於我們目標範圍的低端，受更好的團體殘疾和團體人壽結果推動，部分被牙科經驗所抵消。

Dental pricing changes continue to move through the block, and we expect to see loss ratio improvement when comparing full year 2025 to 2024. Premium and fees growth in our life business increased compared to the prior year quarter. A strong business market growth was up 20% and at or above targeted returns.

牙科價格變化持續推進，我們預計，與 2024 年全年相比，2025 年全年的損失率將有所改善。與去年同期相比，我們的人壽保險業務的保費和費用成長有所增加。商業市場強勁成長，成長了 20%，達到或超過了目標回報。

Pre-tax operating earnings in the quarter were [$14 million] down from the prior year quarter, driven by higher mortality, primarily from net claim severity. This included a single claim of $5 million that was part of a much larger face amount shared by many carriers issued in 1999.

本季稅前營業利潤較去年同期下降 [1,400 萬美元]，主要原因是死亡率上升（主要是淨索賠嚴重程度導致的）。其中包括一筆 500 萬美元的索賠，這是 1999 年多家保險公司共同簽發的更大面額的索賠的一部分。

While this impact results in the quarter, our one year and longer-term mortality is at our expected levels. Our tax rate in the quarter was lower compared to the full year due to foreign tax credit benefits as well as seasonal impacts from share-based compensation. We expect the tax rate to be within our targeted range of 17% to 20% for the full year 2025.

雖然這種影響會在本季產生，但我們一年和長期的死亡率仍處於預期水準。由於外國稅收抵免優惠以及股權激勵的季節性影響，本季我們的稅率低於全年。我們預計 2025 年全年稅率將在 17% 至 20% 的目標範圍內。

Our general account investment portfolio remains high quality, aligned with our liability profile and well positioned for a variety of economic conditions. The portfolio remains healthy from a credit risk perspective. While we are closely monitoring the evolving trade policy landscape and its potential impact, our current assessment is minimal exposure to industries most likely to be directly affected by tariffs.

我們的一般帳戶投資組合仍然保持高品質，與我們的負債狀況一致，並能很好地適應各種經濟狀況。從信用風險角度來看，投資組合依然保持健康。雖然我們正在密切關注不斷變化的貿易政策格局及其潛在影響，但我們目前的評估是，最有可能直接受到關稅影響的行業的風險敞口最小。

Our commercial mortgage loan portfolio remains healthy. As discussed in our last call, we had two scheduled loan maturities in the first quarter in our office portfolio, both of which have been paid off. The remainder of the office portfolio and the underlying metrics remained favorable and relatively unchanged from last quarter.

我們的商業抵押貸款組合依然健康。正如我們上次電話會議中所討論的那樣，我們的辦公室投資組合在第一季有兩筆預定的貸款到期，均已還清。其餘辦公大樓組合和基本指標保持良好，與上一季相比基本沒有變化。

Turning to capital and liquidity. We ended the quarter in a very strong position with $1.8 billion of excess and available capital. This includes $1.2 billion at the holding company above our $800 million targeted level, $250 million in our subsidiaries, and $300 million in excess of our targeted 375% risk-based capital ratio, which was estimated at 395% at quarter end.

轉向資本和流動性。我們以 18 億美元的超額和可用資本結束了本季度，處於非常強勁的地位。其中包括控股公司超出我們 8 億美元目標水準的 12 億美元、我們子公司的 2.5 億美元以及超出我們 375% 創投比率目標的 3 億美元（本季末估計為 395%）。

Capital was elevated by $400 million this quarter as we exercise our 2028P caps, and we'll use the proceeds to pay down a $400 million debt maturity in May. Concurrently, we issued $500 million of new P caps in February, bringing the total off-balance sheet facility to $850 million. This addresses our near term maturities with our next maturity occurring in November 2026.

由於我們行使 2028P 上限，本季資本增加了 4 億美元，我們將利用所得款項償還 5 月到期的 4 億美元債務。同時，我們在二月發行了 5 億美元的新 P 上限，使表外融資總額達到 8.5 億美元。這涉及我們的近期到期債務，下一次到期債務將於 2026 年 11 月發生。

We continue to deliver on our targeted 75% to 85% free capital flow. As discussed on last quarter's call, free capital flow is typically the lightest in the first quarter due to timing of capital generation and increases throughout the year. As shown on slide 3, we returned $370 million to shareholders in the first quarter, including $200 million of share repurchases and $170 million of common stock dividends.

我們將繼續實現 75% 至 85% 的自由資本流動目標。正如上個季度電話會議上所討論的那樣，由於資本產生的時機以及全年的增加，自由資本流動通常在第一季最少。如投影片 3 所示，我們在第一季向股東返還了 3.7 億美元，其中包括 2 億美元的股票回購和 1.7 億美元的普通股股息。

Last night, we announced a $0.76 common stock dividend payable in the second quarter. This represents a $0.01 increase over the prior quarter's dividend and a 90% dividend growth rate on a trailing 12-month basis. We remain aligned with our targeted 40% dividend payout ratio, underscoring our confidence and continued growth and overall performance.

昨晚，我們宣布第二季支付 0.76 美元的普通股股息。這意味著股息比上一季增加了 0.01 美元，過去 12 個月的股息成長率為 90%。我們繼續堅持 40% 的股息支付率目標，這凸顯了我們的信心以及持續的成長和整體績效。

As Deanna outlined, our first quarter results reflect our resilient and diversified business that continues to perform through various market cycles. We remain disciplined in how we deploy capital, confident in the fundamentals of our businesses, and focused on delivering long-term value to shareholders, while supporting customers when they need us most. As we have consistently done and as economic conditions evolve, we remain committed to aligning expenses with revenue with actions already underway while continuing to invest for growth.

正如迪安娜所概述的，我們的第一季業績反映了我們業務的彈性和多樣化，並且在各個市場週期中繼續表現良好。我們在資本配置方面保持嚴謹，對業務基本面充滿信心，並專注於為股東創造長期價值，同時在客戶最需要我們的時候為他們提供支援。正如我們一貫所做的那樣，隨著經濟狀況的變化，我們仍然致力於透過已經在採取的行動使支出與收入保持一致，同時繼續為成長進行投資。

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。

(Operator Instructions)

（操作員指示）

Joel Hurwitz, Dowling & Partners.

喬爾‧赫爾維茲（Joel Hurwitz），道林及合夥人。

Hi, good morning. Wanted to start on -- how you doing? Wanted to start on your EPS growth outlook. I know there remains a lot of uncertainty in the environment, but you have the 9% to 12% EPS growth target. How do you feel about that just given the current macro backdrop?

嗨，早安。想開始──你怎麼樣了？想要開始了解您的 EPS 成長前景。我知道環境中仍然存在許多不確定性，但你們的每股盈餘成長目標為 9% 至 12%。考慮到當前的宏觀背景，您對此有何感想？

Yeah, thanks for that question, Joel. I'll give a a few high level remarks and then turn it over to Joel to get into more details. If you listen back to my prepared remarks, I reiterated and as you just mentioned, we're operating in an environment that is incredibly dynamic and also very unpredictable, driven by policy shifts and uncertainty.

是的，謝謝你的提問，喬爾。我將發表一些高層次的評論，然後將其交給喬爾來討論更多細節。如果你聽我準備好的發言，我重申，正如你剛才提到的，我們正處在一個極具活力且難以預測的環境中，受到政策變化和不確定性的驅動。

If you just look at the daily volatility swings that we experienced in the last four weeks, both positive and negative. They've been extreme, and because of that will have an impact on our fee revenue in both retired and asset management. I think it's important to remember that we have a diverse and resilient portfolio of businesses with revenue diversity by source, by geography, by asset class and customer base, and that diversity is very critically important in times like this.

如果你看一下我們在過去四周經歷的每日波動，既有正向的，也有負向的。這些措施非常極端，因此將對我們退休和資產管理的費用收入產生影響。我認為重要的是要記住，我們擁有多元化且具有韌性的業務組合，其收入來源、地理、資產類別和客戶群均呈現多元化，而這種多元化在這樣的時期至關重要。

I'd start with the first quarter was a strong start to the year, and I'll now turn it over to Joel for more details. But keep in mind we are going to continue to focus on what we can control, including being there for our customers, leaning into growth, and being smart about expenses. Joel?

首先我要說的是，第一季是今年的一個強勁開端，現在我將把時間交給喬爾來了解更多細節。但請記住，我們將繼續專注於我們能夠控制的事情，包括為客戶服務、努力實現成長以及合理控制開支。喬爾？

Yeah, good morning, Joel. Thanks for the question. When looking at the full year, I think it's important to first ground ourselves on what happened during the first quarter. As I mentioned in my prepared remarks, 10% earnings per share growth unreported and adjusted basis. First quarter is a really strong start to the year and in line with our 9% to 12% earnings per share guidance.

是的，早上好，喬爾。謝謝你的提問。回顧全年，我認為首先要回顧第一季發生的事情。正如我在準備好的演講中提到的那樣，每股收益增長 10%（未報告和調整後）。今年第一季開局非常強勁，符合我們每股收益 9% 至 12% 的預期。

This is a product of a 4% revenue growth year over year, and 5% on a trailing 12-month basis, and 40% of marginal expansion over the past year. So although volatile, the first quarter average macro conditions were largely in line with what we expected an outlook as the market downturn occurred later in the quarter.

