Corebridge Financial, Inc. (CRBG) Earnings Call Transcript & Summary

Hello, everyone. Thank you for joining us, and welcome to the Corebridge Financial, Inc. Second Quarter 2026 Earnings Call. [Operator Instructions] I would now like to hand the conference over to Isil Muderrisoglu, Head of Investor and Rating Agency Relations. Please go ahead.

Good morning, everyone, and welcome to Corebridge Financial's earnings update for the second quarter of 2026. Joining me on the call are Marc Costantini, President and Chief Executive Officer; Chris Filiaggi, our Interim Chief Financial Officer; and Lisa Longino, our Chief Investment Officer. We will begin with prepared remarks by Marc and Chris, and then we will take your questions. Today's comments may contain forward-looking statements, which are subject to risks and uncertainties. These statements are not guarantees of future performance or events and are based upon management's current expectations and assumptions. Corebridges' filings with the SEC provide details on important factors that may cause actual results or events to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Except as required by the applicable securities laws, Corebridge is under no obligation to update any forward-looking statements if circumstances or management's estimates or plans should change, and you are cautioned to not place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements. Additionally, today's remarks may refer to non-GAAP financial measures. The reconciliation of such measures to the most comparable GAAP figures is included in our earnings release, financial supplement and earnings presentation, all of which are available on our website at investors.corbridgefinancial.com. With that, I would like to now turn the call over to Marc and Chris for their prepared remarks. Marc?

