Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc (APAM) 2025 Q2 法說會逐字稿

Good afternoon, and welcome to the Artisan Partners Asset Management business update and second quarter 2025 earnings call. (Operator Instructions) Please note this event is being recorded.

下午好，歡迎參加 Artisan Partners Asset Management 業務更新和 2025 年第二季財報電話會議。（操作員指示）請注意，此事件正在被記錄。

I would now like to turn the conference over to Artisan Partners Asset Management. Please go ahead.

現在我想將會議交給 Artisan Partners Asset Management。請繼續。

Welcome to the Artisan Partners Asset Management business update and earnings call. Today's call will include remarks from Eric Colson, Executive Chair; Jason Gottlieb, CEO; and CJ Daley, CFO. Following these remarks, we will open the line for questions. Our latest results and investor presentation are available on the Investor Relations section of our website.

歡迎參加 Artisan Partners Asset Management 業務更新和財報電話會議。今天的電話會議將包括執行主席 Eric Colson、執行長 Jason Gottlieb 和財務長 CJ Daley 的演講。在這些發言之後，我們將開放提問熱線。我們的最新業績和投資者介紹可在我們網站的投資者關係部分查閱。

Before we begin today, I would like to remind you that comments made during today's call, including responses to questions, may include forward-looking statements. These are subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties, including, but not limited to the factors set forth in our earnings release and detailed in our SEC filings. These risks and uncertainties may cause actual results to differ materially from those disclosed in the statement, and we assume no obligation to update or revise any of these statements following the presentation.

在我們今天開始之前，我想提醒您，今天電話會議中發表的評論（包括對問題的回答）可能包含前瞻性陳述。這些都受已知和未知的風險和不確定性的影響，包括但不限於我們的收益報告中列出的因素以及我們向美國證券交易委員會提交的文件中詳細說明的因素。這些風險和不確定性可能導致實際結果與聲明中揭露的結果有重大差異，我們不承擔在演示後更新或修改任何這些聲明的義務。

In addition, some of our remarks today will include references to non-GAAP financial measures. You can find reconciliations of these measures to the most comparable GAAP measures in the earnings release and the supplemental materials, which can be found on our Investor Relations website.

此外，我們今天的一些評論將涉及非公認會計準則財務指標。您可以在收益報告和補充資料中找到這些指標與最具可比性的 GAAP 指標的對帳表，這些內容可以在我們的投資者關係網站上找到。

Also, please note that nothing on this call constitutes an offer or solicitation to purchase or sell an interest in any Artisan investment product or a recommendation for any investment service.

此外，請注意，本次電話會議中的任何內容均不構成購買或出售任何 Artisan 投資產品權益的要約或邀請，也不構成對任何投資服務的推薦。

I will now turn it over to Eric.

現在我將把發言權交給 Eric。

Thank you, Brennan, and thank you all for joining the call or reading the transcript. In June, Jason succeeded me as CEO, and I assumed the role of Executive Chair. This will be my last quarterly call, my 50th since our IPO in 2013. On each of the 50 calls, I have started with the same slide, level-setting who we are as a firm. Artisan Partners has been, is, and I believe, always will be a high value-added investment firm designed for talent to thrive in a thoughtful growth environment.

謝謝你，布倫南，也謝謝大家參加電話會議或閱讀會議紀錄。六月，傑森接替我擔任首席執行官，我擔任執行主席。這將是我最後一次季度電話會議，也是自 2013 年 IPO 以來的第 50 次電話會議。在 50 次電話會議中，每次我都會用同一張投影片來介紹我們公司的狀況。Artisan Partners 過去是、現在是、我相信永遠都會是一家高附加價值的投資公司，旨在幫助人才在周到的成長環境中茁壯成長。

Since our founding 30 years ago, we have demonstrated the repeatability of our model across investment leaders, generations, geographies, asset classes, and distribution channels. We have grown the firm thoughtfully, methodically, expanding in the direction of high value-added investing. Throughout, we have maintained and enhanced our investment-first culture, staying focused on investments and client outcomes. We take tremendous pride in the consistency of our approach and the consistency of our results.

自 30 年前成立以來，我們已經證明了我們的模型在投資領導者、世代、地區、資產類別和分銷管道中的可重複性。我們經過深思熟慮，有條不紊地發展公司，並朝著高附加價值投資的方向擴展。自始至終，我們始終保持並加強了投資優先的文化，並始終專注於投資和客戶成果。我們對我們的方法的一致性和結果的一致性感到非常自豪。

After Jason speaks, I'll say a few words about how we have evolved as an investment firm and how we are positioned for the future.

傑森發言結束後，我將簡單介紹我們作為投資公司的發展歷程以及我們未來的定位。

Thank you, Eric. First of all, on behalf of everyone at Artisan, thank you for your 20 years of service to the firm, the last 15 as CEO. During Eric's tenure as CEO, the firm has grown to 11 investment teams and 26 strategies across equities, fixed income, and alternatives. We have established Artisan as a multi-asset investment platform. We have reoriented our distribution to better access and serve the intermediate wealth channel. And we have stayed true to who we are, maintained our investments-first culture, enhanced Artisan as a home for talent, compounded capital for clients, and generated healthy returns for shareholders.

謝謝你，埃里克。首先，我代表 Artisan 的全體員工感謝您 20 年來為公司做出的貢獻，其中過去 15 年一直擔任執行長。在 Eric 擔任執行長期間，該公司已發展到 11 個投資團隊和 26 種涵蓋股票、固定收益和另類投資的策略。我們已經將 Artisan 建立為一個多元資產投資平台。我們重新調整了分銷管道，以便更好地進入和服務中間財富管道。我們始終堅持自我，維護投資至上的文化，將 Artisan 打造為人才之家，為客戶創造複合資本，為股東創造豐厚回報。

For me individually, it has been a great privilege to work alongside Eric. I'm honored to serve as the third CEO in Artisan Partners' 30-year history, and I look forward to continuing to work closely with Eric in his role as Executive Chairman.

