BROOKFIELD ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD (BAM) 2024 Q4 法說會逐字稿

Hello, and welcome to Brookfield Asset Management's fourth quarter 2024 conference call and webcast. (Operator Instructions)

您好，歡迎參加 Brookfield Asset Management 2024 年第四季電話會議和網路廣播。（操作員指示）

I would now like to hand the conference over to our first speaker, Mr. Jason Fooks, Managing Director, Investor Relations. Please go ahead.

現在，我想將會議交給我們的第一位發言人，投資者關係董事總經理 Jason Fooks 先生。請繼續。

Thank you for joining us today for Brookfield Asset Management's earnings call. On the call today, we have Bruce Flatt, our Chief Executive Officer; Connor Teskey, our President; and Hadley Peer Marshall, our Chief Financial Officer. Bruce will start the call today with opening remarks on the tailwinds driving our business, followed by Connor, who will highlight our success over the past year and how that positions us well for 2025.

感謝您今天參加 Brookfield Asset Management 的財報電話會議。參加今天電話會議的是我們的執行長 Bruce Flatt；我們的總裁 Connor Teskey；以及我們的財務長 Hadley Peer Marshall。布魯斯將在今天的電話會議上首先致辭，介紹推動我們業務發展的順風因素，隨後康納將重點介紹我們過去一年取得的成功以及這些成功如何為我們在 2025 年做好充分準備。

And finally, Hadley will discuss our financial results and business operations. After our formal comments, we'll turn the call over to the operator and take analyst questions. In order to accommodate all those who want to ask questions, we ask that you refrain from asking more than two questions at one time. If you have additional questions, please rejoin the queue, and we'll be happy to take additional questions at the end if time permits.

最後，哈德利將討論我們的財務表現和業務運作。在我們正式發表評論後，我們將把電話轉給接線員並回答分析師的問題。為了方便所有想要提問的人，我們要求您不要一次提出兩個以上的問題。如果您還有其他問題，請重新加入隊列，如果時間允許，我們很樂意在最後回答其他問題。

Before we begin, I'd like to remind you that in today's comments, including in responding to questions and in discussing new initiatives in our financial and operating performance, we may make forward-looking statements, including forward-looking statements within the meaning of applicable Canadian and US securities law.

在我們開始之前，我想提醒您，在今天的評論中，包括在回答問題和討論我們的財務和經營業績的新舉措時，我們可能會做出前瞻性陳述，包括適用的加拿大和美國證券法含義內的前瞻性陳述。

These statements reflect predictions of future events and trends and do not relate to historic events. They're subject to known and unknown risks, and future events and results may differ materially from such statements. For further information on these risks and their potential impacts on our company, please see our filings with the securities regulators in Canada and the US and the information available on our website.

這些聲明反映了對未來事件和趨勢的預測，與歷史事件無關。它們面臨已知和未知的風險，未來事件和結果可能與這些陳述有重大差異。有關這些風險及其對我們公司的潛在影響的更多信息，請參閱我們向加拿大和美國證券監管機構提交的文件以及我們網站上的信息。

And with that, I'll turn the call over to Bruce.

說完這些，我將把電話轉給布魯斯。

Thank you, and good morning to everyone on the call. We had a strong 2024, as both earnings and capital raising continue to gain momentum throughout the year, reflecting the strong growth profile of our business and the increasingly positive sentiment in the market today.

謝謝大家，大家早安。我們在 2024 年取得了強勁的業績，盈利和融資​​在全年都繼續保持增長勢頭，這反映了我們業務的強勁增長狀況以及當今市場日益積極的情緒。

Over the past year, we raised over $135 billion, including a record $29 billion of organic fundraising in the fourth quarter, deployed $48 billion and monetized $30 billion of investments, our strongest year across the board.

在過去的一年裡，我們籌集了超過 1,350 億美元，其中包括第四季度創紀錄的 290 億美元有機融資，部署了 480 億美元，並將 300 億美元的投資貨幣化，這是我們全面表現最強勁的一年。

We expect this to continue as improving sentiment and increased liquidity in the capital markets is significantly favoring high-quality, real assets. This has had and will continue to have an outsized impact on our portfolio, allowing us to finance our businesses at attractive levels, both increasing distributions and making assets easier to sell.

我們預計這種情況將持續下去，因為資本市場情緒的改善和流動性的增加明顯有利於高品質的實體資產。這已經並將繼續對我們的投資組合產生巨大影響，使我們能夠以有吸引力的水平為我們的業務融資，既增加了分配，又使資產更容易出售。

The 18% annual growth of our fee-bearing capital base to $539 billion enabled us to generate $2.5 billion of fee-related earnings and $2.4 billion of distributable earnings for the year. This year, we also benefit from the strategic investments we made to expand our credit origination capabilities and bolstering our fundraising organization across both institutional and private wealth channels as we look to expand and diversify our product offerings. In addition, we added new partner managers and increased our investment in Oaktree.

我們的收費資本基礎年增率為 18%，達到 5,390 億美元，這使我們能夠在當年產生 25 億美元的收費相關收益和 24 億美元的可分配收益。今年，我們也受惠於我們為擴大信貸發放能力和加強跨機構和私人財富管道的融資組織而進行的策略性投資，因為我們希望擴大和多樣化我們的產品供應。此外，我們還增加了新的合夥人經理，並增加了對Oaktree的投資。

We want to spend a few minutes today speaking about the secular trends that will propel our business over the next decade and beyond. First, the alternative asset industry is poised to more than double. Growth is being driven by institutional investors steadily increasing allocation to private funds, alongside high net worth financial advisers who are increasingly allocating to alternative strategies.

今天我們想花幾分鐘時間討論未來十年及以後推動我們業務發展的長期趨勢。首先，另類資產產業規模可望成長一倍以上。推動成長的因素包括機構投資者穩定增加對私募基金的配置，以及高淨值財務顧問越來越多地配置另類策略。

At the same time, the rise of private credit introduces additional fundraising opportunities, whether from insurers seeking investment-grade solutions and the likely of inclusion of alternatives in retirement accounts.

同時，私人信貸的興起帶來了額外的籌資機會，無論是來自尋求投資等級解決方案的保險公司，還是可能將替代方案納入退休帳戶。

A second major trend is the ongoing consolidation of managers. Large clients are looking to streamline their relationships and want to allocate more to the largest managers with diversified global platforms and a proven track record. This should benefit our flagship strategies and also attract more SMAs where we can allocate client capital to both single strategies or across numerous businesses of ours.