這是由於營收年增 4%、過去 12 個月成長 5% 以及去年邊際擴張 40% 所致。因此，儘管存在波動，但第一季的平均宏觀狀況基本上符合我們對前景的預期，因為市場低迷發生在本季後期。

So now to your question relates to the remainder of the year. As Deanna noted, we benefit in normal and volatile times from a diversified mix of business. Specifically, our benefits and protection spread businesses are relatively insulated from the recent market volatility. So I realize it makes it difficult to model, but our portfolio business is resilient in times of volatility.

現在您的問題與今年剩餘時間有關。正如迪安娜所說，無論是在正常時期還是在動盪時期，我們都可以從多元化的業務組合中受益。具體來說，我們的福利和保障利差業務相對不受近期市場波動的影響。所以我意識到這使得建模變得困難，但我們的投資組合業務在波動時期具有彈性。

A proof like we found on page 3 of our financial supplement, whereby you can see we had a $3.5 billion increase in AUM for market performance during the quarter. And this occurred despite a 5% decline in the S&P 500 during the quarter. So as for our feed businesses, the macro impact will depend on the severity and longevity of market disruption.

正如我們在財務補充報告第 3 頁上看到的，您可以看到本季我們的市場表現的 AUM 增加了 35 億美元。儘管本季標準普爾 500 指數下跌了 5%，但這一情況仍然出現。因此，對於我們的飼料業務而言，宏觀影響將取決於市場混亂的嚴重程度和持續時間。

On page 10 of the earnings cost slide deck, you see we highlight the macro sensitivities. It's important to note these exclude the impact of management actions. And it also shows the AB and AUM composition within investment management and RAS. So again, these sensitivities you find in that page, ignore the expense actions we're taking to compensate for the macro headwinds that have emerged.

在收益成本投影片的第 10 頁，您可以看到我們強調了宏觀敏感度。值得注意的是，這些不包括管理行動的影響。它還顯示了投資管理和 RAS 中的 AB 和 AUM 組成。因此，您在該頁面中發現的這些敏感性再次忽略了我們為彌補出現的宏觀逆風而採取的費用行動。

During market volatility, we focus on what we can control. We lean into expense management activities and will not allow macro headwinds to hit our bottomline dollar for dollar. So in addition to expense management, it's important to note the beneficial impact on AUM levels from lower interest rates. The decline in interest rates during the quarter provide a tailwind for businesses during the quarter be a higher AUM and account value levels.

在市場波動期間，我們專注於我們能夠控制的事情。我們傾向於費用管理活動，不會讓宏觀不利因素影響我們的底線。因此，除了費用管理之外，還要注意較低利率對 AUM 水準的有利影響。本季利率的下降為本季的企業提供了順風，提高了 AUM 和帳戶價值水準。

And then lastly, another relevant macro factor for us is FX. These headwinds are importantly dissipating. On a sequential basis, FX headwind and IP or international pension, were less than $1 million compared to $32 million headwind on a trailing 12-month basis. On this front in the first quarter alone, the Brazilian real strength at 8% and the Chilean peso strengthen 4% relative to the US dollar.

最後，對我們來說另一個相關的宏觀因素是外匯。重要的是，這些不利因素正在消散。以連續計算，外匯逆風和 IP 或國際退休金的損失不到 100 萬美元，而過去 12 個月的逆風為 3,200 萬美元。光是第一季度，巴西雷亞爾兌美元升值 8%，智利比索兌美元升值 4%。

So it's a long way of saying there are a lot of macro variables in play. But importantly, based on what we know today, a path exists to remain in the 9% to 12% EPS range. But that will be dependent on the duration and severity of market disruption from here on out.

所以，長話短說，有很多宏觀變數在運作。但重要的是，根據我們今天所了解的情況，存在一條途徑可以將每股收益保持在 9% 至 12% 的範圍內。但這將取決於未來市場混亂的持續時間和嚴重程度。

So Joel, I hope that helps.

所以喬爾，我希望這會有所幫助。

Yeah, very helpful, thank you.

是的，非常有幫助，謝謝。

Yeah, a follow up question?

是的，還有後續問題嗎？

Yeah, I maybe just on the management actions and the expense side, can you just provide some more color on sort of how much flexibility you have on the expense side and and what you've sort of taken thus far in Q2?

是的，我可能只是在管理行動和費用方面，您能否提供更多關於您在費用方面有多大的靈活性以及您在第二季度迄今為止採取了哪些措施的信息？

Yeah, I think I'd start with if you look back through every economic cycle, we have a proven track record of aligning expenses with revenue, and that alignment is our North Star. It's obviously critical in it, and really the volatility really has started in the last four weeks. But again, we're underway. There's a lot of flexibility and levers that we can pull. We'll continue to be thoughtful, disciplined, and focused on it. But Joel, can you get just a little bit more color on how we're thinking about expenses? Yeah.

是的，我想首先，如果你回顧每一個經濟週期，你會發現我們在支出與收入一致方面有著良好的記錄，而這種一致性就是我們的北極星。這顯然至關重要，而且波動確實在過去四周內開始。但再次強調，我們已經在前進。我們可以利用很多靈活性和槓桿。我們將繼續深思熟慮、嚴守紀律並專注於此。但是喬爾，你能否更詳細地說明一下我們是如何考慮開支的？是的。

So as I said in my prior comments, Joel, we take it very seriously. We want to make sure that we do align expense with revenue, and revenue is going to be our guide. So on that front, and it's evidenced by a continued margin expansion. You look over the past year, our ability to align expense with revenue is reflected in our 40-basis point improvement year over year in margins.

因此，正如我在之前的評論中所說的那樣，喬爾，我們對此非常重視。我們希望確保支出與收入一致，並且收入將成為我們的指導。因此，從這方面來看，利潤率的持續擴大就是明證。回顧過去的一年，我們讓支出與收入一致的能力體現在利潤率同比提高了 40 個基點。

And so again, as I said before, during periods of volatility like this, we'll focus on what we can control and lean into expense management activities. So examples of those things are what you would expect, certain travel, delayed hiring, consulting spend, etc. And as we've done historically, we will actively and importantly responsibly align expense with revenues.

所以，正如我之前所說，在這樣的波動時期，我們將專注於我們能夠控制的事情並傾向於費用管理活動。這些事情的例子就是您所期望的某些旅行、延遲招聘、諮詢支出等。正如我們過去所做的那樣，我們將積極且重要地負責任地將支出與收入保持一致。

Thanks Joel, for the question.

謝謝喬爾提出這個問題。

I got it. Thank you.

我得到了它。謝謝。

Ryan Krueger, KBW.

瑞安·克魯格（Ryan Krueger），KBW。

Hey, good morning. Could you talk a little bit about client behavior in your asset management business, I guess, amidst the elevated market volatility, what changes you're seeing, and how you think that will affect activity going forward?

嘿，早安。您能否談談資產管理業務中的客戶行為？在市場波動加劇的情況下，您看到了哪些變化，以及您認為這些變化將如何影響未來的活動？

Yeah, I think that's a great question, Ryan. As I mentioned in my remarks, we're seeing some good green shoots as we think about mandates and client activity as we go through the rest of the year, but I'll ask Kamal to give some more color relative to that.

是的，我認為這是一個很好的問題，瑞安。正如我在演講中提到的那樣，當我們考慮今年剩餘時間的任務和客戶活動時，我們看到了一些好的跡象，但我會請卡邁勒對此給出更多說明。

Thank you, Deanna. Ryan, good morning. So I'll touch upon a couple of things. I think client behavior, particularly given the macro environment, has become a little bit more volatile, given rebalancing. But from my seat, what I'm seeing is a material improvement in our pipeline.

謝謝你，迪安娜。瑞安，早安。因此我將談及幾件事。我認為，客戶行為，特別是在宏觀環境下，在重新平衡的情況下變得更加不穩定。但從我的角度來看，我看到的是我們的管道有了實質的改善。

What I would highlight for you and what I'm most excited about is how clients are actually helping improve the business fundamentals of asset management. And I'll give you three reasons what I would highlight there for you.

我想向您強調的以及我最興奮的是客戶如何真正幫助改善資產管理的業務基礎。我將向你們強調三個理由。

One, I think as you highlighted is, in 1Q, you highlighted our NCF behavior, but it truly doesn't capture the strengthening of our underlying business fundamentals because net revenue rate for asset management continues to increase substantially. In fact, mandates that we are bringing in now are higher than our average book of business, so that's certainly aligned with our strength in private markets and some of the strategies we have outside the US.

首先，我認為正如您所強調的那樣，在第一季度，您強調了我們的 NCF 行為，但它並沒有真正體現我們基礎業務基本面的加強，因為資產管理的淨收益率繼續大幅增長。事實上，我們現在獲得的授權高於我們的平均業務量，所以這肯定與我們在私人市場的實力以及我們在美國以外的一些策略相一致。

The other piece of client behavior that I would highlight for you is our global pipeline which we actively track is materially going up. In fact, one of the measures that I see in clients is right now there is an increased activity in business now versus business later. So the way you think about it, RFPs are requests for money now versus RFIs versus informational requests. And we are seeing a lot of activity from investment consultants.

我想向您強調的另一個客戶行為是，我們積極追蹤的全球管道正在大幅增加。事實上，我從客戶身上看到的一個指標就是現在的業務活動比以後的業務活動增加。所以您可以這樣想，RFP 是現在的資金請求，而 RFI 則是資訊請求。我們看到投資顧問的積極活動。

In fact, just in one queue, we are running at 40% of our annual run rate volume. So activity as the quality of mandates that are coming and we are participating is going up and the net revenue rate is going up with the client mandates.

