Corebridge Financial Inc. — Earnings Call Q3 2026

Operator: Hello, everyone. Thank you for joining us and welcome to the Coralbridge Financial Inc third quarter 26 earnings call. After today's prepared remarks, we will host a question-and-answer session. If you would like to ask a question, please press *1 to raise your hand. To withdraw your question, press *1 again. I will now hand the conference over to Isil Muderrisoglu, Head of Investor and Rating Agency Relations. Please go ahead. Isil Muderrisoglu: Good morning, everyone, and welcome to Corebridge Financial's earnings update for the third quarter of 2026. Joining me on the call are Marc Costantini, President and Chief Executive Officer Christopher Filiaggi, our Interim Chief Financial Officer and Chief Accounting Officer and Lisa Michele Longino, our chief investment officer. We will begin with prepared remarks by Marc and Christopher, 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. Corebridge's 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 opinions should change. And you are cautioned not to 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.corebridgefinancial.com. With that, I would now like to turn the call over to Marc and Christopher for their prepared remarks. Marc? Marc Costantini: Thank you, Isil. Good morning. Thank you for joining us. Our results demonstrate the strength of our diversified business model, disciplined execution, and ability to capitalize on the powerful market trends shaping our industry. Operating earnings per share were $1.22, a 27% increase year over year. Adjusted return on average equity was 12.1%, an increase of 180 basis points year over year. And we returned $295 million of capital to shareholders in the form of dividends and share repurchases. These results not only reflect strong quarterly execution, but also our ability to generate attractive returns for shareholders. Our strong performance is occurring against a backdrop of highly favorable trends shaping the retirement and protection industry. The need for retirement income and financial protection continues to grow. Millions of Americans are seeking guidance while preparing for and navigating retirement. At the same time, pension sponsors remain focused on reducing risk, while institutional clients continue to prioritize certainty and stability. Together, these structural tailwinds are creating attractive opportunities across our businesses, and underscore the value of our diversified platform. In individual retirement, the demand for both accumulation and guaranteed income products remains robust. More than 4 million Americans are reaching retirement age each year, many of them without pensions or other income sources to maintain their standard of living. That demand is broad based across product categories. Fixed and fixed index annuities continue to benefit from industry demand. As customers increasingly seek solutions that provide growth potential and protection. Industry wireless sales reached approximately $25 billion. A new quarterly record. And year to date traditional variable annuity sales increased 17% year-over-year supported by favorable equity markets, all of which positions the combined company well as a leading provider across product categories. Importantly, this demand is not dependent on any single product or environment. Rather, it reflects a growing need for solutions that help individuals accumulate assets protect savings, and generate income in retirement. We believe our broad product portfolio, extensive distribution reach, and disciplined approach to pricing position us well to meet those needs. Our third quarter individual retirement sales were $4.5 billion. Up 17% sequentially our strongest quarter of the year. Based on preliminary LIMRA data, we increased market share in both fixed annuities and RILAs. These strong sales contribute to positive and flows of more than $1 billion, and we expect to see this continued sales momentum through the end of the year. We also launched Progressive Trigger, a first of its kind index annuity crediting strategy designed to help preserve future growth potential following a down year. Illustrating our focus on innovation, ensuring we design products and features that prioritize customer needs. Our performance reflects our customer first approach combining innovative solutions tailored to evolving customer needs with the breadth of our product portfolio and the strength of our distribution network. In group retirement, we continue to see strong demand driven by customers' growing need for guidance throughout their retirement journey. Creating opportunities across both our retirement solutions and wealth management businesses. This favorable demand environment contributed to a 12% year-over-year increase in advisory and brokerage assets during the third quarter. We are also simplifying retirement plan distributions a source of friction for participants. Additional processing capabilities for withdrawals are providing customers with easier access to their funds, and a more seamless experience. In life, the protection gap remains significant. With 48% of Americans underinsured. Consumer awareness of financial vulnerability is growing, and digital tools are making it easier to start the conversation and complete the purchase. Against that backdrop, we continue to deliver consistent performance, and we believe the growth opportunity in this business is significant. We see meaningful opportunities to expand our distribution footprint through process improvements and technology investments which will be further enhanced by the addition of Equitable's adviser network and VUL product suite. In institutional markets, the underlying environment remains favorable. Demand for guaranteed investment contracts or GICs remained strong as institutional clients continue to prioritize principal protection predictable returns, and the financial strength of trusted insurance providers. Our GIC program continued to perform exceptionally well. Generating $1.5 billion of issuance during the quarter above our historical average despite heightened market volatility. While the pension risk transfer market has seen softness in jumbo transactions, reflecting lower supply amid market volatility, activity in small and midsized plans and full plan terminations have remained comparatively resilient. Our third quarter PRT volume was modest at $156 million. But we remain encouraged by the opportunities ahead. We are working through a very robust pipeline in both The U.S. and the U.K. markets. Consistent with our view that activity would be back weighted for the year. We have already been selected as the counterparty for over $1.5 billion in PRT transactions that are expected to close in the fourth quarter. Across all of our businesses, 1 team remains consistent. The combination of our product portfolio broad distribution capabilities, and robust balance sheet provides a powerful platform for long term growth. Just as importantly, it allows us to be disciplined and efficient allocators of capital. Directing resources toward the most attractive opportunities to maximize risk returns and shareholder value. Turning to our balance sheet. Our diversified business model remains well positioned for the current interest rate environment. Higher rates are supporting both customer demand and