對我個人而言，能夠與 Eric 一起工作是莫大的榮幸。我很榮幸能夠擔任 Artisan Partners 30 年歷史上的第三任首席執行官，並期待繼續與 Eric 在執行主席一職上密切合作。

As I think everyone knows, Eric plans to remain very active in the firm's governance, strategy, and future. We have been very methodical in executing on this transition and will continue to be a source of consistency and stability for investment talent and clients.

我想大家都知道，艾瑞克計劃繼續積極參與公司的治理、策略和未來。我們在執行這項轉變時非常有條理，並將繼續為投資人才和客戶提供一致性和穩定性的來源。

In 2013, Artisan identified Bryan Krug and recruited him to join the firm and start the Artisan Partners credit team. The firm's decision to enter fixed income with Bryan and the development of the credit franchise over the last 12 years was further validated earlier this month when Bryan won Morningstar's 2025 Investment Excellence Award for Outstanding Fixed Income Portfolio Manager. The award covers the entire fixed income universe, not just high yield. The list of past winners includes multiple fixed income luminaries. Bryan has proven himself as one of the very, very best.

2013 年，Artisan 發現了 Bryan Krug，並招募他加入公司並組成 Artisan Partners 信貸團隊。本月初，布萊恩榮獲晨星 2025 年傑出固定收益投資組合經理投資卓越獎，進一步證明了該公司與布萊恩一起進入固定收益領域的決定以及過去 12 年來信貸業務特許經營權的發展。該獎項涵蓋整個固定收益領域，而不僅僅是高收益領域。往屆得獎者名單中包括多位固定收益領域的傑出人物。布萊恩已經證明自己是最優秀的球員之一。

Over the past 11 years, the credit team's flagship High Income strategy has outperformed its benchmark by 170 basis points annually after fees. Since inception, the High Income strategy is ranked number two of 154 products in its eVestment universe.

在過去 11 年中，信貸團隊的旗艦高收益策略在扣除費用後每年均比基準高出 170 個基點。自成立以來，高收入策略在其 eVestment 系列的 154 種產品中排名第二。

In 2017, the credit team launched the Credit Opportunity strategy, which has generated 10.23% annual returns net of fees since inception. In 2022, the team launched the Floating Rate strategy, which has generated 6.68% annual returns net of fees since inception. And in 2024, the credit team closed Artisan's first drawdown fund, the Artisan Dislocation Opportunity strategy, with $130 million of commitments for the team to opportunistically invest in dislocation events.

2017年，信貸團隊推出了信貸機會策略，自成立以來，扣除費用後的年回報率為10.23%。2022年，團隊推出浮動利率策略，自推出以來扣除費用後的年報酬率為6.68%。2024 年，信貸團隊關閉了 Artisan 的首個提取基金，即 Artisan Dislocation Opportunity 策略，其中承諾為團隊提供 1.3 億美元的機會投資於錯位事件。

Today, the credit team manages more than $13 billion across the franchise. We are currently onboarding two more institutional mandates for the team. We continue to prioritize business development for credit opportunities and floating rate strategies. And we are actively exploring ways to further expand the credit team's degrees of freedom and business. Congratulations to Bryan and the team on the most recent recognition, your investment track record, and the franchise you have built.

如今，信貸團隊管理著整個特許經營業務超過 130 億美元的資金。我們目前正在為團隊引入另外兩個機構任務。我們繼續優先考慮信貸機會和浮動利率策略的業務發展。而我們正在積極探索進一步擴大信貸團隊的自由度和業務範圍。恭喜布萊恩和團隊獲得的最新認可、投資績效以及建立的特許經營權。

In addition to Bryan and the credit team, Morningstar also recognized David Samra as one of three finalists for the 2025 US Morningstar Award for Investing Excellence Outstanding Equity Portfolio Manager. Along with Dan O'Keefe, David previously won Morningstar's International Stock Fund Manager of the Year Award in 2008 and 2013, an award they were nominated for 5 times between 2011 and 2016.

除了布萊恩和信貸團隊之外，晨星還將大衛·薩姆拉 (David Samra) 評為 2025 年美國晨星投資卓越獎傑出股票投資組合經理三名決賽入圍者之一。David 曾與 Dan O'Keefe 一起於 2008 年和 2013 年榮獲晨星年度國際股票基金經理獎，並在 2011 年至 2016 年期間五次獲得該獎項提名。

David's flagship International Value strategy has compounded capital at nearly 11% annually for 23 years, generating 418 basis points of annual -- average annual outperformance since inception and after fees. Over that period, the Artisan International Value Fund ranks number one in its Lipper category among 22 funds.

David 的旗艦國際價值策略在 23 年內以每年近 11% 的複合資本增長率增長，自成立以來和扣除費用後，年平均業績優異 418 個基點。在此期間，Artisan International Value Fund 在 Lipper 類別的 22 檔基金中排名第一。

Almost five years ago, David expanded his team with the addition of Beini Zhou and Anand Vasagiri. The (inaudible) International Explorer strategy has compounded capital at a rate of 14.47% annually since inception, outperforming its index by 465 basis points annually on average since inception and after fees. Since inception, the International Explorer Fund ranks 12 of 135 funds in its Lipper category, with approximately $800 million in the International Explorer strategy.