事實上，僅在一個隊列中，我們的運行量就達到了年運行量的 40%。因此，隨著客戶授權的增加，我們參與的授權品質也在提高，淨收入率也在提高。

Thanks, Ryan. Do you have a follow-up?

謝謝，瑞安。你有後續行動嗎？

Thanks, yes, I guess a similar question on retirement. One of your competitors, a few weeks ago said they were seeing elevated hardship withdrawals. Is that something you're seeing at all? It seems like the metrics you were citing still seemed pretty constructive but wanted to hear what you're seeing there.

謝謝，是的，我想問一個關於退休的類似問題。幾週前，你們的一個競爭對手錶示，他們發現困難提款的情況增加。這是你所看到的嗎？看起來您引用的指標仍然很有建設性，但我想聽聽您看到的內容。

Hey Chris, I'll have you take that.

嘿，克里斯，我讓你拿著這個。

Yeah. Hi, Ryan, thank you. With respect to participant behavior, broadly, I'd say from an investment perspective we're definitely seeing risk on to risk off activity and a change out into more guaranteed options. With respect to withdrawals, we really haven't seen hardship withdrawals in particular. We really haven't seen a significant increase in loans or hardship withdrawals from our participants at this point.

是的。嗨，瑞安，謝謝你。就參與者的行為而言，從投資角度來看，我們肯定會看到風險轉向風險規避活動，以及轉向更有保障的選擇。關於提款，我們確實沒有看到特別困難的提款。目前，我們確實沒有看到參與者的貸款或困難提款有顯著增加。

So it's largely in line with last year's quarter as well as on a quarter on quarter in a in a trailing 12 month basis. We're just -- we're not seeing that as a big driver of of activity. If I think broadly just outside of loans and withdrawals and just about participant withdrawals in general, that rate is stabilized as well. And so when we look at participant draws both on a quarter over quarter and the trailing 12 month basis, it's largely in line and has stabilized. As we indicated, that was our expectation last quarter. And we've seen that come through.

因此，它與去年同期以及過去 12 個月的環比情況基本一致。我們只是——我們並不認為這是活動的主要驅動力。如果我廣泛地考慮貸款和提款之外以及一般參與者的提款，那麼該比率也是穩定的。因此，當我們查看季度環比和過去 12 個月的參與者吸引情況時，我們發現情況基本上一致並且已經穩定下來。正如我們所指出的，這是我們上個季度的預期。我們已經看到這一點了。

Now dollars of participant withdrawals are up -- they are up in line with the increase in average a, which really speaks to that impact that equity market performance has on on flows and withdrawals. So overall, we're not seeing major changes in either loans or hardship withdrawals or in participant withdrawal rate at this time.

現在參與者的提款金額有所增加——與平均金額的成長同步，這確實說明了股票市場表現對資金流入和提款的影響。因此總體而言，我們目前沒有看到貸款或困難提款或參與者提款率發生重大變化。

Yeah, I think, if you look at the revenue growth and the and the margin that Chris's business put out in the first quarter, it is a strength of our and a testament to the strategy, and ultimately the fundamentals of that business remain very strong. So next question.

是的，我認為，如果你看看克里斯的業務在第一季的營收成長和利潤率，這就是我們的實力，也是對策略的證明，最終該業務的基本面仍然非常強勁。那麼下一個問題。

Wilma Burdis, Raymond James.

威爾瑪伯迪斯、雷蒙詹姆斯。

Hey, good morning. Can we talk a little bit more about mortality in the life business? What were the drivers there and what's the result you saw in line with the industry? Thanks.

嘿，早安。我們能再多談談人壽保險的死亡率嗎？那裡的驅動因素是什麼？您看到的結果與業界狀況如何？謝謝。

Yeah, I'll ask Amy to answer that. Obviously, mortality can be volatile quarter to quarter. So we can highlight what drove the quarterly results, But keep in mind if we look at that over a one year and a longer term basis, our mortality still is aligned with our expectations. But Amy, a little bit more color on the quarter?

是的，我會讓艾米來回答這個問題。顯然，死亡率每季都會有波動。因此，我們可以強調推動季度業績的因素，但請記住，如果我們從一年和更長期的角度來看，我們的死亡率仍然與我們的預期一致。但是艾米，這個季度的顏色能再多一點嗎？

Yeah, Deanna gave a great starting point to think about the life mortality in the life business. I am going to address a couple points there though. Number one is the individual life business. Deanna hit on it. It can be a bit volatile. We saw some of that volatility flow through. We still feel really good about when we look over one year, three year, five year mortality. We definitely did see a little severity bump. We called out a specific large impact at this quarter.

是的，迪安娜為思考人壽保險業務中的生命死亡率提供了一個很好的起點。不過，我還是要談幾點。第一是個人壽險業務。迪安娜 (Deanna) 想到了這一點。它可能有點不穩定。我們看到了一些波動。當我們回顧一年、三年、五年的死亡率時，我們仍然感到非常高興。我們確實看到了嚴重程度的輕微上升。我們指出本季存在一個具體的巨大影響。

What I would also offer though is that group life, which tends to be more of that working age population, produced a really nice result this quarter. So the severity that we're tending to tends to be where we pick up more all population, not necessarily working population.

不過，我還想說的是，團體生活（往往更多針對工作年齡人口）本季取得了非常好的成果。因此，我們傾向於關注的嚴重程度往往是影響到所有人口，而不一定是勞動人口。

Yeah, Amy, I do know the current quarter's results in individual life was driven much more by severity and even a single large claim. So any color on that larger claim?

是的，艾米，我知道本季個人壽險的業績更多地受到嚴重程度甚至單筆大額索賠的影響。那麼，對於這更大的主張，有什麼具體解釋嗎？

Yeah, I think we provided a little bit of color on that larger claim. That larger claim is one that's been on our books for 26 years. It is one where we took a small portion of what appears to be a much larger Insurable benefit at the time. And so my guess is that that particular claim will have some impact across the industry, again that could be with mutual or public companies, and it could be with reinsurers as well.

是的，我認為我們對這個更大的主張提供了一些說明。這項更大的索賠要求已記錄在我們帳簿上 26 年了。我們當時只拿走了看似數額大得多的可保福利中的一小部分。因此，我猜測，該特定索賠將對整個行業產生一定影響，可能對互助保險公司或上市公司產生影響，也可能對再保險公司產生影響。

Thanks. Do you have a follow-up question?

謝謝。您還有其他問題嗎？

Sure. Could you provide a little bit of an update on the growth of the spread-based products in retirement? I think you touched on this a bit earlier, but has it been growing and could market uncertainty accelerate that glide path? Thanks.

當然。您能否提供一些有關退休利差產品成長的最新情況？我認為您之前已經提到過這一點，但是這種趨勢是否一直在增長？市場不確定性是否會加速這種下滑趨勢？謝謝。

Yeah, that's a great question, and obviously, that does provide some resilience to our overall results. And there's many different aspects of of what drives that spread including even aspects from our [41-k] business. So Chris, maybe give a little bit more of a flavor there?

是的，這是一個很好的問題，顯然，這確實為我們的整體結果提供了一定的彈性。推動這種傳播的因素有很多，包括我們 [41-k] 業務的許多方面。那麼克里斯，也許可以再多一點味道吧？

Yeah, sure. Good morning, Wilma. When I think about spread-based growth overall, we're seeing really strong performance in our spread-based businesses. We saw a strong registered index-linked annuity sales, up over $500 million. We had a strong PRT quarter over $800 million. And we're also as part of our overall strategy, continuing to drive additional utilization of our guaranteed fixed rate products into our retirement plans. And so we're seeing nice WSRS GA growth as well.

是的，當然。早上好，威瑪。當我考慮基於利差的整體成長時，我們看到基於利差的業務表現非常強勁。我們看到註冊指數掛鉤年金銷售額強勁，成長超過 5 億美元。我們的 PRT 本季表現強勁，營收超過 8 億美元。作為我們整體策略的一部分，我們將繼續推動在退休計劃中更多地利用我們的保證固定利率產品。因此我們也看到了良好的 WSRS GA 成長。

So really strong, and that's really part of the strategy is we continue to drive profitable growth, profitable plan dynamics, and using spread where it makes sense to serve our customers' needs. And so we are seeing positive there.

所以真的很強大，這確實是策略的一部分，我們將繼續推動獲利成長、獲利計畫動態，並在合理的地方使用利差來滿足客戶的需求。因此我們看到了積極的一面。

If you look at sort of where we see a little bit of pressure on the spread base, it would be in the investment only. So if you think about investment only, that's an opportunistic business for us. We dial it up or down depending on what other opportunities we have to deploy capital.

如果你看一下我們在利差基礎上看到的一點壓力，那可能只是在投資方面。因此，如果你只考慮投資，這對我們來說就是一項機會主義業務。我們根據部署資本的其他機會來調高或調低這一比例。

And given the fact that we've been able to deploy capital and at nice returns and whether it's RILA PRT or WSRS GA products, we have sort of dialed down investment only. And that contributed a drag of $500 million in the current quarter, given Iow maturities and and the issuance that we lower issuance that we did in Q1 this year versus last year. So again, really seeing positive dynamics on spread and it is part of our overall strategy and RAS to drive overall total revenue and profitable revenue growth.

鑑於我們已經能夠部署資本並獲得良好的回報，無論是 RILA PRT 還是 WSRS GA 產品，我們都只是減少了投資。由於到期債券較少，且發行量低於去年同期，本季造成了 5 億美元的拖累。因此，我們再次看到利差的正面動態，這是我們整體策略和 RAS 的一部分，旨在推動總收入和獲利收入的成長。

Thanks, Wilma hope that helped.