investment returns. Creating opportunities across our businesses. During the quarter, our new money yields of 6.1% exceeded portfolio roll off rates of 5.7%. Allowing us to continue capturing attractive spreads while maintaining an underscoring a disciplined approach to risk management. As we have been doing all year, we continue to reduce exposure to select below investment grade assets where we see an opportunity to derisk without compromising overall returns. Our investment portfolio continues to perform well with credit experience remaining in line with expectations and approximately 96% of assets rated investment grade. Taken together, these factors support our strong financial position, with capital levels remaining above our target ratios and holding company cash continuing to exceed our anticipated needs over the next 12 months. Earlier, I touched on several initiatives focused on winning with customers. But I cannot emphasize this point enough. Customer centricity has become an organizational principle across the entire company in every stage of the customer journey. From developing innovative products to making CoreBridge the easiest company to do business with. Another hallmark of this approach is recent thought leadership we sponsored to better understand the financial challenges facing a Americans and how they can overcome them. Our research found that many retirees are so concerned about outliving their savings that they are reluctant to spend their assets. Yet when they have a plan for generating income in retirement, their confidence increases substantially. Rather than simply highlighting this challenge, we are using these insights to help inform how we develop products. Engage with distributors, and support customers as they navigate retirement most important financial decision. The companies that best understand their customers solve their challenges, and deliver great experiences are the companies that create lasting value. that is the standard we are holding ourselves to and it is central to our strategy for long term growth. Lastly, all of this reinforces why we remain so excited about our future as the new Equitable. Throughout my remarks today, I have highlighted the powerful trends shaping our industry. Growing retirement needs, increasing demand for financial advice, continued demand for protection solutions, and institutional clients seeking certainty and stability. The combination of Corebridge and Equitable will further strengthen our ability to capitalize on those opportunities. We continue to make excellent progress toward completing the transaction. We have received all required federal approvals and continue to work through the remaining state and international approvals. We remain actively engaged with the remaining regulators as we work toward a targeted year end close. At the same time, we are preparing extensively for day 1, Our integration and transformation office continues to advance detailed planning. We selected the members of our new board. And the executive leadership team is working closely to ensure alignment and readiness. The synergies we committed to achieving are already starting to materialize. We have identified over $100 million of run rate expense savings that will be realized in the first half of 27. Placing us well on our way toward our $150 million synergy target for 2027. And we remain confident that we will achieve at least $500 million of expense savings on a run rate basis by the end of 28. The strategic rationale for the new company remains as compelling as ever. On day 1, we expect to serve approximately 10 million customers and become the leading US life and annuity company by operating earnings. Together, we will offer 1 of the broadest product portfolios in the industry, an unmatched distribution network built on decades of trusted relationships, and complementary insurance, asset management, and wealth management capabilities that you cannot replicate. Combined with our greater scale, these strengths will allow us to serve more customers, operate with a lower unit cost, and create a powerful platform for long term growth and value creation. We look forward to sharing more at an Investor Day in the second quarter of 27. Where we will outline our strategy and the opportunities we see to accelerate growth and value creation across the combined company. Before I turn the call over to Christopher, I would like to recognize him for his exceptional leadership as interim CFO of Corebridge. Christopher has been an outstanding partner throughout this period of transformation, we are fortunate that his expertise will continue to benefit the organization. With that, I will turn the call over to Christopher to discuss our third quarter results in greater detail. Christopher Peter Filiaggi: Thank you, Marc. Turning to our consolidated results. Third quarter performance was in line with the expectations we outlined at the start of the year and reflects continued growth across our businesses. We reported adjusted pretax operating income of $677 million an increase of 4% from the prior year period. And operating earnings per share of $1.22, up 27% year over year. Results included variable investment income that exceeded our long term assumption by $29 million, as well as notable items reducing earnings by $107 million. Notable items reflected the modest impact of our annual actuarial assumption review of $99 million and a 1-time $8 million adjustment within group retirement fees. At the total company level, the actuarial assumption update is expected to have a limited impact on the go forward run rate earnings. The details by business are provided in the appendix to the earnings presentation. Third quarter variable investment income was above our long term assumption. Reflecting a combination of elevated IPO activity which is inherently episodic, and favorable marks on selected investments. Looking ahead, we expect fourth quarter variable investment income to be above the levels reported in the first half of 2026 but below the strong results we experienced in the third quarter. Excluding notable items and assuming alternative investment returns at long term expectations, run rate operating earnings per share was $1.35 representing an increase of 12% from the prior year quarter. Adjusted return on equity was 12.1%, On a run rate basis, it was 13.4%, which is within our long term target of 12% to 14%, reflecting continued earnings growth and disciplined capital management. Turning to our sources of income. Total sources of income increased 7% year over year. Excluding variable investment income and notable items, it increased 2% year over year, reflecting the benefits of our balanced business mix and diversified earnings streams. Base spread income was down modestly from the prior year period. Primarily reflecting the earn in of the fourth quarter 2025 Fed rate cuts. We continue to expect total company based spread income to level off by the end of 2026 as older business rolls off and higher new money yields continue to earn into the portfolio. Importantly, excluding the impact of Fed rate cuts, total company based spreads declined 3 basis points from the prior year quarter reflecting pricing discipline and active portfolio management. Fee income now represents approximately 21% of core sources of earnings, excluding notable items, fee