大約五年前，David 擴大了他的團隊，加入了 Beini Zhou 和 Anand Vasagiri。(聽不清楚) 國際探索者策略自成立以來，每年的資本複合增長率為 14.47%，扣除費用後，平均每年比其指數高出 465 個基點。自成立以來，國際探索基金在理柏分類的 135 個基金中排名第 12 位，國際探索策略的規模約為 8 億美元。

As we have previously discussed earlier this year, we launched the Global Special Situation strategy inside the International Value Group. Global Special Situations is the International Value Group's first fixed income strategy and is off to a strong start. Congratulations to David Samra and the International Value Group on the recent recognition from Morningstar, the performance, and the growth of the International Explorer and the launch of Global Special Situations.

正如我們今年稍早討論過的，我們在國際價值集團內部啟動了全球特殊情況策略。全球特殊情況是國際價值集團的首個固定收益策略，並且開局良好。恭喜 David Samra 和國際價值集團最近獲得晨星的認可、取得的優異成績以及國際探索者的成長和全球特殊情況的推出。

Moving to slide 5. On July 1, the Developing World strategy became our 12th strategy with a 10-year track record. Since inception in 2015, Lewis Kaufman and his team have compounded capital at an average annual rate of 11.59%, beating the index by 678 basis points after fees. Since inception, the Artisan Developing World Fund ranks third of 434 funds in its Lipper category. This is truly an exceptional outcome, which we believe will drive additional business expansion for developing world.

移至投影片 5。7月1日，發展中國家戰略成為我們的第12個戰略，已有10年的實施歷史。自 2015 年成立以來，劉易斯·考夫曼 (Lewis Kaufman) 和他的團隊以年均 11.59% 的速度增加資本，扣除費用後比指數高出 678 個基點。自成立以來，工匠發展中國家基金在理柏分類的 434 個基金中排名第三。這確實是一個非凡的成果，我們相信這將推動發展中國家進一步的業務擴張。

That expansion should be aided by the growing interest and demand we are seeing across our emerging market strategies. Across equities, fixed income, and alternatives, each of Artisan's five emerging market strategies has positive year-to-date net flows. In aggregate, we have raised a net $700 million across the group so far this year.

我們在新興市場策略中看到的日益增長的興趣和需求將有助於這一擴張。在股票、固定收益和另類投資領域，Artisan 的五種新興市場策略今年迄今都實現了正淨流量。總體而言，今年到目前為止，我們整個集團已淨籌集了 7 億美元。

In addition to Developing World's performance and 10-year milestone, the Sustainable Emerging Markets strategy has outperformed the index by more than 100 basis points annually over each of the trailing 1-, 3-, 5-, and 10-year periods after fees. And each of the EMsights Capital Group's three strategies has or will soon surpass its three-year anniversary, all with strong performance, anchored capital, and business momentum.

除了發展中國家的業績和十年里程碑之外，永續新興市場策略在扣除費用後的過去 1 年、3 年、5 年和 10 年期間每年都比該指數高出 100 個基點以上。EMsights Capital Group 的三項策略均已或即將超過其三週年紀念日，均具有強勁的業績、穩固的資本和業務發展勢頭。

Industry dynamics and leadership transitions of other managers are contributing to money in motion and a promising setup for us with strong teams and track records across all five emerging market strategies. More generally, the information on this slide is a further testament to the Artisan Partners model and its repeatability through time. Not only have we developed and expanded the investment platform, we have extended the duration of our existing strategies and franchises, compounded capital for clients, and generated positive outcomes for multiple generations of talent, as well as for our shareholders.

產業動態和其他管理者的領導層變動正在為資金流動做出貢獻，並為我們在所有五個新興市場策略中擁有強大的團隊和業績記錄創造了良好的條件。更一般地說，這張投影片上的資訊進一步證明了 Artisan Partners 模型及其隨時間的可重複性。我們不僅開發和擴展了投資平台，還延長了現有策略和特許經營權的期限，為客戶複合資本，並為多代人才以及我們的股東創造了積極的成果。

Thank you, Jason. Our ability to evolve around a core set of principles has been key to the repeatability of our success. We have remained true to who we are as a high value-added investment firm designed for talent to thrive in a thoughtful growth environment.

謝謝你，傑森。我們圍繞著一套核心原則不斷發展的能力是我們能夠重複成功的關鍵。我們始終堅持自己的定位，作為一家高附加價值投資公司，致力於為人才提供周到的成長環境，讓他們蓬勃發展。

At the same time, we have evolved. We have methodically expanded degrees of freedom inside of existing strategies and with new strategies. We have gone from public equities to fixed income to alternatives to multi-asset class. Broadening the opportunity set for our investment teams has enhanced their ability to differentiate and outperform. We have built out the platform that talented investors can plug into at Artisan.

同時，我們也在進化。我們有條不紊地擴大了現有戰略和新戰略的自由。我們已經從公開股票轉向固定收益、另類投資和多元資產類別。擴大我們投資團隊的機會範圍增強了他們的差異化和卓越表現能力。我們已經建立了一個平台，有才華的投資者可以在 Artisan 加入。

When we started, talent wanted to be left alone in an office with a Bloomberg. In today's environment, talent wants and needs a lot more: access to markets, instruments and information, technology and data and advice, guidance and support, to build a sustainable investment franchise.

當我們開始工作時，人才希望獨自待在有彭博社的辦公室裡。在當今環境下，人才想要和需要的更多：獲得市場、工具和資訊、技術和數據以及建議、指導和支持，以建立可持續的投資特許經營權。

Lastly, we have evolved our distribution to align with clients who value what we offer and what we do: clients with long-term asset allocation for high value-added investing, clients with duration that gives managers the time needed to pursue alpha, clients who do the hard work and research upfront to identify and partner with managers who will deliver over long periods. Increasingly, this has taken us into the direction of intermediated wealth clients, which today represents over half of our AUM.