謝謝，威爾瑪，希望這能有所幫助。

Yeah, thank you.

是的，謝謝。

Next question.

下一個問題。

Wes Carmichael, Autonomous Research.

韋斯·卡邁克爾，自主研究。

Good morning.

早安.

Good morning, Deanna. On specialty benefits, I was hoping you could talk a little bit about your approach to new business in the quarter. I think you mentioned dental price earning earning in there. Are you done with actions on dental and any other products where you're taking price, because I think sales are down across most lines and you know I'm asking this in recognition of a very good underwriting result?

早安，迪安娜。關於特殊福利，我希望您能談談本季新業務的方針。我認為您在那裡提到了牙科價格收益。您是否已經完成了對牙科和其他任何正在降價的產品的行動，因為我認為大多數產品的銷售額都在下降，而且您知道我問這個問題是為了表彰非常好的承保結果？

Yeah, I'll ask Amy to expand upon that. Obviously, we have a very competitive SPB product portfolio. There were some dynamics that impacted that growth rate year over year, including the PFML volatility. But I'll ask Amy to give some more color on sales, what we're seeing, and how it leads into our overall results.

是的，我會請艾米詳細說明這一點。顯然，我們擁有非常有競爭力的 SPB 產品組合。有一些動態因素影響了該成長率的逐年變化，其中包括 PFML 波動。但我會讓艾米對銷售情況、我們看到的情況以及它如何影響我們的整體業績給予更多的說明。

Yeah, thanks. So Deanna and Joel both caught this in their earlier prepared remarks, but new sales quarter over quarter is a difficult comparison. So we've mentioned that keeping in mind that paid family medical leave does come through that group disability line. So specifically, we had a state come online last year first quarter. And so it makes those comparisons. So when I back that out of the comparison, the new sales GAAP to expectations really is coming from dental.

是的，謝謝。因此，迪安娜和喬爾都在他們之前準備好的發言中提到了這一點，但新銷售額的季度環比變化很難進行比較。因此，我們已經提到，請記住帶薪家庭醫療假確實是透過團體殘障保險金發放的。具體來說，去年第一季我們有一個州開始上線。因此它進行了這些比較。因此，當我從比較中回過頭來看時，新的 GAAP 銷售額與預期相比確實來自牙科。

Since the third quarter of last year, we've experienced increased dental competition. I think we've talked about it a few times. We're seeing some mutual companies, medical carriers, and to a lesser extent, probably other public company peers be really competitive in that space.

自去年第三季以來，我們經歷了日益激烈的牙科競爭。我想我們已經討論過幾次了。我們看到一些互助公司、醫療公司，以及在較小程度上其他上市公司同行在該領域確實具有競爭力。

So what we're doing there is staying really disciplined. We know that new sale pricing on all of our products, including dental benefits from staying disciplined. When we've got a customer pricing impact, particularly for SMBs that moves around a lot, that really means that their ability to plan for cash flow just isn't there. So we do everything we can to keep those consistent predictable renewals happening. And that really starts with keeping that discipline on new sale.

因此，我們所做的就是保持嚴格的紀律。我們知道，我們所有產品的新銷售價格，包括遵守紀律的牙科福利。當我們對客戶定價產生影響時，特別是對於經常變動的中小型企業來說，這實際上意味著他們缺乏規劃現金流的能力。因此，我們竭盡全力保持這些持續、可預測的更新。而這其實始於對新銷售的嚴格遵守。

You had specifically asked about dental pricing. We had taken a series of actions on dental pricing throughout '24 and even in early '25. And the thing to keep in mind there is that when we take those actions, they hit first on new sales. So when we adjust that, we see that immediately in our new sale. And I would say that is what we're seeing in the result quarter over quarter.

您特別詢問了牙科價格。我們在 2024 年乃至 2025 年初就牙科定價採取了一系列行動。要記住的是，當我們採取這些行動時，它們首先會影響到新的銷售。因此，當我們進行調整時，我們會立即在新的銷售中看到這一點。我想說，這就是我們每季看到的結果。

What is a little bit harder to keep the beat on is that those pricing actions are going to be aligned though with policy anniversaries for the enforced block of business. So it's going to blend in through the next 12 months to come in through the rest of the portfolio. What I feel really comfortable about is that when I look at its impact on loss ratio, we are going to see a loss ratio in full year '25, that is better than saw in full year '24.

更難保持節奏的是，這些定價行動將與強制執行的業務區塊的政策週年紀念日保持一致。因此，它將在未來 12 個月內融入投資組合的其餘部分。讓我感到真正安心的是，當我觀察它對損失率的影響時，我們會看到 25 年全年的損失率比 24 年全年的損失率要好。

The other thing I would add is keep in mind we function and sell and service on an enforce basis with a bundle of products. Group benefits really hit an all-time high this quarter in terms of our bundle. So that's the total coverages we have with a customer. So within that bundle, we are doing things that are not only taking action on those coverages like dental that need some corrective action, but we're also taking action on products that we're seeing good experience flow through. So we're putting things back into the rate that are very positive for us on life and disability.

我想補充的另一件事是，請記住，我們是透過捆綁產品來強制運作、銷售和服務的。就我們的福利待遇而言，本季團體福利確實創下了歷史新高。這就是我們對客戶的整體覆蓋範圍。因此，在該捆綁產品中，我們採取的措施不僅包括針對需要採取一些糾正措施的牙科等保險採取行動，還包括針對我們看到良好體驗的產品採取行動。因此，我們將那些對我們的生活和殘疾非常有利的東西重新納入利率。

So I'd point you back to looking at our persistency. So our persistency is exactly in line with where we hoped it would be for this first quarter experience and I'm really proud of that result. I think that really speaks to our renewal formula. It speaks to the things we do within the bundle. And it speaks to the fact that when we have to move up on one product, we're often able to treat the whole case in a really competitive way. So hopefully that gives a little bit more color of how we think about it and what we're expecting for '25.

因此，我希望你們回頭看看我們的堅持。因此，我們的堅持完全符合我們對第一季經驗的期望，我對這個結果感到非常自豪。我認為這確實體現了我們的更新模式。它說明了我們在捆綁包中所做的事情。這表明，當我們必須提高一種產品的銷售量時，我們通常能夠以真正具有競爭力的方式處理整個案例。所以希望這能讓大家更了解我們對此的看法以及我們對 25 年的期望。

Yeah, it does. Thank you. In just switching gears, but on variable investment income, it was a little bit of a headwind this quarter. I know it's called out in significant variances, so it's excluded from your your EPS guide. But when you think about the balance of the year, particularly in light of some equity market volatility in April, how are you now thinking about VII? I think some peers were kind of expecting normal VII for 2025, but I wonder if that view is now changed.

是的，確實如此。謝謝。只是換檔而已，但就可變投資收入而言，本季遇到了一點阻力。我知道它存在顯著差異，因此它被排除在您的 EPS 指南之外。但當您考慮今年的平衡時，特別是考慮到 4 月股市的一些波動，您現在如何看待 VII？我認為一些同行預計 2025 年 VII 會是正常的，但我不知道這種觀點現在是否發生了改變。

Yeah, thanks, Wes, for the question. I'll have Joel address that one.

是的，韋斯，謝謝你的提問。我會讓喬爾來解決這個問題。

Yeah, thanks for the question, Wes. As you mentioned, the VII performance during the quarter is very much in line with fourth quarter '24 as well as first quarter '24. And on that front, despite historically strong performance, we actually did have lower run rate hedge fund returns, which is a small part of our AS portfolio, but it did marginally pressure first quarter 2025 results. So as a reminder regarding our ATS portfolio. 50% of our portfolio is invested in real estate. So this results in lower concentration in private equity and hedge funds.

是的，謝謝你的提問，韋斯。正如您所提到的，本季的 VII 表現與 2024 年第四季以及 2024 年第一季的表現非常一致。在這方面，儘管歷史上表現強勁，但我們的對沖基金回報率實際上確實較低，這只是我們 AS 投資組合的一小部分，但確實對 2025 年第一季的業績造成了輕微壓力。因此，提醒一下我們的 ATS 投資組合。我們的投資組合中有 50% 投資於房地產。因此，這導致私募股權和對沖基金的集中度降低。

So since the majority of our real estate is not marked to market each quarter, we're sitting in a portfolio of highly appreciated assets that aren't recognized until the time of sale. So as we expected coming into the year, we did have minimal transaction activity in the quarter and continue to expect the majority of real estate transactions to occur in the latter half of the year.

因此，由於我們的房地產大多並非每季以市價計價，因此我們持有的資產組合高度升值，但直到出售時才被確認。因此，正如我們預計今年的情況一樣，本季的交易活動確實很少，我們仍然預計大多數房地產交易將發生在下半年。

So the VIA outlook for the remainder of the year is certainly dependent on again the severity and longevity of the market disruption, because that could impact our all returns as well as the timing of our planned real estate sales. So as we've always done, we'll be sure to make sure we highlight this activity as emerged over the course of the year so you have good visibility as far as what the difference is between long term expected run rate.

因此，VIA 對今年剩餘時間的前景肯定再次取決於市場混亂的嚴重程度和持續時間，因為這可能會影響我們的所有回報以及我們計劃的房地產銷售的時間。因此，正如我們一直以來所做的那樣，我們一定會強調這項活動在一年中出現的現象，以便您能夠清楚地了解長期預期運行率之間的差異。

Thanks, Wes, for the questions.

