Great-West Lifeco (GWO) Barclays 23rd Annual Global Financial Services Conference summary

Strategic priorities and business transformation

• Shifted focus to capital-light businesses, now comprising about two-thirds of the portfolio, with plans to increase this to 70%-75% over the medium term through organic growth in retirement, wealth, and group benefits.

• Upgraded medium-term targets: earnings growth raised to 8%-10%, ROE target increased to 19%+, and capital generation expected at 80%-85%+ of earnings.

• Disposed of non-core businesses and reinvested to become the second-largest retirement provider in the U.S.

• Execution focus is on expanding the U.S. wealth business, aiming to increase rollover capture rates to 20% in the next five years, with best-in-class benchmarks at 40%-50%.

• Leading positions in key markets, with ongoing organic market share gains and deepening customer relationships.

U.S. retirement and wealth strategy

• Competitive advantage built on proprietary tech platform, cost efficiency, open architecture, and hybrid digital-human advice model targeting mass affluent clients.

• Achieved 30%-40% cost reductions on integrated books and increased rollover capture rate by 30% over the past 3-5 years.

• Wealth business net flows exceed $12 billion annually, with double-digit earnings growth guidance.

• Investment focus is on deepening in-plan client relationships through new products like HSAs, retail brokerage, and education savings accounts.

• Organic growth prioritized over M&A in wealth, with a salaried advisor model and brand-building initiatives underway.

Industry consolidation and capital deployment

• Maintains strict price discipline for M&A, with $2 billion+ in holding company cash and leverage at 27%.

• Actively returning capital via buybacks while remaining opportunistic for further retirement sector consolidation.

• Successful integration track record with both large and small acquisitions, achieving high client retention rates post-transaction.

• Expects consolidation pressure across the sector, especially for smaller players facing cost challenges.