最後，我們改進了我們的分銷管道，以適應那些重視我們提供的產品和我們所做的事情的客戶：擁有長期資產配置以實現高附加價值投資的客戶、為管理者提供追求阿爾法所需時間的客戶、付出艱苦努力並提前進行研究以確定並與能夠長期交付的管理者合作的客戶。這使我們越來越多地轉向中介財富客戶，如今這部分客戶占我們資產管理規模的一半以上。

We are a very different firm than we were 15 years ago, let alone 30 years ago. But at our core, we haven't changed. We are a high value-added investment firm driven by talent. We have simply evolved where and how we apply our principles so that we remain relevant to investment talent and sophisticated asset allocators.

我們與 15 年前的公司相比已經有很大不同，更不用說 30 年前了。但從本質上來說，我們並沒有改變。我們是一家以人才為驅動的高附加價值投資公司。我們只是改進了應用原則的地點和方式，以便我們能夠與投資人才和成熟的資產配置者保持相關性。

These evolutions have taken us in the direction of an investment platform that fully resources talent, multi-asset and alternative investments, and increasing focus on the opportunities in the intermediate wealth. I'm extremely proud of the evolution we have made. I expect it to continue under Jason's leadership. And I am confident we will continue to execute well for investment talent, clients, and shareholders.

這些演變使我們朝著一個充分利用人才、多資產和另類投資的投資平台的方向發展，並越來越關注中層財富中的機會。我對於我們所取得的進步感到非常自豪。我希望它能在傑森的領導下繼續下去。我相信我們將繼續為投資人才、客戶和股東提供良好的服務。

I will now turn it over to CJ to discuss our recent financial results.

現在我將把時間交給 CJ 來討論我們最近的財務表現。

Thanks, Eric. An overview of financial results begins on slide 7. Second-quarter results reflect strong equity market returns across global markets, which drove our ending AUM to $176 billion, up 8% compared to the March quarter. Our business model continues to deliver durable growth and attractive long-term returns for clients and shareholders. While ending AUM was up sharply, average AUM for the quarter was flat sequentially and up 5% compared to the June 2024 quarter. Year-to-date average AUM improved 7% over the prior year six-month period.

謝謝，埃里克。財務結果概覽從第 7 張投影片開始。第二季的業績反映了全球股市強勁的回報，這推動我們的期末資產管理規模達到 1,760 億美元，較 3 月季度成長 8%。我們的商業模式持續為客戶和股東帶來持久的成長和可觀的長期回報。雖然期末 AUM 大幅上升，但本季平均 AUM 與上一季持平，與 2024 年 6 月季度相比增長了 5%。年初至今的平均 AUM 比去年同期成長了 7%。

Net client cash outflows during the June quarter were $1.9 billion, driven by a lower volume of gross equity inflows and outflows as compared to the prior quarter. Equity outflows were partially offset by continued positive fixed income flows. The second quarter represents the 12th consecutive quarter of positive flows for our fixed income business. Year to date, net client cash outflows increased over the prior year, primarily due to a previously disclosed $1.2 billion outflow from a separate account rebalancing in the first quarter.

6 月當季淨客戶現金流為 19 億美元，因為股票總流入和流出量與上一季相比有所下降。股票資金流出部分被持續的正固定收益資金流入所抵銷。第二季是我們固定收益業務連續第 12 季實現正流量。年初至今，淨客戶現金流出量較上年有所增加，主要原因是先前揭露的第一季單獨帳戶重新平衡流出 12 億美元。

Our complete GAAP and adjusted results are presented in our earnings release. Revenues for the quarter were up 2% compared to the March quarter and up 4% compared to the prior year second quarter. Our weighted average recurring fee rate for the quarter was 68 basis points, up slightly from the prior quarter.

我們的完整 GAAP 和調整後結果已在我們的收益報告中呈現。本季營收與三月季度相比成長了 2%，與去年同期第二季相比成長了 4%。本季我們的加權平均經常性費率為 68 個基點，較上一季略有上升。

Adjusted operating expenses for the quarter were up 3% from the first quarter of 2025 and 5% from the same quarter last year, primarily from higher incentive compensation expense due to increased revenues and market appreciation of long-term incentive awards. Additionally, second quarter 2025 reflects a $1.2 million charge in connection with the closure of the China Post-Venture strategy.

本季調整後的營業費用較 2025 年第一季成長 3%，較去年同期成長 5%，主要原因是營收增加和市場對長期激勵獎勵的升值導致激勵薪資費用增加。此外，2025 年第二季反映了與中國後創投策略結束相關的 120 萬美元費用。

Adjusted operating income increased slightly compared to the prior quarter and 3% compared to the same quarter last year as a result of higher revenue. Adjusted net income per adjusted share was flat compared to last quarter and up slightly compared to the second quarter of 2024, consistent with operating income. Year to date, 2025 revenues were up 5% compared to the first half of 2024 on higher average AUM. Year-to-date adjusted operating expenses increased 4% from 2024, primarily from higher incentive compensation on elevated revenues and the impact of the addition of the January 2025 long-term incentive award grants.

由於收入增加，調整後的營業收入與上一季相比略有增加，與去年同期相比增長 3%。調整後每股淨收益與上一季持平，與 2024 年第二季相比略有上升，與營業收入一致。年初至今，由於平均 AUM 增加，2025 年營收較 2024 年上半年成長 5%。年初至今的調整後營業費用較 2024 年增長 4%，主要由於收入增加帶來的激勵薪酬增加以及 2025 年 1 月增加的長期激勵獎勵的影響。

In calculating our non-GAAP measures, non-operating income includes only interest expense and interest income. Although valuation changes on our seed investments impact shareholder economics, we fully exclude these valuation changes from our adjusted results to provide transparency into our core business operations.