Good morning, and thanks for joining us. I'm delighted to be with you today following the successful shareholder vote approving the merger with Equitable. The shareholder support of this transaction is a powerful validation of the attractiveness of the combined company. We're more confident than ever about the future we're building together. Turning to the second quarter highlights. We delivered strong results consistent with our full year guidance. Core sources of income were up 5% year-over-year while Variable Investment Income came in below our long-term expectations, our underlying fundamentals remain strong. Our run rate earnings per share were up 16% year-over-year. Consistent with guidance, our adjusted return on equity, excluding VII, was up 90 basis points year-over-year to 10.9%. And our cash generation remains strong. We've now generated cash in excess of $400 million for 14 consecutive quarters, showcasing the strength of our balance sheet and underlying businesses. In the second quarter, we returned $412 million of capital to shareholders, including $300 million of share repurchases for our year-to-date normalized payout ratio of 84%. Turning to Slide 4. Our top line performance was resilient. While total company sales were down year-over-year, sales increased sequentially by 13%. Furthermore, on a rolling 12-month basis, which adjust for seasonal fluctuations and the lumpy nature of the Pension Risk Transfer business, we saw total company sales grow [ 4% ] year-over-year. This is a testament to our product depth and commitment to margin integrity across cycles. Equally important, we excel at allocating capital efficiently. Of note, our breadth of distribution enables us to shift between products and businesses to where the risk-adjusted returns are most attractive. In Individual Retirement, we've been a top 5 provider for more than a decade and are the only insurer with a top 10 sales ranking across all annuity products. We continue to prioritize pricing discipline given tighter competition. Conditions improved in the latter part of the quarter as yields rose and sales momentum resumed making June the strongest sales month of the year. All else being equal, we expect steady sales and positive net flows for the rest of the year. In Group Retirement, our transition from a spread to fee-based business is continuing in line with expectations. In the quarter, our wealth management assets rose to $20 billion, an 18% increase year-over-year. We continue to see a $30 billion growth opportunity by further capturing IRA rollovers and consolidating household assets within our current customer base. As a result of our efforts to improve the customer experience, we are also starting to see an uptick in Group Retirement business wins. In our Life business, we've been a top-tier provider of term life for nearly a decade. In the quarter, we delivered run rate earnings above our typical guide, reflecting strong underwriting results. Our sales continue to benefit from our platform that leverages automated underwriting for more than [ 80% ] of the new business. Turning to Institutional Markets. The GIC market has grown rapidly over the past few years with coverages reserves nearly doubling over the same time period. In the quarter, we issued $1.8 billion of GICs at attractive IRRs, and we continue to see meaningful opportunities for the remainder of the year. Our GIC book represents 5% of our general account compared to 10% to 15% for major competitors, demonstrating ample room for additional growth. In the PRT market, we still expect activity to be weighted in the back half of the year. Nothing in this market has changed. Pension plans remain overfunded, the appetite for derisking solutions remains strong, and we expect the double-digit reserve growth we've achieved since 2021 to continue. Turning to Slide 5. Since we announced the transaction, our conviction has only grown that the merged company will be uniquely positioned to deliver exceptional value. Our industry is in the midst of significant growth opportunity. Annuity sales have grown from roughly $250 billion a year in 2021 to more than $450 billion in 2025. Despite this growth, new Corebridge research finds that only 28% of people are confident spending in retirement with fears of running out of money being the top concern. By contrast, those with a de-cumulation plan, especially one that includes guaranteed lifetime income are far more confident. In short many more Americans want and need our advice and [indiscernible]. Another powerful trend is the massive transfer of wealth between generations with $100 trillion in assets that is expected to be transferred by mid-century, which will fuel growth in the Wealth business. In addition, the life insurance protection gap remains significant with 100 million Americans expressing a need for coverage. The merger creates a company that is well positioned to capture this opportunity and drive profitable growth. Starting out, the combined firm will have over 10 million customers. Given the tremendous financial needs we see, our aspiration is to significantly grow that number over time. We will have all the right attributes to succeed. Our scale will give us a lower cost of capital, greater efficiency comprehensive customer solutions and the ability to invest more while attracting top talent. We'll have a large and formidable multichannel distribution system to reach the broadest possible customer base. Our integrated business model will capture the full value chain from manufacturing through distribution to asset management, and our commitment to sound financial principles means we'll write business at attractive margins and deliver consistent capital return. By 2027, the combined company is set to unlock a compelling financial performance with $5 billion of earnings, $4 billion in cash generation and a return on equity of over 15%. With $500 million cost synergies directly supporting these targets and a clear pathway to additional value to revenue synergies, we have a clear right to win. We continue to make excellent progress towards closing the transaction. In addition to the successful shareholder vote, the leadership structure of the combined company continues to take shape. We have determined the first three levels of the organization, and I'm confident we're building the right team to win. The Joint Integration and Transformation Office continues to coordinate all merger activity with the goal of ensuring operational excellence for the new company. We are actively collaborating with key distribution partners to ensure a seamless transition, and on day 1, we are well positioned to win with our customers. The regulatory review process is proceeding on pace, Federal Antitrust Review is complete. FINRA approval of the broker-dealer change in control is complete, and all state and international regulatory filings have been submitted. We expect to announce the Board of the new company in the near future, and we still anticipate that the transaction will close by year-end, allowing us to hit the ground running in 2027. To win in our industry, we need to have a differentiated customer value proposition, go-to-market with world-class distribution and be the easiest company to do business with. Putting the customer in the center of everything we do is a top-to-bottom commitment. Our Customer Council, sponsored by the executive leadership team is driving customer focus across a number of initiatives. Everything from the frontline service experience and the technology enablement to our corporate culture and customer safeguards. Our new Customer Champions Network representing every business and function at Corebridge is ensuring we bring the voice of the customer and our distribution partners to everything we do. Across every phase of the customer journey, we're committed to driving continuous improvement. In Group Retirement, our Plan Sponsor Net Promotor Score, a key customer service metric rose 19 points year-over-year, but we still have more work to do. My goal for the Group Retirement business is top quartile service. Digital remains a key focus area. For example, we recently launched AI agents in our Group Retirement customer contact center to provide a better call experience. This quickly reduced repeat calls and average handling time. In Life, we enhanced our digital service infrastructure and more broadly, we're implementing a new business acquisition platform. Our goal is an industry-leading new business experience that increases fully digital submissions and speeds up suitability checks with 50% of policies issued in 30 minutes or less. Within Individual Retirement, our focus is on empowering financial advisers by removing friction from their day-to-day operations. Through our support of the Insured Retirement Institute's digital-first initiative we are modernizing the tool advisers rely on while simultaneously refining our internal workflows to eliminate application errors and accelerate policy issuance. By streamlining these touch points, we enable advisers to dedicate more time to their clients and the growth of their practices, all while driving greater operational efficiency behind the scenes. In closing, I want to express the strong commitment of the entire leadership team to exceptional value creation, both now and in the future. Thank you again for your approval of the merger. I'm confident the combined company has the right to win, and I can't wait for day 1 to get here. With that, I'll turn the call over to Chris.

