Jim: An understanding of Pacific Life's Stable Value Wrap product.

Maya: A participant or an account holder, investing in this option is looking for a lower risk, more conservative investment option.

Jim: The importance of building out a team.

Maya: Our total experience and stable value is over a hundred years.

Jim: And the future of the Stable Value Wrap product.

Maya: What can we do? How can we do some product development? What should we be doing? What is stable Value 2.0 look like?

Jim: All this and more on today's episode of The Wave Strength.

TWS VoiceOver: Welcome to The Wave Strength, innovative solutions for a secure retirement presented by Pacific Life.

Jim: Hello everyone, and welcome to another episode of The Wave Strength Podcast series. I'm your host, Jim Breen, head of Marketing with Pacific Life's Insitutional team, and joining us here again in the studio is Pacific Life's own, Maya Pillai, head of our Pacific Life Stable Value product. Maya, thank you so much for being here.

Maya: Thanks for having me.

Jim: Absolutely. Maya, you've been on the show before and we've had a lot of opportunities to connect, and of course our teams work very closely with content creation throughout the year, but I, really wanted to have an opportunity here as we look further into 2025 to, to sit down with you and talk about this very important part of our business.

Jim: So thank you for joining us and thanks for sitting with us.

Maya: Thank you.

Jim: Yeah, absolutely. Maya, for those maybe that aren't familiar with the show, or maybe it's their first time learning about our Stable Value Wrap product, can you share a little bit about your background with Pacific Life?

Jim: And why don't, we start there and then maybe after that we could talk a little bit about the, product itself.

Maya: Absolutely. So I started with Pacific Life almost seven years ago. In 2018, I started in a sales role, and then I eventually became the head of Stable Value Wrap. I'm part of the Global Institutional Investment Group, led by Joe KKrum and we're all part of the Insitutional team here at Pacific Life.

Jim: Great. And you and I came into this Insitutional team around the same time, and yeah. I have fond memories of, us working on projects that, may be unfamiliar. This Institutional business began, 10 days before the the global pandemic in, 2019. And we had to very quickly find ways in which we can show up to the market to build this, new business. And I have fond memories of you and I working together one time special permission to be to with within, I think 12 feet of each other, creating some content at one point, it was a lot of fun memories.

Maya: It was great. It was great. I remember that special permission and being in that room. Yep. You were sitting 12 feet away. It was wild.

Jim: But so happy for, us to be where we are now, and here we are in the studio together face to face. Before we go into the Stable value product episode, I want to encourage those checking out the show today.

Jim: You can go ahead and, Google The Wave Strength. Also put in Maya Pillai and you could search some of the other content and review some of the other content that Maya's done on the show. But first things first let's jump into why we're here today. Maya, why don't you just for the sake of those that might not be familiar with the Stable Value Wrap product, can you share a little bit about what it is, what it does, maybe the history of that product?

Maya: Sure, so the stable value product was designed as a principal preservation option within 401(k) plans, which are retirement plans, and eventually made for 529, which are college and education savings plans. A participant or an account holder. Investing in this option is looking for a lower risk, more conservative investment option.

Maya: So as they get older, that's what they would invest in on a retirement plan and in a 529 plan, they would be looking to move into stable value as they get nearer to college.

Jim: Yeah, and folks like me with five children, five young children, an important investment vehicle to be aware of, the 529.

Maya: Exactly. So as your kids are getting closer to college, and when you need to spend those dollars so that you can put them through college, that's when your dollars are gonna be in stable value because you need those dollars to pull out and be able to use them on whatever education institution your kids are gonna end up at.

Jim: Absolutely. So Maya, looking a little further into the role of the team. You have a pretty amazing team that, you've built out over the last several years. I know that you have about eight people on your team rolling up to report to Joe Krum, head of the Global Institutional Investment Group within the Institutional business team.

Jim: But, maybe if you can share a little bit about the makeup of your team. What helps your team stand out in the industry?

Maya: That's a great question. I think first and foremost. The seven individuals who, whether dotted line or directly report to me have been working at Pacific Life for a very extended period of time.

Jim: Some of you, some of the folks on your team, 20 plus years.

Maya: Yes, exactly. Two or three of them I believe. I think in aggregate are total experience and stable value is over a hundred years. And between us all, both the experience at Pacific Life as well as our experience in stable value is an asset to our business here at Pacific Life, but also to the stable value industry.

Jim: Yeah. And Pacific Life for those who, may might not know we're, a mutually-held company with nearly 160 years of, strong financial strength and, stability in our history. And the stable value product has actually been here for some time too. It's not something new necessarily. Even though the Institutional business team is relatively new, in comparison to our history, this product is not.

Maya: Correct. We started the stable value product and business line here at Pacific Life in 1993.

Jim: So over 30 years.

Maya: Exactly.

Jim: Yeah, and so it's, been definitely part of our DNA here at Pacific Life for some time.

Maya: Exactly.

Jim: Talk a little bit, if you can, Maya, about that history. What about that history sets us apart? What makes us show up in a unique way when you're able to combine a mutually held company with that nearly 160 years of strength and stability, confidence for generations.

Jim: Combined with a program with, over 30 years of history, how does that help you show up in the market?

Maya: That's a great question. I think one of the things that we offer to the market is that strength and stability that you just mentioned. One of the things that our partners look for is individual companies that have tenure and want to be bo good, longstanding partners. We have the same partners that we had when we started in 1993. So we have both contracts on our books as well as the same partners, individuals at the companies that we started with and have, deals with. So we've continued to grow that business and make sure that we're continuing those partnerships.

Maya: But, this industry is a very close knit one. And. One of the most important things is the relationships we've built and and making sure that we have healthy relationships with those partners.