在計算我們的非公認會計準則指標時，非營業收入僅包括利息支出和利息收入。儘管我們的種子投資的估值變化會影響股東經濟，但我們將這些估值變化完全排除在調整後的結果之外，以確保我們的核心業務營運透明度。

Looking forward to Q3, revenue should benefit from 8% higher AUM. In addition, the September quarter will benefit from the absence of approximately $2.4 million of costs associated with the China Post-Venture team, including the $1.2 million onetime charge related to the closure of the China Post-Venture strategy.

展望第三季度，收入應會受益於 8% 的 AUM 成長。此外，9月份當季將受益於與中郵創投團隊相關的約240萬美元成本的減少，其中包括與中郵創投策略結束相關的120萬美元一次性費用。

Turning to slide 11. Our balance sheet remains strong. We currently have approximately $140 million of seed capital invested in seeded products. As strategies reach scale and our seed investments are redeemed, any redemption amounts realized are included in the cash available for corporate purposes, new seed investments, or as in addition to our year-end special dividend. In addition, our $100 million revolving credit facility remains unused.

翻到第 11 張投影片。我們的資產負債表依然強勁。我們目前已在種子產品上投資了約 1.4 億美元的種子資金。隨著策略達到規模並且我們的種子投資被贖回，任何實現的贖回金額都將包含在可用於公司用途的現金、新的種子投資或作為我們年終特別股息的補充。此外，我們的 1 億美元循環信貸額度仍未使用。

In August, $60 million of our senior notes will mature. Last month, we announced the closing of $50 million new private placement debt on August 15, 2025. We will use the proceeds from the new debt along with cash on hand to retire the $60 million of debt maturing in August 2025.

8月份，我們的6000萬美元優先票據將到期。上個月，我們宣布將於 2025 年 8 月 15 日完成 5,000 萬美元的新私募債務。我們將利用新債務的收益以及庫存現金來償還 2025 年 8 月到期的 6,000 萬美元債務。

We continue to return capital to shareholders on a consistent and predictable basis through quarterly cash dividend payments and a year-end special dividend. Consistent with our dividend policy, our Board of Directors declared a quarterly dividend of $0.73 per share with respect to the June 2025 quarter, a 7% increase over the prior quarter.

我們繼續透過季度現金股利和年終特別股利以一致且可預測的方式向股東返還資本。根據我們的股息政策，我們的董事會宣布 2025 年 6 月季度的季度股息為每股 0.73 美元，比上一季增長 7%。

That concludes my prepared remarks, and I will turn the call back to the operator.

我的準備好的發言到此結束，我將把電話轉回給接線生。

(Operator Instructions) Alex Blostein, Goldman Sachs.

（操作員指示）高盛的 Alex Blostein。

This is Anthony on for Alex. Maybe just to start on capital allocation and more specifically around M&A, I guess you have expressed interest in M&A, specifically around building out your alts capabilities. So what areas or asset classes are you most open to pursue? And how should we think about the pipeline of deals today?

這是安東尼 (Anthony) 代替亞歷克斯 (Alex)。也許只是從資本配置開始，更具體地圍繞併購，我想你已經表達了對併購的興趣，特別是圍繞構建你的替代能力。那麼您最願意涉足哪些領域或資產類別呢？那我們該如何看待今天的交易管道呢？

Hi. It's Jason. Thanks for the question. We have spent some time talking about M&A. I guess I'd just take it back to, first, principles. Number one, it's always going to be a talent-driven opportunity that's going to guide where we're going to go. There's an absolute standard. We're not going to change that standard, whether it's lift-out or M&A. But as you rightly pointed out, we do think M&A is a potent opportunity for us in the future, specifically in the alternatives asset classes.

你好。是傑森。謝謝你的提問。我們花了一些時間討論併購問題。我想我應該把它帶回第一個原則。首先，這始終是一個由人才驅動的機會，它將引導我們的發展方向。有一個絕對的標準。我們不會改變這個標準，無論是退出還是併購。但正如您正確指出的那樣，我們確實認為併購對我們來說是未來的一個巨大機會，特別是在另類資產類別中。

There's a range of areas that we focus on, and we're not trying to be pigeonholing ourselves in any one specific area. But as you've heard us talk about, real estate is interesting because it's highly fragmented. There's multiple ways to win. There's a lot of talent out there. Systematically, there's a lot of disruption going on, and certainly, idiosyncratically at various firms, there's opportunity to dislodge talent.

我們關注的領域非常廣泛，但我們並不想把自己局限於某個特定領域。但正如您所聽到的，房地產之所以有趣，是因為它高度分散。有多種獲勝方式。那裡有很多人才。從系統上看，存在著許多混亂的情況，而且，各個公司的情況各有不同，存在著人才流失的機會。

We will focus on the, let's call it, the areas where we think value can be driven. So we're not looking to do anything in the core or core plus from a lift-out or M&A perspective. We would really focus on value-add into the opportunistic categories where return differential is a lot higher and where we think our platform can be a benefit to talent.

我們將重點放在那些我們認為可以創造價值的領域。因此，從剝離或併購的角度來看，我們不打算在核心或核心附加領域做任何事情。我們真正關注的是機會類別的增值，這些類別的回報差異要高得多，而且我們認為我們的平台可以為人才帶來好處。

We've looked at private equity. More specifically, the secondaries business is interesting for us. It's an area where we think risk can be taken. Risk can be rewarded. The duration and time to get your DPI is a lot shorter than what you typically see in your traditional buyout or venture funds. We think it plays well into the intermediate wealth space. And again, there's a lot of talent out there in both lift-out and M&A.

