Swiss Life revealed its new three-year financial strategy for the period leading up to 2027, aiming to drive "profitable growth" and enhance performance across crucial sectors. Building on the positive progress seen in its Swiss Life 2024 group-wide initiative, the insurer is now concentrating on three strategic priorities: enriching customer relationships, enhancing advisory capabilities, and boosting operational efficiency.
As part of this transformation, Swiss Life has increased its fee result target to surpass 1 billion francs by 2027, up from an expected range of 850 million to 900 million francs under the previous 2024 strategy. Moreover, the Swiss company is pursuing an elevation of its return on equity to a target range of 17% to 19%, a notable increase from the previous projection of 10% to 12% for 2024.
It also seeks to ramp up cumulative cash remittance to the holding company to between 3.6 billion and 3.8 billion francs, compared to an earlier expectation of 2.8 billion to 3 billion francs. To facilitate growth in both its fee and insurance segments, Swiss Life has plans to broaden its customer demographic by targeting both existing clients and new market segments, while also enhancing its range of products and services.
An emphasis will be placed on bolstering its advisory network, alongside increased investment in platforms to better support insurance advisors. In addition, Swiss Life aims to improve operational efficiency through the application of technological innovations and automation in its business processes. Group Chief Executive Officer Matthias Aellig remarked, "For our customers, personal interaction with an advisor remains essential to ensuring a financially self-determined future.
With our growing financial advisory organization, which consists of over 17,000 advisors, we are well-positioned to meet this need." As part of its 2027 initiative, the company is also committed to delivering "attractive cash returns" to shareholders. This includes a planned dividend payout ratio of over 75% starting from 2025, a significant increase from the over 60% payout expected in 2024.
Furthermore, the firm intends to introduce a share repurchase program valued at 750 million francs scheduled from December 9, 2024, to May 2026. In early trading, the stock experienced a decline of nearly 3%..