謝謝韋斯提出的問題。

Tom Gallagher, Evercore ISI.

湯姆·加拉格爾，Evercore ISI。

Good morning. First question is, can you try and help us disaggregate what's going on in your [401k] business by plan size? Maybe, referencing large case, midfall, there are different dynamics driving those and then also maybe touch a bit on just the fee rate seemed to go down a bit, when I look at fees relative to average AUM. Thanks.

早安.第一個問題是，您能否嘗試幫助我們按計劃規模細分您的 [401k] 業務的進展？也許，參考大案例，中期下跌，有不同的動力推動這些，然後也許當我查看相對於平均 AUM 的費用時，費率似乎有所下降。謝謝。

Yeah, if you look at slide score, we did give some color there that highlights both the strong fundamentals that we're seeing for the overall block as well as the even stronger results regarding transfer deposits, recurring deposits, and that cash flow that we saw for SMBs. Obviously, the biggest difference is the volatility that we can see in flows from large case both on the ins and outs. But I'll ask Chris to add some more color there around just the overall dynamics.

是的，如果你看幻燈片分數，我們確實給出了一些顏色，突出顯示了我們看到的整體區塊的強勁基本面，以及轉帳存款、定期存款和中小企業現金流的更強勁結果。顯然，最大的差異是我們可以從大額案例中看到流入和流出的波動性。但我會要求克里斯在整體動態方面添加更多色彩。

Yeah, thanks, Tom. And I think Deanne is obviously spot on. I mean, I think when we look at the dynamics, we continue to see very healthy consistent patterns with our SMB business. And if I look at transfer deposits for SMBs, we're up nearly 30% in the quarter. We see really strong recurring deposit better than the overall average. So that's really been the core engine for our principal and continues to be a really core engine for us.

是的，謝謝，湯姆。我認為 Deanne 的說法顯然是正確的。我的意思是，我認為當我們觀察動態時，我們會繼續看到我們的中小企業業務保持非常健康的一致模式。如果我看一下中小企業的轉帳存款，我們會發現本季成長了近 30%。我們看到經常性存款確實比整體平均更好。所以這確實是我們校長的核心引擎，並且將繼續成為我們真正的核心引擎。

On large, it just tends to be a little more lumpy. There's fewer plants that trade, and the timing of when they come in and when they go out has a fairly significant impact on flows just because of the size. But overall, that's what I would say, it's a bit more lumpy and volatile on the large end. But the core SMB is a bit more consistent and showing signs of strength.

從整體來看，它只是趨向於更加塊狀。參與交易的工廠越來越少，而且由於規模的原因，它們進出的時間對流量有相當大的影響。但整體而言，我想說的是，大盤的波動性更大一些。但核心 SMB 更加穩定，並顯示出強勁的跡象。

On a new sales basis, we're seeing strengths across all segments. So we do see a really nice pipeline across all of the segments across our 401k business. So we see really positive dynamics there. And I would say the other thing that we see on the benefit from the large segment is we are seeing nice growth in participants. And those participants give us opportunities to serve those individuals both within the plan as well as upon rollover.

在新的銷售基礎上，我們看到各個細分市場都表現出優勢。因此，我們確實看到 401k 業務各個部分都存在非常好的管道。因此，我們看到那裡確實存在著積極的動態。我想說的是，我們看到的大型細分市場的另一個好處是，參與者的數量正在穩步增長。這些參與者為我們提供了在計劃內以及展期後為這些人提供服務的機會。

And if we look at just retail customers we disclosed for you on slide 4, that number's up about 10% over the past year. And so the large is bringing us some real benefits as well despite the fact that it does have a bit more volatile flow pattern.

如果我們只看投影片 4 中向您揭露的零售客戶，那麼這個數字在過去一年中成長了約 10%。因此，儘管規模確實存在一些更不穩定的流動模式，但它也為我們帶來了一些真正的好處。

On your fee rate question, well, we did see some of the same pressures that we've seen in the past. If we look at fee revenue rate, it's down a little bit more than 3 bps on the 12 month compare, which we think is the best way to look at it. But as we talked about in past quarters, we attribute at least a bit of that to the market outperformance that is creating pressure when you have, those periods of market outperformance. And we continue to see market outperformance of in Q1 this year of 40% higher than Q1 last year.

關於您的費率問題，我們確實看到了一些與過去相同的壓力。如果我們看一下費用收入率，就會發現與 12 個月相比，它下降了 3 個基點多一點，我們認為這是最好的觀察方式。但正如我們在過去幾季所討論的那樣，我們至少將其中的一部分歸因於市場優異表現，因為當市場表現優異時，市場優異表現會產生壓力。我們繼續看到今年第一季的市場表現比去年第一季高出 40%。

So that one bit pressure is not what was expected when we talk about sort of our overall 2 to 3 bps of fee compression expected in normal markets. The other thing that's happening that that maybe hasn't gotten as much visibility as we do see pressure from, variable annuity lapses. And so what we are seeing in our block is our traditional VA block is seeing some lapses, and we're capturing a lot of those lapses into our spread-based product, RILA.

因此，當我們談論正常市場中預期的整體 2 到 3 個基點的費用壓縮時，這一點壓力並不是我們所預期的。正在發生的另一件事可能還沒有引起太多關注，因為我們確實看到了來自變額年金失效的壓力。因此，我們在我們的區塊中看到的是，我們的傳統 VA 區塊出現了一些失誤，並且我們將其中的許多失誤捕捉到基於利差的產品 RILA 中。

And so while you see that overall variable annuity line staying relatively constant, there is a mixed shift that's happening there between fee and spread, and that's also putting a little bit of pressure on the fee revenue rate. Hope that's helpful, Tom.

因此，雖然您會看到整體變額年金線保持相對穩定，但費用和利差之間存在混合變化，這也給費用收入率帶來了一點壓力。希望這對你有幫助，湯姆。

That is, yeah, that was a good color, appreciate it. And just quick follow up on the spec benefit side. I heard what you said about topline and the comments there on dental. Supplemental health seemed to slow pretty significantly on earned premium, any color on what was driving that?

是的，顏色很好，很欣賞。並快速跟進規格優勢方面。我聽到了您關於 topline 以及牙科的評論。補充健康保險的收入似乎明顯放緩，有什麼原因導致的嗎？

Yeah, I'll turn it over to Amy to address that.

是的，我會將這個問題交給艾米來處理。

So I think that is much more of a function of kind of that prior year quarter over quarter comparison. In first quarter of '24, there was some one-time accounting adjustments where we shifted some premium. From the group disability over into that line. We're also then seeing that play through. So it's a comparative issue.

因此我認為這更多的是去年同期與上一季的比較結果。在 2024 年第一季度，我們進行了一些一次性會計調整，轉移了一些保費。從團體殘障轉到那條線上。我們也看到了這一幕。所以這是一個比較問題。

What I would say is when you strip that one-time readjustments we did out, that block is actually growing in excess of the rest of our block. So we're seeing actually a true higher growth rate, and I would expect that to more clearly emerge through the rest of the year while we don't have that noise in the first quarter to first quarter comparison.

我想說的是，當你去掉我們所做的一次性調整時，這個區塊的成長實際上超過了我們其餘區塊的成長。因此，我們實際上看到了真正的更高的成長率，我預計這一趨勢將在今年剩餘時間內更加明顯，而在第一季與第一季的比較中我們不會聽到這種噪音。

And Amy, I think that noise obviously impacted premium as just discussed, but also had some impact on the loss ratio of both the group disability line and the supplemental health line as well and so. Again, it was just a reclassification of some of the premium within our our specialty benefit business.

艾米，我認為噪音顯然影響了保費，正如剛才討論的那樣，但也對團體殘障險和補充健康險的損失率產生了一定影響。再次強調，這只是對我們的專業福利業務中的部分保費的重新分類。

I agree. I think the fundamental question is, are we seeing some sort of slowdown attractiveness in the supplemental health? And my answer is no, we are not. It is actually growing at probably double the rate as the other products in our portfolio.

我同意。我認為根本問題是，我們是否看到補充保健的吸引力有所放緩？我的回答是“不”，我們不是。實際上，它的成長速度可能是我們產品組合中其他產品的兩倍。

Gotcha, that's a good color. Thank you.

明白了，這個顏色不錯。謝謝。

Thanks, Tom, for the questions.

謝謝湯姆提出的問題。

Suneet Kamath, Jeffrey's.

蘇尼特·卡馬斯 (Suneet Kamath)，傑弗裡 (Jeffrey) 的。

Great, thanks. I wanted to focus on the small, medium-sized business market. Clearly the first quarter, I think things are kind of business as usual. but I'm just wondering, given everything that's happened so far in April and maybe it's just too early to tell, but are you getting a sense of any sort of changes in terms of how people are thinking, just given the volatility that we're seeing and employment trends and all that kind of stuff? I mean, you guys have a pretty good view of that market. So I'm just curious if anything is changing in the more recent term.

太好了，謝謝。我想專注於中小型企業市場。顯然，在第一季度，我認為一切都如常。但我只是想知道，考慮到四月份迄今為止發生的一切，也許現在下結論還為時過早，但考慮到我們所看到的波動性以及就業趨勢和所有這類東西，您是否感覺到人們的想法發生了任何變化？我的意思是，你們對那個市場有很好的看法。所以我只是好奇最近一段時間是否有什麼改變。

The great news is we've been able to watch the dynamics of the SMB market through many different cycles. And through every cycle that I've lived through, it has been more resilient than the overall block of business of all large cases. And it continues to be a source of strength and differentiation. I'll maybe ask Amy just to share a little bit more about what we're hearing from our customers, how we're thinking about impacts. But I think bottom line sitting here today, we haven't seen meaningful impacts. But ultimately, we'll continue to monitor that as we go forward. So, Amy?