我們研究過私募股權。更具體地說，二級市場業務對我們來說很有趣。我們認為這是一個可以承擔風險的領域。風險可以帶來回報。獲得 DPI 的持續時間和時間比傳統收購或創投基金中通常看到的要短得多。我們認為它在中等財富領域中發揮著良好的作用。再說一次，無論是收購還是併購，市場上都有很多人才。

We talked about private credit. We don't we don't love doing something that's just a me-too in the bulge-bracket sponsor-driven area. We don't think we have the ability to compete there. But there are other areas where there's a vast TAM, big opportunity set, and high differentiation, in areas like asset-based lending.

我們討論了私人信貸。我們不喜歡在大型贊助商驅動的領域做一些跟風的事情。我們認為我們沒有能力在那裡競爭。但在其他領域，例如資產抵押貸款，也存在著巨大的TAM、巨大的機會和高度的差異化。

And so that's just a flavor. But again, I don't want to say that that's where we're screening or looking for opportunities. That's where opportunities are finding us, and they seem really, really interesting and compelling. But we'll let the talent drive us and guide us in that regard.

這只是一種味道。但再次強調，我不想說這就是我們篩選或尋找機會的地方。機會就在這裡找到我們，而且它們看起來真的非常有趣和引人注目。但我們會讓人才推動我們並指導我們。

The last point I would make is we're continuing to see a high volume of activity. And given the build-out of our investment strategy group over the last several years, it's allowed us the opportunity to really kind of focus on the external effort a little bit more than we have been in the past.

我要說的最後一點是，我們繼續看到大量的活動。鑑於我們投資策略團隊在過去幾年中的不斷壯大，這讓我們有機會比過去更加專注於外部努力。

Great. Yeah, that's helpful. And then maybe for my follow-up, just on capacity constraints, I know it's been a headwind in a couple of strategies for a little while. So how should we think about the timing of these kind of reopening and the acceleration to the gross flow profile?

偉大的。是的，這很有幫助。然後也許對於我的後續行動，僅關於容量限制，我知道這在一段時間內已經成為一些策略的阻力。那麼，我們該如何考慮此類重新開放的時機以及總流量曲線的加速呢？

Hey, Anthony. It's Eric. Yeah, we are always managing capacity, as you've highlighted. As we've always said, investments is the first thing we think about, and then we think about the distribution side. We'll always protect the investment results.

嘿，安東尼。我是埃里克。是的，正如您所強調的，我們一直在管理容量。正如我們一直所說，我們首先考慮的是投資，然後才考慮分銷方面。我們將始終保護投資成果。

So there's a few strategies on the growth side that we're freeing up a little bit of capacity and managing that, given some of the trends we've seen in flows and a lot of the rebalancing we saw this last quarter was in the growth side of the equation. With regards to the International Value and the High Income strategy that really we're working with a very strong embedded client base. Much of that client base is the intermediated wealth client. Intermediated wealth client puts us in a model. And that model is refreshed for existing and new clients. And many of these intermediated wealth firms want to have consistency.

因此，考慮到我們在流量中看到的一些趨勢以及上個季度我們在成長方面看到的許多再平衡，我們在成長方面採取了一些策略，釋放了一些產能並進行管理。就國際價值和高收入策略而言，我們實際上正在與非常強大的嵌入式客戶群合作。該客戶群的大部分是中介財富客戶。中介財富客戶為我們樹立了典範。並且該模型針對現有客戶和新客戶進行了更新。許多中介財富公司都希望保持一致性。

So we really try to work with those groups on capacity in the large existing clients. And we'll continue to manage that and be judicious about that, are really how are we looking at the constrained strategies right now.

因此，我們確實嘗試與這些團體合作，提高現有大型客戶的容量。我們將繼續管理這個問題，並對此保持明智，我們現在真正如何看待受限的策略。

Thanks. That's helpful.

謝謝。這很有幫助。

John Dunn, Evercore ISI.

約翰‧鄧恩 (John Dunn)，Evercore ISI。

You mentioned two institutional mandates. Maybe just if you could talk a little more about them, maybe the timing of when they might fund, and also more generally, just the temperature of the conversations you're having with institutional clients, both in the US and then overseas.

您提到了兩個機構任務。也許您可以多談談他們的情況，例如他們可能提供資金的時間，以及更一般地說，您與美國和海外的機構客戶交談的氣氛。

Yeah. John, this is Eric. Yeah, the institutional clients, and we did see some movement around rebalancing, little bit on the global equity side, and then on the positive front, we see quite a bit of interest in emerging markets at large. We had a nice uptick in our emerging markets local opportunities with the EMsights team. We also have some good opportunity funded with the Sustainable Emerging Markets. And we're also hitting the 10-year anniversary that we've highlighted on the call with Developing World. So there's definitely a positive story around the fixed income strategies that we have as well as the emerging markets.

是的。約翰，這是埃里克。是的，對於機構客戶來說，我們確實看到了一些圍繞重新平衡的動向，在全球股票方面有一點，然後在積極的方面，我們看到了對新興市場的相當大的興趣。在 EMsights 團隊的協助下，我們在新興市場的在地機會取得了良好的成長。我們也獲得了永續新興市場的資助，並獲得了一些很好的機會。我們也即將迎來在與發展中國家的電話會議中強調的十週年紀念日。因此，我們的固定收益策略以及新興市場肯定是正面的。

With regards to the institutional specifically, I think many of them are dealing with illiquid allocations. And many of the private equity and other illiquid in real estate are creating evergreen funds and are really looking to extend the duration of those assets. Some clients are really focused on that.

