Prepared remarks
Good morning, and welcome to the Reinsurance Group of America Third Quarter 2025 Earnings Conference Call. Please note, this event is being recorded. I would now like to turn the conference over to Jeff Hopson, Senior Vice President, Investor Relations. Please go ahead.
Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining us. I am delighted to share that we have had a very strong third quarter, as demonstrated by the continued successful execution of our strategy as well as the record financial performance we delivered. Let me open with a few key highlights. Firstly, we reported record operating EPS, excluding notable items, of $6.37 per share. These results were strong and above expectations. We had excellent performance overall with particularly good results in Asia Traditional and EMEA and U.S. Financial Solutions. Our diversified global platform continues to deliver significant long-term value. Secondly, we are seeing a positive contribution from the Equitable transaction, which closed this quarter. Thirdly, new business momentum remains strong, as evidenced by our premium growth and capital deployment into in-force transactions. We are seeing good year-to-date contributions from across our geographies.
Our competitive advantages continue to differentiate RGA, leading to good new business results, a robust pipeline, and the ability to be selective on the opportunities we pursue. Next, during the quarter, we repurchased $75 million of common shares. We will continue to balance investing our excess capital into the business and returning it to shareholders in a manner that allows us to execute our strategy and meet our financial targets over time. Finally, we continue to make progress on other strategic initiatives, including the utilization of Ruby Re and the successful execution of in-force management actions. All of these position us for continued long-term success. Let me now provide a few more details on the quarter, including highlights from across our regions, starting with North America. We continue to exceed our new business targets for the traditional business, driven by our strong underwriting capabilities.
We closed a significant number of new deals in the quarter and reached a record number of underwriting applications. One of these deals was an enhancement of our strategic underwriting program with a digital solution that enabled us to partner exclusively with a key client that has a strong brand and a large distribution footprint. These initiatives differentiate RGA and represent an increasing portion of our U.S. business. This is yet another example of what RGA has done for over 50 years and continues to do its best, which is to be innovative and the leader in underwriting. Also, as indicated, the Equitable transaction closed in the quarter, and we recorded a full quarter of earnings in this period. Results were in line with our expectations. The asset portfolio repositioning is progressing as planned, and our previous guidance on the expected future earnings remains unchanged. Along with the financial gains, the partnership is yielding strategic benefits through increased underwriting services, product development, asset management, and participation in our Ruby Re sidecar.
The depth and breadth of this partnership is one example of the win-win opportunities for the benefit of both RGA and our clients. Moving to Asia Pacific. The region continues to perform very well. Traditional results were particularly strong this quarter, continuing its trend of excellent growth and bottom line results. We continue to delight our clients by staying at the forefront of innovation and helping them navigate evolving strategic needs. Our strategy in Hong Kong is to deliver holistic solutions combining product development, capital solutions, and technology-enabled underwriting capabilities. We recently won the prestigious Hong Kong Federation of Insurers' Outstanding Reinsurance Scheme Award, recognizing one of these holistic solutions. We expect this to lead to repeat transactions of this nature in Hong Kong. In addition, we've been able to leverage these strengths across the region.
This was best demonstrated in Mainland China where recent regulatory changes allow participating critical illness products like the ones in Hong Kong to be sold. RGA co-developed a first of its kind critical illness combination product, and early sales performance has been strong. In Korea, RGA remains the market leader in product innovation. Building on the success of last year's cancer treatment product, which launched with 19 clients, we introduced the second-generation version of this product, and our clients have already sold over 1 million policies, demonstrating the strong market demand. Finally, in the EMEA region, RGA remains a clear market leader, and Q3 results reflect that. We successfully closed multiple transactions across the region and across a range of product lines. The strong client satisfaction from RGA executing on our promises will lead to repeat opportunities. In addition, we closed a market-first transaction in Switzerland.