第二個主要趨勢是管理人員的持續整合。大客戶正在尋求簡化他們的關係，並希望將更多的資金分配給擁有多元化全球平台和良好業績記錄的最大管理者。這應該有利於我們的旗艦策略，並吸引更多的 SMA，我們可以將客戶資金分配給單一策略或我們的眾多業務。

Finally, we are strategically aligned with the largest themes of our time: digitalization and the associated infrastructure build-out, which is being further accelerated by artificial intelligence; the increasing demand for power, especially low-cost clean power; and the continued growth of private credit across all sectors. Starting first with digitalization.

最後，我們在策略上與我們這個時代的最大主題保持一致：數位化和相關的基礎設施建設，而人工智慧正在進一步加速這一進程；對電力的需求不斷增加，尤其是低成本清潔能源；各領域私人信貸持續增長。首先從數位化開始。

Artificial intelligence, which continues to expand at a remarkable pace, is further propelling digitalization, creating significant opportunities for us to invest in areas such as data centers, telecom towers, fiber and semiconductor fabrication. At the same time, our operating businesses are using AI to drive more automation and productivity, supply chain optimization and improved customer engagement, enhancing cash flows in order to support stronger investment returns.

人工智慧正以驚人的速度持續擴張，進一步推動數位化進程，為我們在資料中心、電信塔、光纖和半導體製造等領域的投資創造了重大機會。同時，我們的營運業務正在利用人工智慧來提高自動化程度和生產力、優化供應鏈和改善客戶參與度，增強現金流，以支持更強勁的投資回報。

Second, upgrading power grids to meet large energy requirements will necessitate nearly doubling electricity generation. I'll repeat that again. Doubling electricity generation, along with transmission and/or battery capacity, which will continue to drive opportunities for our infrastructure and many of our other businesses. Renewables will be the biggest beneficiary of growing electricity demand because they are the cheapest option, and off-takers will always absorb as much of the cheapest source of power before turning to more expensive forms of power.

其次，升級電網以滿足龐大的能源需求將需要使發電量增加近一倍。我再重複一遍。發電量、輸電和/或電池容量翻一番，這將繼續為我們的基礎設施和許多其他業務帶來機會。再生能源將成為電力需求成長的最大受益者，因為它們是最便宜的選擇，而電力購買者總是會盡可能吸收最便宜的電力，然後再轉向更昂貴的電力形式。

Yet digitalization is only part of the story driving unprecedented global clean energy needs. As more countries are prioritizing energy security, development of renewables and nuclear power is the only path. With over $125 billion of AUM, deep operational expertise and a reputation as a partner of choice, we are well placed to capture this accelerating demand.

然而，數位化只是推動全球清潔能源需求空前成長的一部分。隨著各國越來越重視能源安全，發展再生能源和核能是唯一出路。憑藉超過 1250 億美元的資產管理規模、深厚的營運專業知識以及作為首選合作夥伴的聲譽，我們完全有能力滿足這一不斷增長的需求。

Lastly, on private credit. Private credit remains a very attractive and growing asset class spurred by desire among borrowers for flexible capital solutions. Alternative managers with specialized industry expertise like us are well positioned to provide a full suite of large-scale customized financing solutions.

最後，關於私人信貸。私人信貸仍然是一個非常有吸引力且不斷增長的資產類別，受到借款人對靈活資本解決方案的需求的推動。像我們這樣擁有專業產業知識的另類管理者完全有能力提供全套大規模客製化融資解決方案。

Our decades of experience in infrastructure real estate renewables, alongside our partner managers' focus on corporate and asset-based lending, enable us to source proprietary opportunities and underwrite credit risk effectively. We see considerable potential further growth in years ahead.

我們在基礎設施房地產再生能源領域擁有數十年的經驗，加上我們的合作夥伴經理專注於企業和資產抵押貸款，使我們能夠尋找專有機會並有效承保信用風險。我們認為未來幾年還有相當大的成長潛力。

Adjacent to these, our real estate business is picking off some excellent properties at very attractive entry points. Similar to previous cycles, we are well positioned to capitalize on these dynamics and deliver exceptional returns.

除此之外，我們的房地產業務正在以非常有吸引力的切入點挑選一些優質的房產。與先前的周期類似，我們已做好準備，利用這些動態並實現卓越的回報。

In recent months, we have seen interest growing meaningfully for our real estate strategies, indicating the first phase of a recovery. Together, these drivers are among the many that position Brookfield for long-term success, and we believe we are well positioned to deliver on our long-term goal of 15% annual growth in cash flow on a per share basis.

最近幾個月，我們看到人們對我們的房地產策略的興趣顯著增長，這表明復甦的第一階段已經到來。綜合起來，這些驅動因素是推動 Brookfield 長期成功的眾多因素之一，我們相信，我們完全有能力實現每股現金流年增率 15% 的長期目標。

Our deep operational expertise and relationships across our five businesses will continue to enable us to identify compelling investments and generate excellent returns for our clients. At the same time, powerful secular trends in digitalization, clean energy and private credit, as mentioned, will continue to drive growth, drawing more capital in the markets where we have established a leadership position. Thank you for your ongoing support.

我們在五大業務領域的深厚營運專業知識和關係將繼續使我們能夠找到引人注目的投資並為我們的客戶創造豐厚的回報。同時，如前文所述，數位化、清潔能源和私人信貸的強勁長期趨勢將繼續推動成長，為我們已確立領導地位的市場吸引更多資本。感謝您一直以來的支持。

I will now hand it over to Connor, who will talk about the past year and how that positions us for the future.

現在我將把時間交給康納，他將談論過去的一年以及這對我們未來有何影響。

Thank you, Bruce, and good morning to everyone on the call. As Bruce mentioned, 2024 was an excellent year for our business. We delivered strong performance across our franchise, strategically expanded our capabilities and surpassed $1 trillion of assets under management. Looking at the past year, 2024 was one of our most active years ever. We deployed approximately $50 billion, sourcing high-quality investments at very good values across each of our business groups.

謝謝你，布魯斯，祝電話裡的各位早安。正如布魯斯所說，2024 年對我們的業務來說是輝煌的一年。我們的整個特許經營業務表現強勁，策略性地擴展了我們的能力，管理的資產超過 1 兆美元。回顧過去的一年，2024年是我們最活躍的一年。我們部署了約 500 億美元，為各個業務集團尋找價值極高的高品質投資。

Highlights included Neoen, our public-to-private acquisition of a leading global renewables developer; GEMS Education, a prominent private education provider in the Middle East; and FirstEnergy, a large-scale US electrical distribution company. We also executed on a number of important agreements. For example, our landmark transaction with Microsoft, the largest of its kind, will supply over 10 gigawatts of renewable power over the next five years.