Jim: Yeah. The relationship element of it is important. And I know Pacific Life, we're very much focused on these strategic partnerships, these important relationships that we've built over time.

Jim: And I know I've seen you and your team at work. I know we had we hosted a conference, a little while back with a lot of your colleagues coming out here to, Newport Beach which was a fantastic opportunity to see those relationships in play. And just to witness the respect that your team in Pacific Life has in, the industry.

Maya: It was a great event and it's one of the things that we wanna make sure that we continue to do. Because, as my team has grown, and certainly as we've had the opportunity to showcase our abilities and make sure that we're getting face time with our clients, we wanna make sure that they know the inner workings of Pacific Life as well.

Maya: So, bringing them on site and making sure that they know our marketing team and our actuarial team and our senior leaders. So, Darryl Button, being able to come in front of them and talk to them. And, the folks in PLI all of the individuals that make Pacific Life work, those are the ones we wanted them to see because these are our partners, and this is what, almost 160 years looks like.

Jim: Yeah, absolutely. You talked a little bit about growth, the future, before the show, Maya, we were having some conversations about your thoughts on the, future of our Stable Value Wrap program, the product itself and the industry.

Jim: Share a little bit about. Your thoughts as we look further into 2025, maybe outlook and trends in the industry?

Maya: Yeah, absolutely. So, one of the things that's happening with stable value and the stable value industry right now is that we do make up about 8% of the defined contribution market.

Maya: With that said though, because, stable value is a conservative asset class for an older demographic. As you near retirement, that's when you're putting your dollars into stable value. Baby boomers make up that older de demographic. Baby boomers are retiring or have retired, and the asset class is shrinking.

Maya: So we're contending with a shrinking market where new dollars aren't coming in as quickly, because the younger generations aren't necessarily putting them into stable value. They're focusing them on different products, whether they're equities or target date funds, and stable value is losing those assets.

Maya: So unfortunately, one of the things that we're facing is what do we do in a shrinking market? So now we, Pacific Life along with our partners, our stable value investment managers are trying to figure out what can we do? How can we do some product development? What should we be doing? What is stable value 2.0 look like, and how can we make sure that this asset class, which we think is very important and integral to the retirement market, and retirement place, what do we need to do for that?

Jim: I love that. The idea of bringing innovation to the market is, something that I know Pacific Life at large is very much focused on across all of our chosen lines of business. And in particular what we're trying to do with this Institutional business team, in rethinking the way that we approach these retirement opportunities. The, bringing that strength, that stability, whether it's on the, DB and the DC side where we're discussing the retirement of tomorrow and the retirement of today, or the investment side where we are right now, where we're talking on the global institutional investment side with Joe Krum's team with the, specialty markets side. And of course our spread lending side and our Stable Value Wrap side. But, Maya as you look into that future, I know none of us have a crystal ball or anything like that, but maybe you could share some excitement that you might have about the future.

Maya: It's a great question. I think one of the things that I am excited about is the fact that we have such good support from an internal perspective. I've got a solid team. I know that from the bottom up we're great, we're solid. We've been here a long time and no one's going anywhere.

Maya: On top of that, we've got the support from the top down. So, we know that we have the ability and all of the folks around us are rallying to make sure that we have whatever we need to do the innovation that you just mentioned. So we're heading in the right direction. It's just a matter of what, does the crystal ball tell us, and how can we focus on that?

Maya: So, at a minimum we're trying to get alignment on what do we need to do, and that excitement is there.

Jim: Well Maya, I wanna thank you so much for taking time out of your busy day. I know you've got to catch a flight here shortly, so thank you again for being with us, and I hope to have you back soon.

Maya: Thank you so much, Jim.

Jim: Absolutely. And to our audience, I want to thank you for being with us on another episode of The Wave Strength Podcast series. Please head over to Google and type in The Wave Strength. Hit like and subscribe across YouTube, Audible and Spotify, so that you can stay current with new content as it becomes available. We'll see you next time everyone.

TWS VoiceOver: This has been another episode of The Wave Strength presented by Pacific Life. Don't forget to catch us on YouTube and make sure to subscribe. Although this podcast is presented by Pacific Life, the opinions and views expressed are those of the hosts and participants and do not necessarily reflect Pacific Life's views on any of the topics discussed. Unless otherwise noted, Pacific Life is unaffiliated with any other individual or company mentioned. Pacific Life is a product provider. It is not a fiduciary, and therefore does not give advice or make recommendations regarding insurance or investment products. Pacific Life, its affiliates, its distributors, and respective representatives, do not provide any employer-sponsored qualified plan, administrative services, or impartial advice about investments, and do not act in a fiduciary capacity for any plan. Pacific Life refers to Pacific Life Insurance Company and its subsidiary Pacific Life & Annuity Company. Insurance products can be issued in all states except New York by Pacific Life Insurance Company and in all states by Pacific Life & Annuity Company.

TWS VoiceOver: Product availability and features may vary by state. Each insurance company is solely responsible for the financial obligations accruing under the products it issues. Pacific Life's stable value is a group fixed annuity issued by Pacific Life Insurance Company, Newport Beach, California. Pacific Life Insurance Company does not solicit business in the state of New York, nor is it authorized to do so. This material has been provided for informational purposes only. It is not an offer or solicitation to buy an insurance product or security. This material should not be construed as investment advice or be used as a primary basis for any investment decisions. This material has been prepared for by institutional, sophisticated, and or qualified investors.

TWS VoiceOver: This material may not be shared, distributed, or in any way otherwise reproduced. This podcast was recorded on January 10th, 2024. January 23rd, 2025.

Jim: Thanks for joining us on today's show. We'd love to hear from you. Join the conversation below and leave a comment on your thoughts on what the industry can do better for participants as it pertains to Lifetime Income Solutions. And if you'd like more interesting content, click one of these links over here.