income increased 7% year over year, driven by favorable equity markets and continued growth in assets under management and administration. Excluding variable investment income, underwriting margin increased 2% from the prior year period, benefiting from favorable mortality experience. Finally, we continue to invest in our operating capabilities technology, and customer experience initiatives to further enhance the ease of doing business which resulted in higher operating expenses compared to the prior year period. Turning to capital. Our balance sheet remains strong. We ended the quarter with $2.2 billion of holding company liquidity, well in excess of our expected holding company needs over the next 12 months. This includes $750 million of prefunded debt maturing in April 2027. During the quarter, our insurance subsidiaries distributed $475 million of dividends to the holding company. We returned $295 million to shareholders through dividends and share repurchases, resulting in a year to date payout ratio of approximately 74%, excluding the VA reinsurance proceeds. As a reminder, we accelerated our plan 2026 share repurchases in the first half of the year ahead of our merger with Equitable and taking advantage of the attractive share price. Importantly, our insurance companies remain well capitalized with our risk based capital ratio above our target range. Our diversified platform continues to give us flexibility to allocate capital toward the most attractive risk adjusted opportunities while also returning excess capital to shareholders. Next, I will review a few highlights from each of our businesses the details of which can be found in the appendix to our earnings presentation. Note that these results exclude the impact of variable investment income and notable items. Starting with individual retirement, Third quarter sales were $4.5 billion representing a 17% increase sequentially, with sales growth in both fixed annuities and RILA. Net flows remained positive at $1 billion and improved sequentially. We delivered a solid quarter of sales, net flow performance. Our results were below the prior year period's exceptionally high levels they underscore an underscoring a disciplined approach to pricing and risk management. While continuing to offer competitive solutions that resonate with customers and generate attractive returns. We continue to expect IR based spread income of $2.55 billion for the full year. While the recent increase in interest rates will take time to earn into the portfolio, higher reinvestment yields should help moderate spread compression with base spread income expected to level out by year-end 2026 before improving. Fee income increased 18% year over year, reflecting growth in the underlying business. Adjusted pretax operating income was $429 million, down 4% from the prior year period. Driven by higher DAC amortization from business growth higher interest rates, and the go forward impacts from assumption updates. Overall, the quarter reflects the continued benefit of positive net flows, disciplined pricing, and sustained demand for annuities. Positioning us for future earnings growth. Turning to group retirement. The business continues to benefit from the growing demand for retirement solutions and advice. As more Americans prepare for and transition to retirement. Fee income increased $10 million or 5% from the prior year period driven by continued growth in advisory and fee based assets. Wealth Management sales hit a new record and contributed to more than half of our third quarter sales highlighting the progress we have made in expanding our advice driven business and meeting customers where they increasingly seek guidance. Net outflows were $2 billion, improving both sequentially and year over year, reflecting the absence of any large planned surrenders during the quarter. We do expect an uptick in outflows for the fourth quarter reflecting seasonality associated with IRS required minimum distributions or RMDs. Spread income increased sequentially, benefiting from higher new money yields, but remained below the prior year period due to expected general account outflows associated with the ongoing demographic shift from accumulation to decumulation. Adjusted pretax operating income was $142 million, a decrease of 12% from the prior year period. The decline was driven by lower spread income and higher amortization of acquisition costs partially offset by growth in fee income. As we have discussed previously, the business continues to evolve from a predominantly spread based earnings model. Towards a more capital light fee based earnings. We believe this shift positions the business to benefit from the increasing demand for retirement products and wealth management solutions while continuing to generate attractive returns on capital. Turning to life insurance. Sales were $840 million, reflecting continued demand across our distribution and product offerings. Underwriting margin was $329 million, supported by favorable mortality experience in the quarter. Mortality experience has now been favorable for 10 consecutive quarters, reflecting the quality of our portfolio and risk management. Adjusted pretax operating income was $109 million, flat from the prior year period with the increase in underwriting margin offset by increased operating expenses. We continue to invest in the future of the business through enhanced underwriting technology, product innovation, distribution capabilities to improve customer experience drive efficiency, and support long term growth. Turning to institutional markets. Sales totaled $1.7 billion during the quarter, of which GIC issuances were $1.5 billion exceeding our historical average even with the volatile market conditions observed in the second half of the quarter. While pension risk transfer sales were modest, $156 million in the quarter, results were consistent with our expectation that activity would be higher in the second half of the year. We continue to see a robust pipeline across both The U. S. And UK markets supporting supports our confidence in the outlook for the remainder of the year. Quarterly volumes can fluctuate given the transaction driven nature of the business, the long term market opportunity remains compelling. Adjusted pretax operating income was $107 million, an increase of 5% from the prior year period. Driven by higher base spread income and favorable underwriting margins. The underlying business fundamentals remain strong with reserves increasing 10% AUMA growing 5% year over year. We remain encouraged by demand across both the GIC and PRT markets and believe our scale, distribution capabilities, disciplined underwriting positions us well to capitalize on these opportunities over time. Turning to investments. Our portfolio continues to perform well. With approximately 96% of assets rated investment grade. Positive year to date credit migration across corporate bonds and securitized investments highlights the portfolio's strength and resilience. Given the recent focus, I want to provide additional transparency into our digital and infrastructure exposures and how we approach these investments. We have invested in this sector for many years. We continue to actively monitor and manage these investments as part of our routine portfolio management. We expanded our technology holdings several