亮點包括 Neoen，這是我們對全球領先的可再生能源開發商的私有化收購； GEMS Education，中東著名的私立教育提供者；以及美國大型電力分銷公司FirstEnergy。我們也執行了一些重要協議。例如，我們與微軟達成的具有里程碑意義的交易是同類交易中規模最大的交易，將在未來五年內供應超過 10 千兆瓦的再生能源。

And earlier this week, in partnership with the French government, we announced a EUR20 billion infrastructure investment program to support the deployment of artificial intelligence in France. All of the above is helpful in driving performance and adding to our strong track record of delivering for our clients.

本週早些時候，我們與法國政府合作，宣布了一項 200 億歐元的基礎設施投資計劃，以支援在法國部署人工智慧。以上所有內容都有助於提高績效並增強我們為客戶提供優質服務的良好記錄。

Although the M&A market was slower in 2024, there was a strong demand for essential assets and businesses with robust cash flows. Given the makeup of our portfolio, we were able to sell investments valued at nearly $40 billion, monetizing $30 billion of equity capital.

儘管 2024 年併購市場成長放緩，但對重要資產和現金流強勁的企業的需求仍然強勁。鑑於我們投資組合的組成，我們能夠出售價值近 400 億美元的投資，將 300 億美元的股本貨幣化。

A good example of this was the partial sale of our ICD Brookfield Place, which was one of the highest value real estate transactions ever completed in the Middle East. We also made significant strides in expanding our capabilities, advancing our leadership position across the fastest-growing areas in the alternative space and laying the groundwork for our long-term growth.

一個很好的例子就是我們 ICD Brookfield Place 的部分出售，這是中東有史以來完成的最高價值的房地產交易之一。我們也在擴展我們的能力、提升我們在替代領域成長最快的領域的領導地位以及為我們的長期成長奠定基礎方面取得了重大進展。

It was this time last year that we formally launched our credit group, which brought together our long-standing credit capabilities across the firm with our growing portfolio of credit-focused partner managers. The purpose was to coordinate our credit strategies across asset classes and to accelerate the growth of this business, and we are already seeing meaningful benefits of these efforts. We continue to scale our strategies, build out new capabilities in key growth areas and expanded our platform with new clients and manager partnerships.

去年這個時候，我們正式成立了信貸集團，將我們公司長期以來的信貸能力與我們不斷增長的以信貸為重點的合作夥伴經理組合整合在一起。目的是協調我們跨資產類別的信貸策略並加速該業務的成長，我們已經看到了這些努力帶來的顯著效益。我們繼續擴大我們的策略，在關鍵成長領域建立新的能力，並透過新客戶和經理合作夥伴關係擴展我們的平台。

As a result, 60% of this year's organic capital raise came from our credit business. Today, our credit group is our largest business by assets with nearly $250 billion of fee-bearing capital and is poised to help drive continued growth in 2025. Our scale, strong relationships, global footprint and deep expertise in real assets and corporate credit have given us a meaningful advantage in building out our credit platform. These credit strategies benefit from proprietary deal flow, access to our specialized equity teams for underwriting and our operating capabilities to conduct thorough due diligence and enhanced downside protection through asset management.

因此，今年有機資本籌集的 60% 來自我們的信貸業務。如今，我們的信貸集團是我們資產規模最大的業務，擁有近 2,500 億美元的收費資本，並預計在 2025 年推動持續成長。我們的規模、牢固的關係、全球影響力以及在實體資產和企業信貸方面的深厚專業知識，為我們建立信貸平台提供了顯著的優勢。這些信貸策略受益於專有交易流程、我們專業的股權團隊承銷以及我們透過資產管理進行徹底盡職調查和增強下行保護的營運能力。

We also invested in and partnered with managers with leadership positions in key areas of growth, including within the private credit market. This year, we acquired a 51% stake in Castlelake, adding aviation and asset-based finance capabilities to existing Brookfield expertise in corporate and opportunistic credit, equipment and consumer finance, music royalties and now, blending. This extended our leadership position as one of the most comprehensive credit managers in the alternative space. This is separate from our dominant franchises in infrastructure, renewables, real estate and private equity.

我們也對在關鍵成長領域（包括私人信貸市場）擔任領導職務的管理人員進行了投資並與他們建立了合作關係。今年，我們收購了 Castlelake 51% 的股份，為 Brookfield 在企業和機會信貸、設備和消費者金融、音樂版稅以及現在的混合領域的現有專業知識增添了航空和資產融資能力。這鞏固了我們作為另類信貸領域最全面的信貸管理者之一的領導地位。這與我們在基礎設施、再生能源、房地產和私募股權領域的主導特許經營權不同。

Lastly, we scaled our investment-grade credit team to support growing client demand. By leveraging the Brookfield ecosystem, we are sourcing and underwriting proprietary opportunities for our insurance clients who want investment-grade private credit. For example, our mandate with Brookfield Wealth Solutions continues to grow as their capital deployment needs expand. And we have begun to offer these capabilities to other third-party insurers. Going forward, we expect significant growth in this channel.

最後，我們擴大了投資級信貸團隊，以支援不斷增長的客戶需求。透過利用 Brookfield 生態系統，我們為需要投資等級私人信貸的保險客戶尋找和承保專有機會。例如，隨著 Brookfield Wealth Solutions 資本部署需求的擴大，我們對其的授權也隨之增加。我們已經開始向其他第三方保險公司提供這些功能。展望未來，我們預計該管道將實現顯著成長。

Our progress over the past year and the investments we have made to expand our global footprint in fundraising channels positions us well for an excellent year for fundraising, deployment and monetization in 2025. Transaction volume is further picking up, enabling managers across the sector to return more capital to their clients. This is, in turn, giving partners renewed liquidity, creating a more favorable backdrop for capital raising.

我們在過去一年中取得的進展以及我們為擴大籌款管道的全球影響力所做的投資，使我們在 2025 年成為籌款、部署和貨幣化的絕佳年份。交易量進一步回升，使得整個產業的管理者能夠向客戶返還更多資本。這反過來又為合作夥伴提供了新的流動性，為籌集資金創造了更有利的背景。

On the fundraising front, we expect our latest flagship rounds to be over 15% larger than their previous vintages. We are finishing raising two flagship funds, the fifth vintage of our real estate flagship fund and the second vintage of our global transition flagship fund, both of which are slated for final close in the first half of 2025.

在融資方面，我們預計最新一輪旗艦融資將比以往的融資規模高出 15% 以上。我們即將完成兩隻旗艦基金的募集，即我們的房地產旗艦基金的第五隻以及我們的全球轉型旗艦基金的第二個基金，這兩隻基金都計劃於 2025 年上半年完成最終募集。

Our 12th opportunistic credit fund closed in January with a total strategy size of $16 billion. As a reminder, our flagship franchises form the basis upon which we build our complementary strategies, which should contribute to much of our fundraising growth in 2025.