This follows our success in Belgium last year in a similar market first and shows Continental Europe is opening up to asset-intensive reinsurance. I firmly believe we are best positioned in this market, and our innovation will continue to drive growth in the region. Reflecting on the activity from across the globe, I am very pleased with our Traditional business results. Traditional business premiums are up 8.5% year-to-date on a constant currency basis, with good growth across regions and we can rely on this business year in, year out, giving us a strong foundation for continued earnings growth. Now with regards to transactions, we have deployed $2.4 billion of capital year-to-date. This comprised of $1.5 billion into the Equitable transaction and $900 million of capital into over 20 other transactions spread around the globe. These are high-quality transactions that don't always make headlines due to their more modest size, but are equally important as they form a regular base of business that we can also rely on year in, year out.
They leverage our long-standing client relationships, our strength in biometric risk, and often our repeat transactions that are well within our sweet spot. As you can see from these examples, the new business success in all three regions are the result of our now well-entrenched Creation Re business approach. This approach proactively provides holistic and innovative solutions, leveraging our competitive advantages, and often leads to exclusive and repeat business. Over the past two years, this approach has driven expected lifetime returns of all new business across the company above our target range. Looking forward, our new business pipeline is strong across all three regions, and we will continue to select the best opportunities based on our expected returns, risk appetite, and other strategic considerations. Another highlight is that the value of in-force business margins increased by 16% over the past three quarters.
This is a measure of our efforts to create long-term value through new business and other management actions and indicates our success in building a sustainable and successful future. Finally, it is very gratifying that we can provide an attractive combination of organic growth and are in a strong capital position that enables us to fulfill our healthy pipeline and return a meaningful amount of capital to shareholders. So to sum up, we have had an excellent third quarter with many highlights. We are well positioned in the right markets with the right teams executing with the right strategies and have full confidence that the best is yet to come. I will now turn it over to our CFO, Axel Andre, to discuss the financial results in more detail.
Thanks, Tony. RGA reported pretax adjusted operating income, excluding notable items, of $534 million for the quarter or $6.37 per share after tax. For the trailing 12 months, adjusted operating return on equity, excluding notable items, was 14.2%. Results were strong this quarter and above expectations. Momentum across our business remains good, and we saw notable strength in Asia Traditional and EMEA and U.S. Financial Solutions. As Tony mentioned earlier, we closed the Equitable transaction and recognized a full quarter of income. Results for the block continue to be in line with expectations. As a reminder, this block is expected to have highly diversified sources of earnings, split roughly between fee income, underwriting margin, and investment spread. This is one of the reasons the transaction was so attractive to us. Given the diversified sources of earnings, there is an immediate earnings impact as well as incremental ramp-up as some of the assets are repositioned.
The portfolio repositioning is on track and was approximately 75% complete at the end of the quarter. The remainder will occur over the next six to nine months. During the quarter, we deployed $233 million of capital into in-force transactions in addition to the previously announced $1.5 billion into the Equitable transaction. We also completed $75 million of share repurchases at an average price of $184.58. Our capital position remained strong, and we ended the quarter with estimated excess capital of $2.3 billion and estimated deployable capital of $3.4 billion. The effective tax rate for the quarter was 19.6% on adjusted operating income before taxes, below the expected range of 23% to 24%, primarily due to the jurisdictional mix of earnings. We still expect a tax rate of 23% to 24% for the full year. Our Traditional business premium growth was 8.5% year-to-date on a constant currency basis, which has benefited from strong growth in the U.S., EMEA, and APAC.
Premiums are a good indicator of the ongoing vitality of our Traditional business, and we continue to have strong momentum across our regions. Turning to biometric claims experience, as outlined on Slide 9 of our earnings presentation, Economic claims experience was favorable by $5 million in the quarter, primarily driven by APAC and Canada, partially offset by the U.S. Traditional segment. The corresponding current period financial impact was unfavorable by $50 million. Claims experience in U.S. individual life and group were modestly unfavorable. As discussed last quarter, our expectation was that the group business overall will be approximately breakeven for the second half of the year, and that remains true. Over the longer term, economic claims experience for the total company has been favorable by $277 million since the beginning of 2023 when we more fully emerged from COVID. As a reminder, the favorable economic experience that has not been recognized through the accounting results will be recognized over the remaining life of the business.