years ago, seeing opportunities and securitized debt issued by large data center developers and operators with strong performance histories. As a result, approximately 95% of our ABS data center exposure supports traditional cloud and broader enterprise applications with only a small portion tied to AI specific demand. Furthermore, our investments are designed to mature prior to the expiration of the underlying lease arrangements. Providing an additional layer of protection. More recently, we have selectively participated in GPU financing where the structures are shorter in duration and have limited refinancing risk. These securitizations are generally amortized over 5 years or less. Importantly, these assets are expected to remain productive well beyond the amortization period. As with all of our investments, we perform deep analysis of the credit structure underlying collateral, and the fundamental and technical outlook. While the underlying assets have evolved, our investment philosophy has remained unchanged. Apply rigorous underwriting and an underscoring a disciplined approach to portfolio construction favoring high quality assets and issuers, strong structures, tangible collateral, and shorter duration exposures where we have greater visibility into performance and repayment. Importantly, approximately $3.4 billion of our overall digital infrastructure investment portfolio is expected to roll off over the next 3 years consistent with our shorter duration approach. Overall, the portfolio remains well positioned diversified, and appropriately aligned with our liability profile supporting the strength of our balance sheet and earnings profile. In closing, our third quarter results reflect the resilience of our diversified business and the strength of the underlying fundamentals across our franchise. We continue to execute against our strategic priorities, maintain a strong balance sheet, allocate capital with discipline, and invest in opportunities that create long term value for shareholders. We remain confident in our outlook for the remainder of 2026 and believe the combination of our stand alone momentum and the transformative benefits of the Equitable merger positions us to generate attractive returns for shareholders going forward. With that, I will turn the call back to Isil. Isil Muderrisoglu: Thank you, Christopher. As a reminder, please limit yourself to 1 question and 1 follow-up. Operator, we are now ready to begin the Q&A portion of the call. Operator: We will now begin the question-and-answer session. Again, please remember to limit yourself to 1 question and 1 follow-up. If you would like to ask a question, please press *1 to raise your hand. To withdraw the question, press *1 again. We do ask that you pick up your handset when asking a question to allow for optimum sound quality. And if you are muted locally, remember to unmute your device. Please stand by now while we compile the Q&A roster. Your first question comes from the line of Alex Scott with Barclays. Your line is open. Please go ahead. Alex Scott: Hi. Good morning. I would like to start with just asking about the impact of higher interest rates. maybe you could comment on what that will mean to the base spreads in individual retirement and group retirement? Christopher Peter Filiaggi: Yeah. Hey. Hey, Alex. Happy to unpack that for you. So for individual retirement on a base spread income basis, I want to reiterate our current guide to $2.55 billion for 2026. And our expectation that spreads bottom out by the end of the year for 2026, you know, you saw some single digit compression this quarter in individual retirement. We would expect that to continue marginally into the fourth quarter. When we think about rate hikes, so remember, the rate hike that would have occurred in September, that is really going to have no impact on the third quarter results. that is really going to start to earn into the fourth quarter. So you can assume about half of that rate impact is going to earn into the fourth quarter. Assuming another rate hike in December, that is also not really going to have any meaningful impact on the 2026 results. that is really going to be a tailwind heading into 2027 results. You know, I know, you know, we are focused specifically on the net spreads will reduce to a single digit compression. But if you also look at our base yield and what the assets have done sequentially, you do see base yields in our assets also increasing as we are taking advantage of the higher rate environment and repositioning the portfolio without taking on incremental rate and not giving up yield. So, you know, we will continue to take advantage of that. Alex Scott: And as a follow-up, I guess, the same lines on interest rate exposure, but related more to surrenders and inflows? What kind of impact are you seeing there? What kind of changes in behavior, if any? And then maybe a comment on the related DAC impact that was called out. And is that a dynamic assumption? Do we need to if rates continue to go up with that continue to increase? Marc Costantini: Yeah. Good morning, Alex. it is Marc. I will start, and I will pass it to Christopher to give you further detail on the DAC question. So in terms of obviously, as rates increase, and we do expect, obviously, the velocity of surrenders to accelerate by nature once you read the end of the surrender charge period and all that, we do see some activity there. But as you saw in our results in Q3, we had some pretty solid net flows at over $1 billion and we had some very solid, I would say, termination activity in terms of the rates. So And we do see our portfolio, though, behaving as we expected through this cycle, which typically when rates increase, you see a little bit more surrenders, and we would guide to that as we move forward assuming you know, all other things being equal to the market And I will pass it to, Christopher to give you details on the DAC. Christopher Peter Filiaggi: Yeah. Hey. So let me spend a couple of minutes just unpacking the DAC amortization for you and what happened during the quarter. So first, we would have had our rail unlocked during the quarter. So that would have resulted in some updates to our loss assumptions for individual retirement. So that is going to result in a $9 million run rate increase in the DAC. that is already in the Q3 results. Second, our business continues to grow. So that growth in the business is going to result in a natural increase in the DAC balance and then the related amortization Right? So I kind of view that as good DAC. Right? Growth tends to be an additional $2 million to $4 million of DAC amortization per quarter. Third, as we think about the macro conditions that were specifically in play during the quarter, you do have rates rising. And so what that is going to do from a DAC perspective is that it is going to create an expectation of higher future surrenders, not necessarily current period, right? that is an expectation. So just to give you some market data points, So the 10 year was at 29 as of September 30 compared to 4.46 at June 30. So you have that large movement in treasury rates occurring over the course of the year. Right? that is going to result in higher DAC. Since September 30, the 10-year has come down a bit. Right? And so when I think about the fourth quarter and how I would think about