我們的第 12 個機會信貸基金於 1 月關閉，總策略規模為 160 億美元。提醒一下，我們的旗艦特許經營權是我們制定補充策略的基礎，這應該會為我們 2025 年的籌款成長做出很大貢獻。

Across our complementary strategies, we are seeing strong momentum for a number of new products, such as our Catalytic Transition Fund, our Financial Infrastructure Fund, our Middle East Private Equity Fund and our Infrastructure Structured Solutions Fund.

在我們的互補策略中，我們看到許多新產品的強勁發展勢頭，例如我們的催化轉型基金、金融基礎設施基金、中東私募股權基金和基礎設施結構化解決方案基金。

Other complementary strategies of note that are in the market are our second private equity Special Investments Fund, the seventh vintage of our Real Estate Debt Fund and the fourth vintage of our infrastructure Debt Fund, already the largest strategy of its kind and expected to be meaningfully bigger than the previous vintage.

市場上其他值得注意的補充策略包括我們的第二個私募股權特別投資基金、我們的第七個房地產債務基金和我們的第四個基礎設施債務基金，這已經是同類中最大的策略，預計其規模將比上一個策略更大。

The continued build-out of our complementary strategies, including with our partner managers, will contribute more to our fundraising this year than ever before, while also serving to diversify both our business and our suite of products and strategies for our clients. Another area of significant growth is our insurance fundraising channel.

我們將繼續制定互補策略，包括與我們的合作夥伴經理合作，這將為我們今年的籌款做出比以往更多的貢獻，同時也有助於使我們的業務以及我們為客戶提供的產品和戰略套件多樣化。另一個顯著成長的領域是我們的保險募款管道。

Annual inflows from this channel are on track to grow in excess of $25 billion per year across retail annuities, pension risk transfer and other initiatives. We are also expanding this channel as we expect to sign additional SMAs with more insurance firms this year.

透過零售年金、退休金風險轉移和其他舉措，該通路的年度流入量預計將增加超過 250 億美元。我們也正在擴大這一管道，因為我們預計今年將與更多保險公司簽署更多 SMA。

Lastly, our private wealth channels growth over the past few years should continue. Alongside our drawdown funds, we have four dedicated private wealth strategies, including infrastructure, real estate and two credit strategies. We are very excited about what is to come on this front.

最後，我們的私人財富管道在過去幾年的成長應該會持續下去。除了提取基金外，我們還有四種專門的私人財富策略，包括基礎設施、房地產和兩種信貸策略。我們對這一領域的未來感到非常興奮。

Transaction volume picking up is good for fundraising, but it should also enable us to monetize investments in which our operating expertise has created value and our investments have been derisked, positioning 2025 to be a strong environment for capital recycling. Further, the year has started with a robust credit environment that is particularly favorable to our high-quality real asset focus.

交易量的回升有利於籌集資金，但它也使我們能夠將我們的營運專業知識創造價值且我們的投資風險降低的投資貨幣化，從而使 2025 年成為資本循環的強勁環境。此外，今年的開局信貸環境強勁，這尤其有利於我們專注於高品質的實體資產。

Since the start of the year, we completed a $5 billion up financing of Clarios, our US-based battery maker, which supported a $4.5 billion distribution to Brookfield and our partners, which compares to the $3 billion to acquire 100% of the business. While the scale of such a transaction is significant, pricing was broadly in line with previously issued debt, and the offering was multiple times oversubscribed.

自今年年初以來，我們完成了對美國電池製造商 Clarios 的 50 億美元融資，這筆融資支持了我們向 Brookfield 及其合作夥伴分配 45 億美元，而收購該業務 100% 的資金為 30 億美元。雖然此類交易規模龐大，但定價與先前發行的債券基本一致，而且發行獲得了數倍超額認購。

Similarly, we recently executed a $6 billion refinancing of our Intel investment, terming out the maturities far ahead of schedule and at much tighter rates than underwriting. While these examples are both specific and recent, we are seeing broad-based support for the financing of our high-quality portfolio, demonstrated by the more than $130 billion of financings we completed in 2024. At the same time, short-term dislocations, alongside the long-term secular trends Bruce outlined, are creating attractive entry points to deploy capital at compelling valuations.

同樣，我們最近對英特爾投資進行了 60 億美元的再融資，期限遠遠提前，利率比承銷時低得多。雖然這些例子既具體又近期，但我們看到對我們高品質投資組合融資的廣泛支持，這從我們在 2024 年完成的超過 1300 億美元的融資中可以看出。與此同時，短期混亂以及布魯斯概述的長期趨勢正在創造有吸引力的切入點，以令人信服的估值部署資本。

Trillions of dollars are needed to develop data centers, telecom towers, fiber, semiconductor manufacturing, automation assets, and of course, power supply and transmission, all at a time while governments and traditional capital sources remain constrained. There are also select situations with near-term debt maturities that should create opportunities for us to acquire high-quality assets burdened by overlevered capital structures. Our global reach and operational expertise, alongside our scale, gives us the capabilities to pursue transactions that few others can.

需要數兆美元來開發資料中心、電信塔、光纖、半導體製造、自動化資產，當然還有電力供應和傳輸，而政府和傳統資本來源仍然受到限制。還有一些近期債務到期的特定情況，應該為我們創造機會，收購因資本結構過度槓桿化而負擔沉重的高品質資產。我們的全球影響力和營運專長，加上我們的規模，使我們有能力進行其他人無法進行的交易。

We are entering 2025 with strong momentum across our business. Coupled with a more favorable market environment and our expanded suite of capabilities, we are optimistic about delivering strong results this year and beyond. With that, we will turn the call over to Hadley to cover our financial results.

我們正以強勁的業務勢頭邁入 2025 年。加上更有利的市場環境和我們擴展的能力，我們對今年及以後取得強勁業績充滿信心。接下來，我們將把電話轉給哈德利來介紹我們的財務表現。

Thank you, Connor, and good morning to everyone. Today, I have the pleasure of discussing our strong fourth quarter performance and announcing our 2025 dividend increase. We had record fee-related earnings, distributable earnings and fundraising in the fourth quarter. Fee-related earnings, or FRE, was $677 million or $0.42 per share in the quarter, up 17% from the prior year period, bringing FRE over the last 12 months to $2.5 billion. Given the operating leverage in our business, this growth also benefited our margins, which were 59% in the quarter.