I'll now make a few comments on the notable items reported in the period, which relate to the results of our annual actuarial assumptions review. The overall economic impact of the assumptions update is positive from a long-term value perspective and future run rates. As presented on Slide 7, the impact is split into two components: a negative $149 million current period impact due to LDTI cohorting and a positive $600 million impact to long-term value. Said another way, if LDTI did not exist, the total impact is a benefit of $450 million. These updates will increase annual run rates by $15 million, gradually increasing to $25 million annually by 2040. Moving to the quarterly segment results on Slide 6. The U.S. and Latin America Traditional results reflected modestly unfavorable claims experience, partially offset by the favorable impact from in-force management actions. In our group business, as mentioned, results were approximately breakeven and in line with our updated 2025 expectations, and the block will be fully repriced by January 2026.
The U.S. Financial Solutions results reflected the contribution from the Equitable transaction, partially offset by lower variable investment income. The results from the Equitable block were in line with expectations. For the full year, we still expect this transaction to contribute around $70 million of pretax income, increasing to $160 million to $170 million in 2026 and approximately $200 million per year by 2027. Canada Traditional results reflected unfavorable group experience, partially offset by favorable individual life claims experience. The Financial Solutions results in Canada were in line with expectations. In the Europe, Middle East, and Africa region, the Traditional results reflected favorable underwriting margins. EMEA's Financial Solutions results reflected favorable longevity experience and continued growth in the segment. This segment continues to be a bright spot for us.
Turning to our Asia Pacific region. Traditional had another good quarter, reflecting favorable claims experience and the benefit of ongoing growth. This segment continues to perform at a high level, a reflection of our excellent competitive position and our execution of value-added solutions to clients. Financial Solutions results were in line with expectations with a modest unfavorable impact from lower variable investment income. Finally, the Corporate and Other segment reported an adjusted operating loss before tax of $58 million, unfavorable compared to the expected quarterly average run rate. This was primarily due to lower variable investment income and higher general expenses. Moving to investments on Slides 10 through 13, the non-spread book yield, excluding variable investment income was slightly lower than Q2, primarily due to higher levels of cash for part of the quarter. The new money rate remains well above the portfolio yield, providing a tailwind to our overall book yield.
Total variable investment income was below expectations by around $40 million, primarily due to lower real estate joint venture activity. Overall, our portfolio quality remains high, and credit impairments are better than expectations for the year. Notably, we have zero direct exposure to the recent auto sector bankruptcies. Turning now to capital. Our excess capital ended the quarter at an estimated $2.3 billion and our deployable capital was an estimated $3.4 billion. It's important to note that we manage capital through multiple frameworks, including our internal economic capital, regulatory capital, and rating agency capital. From a regulatory lens, we maintain ample levels of regulatory capital in the jurisdictions where we operate. Also, our strong ratings are important to our counterparty strength. Thus, we manage our rating agency capital to support these ratings. On a holistic basis, considering all capital frameworks, we are well capitalized.
In the quarter, we successfully retroceded a midsized block of U.S. PRT business to Ruby Re and we are actively working on additional retrocessions. We still expect the vehicle to be fully deployed by the middle of 2026. Looking ahead, we will balance capital deployment into the business with returning capital to shareholders through quarterly dividends and share repurchases. Our intention remains to be opportunistic with share repurchases quarter by quarter, depending on our capital position, a forward view of our transaction pipeline, and valuation metrics. Over the longer term, we expect total shareholder return of capital through dividends and share repurchases to range between 20% to 30% of after-tax operating earnings on average, consistent with our long history. During the quarter, we continued our long track record of increasing book value per share. As shown on Slide 17, our book value per share, excluding AOCI and impacts from B36 embedded derivatives increased to $159.83, which represents a compounded annual growth rate of 9.7% since the beginning of 2021.