it, know, that is going to point you to higher DACs relative to Q2, but likely not as high as Q3 barring significant rate increases. You know, the other thing that I would remind you when do you think about the DAC, remember that is a non cash item, so it is not going to impact the cash generation ability of our insurance companies. Operator: Your next question comes from the line of Tom Gallagher with Evercore ISI. Your line is open. Please go ahead. Thomas Gallagher: Good morning. Marc, I think you mentioned being constructive on IR sales and flow momentum into Q4. But can you talk a little bit about what you are seeing broadly across the different products? I guess, fixed annuities were up a lot. FIAs were soft. RILA was strong. And lapses were low in the quarter. So there is a lot of moving parts there. But what are you what are you really seeing? And are you seeing any disruptive effects in the market from the Marc Walter Delaware Life situation? Lot of things to throw out at you, but just wanna get kind of a broader view on what you see happening in that business. Thanks. Marc Costantini: Thank you, Tom. Good morning. So yeah, I will start maybe a high level and then give you a bit of detail on the product levels. So when we when we came into Q3 at the on this call in Q2, we said we were, seeing some positive momentum in our business, our annuity business. And obviously, that materialized, as you saw, in the actual results. And obviously, the net flows as well clipping above $1 billion I would say we continue to see positive momentum into Q4 and I would share that we had a very robust October in our annuity business. So I would expect that net flows in Q4 to be well above the billion dollar level as well based on what we are seeing early in Q4. And, you know, to break it down by product, like, what. You know, 1 of the things that you know, we pride ourselves in, obviously, given the depth and breadth of the portfolio is the allocation to the different, product suites as we see the various competitive pressures and tension in the market. And that includes in all the territories we operate in, including New York, which is more selective. So and then we did see, as you mentioned, some more robust fixed annuity sales and less so in fixed indexed annuity. But I would tell you, like, in know, in my remarks, I mentioned we introduced a new, feature on a index annuity, know, we think it is gonna, it is gonna help us, obviously, the differentiate ourselves in the marketplace and, bodes well, as I said, for our Q4 flows. In terms of the broader effect, you know, as given some of the attention, some of these companies you mentioned are getting, know, we try to track carefully to see what it does to our flows and what it does to our business, and it is nuanced because, you know, some distributors, obviously, I taken action, and then, you know, that helps everybody else that is on the shelf. And you see perhaps some, you know, some, I would say transfers, N35x but we have not seen it, materially affect, let's say, the volumes that we are reporting, at this point. But, you know, there is logically going to be a movement to quality, manufacturers. And obviously we definitely see ourselves in that category. Thanks for all that color, Marc. Thomas Gallagher: That was helpful. My follow-up is just on the AI and other technology related debt disclosure. So it is 3.5% all in the general account. And I guess I can appreciate why this matters to the market more broadly from a CapEx build out. Tech cycle standpoint. But curious, how are you approaching that? Is that is that now in a risk surveillance bucket that you think you know, creates more uncertainty or you are or you are fine with it, you do not really view it that way. I know why. Anyway, it is interesting that you know, when you look at some of it, it is very highly rated. So it does not exactly seem to go in a risk bucket. And then also, do you have a limit? Like, 3.5% Do you have a cap of how big you want that to get? Thanks. Marc Costantini: Yeah. Thank you, Tom. it is Marc here. I will give you a kind of a. Some perspectives from where I sit. And then we have Lisa here, obviously, and I will have her provide you some context and the details. So, you know, obviously, given the attention that this space is getting, we saw it you know, warranted to provide a lot of transparency in our portfolio. And you know, I am sure, as you are sensing and, and your comments here, when you look at our portfolio, it is over 98%, you know, investment grade or in that ZIP code. And, obviously, we have got some unsecured debt there, but these are the, you know, high quality companies. And the things that are, you know, and the structures are getting a lot of attention. You know, $3.4 billion is basically rolling off the next couple of years, and this is at a. You know, the $6 billion or so, then your weighted average life is less than 5 years. So and, you know, as I just mentioned, the majority of it is all investment grade. So it is not something we worry. And the last thing I will say, is 2 things. The first 1 is that as you will see here in Lisa's comments and the second, I am sure she will infer, obviously, the length of time we have been active. And this space. Right? And, you know, there is a. We have had a lot of vintages of investments in this space, and our expertise and our ability to manage it. Your broader, like, do we put this in the risk surveillance bucket, and how do we view it? We are not taking any additional risk. We are sticking to our, basically, our risk guidelines here, and you will hear more about that from Lisa. But and it is a category we track as we track all categories across all our asset classes and our credit exposures. So Lisa? Lisa Michele Longino: Great. Thanks. Thanks, Tom. You know, as Marc mentioned, we wanted to give you a full view of just related digital infrastructure, and it does include all our non-insulated accounts As well as our commercial mortgage loan exposure as well. So in the slide Marc's already talked about columns 1 and 4, which are really just public senior debt. But if you look at 2 and 3, and I will focus on that because it talks about our strategy, This represents our secured holdings In data centers and chip leases. We really view that digital portfolio characterized really as investment grade, contractual infrastructure credit rather than a directional bet on AI adoption. You know, we really have always had a strong bias for short duration, high quality amortizing paper with credit enhancements where we have better transparency on the underlying collateral value. And so we really focus on strong hyperscale counterparties, amortizing structures, tangible collateral, and debt maturities. And Mark mentioned the $3.4 billion of roll off. Really comes out of these categories 2 and 3. And then, also, I would just say exposure is not synonymous with AI. We have been in this sector for some time, And, really, if you look at the private ABS book that we have that is in these 2 categories, 95% is traditional infrastructure, so there is not AI related functions. it is really cloud storage, business enterprise, applications, content delivery, and business continuity. And even in our CML that are included here, there is just a very immaterial amount related to AI. Everything else is more to the enterprise. And