MetLife (MET) 2024 KBW Insurance Conference summary

Strategic review and outlook

• Completed the five-year Next Horizon strategy, exceeding targets for distributable cash, operating leverage, ROE, and free cash flow.

• Transitioning to the New Frontier strategy, focused on accelerating growth, boosting returns, and maintaining performance consistency.

• New Frontier builds on existing strengths, emphasizing growth in areas with a clear competitive advantage.

• Investor Day scheduled for December 12th to provide further details on the new strategy.

Financial performance and capital management

• ROE has expanded from the original 12%-14% target to 15.5% in the first half, with continued momentum expected.

• High-teens IRRs on new business and a shift toward less capital-intensive operations support ongoing ROE growth.

• Variable investment income (VII) is recovering, with distributions from private equity and other funds expected to remain strong.

• Capital deployment remains balanced: $17B to new business, $14B in buybacks, $7B in dividends, and $2.3B in acquisitions since 2019.

Business segment highlights

• Group benefits achieved above-market, mid-single-digit growth, driven by investments in product range, technology, and customer experience.

• Underwriting results in group benefits returned to pre-pandemic seasonality, with proactive pricing actions stabilizing trends.

• Retirement income solutions (RIS) saw healthy growth in spread-based liabilities, with strong contributions from PRT, structured settlements, and UK longevity reinsurance.