Moving to Slide 18. We provided an update on the value of in-force business margins, which significantly increased since the end of 2024, reflecting the very strong new business momentum. Overall, we believe this is an additional lens through which to assess the long-term earnings power of our business that will emerge over time, and we are pleased with the results. All in all, this was a great quarter with strong operating results. In addition, we continue to advance many strategic objectives. Our long-term strategy remains well on track, and we are confident in our ability to deliver on our intermediate-term financial targets. We continue to see very good opportunities across our geographies and business lines and remain well capitalized to execute on our strategic plan. We also believe we are in a position to return excess capital to shareholders through dividends and share repurchases. With that, I would like to thank everyone for your continued interest in RGA. This concludes our prepared remarks. We would now like to open it up for questions.
Questions and answers
First one was just on the U.S. claims activity in Traditional in the quarter. Just wanted to see if you would unpack current experience, if that's just normal volatility in your view, if there's any one-time kind of items in there.
Yes, Wes. Thanks for the question. On the U.S. Traditional side, we had about $30 million of negative claims experience on the individual life side, that's really kind of normal volatility. If you look at it on a historical basis, it's well below a standard deviation. So frankly, modest noise there. And then on the group side, as indicated last quarter, and consistent with the expectations that we had set, we had about a $20 million negative experience.
Got it. And maybe sticking with that segment, U.S. Traditional in the current quarter. Were there any one-time items that impacted premiums? It looks like premium growth was a little bit softer there than the rest of the enterprise. And if so, what was kind of the underlying growth rate there?
Yes. On the U.S. premium side, so in the quarter, we had an in-force action, so a recapture of a treaty, which resulted in a positive impact to the results of about $20 million. And so the flip side of that is that we didn't record the premiums that we would have got from that treaty. And so that's really the main driver for the reduction in premiums.
There was a recent report in September from Swiss Re suggesting a mortality reduction from GLP-1 drugs of up to 6.4% in the U.S. and 5.1% in the U.K. How soon would it make sense to recognize that benefit either on pricing or in your assumptions?
John, thanks for the question. This is Jonathan. So we haven't made any material changes to our assumptions due to anti-obesity medication, but the benefits from these medications have increased our confidence that our existing mortality improvement assumptions will be realized in the future. We've done some significant modeling and analysis, and we continue to believe that anti-obesity medications, including GLP-1s, will have a meaningful benefit on population-level mortality. And going forward, we'll continue to regularly assess the data and our model and expectations as to how this population improvement translates through to our insured book of business. Specifically for the study that you referenced, our analysis is generally aligned with a central estimate that Swiss Re has as well. So our numbers are consistent with their central estimate. I think the numbers you quoted were on the high end of their estimate.
Yes, those were the bull case outcomes. My follow-up, I believe the lift to annual run rate is $15 million over the intermediate term and would be expected to grow. To what level would it be expected to grow in the max year?
Yes. So just to clarify, I think you referred to the impact of the actual assumptions update. As I mentioned, there's the accounting impact and there's the long-term value impact, the $600 million, which will be recognized over time. That $600 million essentially will increase our run rates by $15 million next year, so annual increase of $15 million which then gradually ramps up to a $25 million increase to the annual run rate by 2040.
I had a couple of questions. First, regarding your expectations for Ruby Re, you mentioned that you anticipate filling the pipeline or whatever your plans are for business activity. What kind of liabilities are you considering for the structure? There seems to be significant demand for reinsurance or deals related to some of these legacy liabilities. How do those align with your plans? I also have a follow-up.
Sure. Thanks for the question. Yes, so Ruby Re, we were pleased to see another transaction seeded into the vehicle this quarter. As you may recall, the vehicle was set up to really take in U.S. asset-intensive type transactions. We have a pipeline of transactions that we already have on our books that we're working through the process of seeding into the vehicle, which is why we're saying we have the confidence that we will be fully deployed by the middle of 2026. I think just taking a step back, we've mentioned that sidecars, third-party capital is a core component of our strategy. We expect in the future to be pursuing other sidecars and for that to be a nice supplement to our ability to deploy capital over time.