Thank you, Marc. Starting with Slide 6. Performance in the second quarter was on track with the full year guidance provided at the start of the year, highlighting diverse earnings and [indiscernible] growth across our businesses. We reported adjusted pretax operating income of $664 million and earnings per share of $1.12, driven by growth in base spread income and fee income. Second quarter results were impacted by underperformance for Variable Investment Income. Excluding the impact of VII, EPS increased by 14% year-over-year. Within VII, Alternative Investments underperformed impacted by the market decline in software, coupled with market volatility related to the resurgence of conflict in the Middle East and the broader macro and geopolitical environment. As we said earlier in the second quarter, we do not foresee this environment materially changing over the short term and expect VII returns to remain below target for the remainder of the year. Adjusting for long-term alternative investment returns, we delivered a run rate operating EPS of $1.35, representing a 16% increase year-over-year. Finally, adjusted ROE was 11.4% or 13.8% on a run rate basis, within our 12% to 14% ROE targeted range. Excluding VII, this reflects a 90 basis point increase year-over-year, underscoring our commitment to consistent profitable growth. Turning to Slide 7. Core sources of income, which excludes VII, increased 5% year-over-year, illustrating our ability to grow across a variety of markets. Within that, spread income increased by 4%, benefiting from asset repositioning and growth in the underlying business as we have consistently reported positive [ net flows ]. More notably, these earnings reflect the full earn-in of the 2025 Fed rate cut and our reduced sensitivity to short-term interest rates. Fee income increased 15%, driven by growth in assets under management and administration and favorable market tailwinds. Lastly, underwriting margin decreased 1% year-over-year. We continue to see positive underwriting results, though they were less favorable than the prior year quarter. Echoing Marc's comments regarding the investments we are making to become the easiest company to do business with. We reported an increase in second quarter general operating expenses in line with the guidance provided at the start of the year. Turning to Slide 8 and looking at our capital position. Our balance sheet continues to be healthy and strong. We ended the quarter with over $1.4 billion in holding company liquidity supported by our insurance company distributions of $475 million of dividends in the quarter and our liquidity exceeds the holding company's needs for the next 12 months. Capital return to shareholders was $412 million in the quarter. Excluding proceeds from the earlier VA Reinsurance transaction, we maintained our payout target with a year-to-date payout ratio of 84% which reflects the acceleration of share repurchases in the first half of the year. Looking ahead, we are committed to approximately $350 million in share repurchases in the second half of the year. Lastly, our insurance companies remain well capitalized with capital ratios exceeding our targets. Next, [ overview ] a few highlights in each of our businesses, the details of which can be found in the appendix to our earnings presentation. Note these results exclude the impact of Variable Investment Income and notable items. Starting with Individual Retirement, sales were $3.8 billion, and net flows remain positive contributing to continued growth in AUMA. While sales declined year-over-year and sequentially, I want to emphasize Marc's point earlier, we continue to prioritize margin integrity over volume. By adhering to our rigorous pricing drills, we have effectively pivoted our capital deployment towards higher growth areas of our portfolio that offer superior risk-adjusted returns. As we look at the full year, we still expect [ price compression ] to level off by the end of 2026 as older business continues to roll off, and we reaffirm our estimate for base spread income to be approximately $2.55 billion. In addition, fee income increased 17% year-over-year, reflecting growth in the underlying business. Lastly, APTOI was flat year-over-year reflecting increased present fee income, offset by higher sales-related expenses while APTOI increased 5% sequentially. Turning to Group Retirement, our results this quarter illustrate our broader strategy to grow capital-light earnings with the transition from spread-based products towards capital-light fee-based business. Reflecting that shift, fee income increased 15% year-over-year. Spreads increased sequentially, reflecting the benefit of asset repositioning though they remain lower year-over-year due to general account outflows in line with the demographic mix shift. AUMA continues to grow sequentially and year-over-year even with the net outflows for the quarter. Looking ahead, we do not expect any large planned surrenders for the remainder of the year. APTOI decreased 7% year-over-year, reflecting lower spread income and higher operating expenses, partially offset by growth in fee income. We continue to be excited about the opportunities for Group Retirement. We believe our competitive advantage lies in our ability to serve as a [ lifelong ] partner to our customers as they transition their needs from in-plan to out-of-plan ensuring we provide value every stage of their retirement journey. Turning to Life Insurance. We generated $870 million in sales this quarter and increased year-over-year and sequentially. The APTOI declined 11% year-over-year. Mortality and underwriting results were favorable, though less so than the prior year quarter. On a run rate basis, APTOI was $122 million, above the top end of our guide we provided at the start of the year. We remain confident in the steady cash flow and stability this segment provides for the broader portfolio. Institutional markets remains a consistent growth engine. We continue to be attracted to the risk-adjusted returns as evidenced by both underlying reserves and total earnings trending upwards. Second quarter sales were strong at $2.6 billion, illustrating our ability to efficiently allocate capital across our business. Sales included over $1.8 billion of GIC issuances maintaining the consistent momentum we've seen and highlighting our ongoing commitment to the market. APTOI increased 36% year-over-year. This growth was underpinned by a 17% expansion in our reserves and a 12% increase in AUMA. Lastly, on Pension Risk Transfer, sales in the space are inherently lumpy. While we and the entire industry have seen lower activity in the market, we still anticipate an uptick when we move into the second half of 2026. Looking at our investment portfolio. We continue to manage our portfolio with discipline through a dynamic market environment while remaining proactive in identifying opportunities that support attractive but risk-adjusted returns. The portfolio remains high quality with an average credit rating of A- and 96% investment grade. We also continue to see positive credit migration across both corporate bonds and securitized products, reinforcing the strength and resilience of the portfolio. New money yields remain above roll-off yields, which continues to support growth in net investment income. As I mentioned earlier, we were able to execute asset repositioning at higher yields further enhancing the earnings of our investment earnings without taking on additional risk. Within private debt, the book remains 91% investment grade, our private credit assets continued to perform in line with our expectations. Overall, we remain comfortable with the position of our investment portfolio. It is well diversified, actively managed and aligned with the nature and duration of our liabilities. In closing, our second quarter results reflect the resilience and strategic discipline that define Corebridge. We delivered solid performance in line with our expectations, reported by strong underlying fundamentals in our core businesses, and are well positioned to navigate the current environment. We remain confident in our ability to generate earnings and deliver on our commitment to shareholders. We appreciate your continued trust and are excited about the path ahead. With that, I will turn the call back to Isil.