then everything we will look at here has to have strong structural protections so we have limited refinancing dependence. And, you know, you mentioned, we do have internal limits or guardrails both at the issuer level, but also at the sector. We will look at any sector whether it could be this or banking or energy. And we will decide how much we want to own based on our views of the fundamentals and what we may see for an outlook. So we are very pragmatic, very deliberate. And then right now, in this sector, supply and demand for capital is so great, the lending is really highly skewed to the lenders' favors, which provides opportunities because it allows structure and excess spread as well as very protective covenants that you really do not see in other sectors. So you know, we feel like we are getting close to full but we will continue to have a high bar to assess future opportunities as they may arise. Thanks. Operator: Your next question comes from the line of Ryan Krueger with KBW. Your line is open. Please go ahead. Ryan Krueger: Hey. Thanks. Good morning. First question was on the opportunity to be bigger in institutional markets following the merger. Do you see that as mostly related to increasing your funding agreement issuance, or is it broader than that and includes PRT and other sorts of institutional products as well? Marc Costantini: Yeah. Good morning, Ryan. it is Marc. Thanks for the question. So the punch line is, yes, we do expect to be bigger in institutional markets. And I think the combined balance sheet of the new Equitable will allow us to get bigger And I think we still have a lot of room to grow in the funding agreement business, as you mentioned. And I think we have a lot of room to grow in the PRT business as well and the sheer size and the combined company will give us access to PRT cases that otherwise would not be available to, you know, Equitable or corporate stand alone. So and as you mentioned. As I mentioned in our. In my remarks, you know, in Q4, we already obviously, you know, got a $1.5 billion case that we expect will close later this quarter, and we still see a very vibrant pipeline in the institutional markets PRT space, in the quarter, along with the fact that we do expect our GIC business to be you know, robust in Q4. So I would say I am is 1 of our business lines that we would expect to grow a fair bit coming out of the merger with Equitable. Ryan Krueger: Thanks. And then on the Japan opportunity to partner with Nippon on the retail annuity market there? How far along would you say you are at this point on developing that And when do you think we could potentially see a launch of the partnership? Marc Costantini: Yeah. Yeah. Thank you. So, Nippon, obviously is a, very, important anchor you know, strategic investor in our firm, you know, as you all know, they have been buying up their shares in Corebridge to make sure that when we close, you know, later this year, hopefully, that they are above the 15% threshold that they are seeking. Tied to that, to your point, we have been having a lot of active discussions with them in terms of, know, are there commercial products that we can help them manufacture, for their, in the Japanese market and obviously, utilizing their great branded distribution and you know, we are still consciously optimistic that we will, be able to do that, and we do see, opportunities in that market and the solutions we have across the depth and breadth of our product portfolio and that will include you know, the new Equitable here, when I say that as well. You know, is still something that we would like to actively pursue And, you know, the only, reality I would add to this is that if we do come to an agreement on the product and we decide to do something with Nippon and their and their local market, you know, at this point, based on the regulatory process and review in Japan and obviously the operational kind of infrastructure needed to introduce some of these products. Like, it would be kind of a 2028 thing, but we, you know, we would obviously share with all of you once we have agreed to do something and you know, the timelines and the type of products and where it and where it could lead us. So that is what. that is how I answer that 1. Operator: Your next question comes from the line of Suneet Kamath with Jefferies. Your line is open. Please go ahead. Suneet Kamath: A couple on the transaction. 1, we have been getting quite a few questions on, you know, revenue synergies, and I appreciate the work you have done on the cost side with the additional disclosure of the $100 million that you feel good about. that is good to see. But we have not really heard anything number wise on the revenue side. So maybe can you just give us an update on how you are feeling about that and maybe some of the opportunities that you see? Thanks. Marc Costantini: Yes. Good morning, Suneet. Thanks for your question. I appreciate it. So you are correct that, you know, we have guided more details on the expense synergies. And, as well been documented, you know, the 500 million run rate entering you know, at the end of 28 and as well, as has been mentioned in my remarks that we have already identified over $100 million towards that goal. So we feel quite good about that. You know, in tandem with this, I guess, you know, we are working very actively on the revenue synergies, and we are preparing for an Investor Day in Q2 2027 where we will share a lot of the details. Now, I will mention that we have guided to, you know, $100 billion of assets moving from the corporate balance sheet to AllianceBernstein, which would give you color, you know, and we are actively working, on that transition that, you know, we start once we close later this year. But tied to that, mean, I will mention some of the things that are going to-- are in the pipeline, and we are actively working. Like, Equitable Advisors, obviously, you know, as you know, Robin and I have been mentioning, you know, they do sell a fair bit of fixed annuity, and fixed index annuity, and we are looking to introduce, obviously, the corporate suite of products and into that channel as early as possible once all is closed. They have a very, robust VUL offering that was on our design table at Corebridge that we would love to introduce across our channels and you know, in 2027, along with you know, obviously, you know, harvesting some of the AllianceBernstein opportunity across some of our Group Retirement platforms and otherwise would be part of the you know, these revenue synergies, which we will give more color. But, we do agree that there is an upside and this is a growth oriented kind of merger and growth. And, you know, these synergies that we are discussing here will be a big part of the value proposition that we will share with you when we do Investor Day. Suneet Kamath: Got it. I thought you might say what we put out yesterday was spot on, but I guess you did not want to go there. My second question We appreciate what you put-- we appreciate what you put out there. Marc Costantini: that is for sure. Anyway, you know, and we will we will give you more color on the actual facts. As time goes on. Fair enough. Looking forward to that. My 2 cents are out there. Suneet Kamath: Very good. My second question was just on something that is been I guess, in the press or in the media