謝謝你，康納，大家早安。今天，我很高興討論我們強勁的第四季度業績並宣布我們 2025 年的股息增加。我們在第四季度實現了創紀錄的費用相關收益、可分配收益和融資。本季費用相關收益（FRE）為 6.77 億美元，即每股 0.42 美元，較去年同期成長 17%，使過去 12 個月的 FRE 達到 25 億美元。考慮到我們業務的經營槓桿，這一成長也使我們的利潤率受益，本季我們的利潤率為 59%。

Distributable earnings, or DE, were $649 million or $0.40 per share in the quarter, up 11% from the prior year period, bringing the last 12 months to $2.4 billion. The driver of growth in our earnings was related to our strong fundraising for the year that included $108 billion that became fee-bearing capital, or FBC, and our deployment of which $21 billion became FBC. This was offset by $18 billion of capital returned to clients and $9 billion of changes to mark-to-market valuation. All in, FBC grew by 18% over the past year or $82 billion to a total of $539 billion.

本季可分配收益（DE）為 6.49 億美元，即每股 0.40 美元，較去年同期成長 11%，使過去 12 個月的可分配收益達到 24 億美元。我們獲利成長的動力與我們今年強勁的籌資有關，其中包括 1,080 億美元成為收費資本（FBC），以及我們部署的 210 億美元成為 FBC。這被返還給客戶的 180 億美元資本和 90 億美元的市價估值變化所抵消。總體而言，FBC 在過去一年中成長了 18%，即 820 億美元，總額達到 5,390 億美元。

For the fourth quarter, we had our strongest organic fundraising quarter ever, with $29 billion of capital raised across over 40 strategies. Breaking it down by group, in our renewable power and transition business, we raised over $4 billion of capital in the quarter. This includes $3.5 billion for the second vintage of our global transition flagship strategy, which now stands at $14 billion. We expect to hold a final close for this fund in the first half of 2025.

第四季是我們有史以來最強勁的有機融資季度，透過 40 多種策略籌集了 290 億美元的資金。按集團細分，在我們的再生能源和轉型業務中，我們在本季籌集了超過 40 億美元的資金。其中包括為我們全球轉型旗艦策略的第二階段投入的 35 億美元，目前該策略已達 140 億美元。我們預計將於 2025 年上半年完成該基金的最終募集。

In our infrastructure business, we raised $2.5 billion of capital in the quarter, including $700 million for our super core infrastructure strategy, our strongest quarter in over two years. We also raised nearly $700 million for our private wealth infrastructure fund, a strategy that continues to see strong demand. And finally, we raised $20 billion of capital in our credit group. This includes over $10 billion raised across Oaktree and our other partner managers. Much of this is not fee-bearing capital and will begin generating fees upon deployment.

在我們的基礎設施業務中，我們在本季度籌集了 25 億美元的資金，其中包括 7 億美元用於我們的超級核心基礎設施策略，這是我們兩年多來最強勁的一個季度。我們也為私人財富基礎設施基金籌集了近 7 億美元，這項策略持續受到強勁需求。最後，我們的信貸集團籌集了 200 億美元的資金。其中包括 Oaktree 和我們的其他合作夥伴管理公司籌集的超過 100 億美元。其中大部分不是收費資本，部署後就會開始產生費用。

We raised nearly $7 billion from insurance clients, including Brookfield Wealth Solutions. And to round out our credit group, we launched our fourth vintage of our infrastructure debt fund. We're very pleased with the early momentum of the strategy that has been growing client demand and expect it to be larger than its predecessor. Overall, our credit group raised over $100 billion in the year, the largest contributor to our fundraising in 2024.

我們從包括 Brookfield Wealth Solutions 在內的保險客戶中籌集了近 70 億美元。為了改善我們的信貸集團，我們推出了第四期基礎設施債務基金。我們對該策略的早期勢頭感到非常高興，該策略一直在不斷增長客戶需求，並預計其規模將比其前身更大。總體而言，我們的信貸集團今年籌集了超過 1000 億美元，成為我們 2024 年籌款的最大貢獻者。

In summary, this quarter was a strong end to a year that brought in over $135 billion of capital, and this fundraising momentum across our diversified strategies is already carrying over to 2025. Another key strategic initiative we laid out last year was to simplify our corporate structure, positioning our shares for inclusion in a broader range of indices. I'm pleased to report that last week, we closed on the transaction to swap Brookfield Corporation's 73% private ownership in our asset management business for an equivalent interest in public shares of Brookfield Asset Management.

總而言之，本季為全年帶來了超過 1,350 億美元的資本，為全年畫上了圓滿的句號，而且我們多元化戰略的籌資勢頭已經延續到 2025 年。我們去年制定的另一項重要策略措施是簡化公司結構，使我們的股票納入更廣泛的指數。我很高興地報告，上週我們完成了交易，將布魯克菲爾德公司在我們資產管理業務中的 73% 私人所有權換成布魯克菲爾德資產管理公司等量的公開股份。

This transaction means that the full value of our asset management business, which is now approaching $100 billion, is now reflected in Brookfield Asset Management's market capitalization. This step, along with other initiatives we have undertaken, set the stage for broader index inclusion soon, particularly within US-based indices, allowing us to diversify our shareholder base and access deeper pools of public capital.

此交易意味著我們資產管理業務的全部價值（目前已接近 1,000 億美元）已反映在 Brookfield Asset Management 的市值中。此舉以及我們採取的其他舉措為很快更廣泛的指數納入奠定了基礎，特別是在美國指數內，使我們能夠實現股東基礎多元化並獲得更深層次的公共資本池。

Our strong balance sheet and our liquidity position gives us significant capacity to support growth initiatives. We ended the quarter with $1.8 billion of liquidity, comprised of cash, short-term financial assets and undrawn capacity on our $750 million revolving credit facility.

我們強大的資產負債表和流動性狀況使我們有能力支持成長計劃。本季末，我們的流動資金為 18 億美元，包括現金、短期金融資產和 7.5 億美元循環信貸額度的未動用額度。

And as a reminder, we continue to operate with no third-party debt on our balance sheet, but currently have capacity to issue up to $5 billion of debt at strong investment-grade levels, a capacity that can be used to fund significant growth in our business and that will only grow as our distributable earnings growth.

需要提醒的是，我們的資產負債表上繼續沒有第三方債務，但目前有能力發行高達 50 億美元的強勁投資級債務，這種能力可用於資助我們業務的大幅增長，並且只會隨著可分配收益的增長而增長。

In conclusion, there is strong momentum for us to continue attracting scale capital from a diversified set of fundraising channels. We see strong opportunities to invest this money across all of our businesses and achieve capital recycling that will deliver attractive risk-adjusted returns for our investors.

總而言之，我們有強勁的勢頭繼續從多元化的籌資管道吸引規模資本。我們看到了將這筆資金投資於我們所有業務並實現資本循環的巨大機會，這將為我們的投資者帶來有吸引力的風險調整回報。

With our strong financial position and significant growth prospects ahead, I'm pleased to confirm that the Board of Directors of Brookfield Asset Management have declared a quarterly dividend increase of 15% to an annualized rate of or $1.75 or $0.4375 per share per quarter. The dividend will be payable on March 31, 2025, to shareholders of record as of the close of business on February 28, 2025.