Thank you, Chris. As a reminder, please limit yourself to one question and one follow-up. Operator, we are now ready to begin the Q&A portion of the call.

[Operator Instructions] Your first question comes from the line of Ryan Krueger with KBW.

My first question was on retail annuities and the competitive dynamics. I know you -- I guess curious a little bit more on what you saw change during the quarter? I think you cited pretty competitive conditions earlier in the quarter that led to softer sales, but then a better June. So hoping to get a little bit more color on what you're seeing there?

Ryan, it's Marc here. Good to hear your voice. Thanks for your question. So yes, I would say as we were finishing up on Q1 and heading into Q2, we saw some additional competitive tension, I would say, in the simple designs. And as you know and as we've mentioned before, we have a significant depth and breadth of distribution across multiple channels. So -- and in our view, and this is an important point here, we see ourselves, first and foremost, as judicious capital allocators. And when I say distribution channels, I look at not only the retail and across all those distribution channels, but our institutional markets as well. And a great business we have there. So -- and we saw more opportunities going into Q2 on the institutional market side, and we took advantage of that. And we hold our risk-return kind of attributes and objectives very strongly, and we manage very dynamically against those, and that's what you saw in Q2. Now as mentioned, we saw the dynamic fluctuate over the quarter, and we had a quarter in June being our strongest sales month on the retail side, and we entered July with some very good momentum. And we saw that momentum continue through July. So we expect obviously our retail sales to rebound in Q3. So there's -- having said so, we see and we continue to see very significant opportunities on the Institutional Market side. So -- so I think that capital allocation and the dynamic nature of our distribution is evidenced to these results and what we'll see for the rest of the year. So thank you.

And then I had a question on Individual Retirement based spread income. You reiterated the full year guidance despite some of the benefits from the opportunistic asset repositioning actions you took in the quarter. I mean maybe it's splitting hairs, but just curious kind of why no upside to the original guidance given those actions or maybe they were contemplated to begin with?

Ryan, it's Chris. Thanks for the question. So I think the way that I would think about it, yes, we are reiterating the guidance of [ 2550 ]. While we did see some improvements in the base spread as the book continues sort of roll on. We would still expect to see some compression in spreads over the next couple of quarters, which we would still expect to bottom out at the end of 2026. So I think that place that you should think about it, while there's some positivity this quarter, there's still going to be natural roll off in the book, which is going to have single-digit compression for the rest of the year.

Your next question comes from the line of Tom Gallagher with Evercore ISI.