And then the type of liabilities include just annuities or like LTC VAs with living benefits as well?
Ruby Re is focused on straightforward liabilities, which we categorize as asset intensive. This includes pension risk transfers and other liabilities that involve some biometric risks but are generally standard. As we look into new options, we may broaden the scope of the liabilities we consider. However, it's important to emphasize that we concentrate on areas where we have expertise. Our strength lies in integrating the two aspects of the balance sheet: biometric risk and the asset side in the types of transactions we have successfully carried out before. We do not intend to explore new areas where we lack expertise or a proven track record.
I had a question on in-force actions. You've done a number of things over the last few years. I was just hoping to get an update on how far along you think you are at this point? And in the kind of opportunities that you still have going forward to do more actions on the in-force.
I can start by discussing the numbers and then hand it over to Tony. We have previously mentioned in-force actions, which made a significant contribution to earnings in 2023 and 2024. At the beginning of the year, we stated our expectation of about $50 million a year from in-force actions. However, these actions can fluctuate, and there may be years where we exceed or fall short of that amount. So far in 2025, we've accumulated about $45 million in in-force actions, which is on track and consistent with that target. Additionally, we see several opportunities to further pursue in-force management actions in our portfolio.
Yes, Ryan, to add to that, this is a practice that I believe began in the U.S. but has spread globally. This quarter, we are observing these actions not just in the U.S. but worldwide. That's the first point. The second point I want to highlight is the importance of risk management for us. We are focused on managing risk. Once we have a complete understanding of our business segments, we can leverage our strong partnerships with clients to create true win-win solutions during discussions with them. This process has not hindered our ability to write new business; in fact, it can strengthen our relationships as we navigate potentially challenging conversations effectively. We are pleased with our approach, and as Axel mentioned, we continue to deliver on it. It is not diminishing in any way; it remains an ongoing part of our business that we expect to maintain moving forward.
I have a follow-up regarding the value in-force benefit to excess capital from last quarter. There seems to be some skepticism from others about whether this benefit can be fully used for growth in the future. I wanted to clarify that there are no restrictions on this, and you have full approval from rating agencies to deploy that part of your capital moving forward.
Thank you for the question, Ryan. I want to clarify that this capital represents real resources ready to be utilized in transactions. To provide some context, our excess capital spans three categories: economic capital, regulatory capital, and capital required by rating agencies. We assess which of these acts as the main constraint. Each of the categories contributes to our excess capital, especially in terms of regulatory capital, which is available within our legal entities for deployment. While there are various regulatory frameworks and legal entities involved, this capital is indeed accessible for use. As for the value of our in-force business, from the perspective of rating agencies, it's important to note that we only acknowledge a portion of this value for part of our block. Even when we do account for it, a significant reduction is applied within the rating frameworks. The value of in-force will amortize over the life of the business, and we anticipate increasing our store of value over time by evaluating blocks not yet assessed by the rating agencies and through new business initiatives. For instance, as indicated in our value of in-force business margin exhibits, there has been a 16% growth in this area over the first nine months of the year, demonstrating robust growth and the potential for capital recognition from rating agencies.
Ryan, I want to add one more point. I understand you were talking about deployment into the business. Regarding potential buybacks, we’ve previously mentioned how much we plan to return to shareholders. To answer your question directly, the only additional criteria we would consider for buybacks, apart from strategic reasons, would be whether we have enough liquidity and our leverage ratios. Otherwise, this capital is entirely available for buybacks. I just wanted to expand on Axel's comments.
Regarding the U.K. mortality assumption review impact, are those claims that you're seeing today? Or is it more of a long-term expectation for higher mortality? And could you also just provide some color on what you're seeing in terms of U.K. mortality trends?
