Voya Financial Inc 's Comment on Competitors and Industry Peers
Our Institutional Retirement Plans business competes with other large, well-established
insurance companies, asset managers, record keepers and diversified financial
institutions. Competition varies in all market segments as very few institutions
are able to compete across all markets as we do. The following chart presents
a summary of the current competitive landscape in the markets where we offer our
Institutional Retirement Plans, stable value and pension risk transfer products:
Small-Mid Corporate
Primary competitors are mutual fund companies plus insurance-based providers
with third-party administration relationships
Empower
Fidelity
K-12 Education
Competitors are primarily insurance-based providers that focus on school districts
across the nation
AXA
VALIC
Higher Education
Competitors are 403(b) plan providers, asset managers and some insurance-based
providers
TIAA-CREF
Fidelity
Healthcare & Other Non-Profits
Competition varies across 403(b) plan providers, asset managers and some insurance-based
providers
TIAA-CREF
Fidelity
Government
Compete primarily with insurance-based providers but also asset managers and
457 providers
Empower
ICMA
Recordkeeping
Primarily bid against asset managers and business consulting services firms,
but also compete with some payroll firms and insurance-based providers
Fidelity
AON Hewitt
Stable Value
Primarily compete with select insurance companies who are also dedicated to
the Stable value market, but also with certain banking institutions
Prudential
MetLife
Pension Risk Transfer
Primarily compete with insurance companies
Principal Financial
MetLife
Our full-service Institutional Retirement Plans business competes primarily
based on pricing, the breadth of our service and investment offerings, technical/regulatory
expertise, industry experience, local enrollment and financial planning support,
investment performance and our ability to offer industry tailored product features
to meet the retirement income needs of our clients. Additionally, Voya's myOrangeMoney™
digital and mobile capabilities provide competitive advantage in the market.
Regarding the large plan recordkeeping only business, we have seen consolidation
among industry providers in recent years seeking to increase scale, improve
cost efficiencies and enter new market segments. As a result, we emphasize our
strong sponsor relationships, flexible value-added services, and technical and
regulatory expertise as our competitive strengths. Additionally, we compete
across all institutional markets with our broad suite of retirement readiness
products, tools and services that help employers support the retirement preparedness
needs of their employees. Finally, we have seen new insurance company competitors
enter the stable value space because demand from participant and plan sponsors
remains strong for these products. The pension risk transfer business has also
seen a few new competitors enter the market to provide defined benefit de-risking
solutions for institutional clients. Our long standing experience in the retirement
market underscored by strong stable value expertise allows us to effectively
compete against existing and new providers.
Our Annuities segment faces competition from traditional insurance carriers,
as well as banks, mutual fund companies and other investment managers such as
Allianz, Athene, American Equity, Lincoln and Great American. Principal competitive
factors for fixed annuities are initial crediting rates, reputation for renewal
crediting action, product features, brand recognition, customer service, cost,
distribution capabilities and financial strength ratings of the provider. Competition
may affect, among other matters, both business growth and the pricing of our
products and services.
Investment Management competes with a wide array of asset managers and institutions
in the highly fragmented U.S. investment management industry. In our key market
segments, Investment Management competes on the basis of, among other things,
investment performance, investment philosophy and process, product features
and structure and client service. Our principal competitors in the Investment
Management business include insurance-owned asset managers such as Principal
Global Investors (Principal Financial Group), Prudential and Ameriprise, bank-owned
asset managers such as J.P. Morgan Asset Management, as well as "pure-play"
asset managers including PIMCO, Invesco, Wellington, Legg Mason, T. Rowe Price,
Franklin Templeton and Fidelity.
The Individual Life segment competes with large, well-established life insurance
companies in a mature market, where price and service are key drivers. Primary
competitors include Lincoln, MetLife, Prudential, American General, Principal
Financial Group, John Hancock, Transamerica and Pacific Life. Individual Life
primarily competes based on service and distribution channel relationships,
price, brand recognition, financial strength ratings of our insurance subsidiaries
and financial stability. We have strong capabilities to monitor competition
and we utilize advanced models to benchmark our product offerings against others
in the industry.
Factors that could influence our ability to competitively price products while
achieving targeted returns include the cost and availability of statutory reserve
financing required for certain term and universal life insurance policies, internal
capital funding requirements and an extended low interest rate environment.