First question, just a follow-up on Institutional spread product, Marc, that you were highlighting. Would you -- is this really your growth there? Was that really a function of being more opportunistic at a time when retail was challenged? Or do you see that as a bigger runway and growth opportunity in the coming quarters you think about capacity and pricing and margin and that sort of thing.

Yes, Tom, great to hear your voice as well. So I would say that overall, we see a lot of opportunity on the institutional market side, and we see a lot of upside as we move forward. I think as I mentioned in my remarks, our funding [indiscernible] and back business is like 5% or so of our balance sheet. If you look at the environment, a lot of players are -- have been more around 10% to 15%, I think so. So we have a lot of runway and upside there. I think when you combine the balance sheets of ourselves and Equitable, I think you'll have even more I would say, demand and appeal for that type of offering for us. So I do see some growth at attractive risk return margin as we move forward. In addition to as Chris mentioned in his remarks, at the back half of the year, we see opportunities on the Pension Risk Transfer side. And I would say we started in Q3 with some I would say, tailwinds in both those businesses. Again, and I mentioned to Ryan, that we have some tailwinds on the retail side as well going into Q3. So that's kind of my perspective.

My follow-up is just any update on how things are progressing with potential collaboration with Nippon Life on Japanese annuity products? Is that still super early, unclear? Or is that any line of sight on anything tangible coming together there?

Yes. Thanks, Tom. I would say that we continue to have very robust discussions with Nippon about co-manufacturing products for the local Japanese market. We and they feel that their economy and the demand for products that were -- we have significant expertise at manufacturing is growing in Japan. And it's not lost on Nippon that there's a vibrant opportunity there through their proprietary channel and to their third-party broker-dealer channel, right, and bank channels. So I guess the way I'll say it is we're probably in the third or fourth inning of those discussions, but they are moving in a good direction. But it's too early to tell when we kind of agree on whatever we could do put together. And then obviously, like it is the case here in North America, you need to file the product with the FSA. It needs to be developed, manufactured and start issuing it. So that's -- there's a time lag there as well. So -- but no, we are cautiously optimistic that there will be a lot of opportunity for us and Nippon and they have wonderful brand and distribution there, which -- and the collaboration is strong across both firms. So we are excited about the prospects that you mentioned there so.

Your next question comes from the line of Suneet Kamath with Jefferies.

I wanted to start with annuities and the expense ratio. Just based on some of the work we've done, it looks like on a pro forma basis, your expense ratio is going to be materially below some of your peers. So I wanted to sort of test that with you, and then relatedly, if that's true, I would assume one of the potential outcomes is in environments where things are a little bit irrational from a competitive perspective, that expense advantage should allow you to continue to grow and hit your return. So I just want to test those two ideas out with you.

Suneet, it's Marc. So thanks for your question. I would say, as we announced the transaction, and you've heard, obviously, Robin and myself, in particularly talking about it a lot, we expect that expense savings of $500 plus, $100 million a year within 2 years of obviously the merger. So that speaks to, obviously, the expense efficiency. And obviously, scale is a big part of the reason that this market remains attractive to us. You need scale. There's a fixed cost to kind of digitizing our business, implementing and deploying AI. And there's an obvious scale advantage through the expense ratio as you implicitly referring to here in our business. And we do expect to see the benefit of that. But I would say it will span a number of dimensions from the efficiency of our capital use, the efficiency and the depth and breadth of our distribution, our ability to pivot products depending on where we see the opportunities and the client needs, the institutional market side that I just discussed with Tom here. So I would say -- and obviously, on the origination side, the great partnership we'll have, obviously, with Alliance Bernstein our own origination and the great partnership we have with Blackstone and BlackRock, I think will give us on domain across all these dimensions, very significant competitive presence, and that's why -- looking forward to the merger, very much. So all of that, I would say, would factor into how we see the market.

Okay. That's helpful. And then I guess shifting gears to alternatives. It sounds like a lot of the other companies that have reported are guiding to a better sort of second half relative to the first half. And I think your saying things will still be challenged in the second half. So is there something sort of unique about your portfolio versus others? Or are you just being conservative there?

Yes. Suneet I'll mention one comment, and I'll pass it to Lisa, our Chief Investment Officer, which -- she'll give you some perspective. But I would remind everybody that when you look at the concentration of [indiscernible] on our balance sheet, it's like less than 3%, right? And it's very thoughtfully to that level, which lines up with our long-tail liabilities. And you can see a lot of the alts being deployed against our Institutional Markets and more specifically our Pension Risk Transfer business, which has longer tail liabilities, some of our Life business, obviously, and it's an economically attractive asset to defeat those long-tail liabilities. Otherwise, there's no credit assets available, right? So I think that's the frame we need to think about it when you think about how we manage the portfolio. Now to the specific question you have, I'll pass it to Lisa.