Wilma, this is Jonathan. Thanks for the question. So part of the assumption review this quarter, we've increased our expectation for future U.K. mortality, and that's resulted in an increase in future mortality claims and an offsetting decrease to future longevity claims. So this change in assumptions reflects ongoing excess mortality we're seeing in the U.K. population, which likely reflects challenges with the National Health System as well as a thorough review of recent experience in our own book of business. Under LDTI, as Axel mentioned, most of this U.K. mortality impact is recognized in the current period as the strengthening of reserves on capped cohorts and the benefits of the longevity business are deferred and amortized into future periods. So on a net economic basis, looking at both mortality and longevity combined and just looking at the U.K. specifically, it's actually pretty neutral. So that's given our balanced book of business. There's not much net economic effect of the changes.
Okay. Now that the second question is asked, could you provide a bit more information on your expectations for accounting smoothing regarding the mortality on that block?
Sure. Yes, sure. Thanks, Wilma. Yes, for the Equitable block, there will be accounting smoothing of volatility. We expect roughly about 50% of that block to benefit from that smoothing of results over time.
First one I had is just on the group headwind that you guys have had from the medical piece of things. Can you talk about what you're seeing there, the kind of repricing you're taking? And just any further commentary on the trajectory there?
Sure. I can start here. Look, on the group side, like we mentioned last quarter, it's short-term business, right? So it all gets repriced over the course of the year. And as we mentioned, we had started to take repricing actions by January 1, 2026. By January 2026, all of the block will be repriced. And so from there on, we have expectations of profitability for all segments of the group business.
The second question I have is a bit pointed, so I apologize in advance. As I've been speaking with industry participants and attending some conferences, one observation has emerged that some investors are also noticing. It seems that RGA is becoming more competitive and aggressive, potentially accepting lower internal rate of return to secure business. I would like to hear your response to this, as it appears to be affecting your stock. Is it just sour grapes because you are winning, or is there something more to this? I'm interested in your take on these comments that we've been hearing.
Yes, Alex, I'll address that. There are several points to consider. Firstly, regarding risk, our risk tolerance, appetite, processes, leadership, and culture remain unchanged, and we likely couldn't alter them even if we wanted to. Why would we? This stability has provided us with a significant competitive edge for over 52 years. This consistency is visible throughout the organization, particularly in our disciplined approach to business selection. We carefully choose businesses that are exclusive and align with our strengths in local offices, biometric and asset risk, and strong client relationships. This focus leads us to pursue higher quality and, in my opinion, less risky business compared to competitive tendered opportunities. Our name doesn’t come up in many recent U.S. tenders because we avoid risks that fall outside our niche. We prioritize exclusive transactions, and these tenders simply do not fit our criteria. This has always been our strategy and will continue to be. Hearing comments like you mentioned reminds me of our beginnings two decades ago in Asia. Of course, we encounter such remarks; it’s expected. We adhere to our strategy and culture, both of which remain intact. We are excited about our prospects for future growth and the returns we will deliver to our shareholders.
So if I think back to when we started talking about LDTI, I think the commentary was this was supposed to be a benefit to RGA because of the smoothing and if I just look at recent results, it just doesn't seem like that's playing out. You're getting more of the bad than the good. And I was just curious, is this just because there's a larger portion of your block that's in capped cohorts, and that's what's causing it? Or can you give us a sense of what percentage of your business is capped versus uncapped? Because I just don't think we're seeing the smoothing that we expected when we first started to talk about this.
Sure. Thanks for the question. We still believe that LDTI helps in smoothing results over time. However, this may not occur exactly as expected each quarter. Looking at recent presentations or those with a longer track record, you will generally notice that the accounting impact is less than the economic impact, providing some smoothing and reducing noise. Nonetheless, you are right that for the capped cohorts, results will flow through immediately. Over time, some cohorts will remain capped, which is likely to lead to increased volatility on the negative side.
Yes. And then Suneet, just to give you a number to size it for you, for our traditional business and total across the world, about 15% of our business is in capped cohorts.
Yes, Suneet, just let me add one more point. I mean, look, these capped cohorts to us, like I said earlier, look, risk management is our DNA, our critical part, and therefore, these capped cohorts are obviously blocks we monitor very closely and a fertile ground for the in-force actions that you see us doing. And that's, as I said earlier, an integral part of our way of generating further profit and ROE.
