MetLife, Inc., through its subsidiaries, provides insurance and other financial services in the United States and internationally. The company operates in five segments: Institutional, Individual, Auto and Home, International, and Reinsurance. The Institutional segment offers a range of group insurance and retirement and savings products and services, including group life insurance; non-medical health insurance, such as short and long-term disability, long-term care, and dental insurance; and other insurance products and services. The Individual segment offers protection and asset accumulation products, including life insurance, annuities, and mutual funds. The Auto and Home segment provides personal lines property and casualty insurance directly to employees at their employer’s worksite, as well as to individuals through various retail distribution channels, including the agency distribution group, independent agents, property and casualty specialists, and direct response marketing. The International segment offers life insurance, accident and health insurance, credit insurance, annuities, and retirement and savings products to individuals and groups. The Reinsurance segment provides reinsurance of life and annuity policies; and reinsurance of asset-intensive products, critical illness, and financial reinsurance. The company was founded in 1999 and is headquartered in New York, New York.

Financial Industry Analysis

WikiWealth.com Industry Description: The finance industry encompasses a broad range of organizations that deal with the management of money. Among these organizations are banks, credit card companies, insurance companies, consumer finance companies, stock brokerages, investment funds and some government sponsored enterprises… Read More. Also see the Industry Analysis Home Page.

WikiWealth.com Industry Analysis: During economic recessions, consumers and businesses tend to cut back on expenses and investments to save money during tough economic times. This includes bank loans, raise equity or debt, general spending and many other financial activities. Less spending decreases business revenue and eventually decreases the stock prices of financial services companies. During economic recoveries, consumers have a greater desire to spend money and make business investments. Higher spending increases business revenue and eventually increases stock prices. During longer economic expansions, financial services may actually increase faster than the general market due to large investments by companies and mergers and acquisitions between companies. Consumers have more confidence in the stock market and increase stock investments and private business investments. Over-investment leads to higher inflation and higher interest rates, which make it harder to obtain money.

Financial services companies are also affected by interest rates. The return on money lent minus the expense of borrowing money equals the profits for many financial services companies. When interest rates increase, this raises the expense of borrowing money. Generally, interest rates increase near the end of the expansion phase of the business cycle to slow the potential for inflation. Interest rates are generally lowest during recessions, because inflation risk is lowest and the government wants to encourage business investments by making money relatively cheap to obtain.

¹ Investment potential (margin of safety) is a weighted average of the discounted cash flow analysis (DCF), the enterprise value (EV) market multiple analysis, and the Warren Buffett investment analysis. WikiWealth obtains 80% of their quantitative investment potential from fundamental investment analysis.
² The weighted average cost of capital (WACC) analysis for the industry is a broad representation of the WACC for each individual company. A sub-industry WACC analysis offers both stability and accuracy for each individual company.

WikiWealth.com Profit Analysis: The best way to profit from financial service stock investments is to find the most undervalued investments (Wall Street and Main Street buy ratings) during economic recessions. Those investments should be undervalued (see Wall Street Analysis on left side), and have high Main Street Common Sense investment ratings (see Main Street Analysis on right side). Interest rates are also lowest during this time period, which decreases the cost of borrowing money for financial service companies.

When an economic recovery occurs, financial stocks tend to outperform the general stock market, because consumers and businesses quickly resume spending on items such as cars or business loans they wanted, but resisted obtaining during tougher economic times. Eventually financial stocks become overvalued, because profits and stock prices increase past their fair values. During the last stages of an economic business cycle, just before a recession, it is best to sell financial stocks, because they are likely to decrease in price. Interest rates are highest at the end of recessions to fight inflation by making money for banks more expensive. Expensive (overvalued) stocks with low Main Street Common Sense ratings should be sold at any time to invest in better stocks. Two buys ratings are the best and two sell ratings are the worst possible stock investments. For more information on stock research ratings click here.

Investment Moats

Investment Moats are fundamental investing theories developed by Warren Buffett and adapted to the SWOT analysis. Investment moats are general characteristics that separate great investments from average stock investments. The wider the investment moat the better. Read more: Investment Moats. For company-specific investment moats: SWOT Analysis.

SWOT Strengths Increase Investor Moats: Below is a list of relevant industry investment characteristics, if any exist

SWOT Weaknesses Decrease Investor Moats: Below is a list of relevant industry investment characteristics, if any exist

Stock Price Triggers

Triggers were developed by WikiWealth.com to predict changes in stock price direction, which depend on events outside of the control of the company. In general, if SWOT opportunities are greater than SWOT threats, the stock price should raise; the opposite is also true. For more precise measures, examine each SWOT opportunity and threat, then rank them according to importance and timing. The more important the investment characteristic, the greater the impact on stock direction. The sooner a investment trigger may occur, the more influence it will have on stock price direction. Read more: Stock Price Triggers. For company-specific stock price triggers: SWOT Analysis.

SWOT Opportunities are Positive Stock Price Triggers: Below is a list of relevant industry investment characteristics, if any exist.

SWOT Threats are Negative Stock Price Triggers: Below is a list of relevant industry investment characteristics, if any exist.

Long Company Description (help)

MetLife, Inc. NYSE: MET is the holding corporation for the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company or MetLife for short. The firm was founded on March 24, 1868. For most of its life the company was a mutual organization, but it went public in 2000.

MetLife is the largest life insurer in the United States, with more than $3.3 trillion of life insurance in force. A leader in savings and retirement products and services for individuals, small business, and large institutions. MetLife serves 90 of the largest Fortune 100 companies. It has a large global market in more than 12 countries.

