MetLife (MET) Bank of America Financial Services Conference 2026 summary

Strategic direction and performance

• Launched the New Frontier strategy, targeting strong growth, attractive returns, and lower risk, with a five-year horizon and key milestones set for 2025.

• Achieved significant progress in group benefits, asset management, and international growth, with notable expansion in Mexico and Brazil and reinforced reinsurance capabilities.

• Grew assets under management from $600 billion to over $740 billion, aiming for $1 billion in earnings in the near term.

• Emphasized diversification across products, geographies, and risk management as a core strength.

• Maintained a focus on efficiency, reducing direct expenses and leveraging investments in technology.

Financial targets and capital management

• Set a double-digit EPS growth target, supported by a 60-40 split between earnings growth and capital management.

• Comfortable with a 15%-17% ROE range, driven by growth in higher-ROE businesses, runoff of legacy holdings, and strong new business returns.

• Committed to reducing the expense ratio by 100 basis points over five years, leveraging AI and process reengineering.

• Achieved an expense ratio of 11.7% in the current year, targeting 11.3% going forward.

Group benefits and growth drivers

• Early actions on persistency in 2025 put temporary pressure on growth, but strong 1-1 renewals and bundled product offerings are driving recovery.

• Investments in leave and absence solutions, such as MyLeave, are resonating with customers and supporting bundled sales.

• Diversification by product and provider enables resilience and adaptability to economic conditions.