Yes, that makes sense. My second question is about the economic solvency in Japan. Over the past couple of quarters, you've mentioned it as an opportunity, but we're still a few quarters away from it being implemented. Has it become the opportunity you anticipated, or have companies found solutions that don't rely on RGA's capabilities? I'm just interested in where we currently stand on that.
I would say the initial signs of it creating opportunities were probably about five or six years ago. It wasn't an overnight change; companies have been preparing for this for many years. As a result, we have been able to secure significant business. This preparation is a key reason for the increased activity in Japan regarding coinsurance of blocks. Our partners in the market include both local companies and various multinational or global firms. While some global companies may have access to additional resources, such as internal reinsurers, this has been an opportunity for us. We remain very selective about what we pursue, focusing primarily on blocks of business that involve both biometric and asset risk, and typically with long-standing clients with whom we have had relationships for decades in the biometric risk sector.
If I look at the earnings power in the quarter, and I adjust for, we'll call it, the accounting noise in the capped versus uncapped cohort, I sort of unwind that, you get about $7 of earnings power in the quarter. Now that seems well above the kind of levels that you guys have guided to if I think about glide path. Now I'm assuming there was like significant over-earnings in some of the segments versus what you think is trendable, but can you help kind of unpack $7 and maybe getting us back to a more reasonable trend line because that does seem quite high?
Thank you for the question, Tom. When we analyze the earnings this quarter, we noted the claims experience, which was approximately $50 million, and the offsetting impact from in-force actions that contributed roughly $40 million globally during the quarter. This means we had $40 million positively countering some of the $50 million in losses. Additionally, we faced a headwind from the VII, which amounted to about $40 million this quarter. On the tax front, we did see a benefit. Overall, this was an excellent quarter, and we're very pleased with the results. A significant part of this is attributed to the capital deployment of earnings coming online. We've previously discussed the ongoing ramp-up of earnings resulting from our portfolio repositioning. Notably, the Equitable transaction exemplifies this capital deployment, albeit with some variability, and it had a tangible impact this quarter. Things are progressing well, and we are excited about the growth trajectory of our earnings moving forward.
Yes. And Tom, let me just add a couple of points. As we always say, and as you know, one quarter's results is just one quarter's results. So if you do a similar analysis for the year, we've had an excellent quarter. That's why we describe it that way. And for the year-to-date, we're having a very strong year-to-date relative to expectations. So I'd encourage you to just maybe look back over the three quarters. It's probably a better gauge of where we're at in terms of sustainable earnings power for '25.
Good point, Tony. My follow-up is about whether you have considered any partnerships with alternative managers. We have seen multiple primary life companies enter into these partnerships. I wonder, given the asset-intensive nature of your business, which is a critical part of your growth, and considering many competitors for those types of deals seem to have enhanced alternative strategies, such as private credit or other areas, is that something you would consider?
Thank you for the question, Tom. I want to highlight a few points. Regarding private assets, we primarily manage these internally, but we also have several external partnerships where we believe it's more effective than developing our own capabilities, especially when these partners have greater scale than we can achieve. The key point here is that we don't focus on basic asset transactions; that's not our area of expertise. Frankly, we're not inclined to bid aggressively on those types of deals since our pricing is unlikely to be competitive. Instead, we assess whether an asset transaction carries significant biometric risk, which is our strong suit, leveraging relationships we've built over many years. While we are involved in substantial asset reinsurance or asset-intensive reinsurance, it always includes biometrics. Many of the transactions I mentioned earlier are smaller or more modest, not the ones that make headlines, as they stem from longstanding relationships where we've assisted clients for many years, and we continue to support them.
This concludes our question-and-answer session. I would like to turn the conference back over to Tony Cheng for any closing remarks.
Well, thank you for your questions and your continued interest in RGA. Our strong quarter and continued growth in long-term value continues to fuel future growth and returns for RGA. And this ends today's call. Thank you.
The conference has now concluded. Thank you for attending today's presentation. You may now disconnect.