“That said, our performance year-to-date positions us well to achieve a full year 2024 direct expense ratio of 12.3% or below demonstrating our consistent execution and a sustained efficiency mindset.”

In context

“anticipate that the new money yields will remain above roll-off yields given the prevailing interest rate environment. However, the spread can fluctuate depending on the mix of sales across our businesses. Now moving to expenses discussed on Page 8, this chart shows a comparison of our direct expense ratio for full year 2023 of 12.2% and the first two quarters of 2024, both at 11.9%. As we have highlighted previously, we believe our full year direct expense ratio is the best way to measure performance due to fluctuations in quarterly results. Our Q2 direct expense ratio benefited from solid top line growth and ongoing expense discipline. Looking ahead, we would expect our direct expense ratio to be higher in the second half of the year, consistent with the seasonal nature of our business. That said, our performance year-to-date positions us well to achieve a full year 2024 direct expense ratio of 12.3% or below demonstrating our consistent execution and a sustained efficiency mindset. I will now discuss our cash and capital positions on Page 9. Cash and liquid assets at the holding companies were $4.4 billion at June 30th, which is above our target cash buffer of $3 billion to $4 billion, but down from $5.2 billion at March 31st. The sequential decline in holding companies' cash is primarily a result of approximately $1.5 billion used in April for a debt maturity and a debt redemption, partially offset by a $500 million senior debt issuance in June. Beyond this, cash of the holding companies reflects the net effects of subsidiary dividends, payment of our common stock dividend, and share repurchases of roughly $900 million in the second quarter, as well as holding company expenses and other cash flows. In addition, we have repurchased shares totaling approximately $270”