related to, permitted practices. Yeah. there is some concern that maybe the 2 companies' different permitted practices could, you know, create some issues around timing of close or if things are allowed. You know, post merger. Just wanted to get a sense of at least give you the opportunity to sort of discuss that because it was sort of cited by some folks in the market, and we have been getting some questions on that. Thanks. Marc Costantini: Yeah. Okay. Thank you, Suneet. I appreciate the question. So I will say that, you know, in my in my remarks, you know, I mentioned that we secured all the, you know, the federal, you know, support for the transaction. We have had you know, very engaged process with all the states and I would say we are making very good progress there. We are not giving specifics because we wanna respect you know, kind of the process with the states. And but I would tell you that all of the dialogue we are having with the states, is very constructive and you know, we continue to guide to year-end as the close. And I prefer not to give specifics, but I would tell you that what you are inferring there is not the case. When we look at you know, the transaction and the, you know, the discussions we have with our respective regulators, I know what you are referring to, and I would say, that is not true. Operator: Your next question comes from the line of Joel Hurwitz with Dowling and Partners. Your line is open. Please go ahead. Joel Hurwitz: Hey. Good morning. Just wanted to follow-up on the question on institutional markets growth. Post merger and specifically PRT. Historically, Corebridge has been focused on full plan terminations with some specialized capabilities. I guess post merger, do you expect to expand outside of that space in pension risk transfer? Marc Costantini: Good morning, Joel. Thanks for the question. it is, Marc here again. So I will say just to, make sure we level set, we are very active in this space across every dimension, both here, in The US and in The UK, right, through our reinsurance activities there. And so. And that will continue to be much, very much the case. We do quote and look at all the cases. We do find that, our special and our knowledge in understanding some of the behavioral attributes positions us well in some of the applications. I think the merger will give us a greater access to larger cases, right, where you get into a different lens of the fiduciary funnel. Right, with the combined company and the size and scale and scope of it. And that-- I think that is where we see, you know, the growth coming from that business versus, anything else. Joel Hurwitz: Gotcha. that is helpful. And then just back to surrender. So in the quarter, the rate was really good down over 100 basis points quarter over quarter. I know you talked about the expectation that higher rates will drive higher surrenders. But are you actually seeing that at this point? And just any more color on how surrenders are tracking versus your internal expectations. Marc Costantini: Yeah. So thank you, Joel. So I would say that you know, overall. And I will go back to the fact that we wrote a fair bit of business, 4, 5, 6 years ago, and I think we had guided, to the fact that, you know, we are gonna see some velocity as surrenders as that business, you know, comes out of the surrender charge period, and we would expect that. And, you know, and that is why we guided that. Having said that, there will be some you know, some volatility from quarter to quarter in our termination rates. And as you are, you know, highlighting here, we had a you know, a more favorable quarter, you know, in Q3. And I think we are we are. You know, as I mentioned maybe in a prior question, we do see our net flows you know, being very robust in Q4 as well, which speaks to the, obviously, the, the top line, activity as well, but we do not see anything out of the ordinary happening in Q4. And as, you know, Christopher, I will pass it on, to him to give some further detail. What he did mention in terms of the DAC question, what we are. You know, how we are dealing with the surrenders and the assumptions there. Christopher Peter Filiaggi: Yeah. But I think. Yeah. Hey, Joel. it is Christopher. But I think that is a good summary So while rates up, you know, may necessarily mean more surrenders, that plays out over time. Remember, for our products, there are surrender charges that are in place, so that does impact consumer behavior. Not necessarily going to surrender the policy while you are in the surrender charge period. And so I think importantly, Marc mentioned, while they are may be an uptick in surrenders over time, the environment for individual retirement is still very attractive. And so we are going to see higher sales and higher flows over time as well. Operator: Your next question comes from the line of Wesley Carmichael with Wells Fargo. Your line is open. Please go ahead. Wesley Carmichael: Hey. Thanks. Good morning. I just kind of wanted to follow-up on the last question, but, Marc, your comments around the fourth quarter individual retirement sales being pretty robust and net flows likely above $1 billion wanted to unpack that a bit more. What products are you seeing strengthen early in the fourth quarter? And where are you seeing the best new marginal returns? Marc Costantini: Yeah. So thank you, Wesley. Good morning. So I would say that entering Q4, I would say all of our product lines were, you know, were performing were performing well. You know, I will note that our RILA sales, you know, are very close to clipping the $1 billion mark. that is continues to be something that, you know, we are penetrating in that market. And, obviously, it is not lost on us, you know, the dominant position that you know, Equitable has there, which, is gonna bode well with, you know, what I just mentioned here. But, you know, we, and I, as I mentioned in my in my remarks, we did introduce a new fixed index annuity and we do see some, you know, some positive tailwinds tied to that, and our fixed annuity was entering Q4 in a in a good stead. So, you know, I mean, there are 60 days left, so we will see how, you know, how that happened, what happens there, and we are not immune to, obviously, the competitive backs and forths. You know, the takeaway would be that you know, we will pivot and, you know, allocate our capital where we think we are we are gonna service it the best while meeting, obviously, the client needs and making sure our solutions you know, meet the clients where they where they need to. So that is how I would say, I position at this point. For Q4. Wesley Carmichael: Got it. Thanks. And just maybe 1 more on individual retirement competition, but I think there is a competitor call that ongoing right now, and they are talking about the NAIC taking a pretty swift action approach against reinsurance arbitrage from non-U.S. jurisdictions. So I guess that would include Cayman. But how are you guys thinking about that? Is there more market share opportunity if the regulator does take some meaningful action or just how you are thinking about that generally? Marc Costantini: Yeah. So, without the knowledge of that other call and what is being discussed, I guess, I would tell you maybe from where we sit, you know, we, we have an affiliate in Bermuda. We have about 10% of our business that you