History

The origins of Metropolitan Life Insurance Company (MetLife) go back to 1863, when a group of New York City businessmen raised $100,000 to found the National Union Life and Limb Insurance Company. The new company insured Civil War sailors and soldiers against disabilities due to wartime wounds, accidents, and sickness. In 1868, after several reorganizations and five difficult years, the company decided to focus on the life insurance business. A new company was chartered to sell "ordinary" insurance to the middle class.

1868 March 25, one day after the Company opened its books, the first policy carrying the name of the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company was issued. Dr. James R. Dow, a retired physician from Brooklyn, NY, was named Metropolitan Life’s first President. He held this position until 1871. The Company’s office consisted of two and a half rooms; it was located at 243 Broadway in lower Manhattan. By the close of business in 1868, the Company had issued 1,477 policies for $4,340,000.

1869 Metropolitan moved its office to the 3rd floor of 319 Broadway.

1870 By the end of the year, Metropolitan had on its books in excess of $13,000,000 of insurance, an increase of 93 percent over the previous year. The Company’s Field Force numbered approximately 80 agents.

1871 Joseph F. Knapp was named Metropolitan Life’s second President. He held this position until 1891. The Company began a series of health and safety messages in Company periodicals for distribution to its employees and policyholders.

1873 Despite a depression, Metropolitan issued 12,242 policies for $17,753,000. These figures placed it third in number of policies and fifth in aggregate of insurance for that year.

1875 The Company purchased its first home of its own. Located at Park Place and Church Street in Manhattan, it was occupied early the following year.

1877 Two Metropolitan firsts: a female clerk was hired, and the Company used its first typewriter.

In 1879, MetLife President Joseph F. Knapp turned his attention to Great Britain, where "industrial" or "workingmen's" insurance programs were widely successful. By importing English agents to train an American agency force, MetLife quickly transferred successful British methods for use in the United States. By 1880, the company was signing up 700 new industrial policies a day. Rapidly increasing volume quickly drove down distribution costs, and the new program proved immediately successful.

1879 President Joseph Knapp traveled to England to observe the operations involved in selling Industrial, or workingman's, insurance. On November 17, the Company began issuing Industrial insurance — insurance issued in small amounts on which premiums are collected weekly or monthly at the policyholder's home.

1880 A total of 213,878 Industrial policies were written, with a value of more than $9,000,000.

1902 The Parker Building was acquired by the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company in 1902. The acquisition was brokered by Frank E. Smith through John F. Hollingsworth. The latter accepted the Westminster Hotel, at Irving Place, as partial payment.[1]

In 1907, the company commissioned the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company Tower to serve as its headquarters in Lower Manhattan; completed two years later, the building was the world's tallest until 1913 and remained the company's headquarters until 2005. For many years, an illustration of the building (with light emanating from the tip of its spire and the slogan, "The Light That Never Fails") featured prominently in MetLife advertising.

Beginning in the 1930s, the company broadened its tradition of public service from promoting individual health to fostering national social and economic goals. In 1930, MetLife was the undisputed leader of the insurance industry, insuring every fifth man, woman, and child in the United States and Canada. On the way it supported the country and the community in many ways. For example,

* In 1931 MetLife provided the outside capital to build Rockefeller Center.
* The company lent money to construct the Empire State Building in 1929, and virtually saved this project from bankruptcy.
* During World War II, the company placed more than 51 percent of its total assets in war bonds, and was the largest single private contributor to the Allied cause.
* The company served its customers, communities and employees during the difficult time after the 9/11 attacks.

In 1980, The company completed the largest single building purchase (of the Pan Am Building) in history.

Since the 1980s Snoopy has been the mascot taken from the Peanuts cartoons. Many other characters from the Peanuts cartoons have also been featured in MetLife television commercials.

In 1998, The board of directors authorizes demutualization.

In 2000, Metropolitan Life Insurance Company (MetLife) launches the seventh largest IPO ever held in the United States.

In 2001, MetLife was the first insurance company to establish a financial holding company with a nationally chartered bank. Leveraging its unparalleled distribution channels, MetLife entered the retail-banking arena with the launch of MetLife Bank.

In 2001, immediately after the September 11th terrorist attacks, MetLife invested $1 Billion in the US stock market.

The MetLife Headquarters building was featured in Spider-Man: The Movie (game), released in 2002.

In 2005, Working Mother magazine honored MetLife by naming the company one of the "100 Best Companies for Working Mothers," for the seventh consecutive year.

In early 2006, MetLife was also named to the National Association for Female Executives’ annual list of Top 30 Companies for Executive Women.

In 2006, MetLife appointed C. Robert (Rob) Henrikson chairman of the board of directors, president and chief executive officer of MetLife, Inc. Henrikson was appointed CEO on March 1, 2006 and chairman of the board on April 25, 2006.

The 2008 top-selling video game, Grand Theft Auto 4, featured a parody on the MetLife building in New York City with an identical building named "GetaLife".

Services

MetLife serves group benefit products and Individual benefit products. International segment serves these products to groups and individual in the Asia/Pacific region, Europe, and Latin America. The company's reinsurance business operates as Reinsurance Group of America, but serves customers around the world.

Products

* Auto & Home Insurance
* Annuities
* Life insurance
* Mutual funds and other investments
* Long-term care insurance
* Fee-based financial planning
* Retirement planning
* Wealth management
* Banking and financial

SWOT Analysis

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