Thanks, Marc. As Marc mentioned, when we think about our long-term return, and so it's over the very long term and over multiple cycles and [indiscernible] is primarily TE, but it's real estate equity in the form of funds and then there's residual hedge funds. And what you have seen in the past is PE our alts performance has been impacted by maybe real estate returns or hedge funds. But in this quarter, the marks on our PE funds drove the underperformance. And up until this time, PE has really been meeting our long-term expectations. And so what you're seeing is normally with our PE portfolio, it's very broad and diverse, and we'll have weakness in one sector, offset by strength in another. Unfortunately, in this past quarter, the market was weaker all around. The large backlog of PE exits in existing investments have not been meaningfully reduced. So we're not getting the realization that would generate gains to offset some of our marks. We did guide lower and we think just continued in the market around AI valuation, geopolitical uncertainty, that could impact returns going forward. Higher rates can certainly impact the mark-to-market on real estate funds and although we think we could see positive returns in the second half, we are not going to hit or do not expect to hit our long-term expectations for this year, in particular.

Our next question comes from the line of Joel Hurwitz with Dowling & Partners.

I wanted to start on base spreads to have another one there. Can you just provide some more color on the actions that you took in the quarter to support the expansion? How much was repositioned? And do you see further similar opportunities in the back half of the year?

So I'll take that. Hi Joel, it's Lisa Longino. Thanks for the question. with our portfolio, as we -- as Chris mentioned in his script, this is a very high quality, well diversified portfolio and 96% is investment grade. The portfolio has remained resilient through a variety of cycles. But we do proactively manage the portfolio with a focus on our overall balance sheet. And regarding asset repositioning that we've done, it really entails assessing names or sectors we're less sanguine in and we'll rotate into other sectors where we prefer the outlook or we see relative value opportunity. So this is very proactive. And given the moving rates, this repositioning has allowed us to increase yield in maintaining our credit quality. I mean so we feel pretty comfortable with it. It's something we continue to do. And so that really sums it up.

Got it. That's helpful. And then just wanted to touch on buyback expectations for the back half of the year. Chris, I think you said around $350 million in the second half, which will bring you back to your payout ratio target. But I guess just given the strong capital and cash generation and where the stock is trading, would you consider drawing down some of the access to exceed your payout ratio for this year?

Yes. Joel, it's Chris. Thanks for the question. So we're doing about $1.4 billion of capital at the holdco that is in excess of our 12-month needs. But at this point, we remain committed to approximately $350 million of share repurchases during the year, in line with our premerger plans. For 2026, that would mean we repurchased about [ 1.9 ] billion share repurchases. And if you look at '25 and '26, we would repurchase over $4 billion of share repurchases. So I think overall, at this point, we feel comfortable with our levels. And as we look to the combined company of $4 billion of cash generation of the newco, I think we'll have an opportunity to revisit that as part of our Investor Day.

Your next question comes from the line of Wes Carmichael with Wells Fargo.

Just had a question. Equitable announced the divestiture of the company's Employee Benefits business. It sounds like maybe that was a little bit unique as the company was approached by the Hartford. But as you look at the portfolio post the VA transaction, are there any other subscale businesses you think about divesting any risk transfer you might see ahead of the merger or closely after?

Wes, it's Marc here. Thanks for the question. And yes, that was a great transaction, in my opinion, and a wonderful one for Hartford and a wonderful one for Equitable and new Equitable as we move forward. And as I think you will have heard from Mark and Rob in there, obviously, it's a sale of a subscale business but a wonderful platform that augments what Hartford is doing. So win-win on many dimensions. Now to your question, I would say that, that was the only subscale operation. When you look at the combination, everything else I think we will have a leadership kind of position and an opportunity for growth and upside. So the short answer to your question is no, we don't see any other businesses currently activities that we see as having the same characteristics that led to this transaction. So that's our perspective.

Just switching gears. In Life Insurance, you've seen some pretty good core results there in the quarter. But just taking a step back, like how are you thinking about longer-term mortality trends in that business. It seems like mortality for the industry at least has been more favorable. So do you see that continuing? And how are you thinking about that headed into the assumption review?