好消息是，我們能夠透過許多不同的周期觀察中小企業市場的動態。在我經歷過的每一個週期中，它都比所有大型案件的整體業務更具彈性。它將繼續成為力量和差異化的來源。我可能會請艾米分享我們從客戶那裡聽到的消息以及我們對影響的看法。但我認為，從今天來看，我們還沒有看到有意義的影響。但最終，我們會繼續監控此事。那麼，艾米？

Yeah, I think you're both right. It is a little early to make a call on this, but we would be -- we have a decent amount of data in April to kind of make some, assessments. And what I would say is Deanna's exactly right. We aren't seeing a deterioration in some of the key metrics that we look at.

是的，我認為你們兩個都是對的。現在就下結論還為時過早，但我們在四月已經掌握了相當多的數據，可以進行一些評估。我想說的是，迪安娜說得完全正確。我們沒有看到我們所關注的一些關鍵指標出現惡化。

I do want to start with a reminder. I'm going to take us back to something we shared at Investor Day last November, and that is that Principal's block of small and mid-sized companies really have been in business a long time. So that's an average of 30 years across our group benefits and WSRS portfolios. So that means they've seen several economic cycles. So they've gone through GFC and the pandemic.

我確實想先提醒一下。我要回顧一下我們在去年 11 月投資者日分享的一件事，那就是 Principal 旗下的中小型公司確實已經營業很久了。因此，我們的團體福利和 WSRS 投資組合的平均期限為 30 年。這意味著他們已經經歷了幾個經濟週期。所以他們經歷了全球金融危機和疫情。

And it means they've used those experiences to plan for some level of uncertainty with respect to those factors. So when I look at working capital, staffing, lending sources, and where relevant things like production capacity. They have thought ahead on all of those things. So when we talk about resiliency again. Companies that have been in business for three decades tend to have the ability to plan with a in a little more informed way than people who are really young companies. So our block tends to have good planning in place.

這意味著他們已經利用這些經驗來應對與這些因素相關的某種程度的不確定性。因此，當我查看營運資金、人員配備、貸款來源以及生產能力等相關事項時。他們已經提前考慮過所有這些事情。所以當我們再次談論彈性時。與年輕公司相比，經營了三十年的公司往往更有能力以更明智的方式進行規劃。所以我們的街區往往有好的規劃。

Specific to this latest economic uncertainty -- and again some of that is related to the tariff uncertainty. We did actually field a quick survey that Deanna mentioned. We fielded that to over 250 of our own S&B customers in early April to get a sense of kind of where their sentiment is. And one of the most interesting things that came out of that was that although businesses are definitely saying we think it'll have an impact, we think it could impact growth, they are targeting actions towards things like supply chain adjustments, customer pricing changes or even bracing for some sort of temporary margin contraction, but very few were planning to take action on things like benefits or staffing or wages.

具體到最新的經濟不確定性——其中一些又與關稅不確定性有關。我們確實進行了迪安娜提到的快速調查。我們在 4 月初向我們自己的 250 多名 S&B 客戶提出了這個問題，以了解他們的觀點。最有趣的事情之一是，儘管企業肯定地說我們認為它會產生影響，我們認為它可能會影響成長，但他們針對的是供應鏈調整、客戶價格變化，甚至準備好應對某種暫時的利潤收縮，但很少有企業計劃在福利、人員配備或工資等方面採取行動。

And qualitatively, when we ask them a little bit more about that, what they tell us is that they couldn't get to full staffing after 2020 and 2021, and they remember that. And so right now, they're saying we'll take some short-term changes, meaning we won't have to impact our own workforce. So we take that as a really insightful point for this marketplace. And we know that this macro conditions are weighing on them. We know it's on their minds, but we really feel like our block is well positioned in this environment.

從品質上講，當我們進一步詢問他們有關情況時，他們告訴我們，2020 年和 2021 年後他們無法實現滿員，他們記得這一點。所以現在，他們說我們將採取一些短期改變，這意味著我們不會影響我們自己的勞動力。因此，我們認為這對這個市場來說是一個非常有見地的觀點。我們知道宏觀環境對他們造成了壓力。我們知道他們有這個想法，但我們確實覺得我們的街區在這種環境下處於有利地位。

Hope that helps.

希望有幫助。

Yeah, it does. That's very helpful. So the second question, I just wanted to go back to Chris on the participant withdrawals. So on these calls, you and others have kind of conditioned us to think the dollar amount of withdrawals will go up as markets go up. And I think we kind of Understand the reasons for that. So if markets remain kind of choppy here, should we be expecting to see the opposite of that? In other words, those nominal withdrawals will decline because markets are down or just want to get a sense of of how you're thinking about that?

是的，確實如此。這非常有幫助。所以第二個問題，我只是想回到克里斯關於參與者退出的問題。因此，在這些電話會議上，您和其他人已經讓我們認為，隨著市場上漲，提款金額也會上升。我想我們大概明白其中的原因了。那麼，如果市場仍然波動的話，我們是否應該期待看到相反的情況？換句話說，這些名義上的提款將會因為市場低迷而下降，或者只是想了解您對此有何看法？

Yeah, thanks. To me, I think it works both ways. I mean, obviously as the market values drop, the overall level of an amount of withdrawals reduces as well. So we would expect to see the converse also play out there if you need as well. And I think, flows, again, as you know we said on prior quarters, flows we do monitor flows, but we don't run the business for flows. We run the business for revenue and profit.

是的，謝謝。對我來說，我認為這是雙向的。我的意思是，顯然隨著市場價值的下降，提款的整體水準也會降低。因此，如果您需要的話，我們也希望看到相反的情況發生。我認為，正如我們在前幾個季度所說的那樣，流量我們確實監控流量，但我們並不是為了流量而開展業務。我們經營業務是為了收入和利潤。

And so when we think about sort of this year, net revenue is going to be highly dependent on what happens in the market. But when we look at margin, we think we're going to be able to deliver margin in the top half regardless of the marketing conditions, which really focuses on sort of that profitable growth, being able to withstand what's happening in the participant dynamics or the contract lapse dynamics, and really driving as much profitable growth as we can in RAS.

因此，當我們考慮今年的情況時，淨收入將高度依賴市場的情況。但當我們考慮利潤率時，我們認為無論行銷條件如何，我們都能夠實現上半部分的利潤率，這實際上側重於盈利增長，能夠承受參與者動態或合約失效動態的變化，並真正推動 RAS 盡可能多的盈利增長。

Got it. Thank you.

知道了。謝謝。

Jack Martin, BMO Capital Markets.

傑克馬丁 (Jack Martin)，BMO 資本市場。

Good morning, Jack.

早上好，傑克。

Hi, good morning. I just firstly a follow-up question on the, RAS fee rate drivers. I know you talked about the impact of market outperformance and VA lapses. I guess on a on a forward-looking basis, would you expect less of an impact from those drivers? Is there any impact on on fee rates of participants or shifting their allocations into more, risk off products? I guess it's just any other color of how you see fee rates evolving and moving forward.

嗨，早安。我首先想問一個關於 RAS 費率驅動因素的後續問題。我知道您談到了市場優異表現和 VA 失效的影響。我想，從前瞻性的角度來看，您是否認為這些驅動因素的影響會較小？這會對參與者的費率或將他們的配置轉移到更多避險產品上產生什麼影響嗎？我想這只是您看待費率演變和前進的其他方式。

Yeah, Jack, I'll ask Chris to address that.

是的，傑克，我會讓克里斯來解決這個問題。

Yeah, thanks, Jack. No, I mean, I think we expect our ongoing guidance to hold true. In normal markets, we can continue to expect 2 bps to 3 bps of compression and that's coming from movements in or out of proprietary solutions, movements from active to passive. That's all captured and as well as the pricing, both on new sales and retention basis. So that's where that fee Is coming from.

是的，謝謝，傑克。不，我的意思是，我認為我們希望我們持續的指導能夠得到落實。在正常市場中，我們可以繼續預期 2 bps 到 3 bps 的壓縮，這是由於專有解決方案的進出、從主動到被動的變動所致。所有這些都包括在內，包括新銷售和保留基礎上的定價。這就是這筆費用的來源。

When we think about the movement to, I think you said a spread base that that really wouldn't impact the fee revenue rate. It would look at our total revenue rate, but it wouldn't impact fee revenue rates. So it really is market op performance that is driving a little bit escalated, and then that VA lapse that's creating the additional pressure on fee revenue rate, over and above what we would normally expect.

當我們考慮這一變動時，我認為您說的利差基數實際上不會影響費用收入率。它會考慮我們的總收入率，但不會影響費用收入率。因此，實際上是市場營運表現導致了費用收入率略有上升，而 VA 失誤又給費用收入率帶來了額外的壓力，超出了我們通常的預期。

does that answer your question?

這回答了你的問題嗎？

It does, yes, thank you. And to follow up on the pension risk transfer market outlook, it was a good start to the year for principal in terms of new business. And I think you referenced positive momentum earlier. I'm just wondering if you expect any near term kind of headwinds for market volatility and any other color on the outlook for that market?