具體到機構方面，我認為他們中的許多人都在處理非流動性分配。許多私募股權和其他非流動性房地產公司正在創建常青基金，並真正希望延長這些資產的期限。有些客戶確實非常關注這一點。

And then secondly, with the institutional clients, we've just seen a little bit of backing off on risk, given the market environment. And I think that's why I've been leaning more towards credit. But that back-off of an analysis around risk, given the market environment, the tariffs, we saw really a muted gross flow this quarter. And if you looked at the gross levels, it was down quite a bit from previous quarters, and that signaled, I think, just a more cautious risk-aware environment. And we're looking at credit as an area of growth. Equity had some rebalancing. And many people starting to revisit emerging markets as a place to allocate dollars.

其次，考慮到市場環境，我們看到機構客戶的風險降低。我想這就是我更傾向於信用的原因。但考慮到市場環境和關稅，我們對風險的分析有所減弱，我們看到本季的總流量確實有所減弱。如果你看一下總體水平，你會發現它比前幾季下降了不少，我認為這表明風險意識更加謹慎。我們將信貸視為一個成長領域。股票有一些重新平衡。許多人開始重新將新興市場作為配置美元的地方。

Got you. And maybe just to frame it, again, geographically in terms of distribution, any areas where you expect to see inflow demand or money at risk over the next -- the second half of '25?

明白了。也許只是為了再次從地理分佈的角度來構建它，您預計在接下來的 2025 年下半年哪些地區會出現流入需求或資金風險？

I think from a geographical, I don't think we've seen any specific spots geographically. And the US has been the one area with regards to public equities on the institutional side that we've seen the rebalancing. But nothing is jumping out from a geographical standpoint that's causing us concerns.

我認為從地理上來說，我認為我們沒有看到任何特定的地理地點。就機構方面的公開股票而言，美國是唯一出現再平衡的地區。但從地理角度來看，並沒有什麼事情值得我們擔心。

Great. Thank you very much.

偉大的。非常感謝。

Bill Katz, TD Cowen.

比爾·卡茨（Bill Katz），TD Cowen。

So just staying on the flow discussion for a moment. I apologize, I joined just as your comments were going on. Did you frame or size the institutional wins? I'm sort of curious, you mentioned that you're seeing a pickup in EM. It sounds like it might be coming from other equities. A, is that correct? And then B, if that does sustain itself, how do you sort of see the net impact flowing through to APAM given your skew to some of the legacy mandates versus the more fertile opportunity in the EM business, but that being a little bit smaller?

因此，我們暫時繼續討論流程。抱歉，我剛好在您發表評論時加入。您是否規劃或衡量了機構的勝利？我有點好奇，您提到您看到 EM 有所回升。聽起來它可能來自其他股票。答，對嗎？然後 B，如果這種情況確實持續下去，考慮到您對一些遺留任務的偏向，而不是 EM 業務中更肥沃的機會，您如何看待對 APAM 的淨影響，但這種影響要小一些？

Yeah. We talked about two larger mandates. We're starting to see that on the EM side of the equation with EMsights and emerging markets. And we also mentioned, Bill, on the Developing World. But we're seeing a growing interest and growing opportunities with EMsights, with Sustainable Emerging Markets, with Developing World.

是的。我們討論了兩個更大的任務。我們開始在 EMights 和新興市場等式的 EM 方面看到這一點。比爾，我們也提到了發展中國家的情況。但我們看到，人們對 EMsights、永續新興市場和發展中國家的興趣和機會日益增長。

When we brought in the EMsights team the first couple of years, it was the largest outflow of emerging market debt in the institutional marketplace and the history of that asset class. And that was followed up with another down year. You're starting to see a lot of people revisit that allocation, given EMsights just hit a three-year number across all of its strategies, Developing World hit its 10-year, and our Sustainable Emerging Markets has had a very strong performance over the last 1, 3, 5, 10, screening well. We're very optimistic on allocations there, as well as beyond the EM debt, the broader fixed income category is also upticking for us.

當我們在前幾年引入 EMsights 團隊時，這是機構市場和該資產類別歷史上最大的新興市場債務流出。隨後的一年又是低迷的一年。你開始看到很多人重新審視這一分配，因為 EMsights 的所有策略都剛剛達到了三年的數字，發展中國家達到了十年的數字，而我們的可持續新興市場在過去 1、3、5、10 年中表現非常強勁，篩選良好。我們對那裡的配置非常樂觀，除了新興市場債務之外，更廣泛的固定收益類別對我們來說也在上升。

And how that offsets the equity side, it really depends on how our large clients on our International Value, International Equity, and the Global Products rebalance and manage their risk. So it's hard to predict. Those are lumpy, episodic rebalancing that does occur. That's been the bulk of the outflow this quarter. And as I said earlier, it's been a very muted gross flow across the board this quarter. So it's hard to actually frame the exchange of kicks on the inflow/outflow story.

而這如何抵銷股票方面的影響，實際上取決於我們的國際價值、國際股票和全球產品上的大客戶如何重新平衡和管理他們的風險。所以很難預測。這些都是不均勻的、偶發性的重新平衡，確實會發生。這是本季資金流出的大部分。正如我之前所說，本季整體總流量非常低迷。因此，實際上很難將踢球的交換概括為流入/流出的故事。

Well, I appreciate the perspective. And then maybe one, tying in the opportunity for growth, to CJ, as you think through maybe the OpEx outlook into the second half of the year. And I appreciate the guidance that you won't have the elevated severance associated with the wind-down of the China venture fund. How do we think about maybe OpEx? And particularly, would you look to ramp any kind of spend, just given that you're at the sort of inflection on some of these flagship funds that could potentially scale pretty nicely?