know, flows to Bermuda. I you know, I guess, from a higher level, you know, I feel that the regulatory process and the movement at the NAIC, I think, is. It makes a makes a lot of sense. And the attention that some jurisdictions are getting, I think makes sense. And I think you know, what we all want, is a fair and equitable regulatory process that applies to all, in the same way. And I think that is probably the sentiment that is being espoused in the other call, and I would I would support that sentiment as well in terms of, how we deal with these various jurisdictions, and then we make sure that, as I said, the regular process is vibrant and fair and equitable for all manufacturers. So what that means for sales and flows, I think, you know, it remains to be seen. But you know, I will again mention what I said earlier that any attention to this typically, you know, drives, you know, people to focus on quality and we think, you know, that will benefit Corebridge and the new Equitable. Operator: Your next question comes from the line of Mike Ward with UBS. And your line is open. Please go ahead. Michael Ward: Hi. Thanks, guys. Good morning. Just curious about the alternatives book. Solid result, I think, in Q3 relative to what you would expected. But, know, aside from the PE and the IPO dynamic, are there offsetting dynamics, you know, offsetting. Revaluations coming through, just driven by the higher rate environment pressuring asset values or anything we should be thinking about? Marc Costantini: Yeah. Good morning, Mike. it is Marc. Maybe I will give a high level view about how I-- high-- I and we view ALTS. Right? We think ALTS is a great asset category to defuse long term liabilities, right? When you get down duration of 20-plus, it is hard to get the appropriate credit exposure and all that. And naturally, as we would as, you know, savers ourselves if you have that type of outlook, all-in equities are the right asset. And that is why we have exposure to that. I will mention that our exposure overall is less than 2.5% of our balance sheet and that marries to, you know, the term of the liabilities we have that fits in the category I just described. And, you know, in the. And by nature of the investment, the investment and the accounting for the investment, you know, on a GAAP basis, it will be volatile from period to period, and that is what we are seeing obviously, in our results. And as well, a lot of the assets if not all, and I will ask Christopher to correct me if I. If I am mistaken. You know, it is all fair value on a balance sheet. So the real estate, the PE, and all of these are fair value where that is not necessarily the case depending on the structures and how they are held across you know, all the players in the industry. So for us, there is more volatility to the fact they are marked every quarter. So with that, backdrop, I will hand it to Christopher and Lisa to add comments. Lisa Michele Longino: Hi. Hi, Mike. it is Lisa. Thanks for the question. I would just add, you know, really, what drove performance this quarter was IPOs. And you will Christopher had talked about the outlook for fourth quarter, just based on our historical view of IPOs and how they trade afterwards when we are still locked into those investments. So it is too early to really change our view for fourth quarter. As far as the rest of the alternatives book, it also incorporates a small amount of hedge funds, which is just about rolled down. But also, real estate equity funds, which are mark to market quarterly on a lag. So there. You know, as. If rates are higher, there could be some impact there. But again, still too early to comment on. Christopher Peter Filiaggi: Yeah. I think that is a good summary. You know, just to reiterate the, you know, the guidance here. So for the full year, the VII expectations were around 1% to 2% for the full year. Specific for the fourth quarter, we are reiterating the 1% to 2% guide, but given some of the comments you just heard from Marc and Lisa, our expectation will be closer to the higher end of that guide. But there could be some overhang from the IPOs. Operator: Your final question comes from the line of Francis Matten with BMO. Your line is open. Please go ahead. Francis Matten: Hey. Good morning. The first 1 I had is on group retirement. It looks like you are seeing the strategic benefits of the shift towards wealth management and fee based earnings. Wondering how we should think about the timing of the earnings inflection from that shift when would you expect to see fee based growth more than offset the moderation in spread earnings? Christopher Peter Filiaggi: Yeah. You know, so the way that I would think about it, you know, the. I think the mix shift has been very successful from a group retirement perspective at this point. The fee income makes up over 60% of the earnings of the Group Retirement business. You know, maybe the other item I would note, I would note this quarter, from a sales perspective, this was also our best out of plan sales period as well with out of plan sales contributing over 50% of the sales volume for group retirement. So a lot of the initiatives you have heard us talk about for you know, strengthening and improving our wealth management business. You know, the effect of that is taking hold, and you see that manifesting itself in our results. And I think we are on a. You know, on the right trajectory for group retirement. Francis Matten: that is helpful. Thank you. And then just 1 follow-up on surrender activity. How are you thinking about the trade off between like raising credited rates to defend persistency versus allowing more of that business to lapse and then recycling capital into new business potentially more attractive returns. Marc Costantini: Yeah. it is Marc here, Jack. Thank you. So you know, I would say what you are, asking there about is the, you know, the intersection of how we manage the business. Right? And I think this is where the, the experience, that we have in various cycles of managing our enforced block and managing the reset activity to optimize customer value. Right? And let's not forget, we are here to serve as a customer and ensure that, you know, they can retire with dignity and confidence, and we provide you know, the solutions to it. But, you know, factoring that in and then economics and the cost of capital is how we, you know, we have that dynamic equation. And, you know, when we mentioned the roll-off and our investment of 6.1% versus what is rolling out 5.7, some of that is gonna end, you know, end up in the REIT reset rates for our customers. Right? And it is that balance of obviously, sustaining the book You know, and generating some appropriate spread income versus you know, obviously, clipping a pace where it is too much, and then you take the surrender of it. And that is the dynamic kind of process that we follow, and I think you know, we are quite comfortable with the process we have, and we are quite pleased with you know, how the business has performed through both interest rates. When interest rates have contracted and when interest rates are expanding, we have got obviously, experience in managing our portfolio under both scenarios. Thank you. Operator: There are no further questions at this time. This concludes today's call. Thank you for attending. You may now disconnect.