是的，謝謝。為了跟進退休金風險轉移市場的前景，對於本金人來說，今年的新業務開局良好。我認為您之前提到了積極的勢頭。我只是想知道您是否預期短期內市場波動會出現任何不利因素，以及該市場的前景是否有其他影響？

Yeah, thanks, Jack. We don't. I mean, I think it's expected the industry estimates expect another strong year for PRT transactions. When you look at the funding levels of defined benefit plans, while the funding levels have come down, there's still over 100%. And we still have a good pipeline of opportunities. So good start to the year. We're still focused on making sure that we get the right return level for the sales that we're putting on and for the capital that we're investing in that business. But we expect full year '25, at least right now, to be about the same ballpark as it was in '24 on PRT sales.

是的，謝謝，傑克。我們沒有。我的意思是，我認為業界預計 PRT 交易將再創強勁成長的一年。當你查看固定收益計畫的資金水準時，雖然資金水準已經下降，但仍超過 100%。我們仍然擁有大量良好的機會。今年的開始真好。我們仍然致力於確保我們所做的銷售和我們在該業務上投資的資本獲得正確的回報水平。但我們預計，至少目前，25 年全年的 PRT 銷售額將與 24 年大致相同。

Yeah, the other thing Jack I'd mentioned there is if an employer is thinking of moving into a PRT, they've de-risked their portfolio to be much more based on, less riskier assets, which then it does make the equity movements less impactful to how people think about transacting in that business.

是的，傑克，我提到的另一件事是，如果雇主考慮轉入 PRT，他們就會降低投資組合的風險，更多地基於風險較低的資產，這樣一來，股權變動對人們如何看待該業務交易的影響就會減小。

Thank you.

謝謝。

Mike Ward, UBS.

瑞銀集團的麥克沃德。

Thank you. Good morning. I recognize there's a lot of uncertainty out there. But I was just wondering if you could comment on, how you're approaching the buyback, in this volatility.

謝謝。早安.我認識到存在很多不確定性。但我只是想知道您是否可以評論一下，在這種波動的情況下，您如何處理回購。

Yeah, great question, Mike, I think what I would say there is we're in a strong capital position. We had strong deployment in the quarter. And if I think about our capital deployment strategy, it remains grounded in long-term discipline and flexibility. We haven't made any changes to our strategy, and we'll continue to be prudent in returning excess capital to shareholders. But I'll see if Joel has anything to add there.

是的，麥克，這個問題問得很好，我想說的是，我們的資本狀況非常強勁。我們在本季進行了強而有力的部署。如果我考慮我們的資本配置策略，它仍然以長期紀律和靈活性為基礎。我們的策略沒有做任何改變，我們將繼續謹慎地向股東返還多餘的資本。但我會看看喬爾是否還有什麼要補充的。

Yeah, Mike, just a couple of that, our capital deployment plans that we communicate in outlook are very much intact. And that's demonstrating the $200 million of share buybacks we did during the first quarter. So we have an active share buyback program in place during the second quarter. So on that front, we're well on our way to delivering on the $700 million to $1 billion of share back by guidance on 2025.

是的，麥克，我們在展望中傳達的資本部署計劃非常完整。這顯示我們在第一季回購了 2 億美元的股票。因此，我們在第二季度實施了積極的股票回購計劃。因此，在這方面，我們正在順利實現 2025 年 7 億至 10 億美元的市佔率目標。

And also an indication of our capital strength is the $0.01 dividend increase. We're committed to that 40% dividend payout ratio, a 9% trailing 12-month increase over the prior period. And so again we feel really good about our ability to deliver on our capital deployment plans. And as Deanna said, we'll continue to be disciplined and balance our deployment.

股利增加 0.01 美元也是我們資本實力的體現。我們致力於實現 40% 的股息支付率，比上一期的過去 12 個月增長 9%。因此，我們再次對我們實現資本部署計劃的能力感到非常滿意。正如迪安娜所說，我們將繼續嚴守紀律，平衡部署。

Okay, thank you. And (multiple speakers) Yeah, maybe I was thinking maybe for Kamal. From your viewpoint, you guys, touch a lot of different asset classes. I was just wondering if you see any pockets of weakness or is everything kind of like in a holding pattern across credit? Thank you.

好的，謝謝。（多位發言者）是的，也許我在為卡馬爾考慮。從你們的角度來看，你們接觸了許多不同的資產類別。我只是想知道您是否看到任何薄弱環節，或者信貸領域是否都處於停滯狀態？謝謝。

Yeah, I think, Kamal already reiterated that we're seeing some really good winds coming through, and ultimately some of that is even funding as we sit here in April during extreme volatility, but maybe you can talk about some of those asset classes where we're seeing strength.

是的，我認為，卡邁勒已經重申，我們看到了一些非常好的風向，最終其中一些甚至是資金，因為我們正處於四月份極端波動的時期，但也許你可以談談我們看到的一些強勁的資產類別。

Yeah, absolutely, Mike. So I think it's a great question because I do think post-April credit spreads have widened across everything. And so what I do think is happening is there is activity now picking up in how you access credit from client's perspective. You heard us mention that we are seeing increased activity in places like high yield and even preferred securities.

是的，當然，麥克。所以我認為這是一個很好的問題，因為我確實認為四月份之後各領域的信貸利差都有所擴大。因此，我確實認為，現在正在發生的是，從客戶的角度來看，如何獲得信貸的活動正在增加。您聽到我們提到，我們看到高收益證券甚至優先證券等領域的活動增加。

And one of the reasons we are seeing that is over the last few years, many clients chose riskier credit managers, particularly given the environment we were in and the strength of the economy. And as the volatility of the economy increases, we see a lot of investors trying to now reallocate to a different kind of a credit manager, and we're seeing the benefit of that across our fixed income business.

我們看到這種情況的原因之一是，在過去幾年中，許多客戶選擇了風險更高的信貸經理，特別是考慮到我們所處的環境和經濟實力。隨著經濟波動性的增加，我們看到許多投資者現在試圖重新分配給不同類型的信貸經理，我們在固定收益業務中看到了這種做法的好處。

In fact, over time, we'll probably see that benefit even come through our real estate debt business. One of the things we started a few years ago, which is scaling up quite well is our infrastructure debt business, which primarily accesses long duration, sort of investment grade infrastructure growth. And that's a space where now credit interest is substantially going up.

事實上，隨著時間的推移，我們甚至可能會看到這種利益透過我們的房地產債務業務實現。我們幾年前開始的項目之一是基礎設施債務業務，目前規模正在擴大，主要涉及長期、投資等級的基礎設施成長。現在這個領域的信用利息正在大幅上升。

So yes, the markets have become more volatile, but I think there's a flight to better, more conservative credit manager, which certainly pays to our strengths right now.

所以是的，市場確實變得更加動盪，但我認為人們正在轉向更好、更保守的信貸管理，這無疑有利於我們目前的優勢。

Thank you. Next question.

謝謝。下一個問題。

Jimmy Buller, JP Morgan Securities.

摩根大通證券的吉米布勒 (Jimmy Buller)。

Good morning. Hi, I had a question just on your flows across the three main businesses RAS, asset management, and international pension. Your comments on the pipeline have been generally constructive, but flows were weak across all of those businesses. And I think you did outline the loss of a couple of large mandates in both of them, but, maybe just give us a little bit more insight into what's going on in terms of flows?

早安.您好，我有一個關於您在 RAS、資產管理和國際退休金三大主要業務中的流動情況的問題。您對管道的評論總體上是建設性的，但所有這些業務的流量都很弱。我認為您確實概述了在這兩件事中都失去了一些重要的授權，但是，也許您能讓我們更深入地了解一下流程方面發生的事情嗎？

Yeah, maybe I'll talk to -- I'll have Kamal start with investment management and international pension. And I think the dynamics that that we've continued to talk to you about, really resonate in all of those businesses, which is all flows are not created equally.

是的，也許我會談談——我會讓卡邁勒從投資管理和國際退休金開始。我認為我們一直與您談論的動態確實在所有這些業務中引起了共鳴，即並非所有流程都是平等的。

And even with the significant outflows that we saw in investment management, in the first quarter, the actual run rate revenue on those negative flows were actually positive. And so again, I know it's an important metric. It's one we focus on. But ultimately, we're here to drive revenue and earnings growth for our shareholders. But ultimately, maybe some additional color, and then we didn't talk about international pension, and Brazil was probably a little more pressure this quarter than we would typically see in the first quarter.

即使我們看到投資管理出現大量資金流出，但在第一季度，這些負資金流的實際運作率收入實際上是正的。所以我再次強調，這是一個重要的指標。這是我們關注的重點。但最終，我們是為了股東推動營收和獲利成長。但最終，也許會有一些額外的色彩，然後我們沒有談論國際退休金，巴西本季面臨的壓力可能比我們通常在第一季看到的要大一些。

Absolutely, Deanna. Jimmy, good morning.

當然，迪安娜。吉米，早安。

I'll touch upon quickly what Deanna mentioned in our international pension businesses. There is generally seasonality in that flow, so a little bit more muted in Brazil. We believe that it's going to actually improve as the year goes by. We are actually taking some management actions in that direction. And one of the reasons it was pressured in Brazil was really macro-related. The very high rates in Brazil have certainly caused a little bit of pressure on those pension flows. But we do -- we are working on actually newer products that will work well in that environment.