憑藉我們強大的財務狀況和未來顯著的成長前景，我很高興地確認，布魯克菲爾德資產管理公司董事會已宣布將季度股息提高 15%，達到年化率或每季每股 1.75 美元或 0.4375 美元。股利將於 2025 年 3 月 31 日支付給 2025 年 2 月 28 日營業結束時登記在冊的股東。

That wraps up our remarks for the morning. We'd like to thank you for joining the call, and we'll now open it up for questions. Operator?

我們上午的發言到此結束。感謝您參加電話會議，現在我們將開始回答問題。接線生？

(Operator Instructions)

（操作員指示）

Cherilyn Radbourne, TD Securities.

Cherilyn Radbourne，道明證券。

Thanks very much and good morning. You note in the letter to shareholders that we're in kind of an anomalous situation where conditions are favorable for both capital deployment and asset monetization. How long do you think that environment can persist? And I guess, how do you position the business to take maximum advantage of it?

非常感謝，早安。您在致股東的信中指出，我們正處於一種異常情況，即條件有利於資本部署和資產貨幣化。您認為這種環境可以持續多久？我想問一下，您該如何定位業務才能最大程度地利用它？

Good morning, Cherilyn. The dynamic in the market that you're seeing is very, very dependent, official for us. And what Cherilyn is referencing is, on one side, there is tremendous liquidity in markets right now. Sentiment, particularly in the asset classes where we have leadership positions and the most activity, is very, very robust.

早安，Cherilyn。您所看到的市場動態對於我們來說非常非常依賴官方資訊。Cherilyn 提到的是，一方面，目前市場流動性龐大。市場情緒，特別是在我們佔據領導地位且活動最多的資產類別中，非常非常強勁。

And then lastly, there's a very significant pipeline of sales processes and bilateral discussions ongoing. And this creates a very attractive market for us to monetize our high-quality businesses into.

最後，還有一系列非常重要的銷售流程和雙邊討論正在進行中。這為我們創造了一個非常有吸引力的市場，讓我們能夠將高品質的業務貨幣化。

At the same time, the capital needs in the key themes that Bruce mentioned in his remarks are so significant that they really favor those investors with scale and operating expertise. That creates an opportunity for us on the deployment side.

同時，布魯斯在演講中提到的關鍵主題的資本需求非常大，因此它們確實青睞那些擁有規模和營運專業知識的投資者。這為我們在部署方面創造了機會。

And then similarly, there are still a tail of situations of businesses that do not have appropriate capital structures in the current interest rate environment that create deep value buying opportunities for us across our core focuses.

同樣，在當前利率環境下，仍有一些企業沒有適當的資本結構，這為我們在核心重點領域創造了深度價值購買機會。

How long can this last? We very much expect it to last the duration of this year, which is why we're so bullish about the outlook for our business, and there is the potential it lasts longer than that.

這能持續多久？我們非常希望這種勢頭能夠持續一整年，這也是為什麼我們對業務前景如此樂觀，而且這種勢頭有可能持續更長時間。

Great. And then separately, you mentioned the potential for the 401(k) market to be open to alternative strategies. What do you see as the likely time line for that? And by how much would that increase the addressable market for alternative managers?

偉大的。然後，您另外提到了 401（k）市場對替代策略開放的潛力。您認為實現這一目標的可能時間表是怎樣的？這又會在多大程度上擴大另類經理人的潛在市場呢？

The timing of that is no doubt uncertain, but it seems increasingly positive each day. If and when this is to happen, we feel we're exceedingly well positioned. Our focus on long duration inflation index asset classes and credit would really lend us well towards appealing to the pool of capital, and therefore, it's something that we remain ready and focused on should the regulation change.

毫無疑問，這一刻尚不確定，但情況似乎每天都在變得越來越積極。如果這種情況真的發生，我們覺得自己已經處於極度有利的位置。我們對長期通膨指數資產類別和信貸的關注確實有助於我們吸引資本池，因此，如果監管發生變化，我們會做好準備並專注於此。

That's my queue. Thank you.

這是我的隊列。謝謝。

Alexander Blostein, Goldman Sachs.

高盛的亞歷山大·布洛斯坦。

Hi, good morning, everybody. Thank you for the question. I was hoping that we could start with a question around fundraising. In the shareholder letter, Bruce, I think you touched on your outlook for 2025, highlighting accelerating organic fundraising relative to 2024, which I think was about $87 billion. So could you expand, I guess, in your outlook for '25 relative to what you saw organically last year? And what are some of the larger drivers that you expect to be contributing to this outlook?

大家好，早安。謝謝你的提問。我希望我們可以從有關籌款的問題開始。布魯斯，我認為在致股東的信中，您談到了對 2025 年的展望，強調了相對於 2024 年有機融資的加速，我認為約為 870 億美元。那麼，我想問一下，您能否根據去年的情況，進一步闡述一下對 25 年的展望？您認為哪些較大的驅動因素會對這個前景產生影響？

For sure. So there's no doubt we're feeling very, very good about 2025 fundraising. And you're absolutely right. We do expect it to be better than 2024. And maybe just to go through the components of that. If we think about our flagships, first and foremost, we have two flagships that are in the market that we expect to finish during 2025. And we expect to launch an additional flagship this year.

一定。因此毫無疑問我們對 2025 年的募款感到非常非常滿意。你說得完全正確。我們確實預計它會比 2024 年更好。也許我們只是想了解其中的各個組成部分。如果我們考慮我們的旗艦產品，首先，我們有兩款旗艦產品在市場上，我們預計將於 2025 年完成。我們預計今年將推出另一款旗艦產品。

Then turning to complementary strategies. We very much expect 2025 to be the largest year for fundraising ever for Brookfield in terms of complementary strategies, and that's a function of one, both bigger sizes, and two, new additional products in the market. And then lastly, if you look to our insurance as well as our high net worth fundraising channels, we expect those as well to be bigger than last year. So if you look at each of the components of our fundraising, they are all neutral or up versus 2024, and that is why we expect 2025 to be better.