嗯，我很欣賞這個觀點。然後也許有一個，將成長機會與 CJ 聯繫起來，當你思考下半年的營運支出前景時。我很感激您給予的指導，即您不會因中國風險基金的解散而獲得高額的遣散費。我們如何看待營運支出？特別是，考慮到您正處於一些旗艦基金可能具有相當好擴展潛力的轉折點，您是否會考慮增加某種支出？

Yeah, Bill. Yeah, there's really no sort of update from an OpEx standpoint. I mean, we're still on target to be like mid-single digits on the fixed side. And of course, on the variable side, which is almost 55% of our expense base, that will vary with revenues. So there is no expected expense ramping for any type of growth. I think we're well positioned to take advantage of the growth that exists within the system right now, and it's just about executing on it. And we don't really need to put any kind of expense initiatives in place to capture that.

是的，比爾。是的，從營運支出的角度來看，確實沒有任何更新。我的意思是，我們仍然朝著固定的中等個位數的目標前進。當然，可變支出幾乎占我們支出基礎的 55%，它將隨著收入而變化。因此，任何類型的成長都不會導致預期費用增加。我認為我們已做好準備，充分利用目前系統內現有的成長機會，現在只需執行即可。我們實際上並不需要採取任何形式的支出措施來實現這一點。

Okay. Very good. Thank you. And Eric, congratulations again. I'm feeling very nostalgic today. But thank you for all your help along the years.

好的。非常好。謝謝。埃里克，再次祝賀你。我今天感覺非常懷舊。但感謝您多年來的幫助。

Kenneth Lee, RBC Capital Markets.

加拿大皇家銀行資本市場 (RBC Capital Markets) 的 Kenneth Lee。

During the prepared remarks, you mentioned potentially expanding some of the degrees of freedom on the credit side. I wonder if you could just further flesh out or outline what's in the pipeline for new products within the credit side over the near term. Thanks.

在準備好的發言中，您提到可能會擴大信貸方面的一些自由。我想知道您是否可以進一步充實或概述近期信貸領域新產品的計劃。謝謝。

Yeah. Hey, Ken. It's Jason. We are evaluating various structures and opportunities as it relates to the private markets. There could be the potential for interesting ways to access the private markets with our existing franchise, the credit team. We're certainly looking at those and evaluating those in the context of continuing to expand out those degrees of freedom and continue to grow and build what we think is a platform that has the right amount of resources and certainly, the brand recognition, to have that opportunity.

是的。嘿，肯。是傑森。我們正在評估與私人市場相關的各種結構和機會。利用我們現有的特許經營權，即信貸團隊，可能會有有趣的方式進入私人市場。我們當然會在繼續擴大自由、繼續發展和建立我們認為擁有適當資源和品牌認知的平台的背景下審視和評估這些，以獲得這樣的機會。

I'd say that that's probably the nearest-term opportunity. And within the EMsights business, we're continuing to evaluate whether there are opportunities to launch a private fund around our global unconstrained strategy more from an institutional perspective that they might not be interested in accessing a mutual fund. And so those are probably the two. One's a little bit more of an expansion of degrees of freedom, and one is just an opportunity to capitalize on the existing toolkit.

我想說這可能是近期的機會。在 EMsights 業務中，我們將繼續評估是否有機會圍繞我們的全球不受約束的策略推出私募基金，更多的是從機構角度評估，因為他們可能對進入共同基金不感興趣。所以很可能就是這兩個。一方面是自由度的進一步擴展，另一方面是利用現有工具包的機會。

Great. Very helpful there. And just one follow-up, if I may. Any updated outlook around seed capital needs for this year? And relatedly, any early indication around the payout ratio for this year? Thanks.

偉大的。非常有幫助。如果可以的話，我還有一個後續問題。對於今年的種子資金需求有什麼最新展望嗎？與此相關的是，今年的派息率有任何早期跡象嗎？謝謝。

Yeah, I'll take that one, Ken. On seed capital, I think right now we're well positioned. We always are thinking about new products. But as we sit here today, there's nothing -- no planned new seeds, although some are in the works.

是的，我會接受這個，肯。在種子資金方面，我認為我們現在處於有利地位。我們一直在思考新產品。但今天我們坐在這裡，什麼都沒有——沒有計劃中的新種子，儘管有些正在籌備中。

I'd say we're in a well-positioned spot from a capital perspective as we've ever been. As you know, we've had a lot of seed capital that we expended over the last several years, and our book is now $140 million. We are seeing some -- expect to see some opportunities over the next 12 to 18 months to start to pull some of that back, redeploy that either for additional seed or acquisitions if something like that comes to fruition.

我想說，從資本角度來看，我們處於一個非常有利的位置。如您所知，過去幾年我們已經投入了大量種子資金，現在我們的帳面價值為 1.4 億美元。我們看到了一些機會——預計在未來 12 到 18 個月內會看到一些機會，開始收回其中的一部分，重新​​部署這些資金，用於額外的種子或收購（如果這樣的事情發生的話）。

So I feel like we're really well positioned from a seed perspective. And obviously, we're not a fan of debt. But if you think about M&A and in context of buying an established firm, we do have capacity within our line of credit and additional debt capacity. Obviously, not our preference, but just to highlight, we're in a good capital position to execute on what we need to, whether it be seed or M&A.

因此我覺得從種子的角度來看，我們確實處於有利地位。顯然，我們不喜歡負債。但如果你考慮併購，並在收購一家成熟公司的情況下，我們確實有能力在信用額度和額外的負債能力範圍內運作。顯然，這不是我們的偏好，但需要強調的是，我們擁有良好的資本狀況來執行我們需要做的事情，無論是種子投資還是併購。

Great. Very helpful there. Thanks again.

偉大的。非常有幫助。再次感謝。

This concludes our question-and-answer session and the Artisan Partners Asset Management business update and second quarter 2025 earnings call. Thank you. You may now disconnect.

我們的問答環節、Artisan Partners Asset Management 業務更新和 2025 年第二季財報電話會議到此結束。謝謝。您現在可以斷開連線。