我將快速談談迪安娜在我們的國際退休金業務中提到的內容。這種流動通常具有季節性，因此在巴西的情況稍微溫和一些。我們相信，隨著時間的推移，情況將會有所改善。我們實際上正在朝這個方向採取一些管理措施。巴西面臨壓力的原因之一確實與宏觀經濟有關。巴西極高的利率無疑為退休金流動帶來了一些壓力。但我們確實正在研發能夠在該環境下運作良好的新產品。

The other thing I would highlight for you when you think about cash flows is given we are such a large private market manager for us while we can continue to capital raise, NCF is dependent on deployment, and one of the things we are focused on is increasing the rate of deployment, and I'll give you a couple of figures. That gives me give me great comfort as we think about our deployment. We have certainly increased how we deploy capital. Certainly, the market gives us more opportunities at times as well.

當您考慮現金流時，我要向您強調的另一件事是，鑑於我們是如此大的私人市場管理者，雖然我們可以繼續籌集資金，但 NCF 依賴於部署，而我們關注的事情之一是提高部署率，我會給你幾個數字。當我們考慮部署時，這讓我感到非常安慰。我們確實增加了資本配置的方式。當然，市場有時也會給我們更多的機會。

This -- we deployed almost $1.35 billion on behalf of third party clients in one queue. This will not only generate fees, but over time generate performance fees for us. That is up almost $200 million more from 4Q, and I expect that pace of deployment to pick up. In fact, if I include affiliated revenue or creative deployments because you kind of think about these things in terms of how your mix of business is improving and your revenue is accreting to the book of business, it would be close to $2 billion this quarter. So I think you want to think about revenue as well as the pace of deployment we have, which generates and grows our book of business overall.

我們代表第三方客戶在一個隊列中部署了近 13.5 億美元。這不僅會產生費用，而且隨著時間的推移，還會為我們產生績效費。這比第四季增加了近 2 億美元，我預計部署速度將會加快。事實上，如果我把關聯收入或創意部署也算上的話，因為你會從業務組合如何改善以及收入如何累積到業務賬簿的角度來考慮這些事情，那麼本季度的收入將接近 20 億美元。因此，我認為您要考慮收入以及我們的部署速度，這將產生並擴大我們的整體業務。

If you have anything else on flow dynamics?

您還有什麼關於流體動力學的知識嗎？

Yeah, I think, Jimmy, we can continue to expect AB net cash flow to be to be pressured do the same trends and flow patterns and seasonality that we've experienced in in prior quarters. But again, we continue to deliver 5% net revenue growth this quarter. We delivered margins at the top end at 41%. And that's kind of how we're thinking about the business. We did have one large contract LA, so we mentioned last quarter. That was a contract that we terminated. It's not that the customer left us, but with our focus on profitable business. We did decide that the customer would be better somewhere else, and that was 2.3% low.

是的，我認為，吉米，我們可以繼續預期 AB 淨現金流將面臨與我們在前幾個季度經歷過的趨勢、流動模式和季節性相同的壓力。但本季我們的淨收入仍持續成長 5%。我們的利潤率最高達到了 41%。這就是我們對業務的看法。我們確實有一個大合同，所以我們上個季度提到過。這是我們終止的合約。這並不是說客戶離開了我們，而是我們專注於獲利業務。我們確實認為客戶在其他地方會更好，而且這個比例低了 2.3%。

Fee outflow for us in the quarter that certainly impacted flows. I previously talked about the participants' withdrawal rates and the loans and hardships. Again, loans and hardships up modestly and the rate largely in line. But they're up modestly, but it's less than 10% of overall impact on flows. So that's not going to be a big driver of the flow dynamics. So hopefully, that helps, Jimmy.

本季我們的費用流出肯定會影響流量。我之前談到了參與者的退出率以及貸款和困難。再次，貸款和困難適度增加，利率基本上保持一致。雖然漲幅不大，但對整體流量的影響還不到 10%。所以這不會成為流動動力學的主要驅動力。希望這對你有幫助，吉米。

Yeah, the only additional dynamic, Chris, and you can correct me if I'm wrong, but in extreme periods of volatility, you do see plan activity may be impacted. Obviously, that'd benefit us on the lapse side, but could impact the timing of some of the transfer deposits. But again, some of that will play out as we go forward, yeah?

是的，唯一的額外動態，克里斯，如果我錯了，你可以糾正我，但在極端波動時期，你確實會看到計劃活動可能會受到影響。顯然，這會給我們帶來損失，但可能會影響一些轉帳存款的時間。但是，隨著我們不斷前進，其中一些問題將會得到解決，對嗎？

I agree with that. Fears of volatility plan sponsors are less reluctant to have go into a blackout period with their plans. And so you could see lower transfer deposits throughout the year, but on the opposite side, we'd see higher retention which is a positive for us.

我同意這一點。由於擔心波動性，計劃發起人不太願意讓他們的計劃進入停運期。因此，您可能會看到全年的轉會存款減少，但另一方面，我們會看到更高的保留率，這對我們來說是積極的。

Thanks, Jimmy.

謝謝，吉米。

Just on your comments on the loss of lower fee business in DC and then also in asset management, has there been a change in your view on how you approach the business and versus this before? Just trying to get a sense of how the low fee business got on your platform to begin with is it all acquisition related or there's just been a view a shift in your view on how you're managing the business and being more selective than maybe a few years ago?

就您對 DC 和資產管理領域低費用業務損失的評論而言，您對業務處理方式的看法與以前相比是否有所改變？只是想了解一下低費用業務是如何開始進入你們平台的，這是否都與收購有關，或者只是你們對如何管理業務的看法發生了轉變，並且比幾年前更加挑剔？

Yeah, I think. And Chris, most of those have been were part of the IRT transaction that has impacted us more over the last. But maybe, talk just to how we're approaching new sales as well.

是的，我認為。克里斯，其中大部分都是 IRT 交易的一部分，這些交易在過去對我們影響較大。但也許，我們也應該談談如何處理新銷售。

Yeah, I mean, I think as we think about the role the large plays in retirement, it's really important component of it brings scale. It gives us opportunity to spread those fixed costs across more participants, and it gives us more participants to serve and to serve them individually as they. To manage both their qualified and non-qualified money when they look to roll out the money or do something else with those funds.

是的，我的意思是，我認為當我們思考大型企業在退休過程中扮演的角色時，它確實是帶來規模的重要組成部分。它使我們有機會將固定成本分攤給更多的參與者，也使我們能為更多的參與者提供服務，並為他們提供個人化服務。當他們想要推出資金或用這些資金做其他事情時，要管理他們的合格資金和非合格資金。

So large plays an extremely important role, but it's not an area where we generally get a lot of proprietary asset capture, for instance, and like, so we have to think about those plans, thoughtfully as we put them on. But a large percentage of them came from the acquisition, but we've been very successful in sort of gaining some momentum in the large market too, particularly with the consultant channel.

因此，規模扮演著極其重要的角色，但這不是我們通常獲得大量專有資產捕獲的領域，因此，我們必須在實施這些計劃時仔細考慮。但其中很大一部分來自收購，但我們在大型市場也取得了一定成功，尤其是在顧問通路。

Anything, Kamal, from your perspective?

卡邁勒，從你的角度來看，有什麼事嗎？

No, Jimmy, the only thing I'll give you two data points, which is a lot of this is legacy business. And I think there are probably two things to keep in mind as you think about that. One, our incentives on growing the book is heavily focused on revenue rate rather than just growth sales, and that's that's definitely a modernization. The other piece is we have integrated PGI and PI. We are naturally benefiting from the fact that international clients, when they buy global products are willing to pay a premium, particularly in the asset classes we are in.

不，吉米，我只會給你兩個數據點，其中很多都是遺留業務。我認為，當你思考這個問題時，大概有兩件事要記住。首先，我們發展圖書的動力主要集中在收入率上，而不僅僅是銷售量的成長，這絕對是一種現代化。另一部分是我們整合了 PGI 和 PI。我們自然受益於這樣一個事實：國際客戶在購買全球產品時願意支付溢價，特別是在我們所處的資產類別中。

So as the book becomes more global and we actually execute very well on our strategy of growing sales in Asia and Latin America, that provides us higher revenue, higher quality assets, which will certainly benefit the business over a long period of time.

因此，隨著圖書變得更加全球化，我們實際上很好地執行了在亞洲和拉丁美洲增加銷售的策略，這為我們帶來了更高的收入和更高品質的資產，這肯定會在長期內使業務受益。

Thanks, Jimmy.

謝謝，吉米。

Thank You.

謝謝。

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

謝謝。我們的問答環節已經結束。斯特拉布爾小姐，請您發表結束語。

Yeah, thank you. As we close out today's call, I do want to thank you all for joining us and for your thoughtful questions. Our first quarter results are a testament to the strength of our diversified business, the proactive steps we're taking to mitigate risk, our disciplined execution, and the clarity and the strength of our strategy.

是的，謝謝。在我們結束今天的電話會議時，我非常感謝大家的參與和提出深思熟慮的問題。我們第一季的業績證明了我們多元化業務的實力、我們為降低風險而採取的主動措施、我們嚴謹的執行力以及我們策略的清晰度和實力。

Amid market volatility and economic uncertainty, we remain confident in our ability to deliver through cycles and create long-term value for our customers and our shareholders. We're investing in our future. We're staying close to and being there for our customers, and we're operating with the same resilience and purpose that has defined us for the last 145 years.

在市場波動和經濟不確定的情況下，我們仍然對自己能夠渡過週期並為客戶和股東創造長期價值的能力充滿信心。我們正在投資我們的未來。我們始終貼近客戶、隨時為他們服務，並且秉承過去 145 年來始終如一的韌性和目標來開展業務。

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

感謝您今天抽出時間。感謝您一直以來的支持。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。