然後轉向補充策略。我們非常期待 2025 年成為 Brookfield 在互補策略方面籌資規模最大的一年，這一方面是由於規模擴大，另一方面是由於市場上出現了新的附加產品。最後，如果你看看我們的保險以及高淨值籌款管道，我們預計它們也會比去年更大。因此，如果你看我們籌款的每個組成部分，它們與 2024 年相比都是中性的或上升的，這就是我們預計 2025 年會更好的原因。

Great. That's really helpful. My second question is around opportunities in an investment-grade private credit. Lots of optimism in this part of the market. And I think most folks would argue that origination capabilities is really kind of like the binding constraint in growing in this part of the space. So I was hoping you guys could spend a couple of minutes on that? And in the past, you've highlighted about $100 billion of financing that you currently kind of do with The Street or sort of the flow that touches BAM ecosystem. How much of that do you think could internally be ultimately internalized, right, whether through the insurance sub or through third-party capital? And as you think about building that further out, what are your thoughts about creating your own capital markets syndication capabilities from an incremental way to sort of capitalize on this trend?

偉大的。這真的很有幫助。我的第二個問題是關於投資等級私人信貸的機會。市場對這一部分充滿樂觀情緒。我認為大多數人會認為發起能力實際上就像是這一領域成長的約束條件。所以我希望你們能花幾分鐘來討論這個問題？過去，您曾強調目前與華爾街合作進行的約 1000 億美元融資，或涉及 BAM 生態系統的融資流程。您認為其中有多少最終可以在內部實現內部化，對嗎，無論是透過保險子公司還是透過第三方資本？當您考慮進一步建立這個體系時，您如何看待以漸進的方式創建自己的資本市場聯合能力，以利用這一趨勢？

Good morning, Alex. This is Hadley, so I'll take that one.

早安，亞歷克斯。這是哈德利，所以我就選這個。

You're right. We do see that as a big opportunity, especially as we've grown our capability to procure capital in the insurance space and their needs around investment-grade credit. We're very active in this space. If you think about our foundation around infrastructure and real estate, that is a good area for us to continue to ramp up our capabilities there, where we're already doing a lot in that space, including investment-grade.

你說得對。我們確實認為這是一個巨大的機遇，特別是當我們在保險領域籌集資本的能力不斷增強，並且滿足了他們對投資等級信貸的需求時。我們在這個領域非常活躍。如果你考慮我們在基礎設施和房地產方面的基礎，那麼這對我們繼續提升我們在那裡的能力是一個很好的領域，我們已經在該領域做了很多工作，包括投資級。

And then course within Oaktree, that's another avenue for us on the investment-grade side. And then more and more, we are focused on the corporate side, the direct lending across our franchise broadly within Brookfield and our partner managers.

當然，在橡樹資本 (Oaktree) 內部，這是我們在投資等級方面的另一條途徑。然後，我們越來越多地關注企業方面，即在 Brookfield 內部和我們的合作夥伴經理範圍內的特許經營直接貸款。

So the opportunity set is there for us, and we continue to expand our capabilities and raise capital associated with that. And then when you think about capital markets and the capabilities there, we do have this capability, and that will be an additional lever not only to earn fees, but to find opportunities that fit the investment-grade landscape for our clients.

因此，機會就擺在我們面前，我們將繼續擴大我們的能力並籌集相關資金。然後，當您考慮資本市場及其能力時，我們確實擁有這種能力，這不僅可以成為賺取費用的額外槓桿，還可以為我們的客戶找到適合投資等級環境的機會。

I got you. All right, thank you. Thanks everybody.

我接到你了。好的，謝謝。謝謝大家。

Ben Rubin, UBS.

瑞銀的本·魯賓。

Hi, thanks for taking my questions. I was hoping to get a mark-to-market on your private wealth business. I believe at Investor Day, you mentioned that you expect that business to grow at a pretty decent clip, 30% to 50% over the coming years. So just curious what enhancements you're making, both from a product and distribution standpoint, to help take shelf space in a relatively crowded channel? Thank you.

你好，謝謝你回答我的問題。我希望能夠對您的私人財富業務進行市價調整。我相信在投資者日上，您提到過，您預計未來幾年業務將以相當不錯的速度成長，達到 30% 至 50%。所以我很好奇，從產品和分銷的角度來看，你們做了哪些改進，以幫助在相對擁擠的渠道中佔據貨架空間？謝謝。

Sure. So when it comes to our growth in the retail and high net worth channel, there's probably three things we'd highlight. One, we've already raised $20 billion in this channel, and we raise more each year through a function of both more products as well as being on more platforms, as you mentioned. The second thing we would highlight is today, we're really doing the bulk of our fundraising through four retail-focused products, two in credit, one in infrastructure.

當然。因此，當談到我們在零售和高淨值通路的成長時，我們可能會強調三件事。首先，我們已經透過這個管道籌集了 200 億美元，正如您所說，我們每年都會透過更多產品和更多平台籌集更多資金。我們今天要強調的第二件事是，我們的大部分融資實際上是透過四種以零售為重點的產品進行的，其中兩種是信貸產品，一種是基礎設施產品。

And the -- what is unique and cannot be understated is in a number of those products, we're actually turning down capital. That is how strong the demand is for these types of products. And we're doing that to stay very disciplined around our deployment, and that's how we think the most appropriate way to scale these products are over an extended period of time. Which really brings us to our third point, which is just the forecast and the trajectory of this business. We mentioned 30% to 50% at Investor Day last year. I would say we feel very good about those numbers, if not more positive today.

而且 — — 獨特且不可低估的是，在許多產品中，我們實際上拒絕了資本。這就是這類產品的需求有多強烈。我們這樣做是為了在部署過程中保持高度紀律性，我們認為這是在較長時間內擴展這些產品的最合適方式。這實際上引出了我們的第三點，即這項業務的預測和發展軌跡。我們在去年的投資者日上提到了30%到50%。我想說，我們對這些數字感到非常滿意，甚至今天感覺更積極。

That's great. My second question is more about the new administration's approach to tariffs. Given your new -- given your business spans across both regions, what type of operational risk or disruption would a potential US, Canadian trade war present to your cross-border business? Thank you.

那太棒了。我的第二個問題是關於新政府的關稅方針。鑑於您的業務橫跨兩個地區，潛在的美國和加拿大貿易戰會為您的跨境業務帶來什麼樣的營運風險或乾擾？謝謝。

For sure. So I think it's important to recognize our business is very domestically oriented. We own infrastructure and real assets that are integrated into the local communities that we operate in, and we're local in every market that we invest in around the world. And really, only a small portion of our business focuses on goods and services that travel across borders.

一定。因此我認為認識到我們的業務非常以國內為導向非常重要。我們擁有融入我們經營所在地社區的基礎設施和實體資產，並且我們在全球投資的每個市場都具有在地化特色。事實上，我們的業務中只有一小部分涉及跨境運輸的商品和服務。

The second thing we would highlight is we invest in critical infrastructure assets that's the backbone of the global economy. These tend to be assets that have very inelastic demand in our index to inflation. So the bulk of our business will be largely insulated from any price increases as a result of tariffs, if they are to be implemented.

我們要強調的第二件事是，我們投資於作為全球經濟支柱的關鍵基礎設施資產。在我們的通膨指數中，這些資產的需求往往非常缺乏彈性。因此，如果實施關稅，我們的大部分業務基本上不會受到關稅導致的價格上漲的影響。

And that probably brings us to our last point, which is whenever there are changes like this in regulation or administration around the world, we always find those changes lend themselves to the largest businesses with the greatest operating capability through which to manage through those changes. And in that category, we feel we're second to none. So it's something we're following closely, but we expect our business to be very largely insulated and it's not going to change our strategies or our growth prospects.

這或許將引出我們的最​​後一點，那就是每當世界各地的法規或行政管理發生這樣的變化時，我們總會發現這些變化有利於擁有最強大營運能力的最大企業應對這些變化。在這一類別中，我們認為自己是首屈一指的。所以這是我們密切關注的事情，但我們預計我們的業務將在很大程度上受到保護，並且它不會改變我們的策略或成長前景。

Great, thank you for taking my questions.

太好了，謝謝你回答我的問題。

Michael Cyprys, Morgan Stanley.

摩根士丹利的麥可‧賽普里斯 (Michael Cyprys)。

Oh hey, good morning. Thanks for taking the question. Just wanted to come back to your announcement in France, just around data centers, [EUR20 billion], large announcement there. Can you just talk about your ambitions, the opportunity set that you see there? How you see this $20 billion coming together across the capital structure across your funds?

噢嘿，早安。感謝您回答這個問題。我只是想回到您在法國發布的有關資料中心的公告，[200 億歐元]，這是一個重大公告。您能談談您的抱負以及您在那裡看到的機會嗎？您如何看待這 200 億美元在您各個基金的資本結構中聚集？

And then just more broadly, if you could talk about the deployment opportunity you see around AI and data centers over the next couple of years, particularly post the DeepSeek development that suggests we may require a bit less data centers and less power than previously thought? Just given lower cost of compute, how are you thinking about all that? Thank you.

然後更廣泛地說，您是否可以談談未來幾年在人工智慧和資料中心方面看到的部署機會，特別是在 DeepSeek 開發之後，這表明我們可能需要比以前想像的更少的資料中心和更少的電力？考慮到計算成本較低，您如何看待這一切？謝謝。

Certainly. So a big topic. Let's break that down into buckets. Maybe just as it pertains to the announcement in France, the key takeaways here is there are still very, very significant demand from sovereigns and corporates for capital to invest in the infrastructure that supports AI build-out going forward. And the reality of those large-scale opportunities is they're not available to everyone. They are available to those that have the real estate, the infrastructure and the power capabilities today, as well as the platforms and the capital and pipeline to capture this near-term opportunity. And given the size of our power business, the size of our data center platform within our infrastructure business and our long-standing real estate franchise, we do feel that we can be leading in this asset class by a significant margin. The -- and we think the announcement in France is representative of that and very much representative of other type things that we'll be able to do in the future.

當然。這是一個大話題。讓我們將其分解成幾個部分。也許就像法國的聲明一樣，這裡的關鍵點是，主權國家和企業對投資支持未來人工智慧建設的基礎設施的資本需求仍然非常大。但現實是，這些大規模的機會並不是每個人都能獲得的。那些擁有房地產、基礎設施和電力能力以及平台、資本和管道來抓住這個短期機會的人可以獲得這些機會。考慮到我們的電力業務規模、基礎設施業務中的資料中心平台規模以及我們長期的房地產特許經營權，我們確實認為我們可以在這一資產類別中保持領先地位。我們認為，法國的聲明就代表了這一點，也非常具有代表性，代表了我們將來能夠做的其他事情。

To where we will deploy capital into this space, it is across the capital stack and across the value chain. So it's into the equity, it's into the debt that supports the build-out. This is a huge opportunity for our credit franchise, but it's important to recognize this is not just funding the racks and the shelves. This is funding the chips. This is funding the power. This is funding the entire supply chain, and we certainly have the scale and pools of capital with which to do that.

我們將把資本部署到這個領域，跨越資本堆疊和價值鏈。因此，它是股權，它是支持建設的債務。對於我們的信貸特許經營來說，這是一個巨大的機會，但重要的是要認識到這不僅僅是為貨架和貨架提供資金。這是為晶片提供資金。這就是為權力提供資金。這是對整個供應鏈的資助，我們當然擁有足夠的規模和資金池來實現這一點。

And then maybe to the last comment just around DeepSeek and some of the narratives around those headlines. There's really two important things in our minds to recognize. One is the demand forecast for AI infrastructure was so meaningfully higher and above what the market could reasonably supply from the supply side. And even if there were efficiencies that were to reduce demand a significant amount going forward, the supply-demand imbalance is still very much in favor of the supplier and the developer, which creates a strong opportunity for us. We don't build on spec in this space. We only build against long-term contracts with large hyperscalers, some of the greatest credit counterparties around the world. And therefore, the DeepSeek headlines are not changing our approach.

然後也許是關於 DeepSeek 的最後一條評論以及圍繞這些標題的一些敘述。在我們的頭腦中確實有兩件重要的事情需要認識。一是人工智慧基礎設施的需求預測明顯高於市場供應能力。即使未來效率的提高會大幅減少需求，但供需失衡仍然對供應商和開發商有利，這為我們創造了巨大的機會。我們不會在這個領域按照規格建造。我們僅與大型超大規模企業簽訂長期合同，這些企業是全球最大的信貸交易對手之一。因此，DeepSeek 的標題並沒有改變我們的方法。

The second point and maybe to wrap up on this topic is, it would be crazy to assume that with a technology as large and as fast-growing as artificial intelligence, that there would not be efficiency gains going forward. And those efficiency gains are very expected. And as they will bring down or potentially bring down the cost of artificial intelligence, they're only going to make that product more available to a wide variety of users. And that will create more widespread demand going forward, which obviously increases demand for the AI infrastructure that we seek to finance. So we're following these headlines closely, but we view it all as business as usual and still a huge opportunity for us going forward.

第二點，或許可以總結這個主題：如果認為像人工智慧這樣規模龐大、發展迅速的技術，未來不會提高效率，那就太瘋狂了。這些效率的提升是非常預期的。而且，隨著他們降低或可能降低人工智慧的成本，他們只會讓該產品更容易被更廣泛的用戶使用。這將在未來創造更廣泛的需求，這顯然會增加我們尋求資助的人工智慧基礎設施的需求。因此，我們密切關注這些頭條新聞，但我們認為這一切都是正常的，並且對我們未來的發展仍然是一個巨大的機會。

Great. And just a follow-up question, sticking with the AI topic. You had mentioned -- Bruce has mentioned earlier on the call, just that you are using AI to drive automation, productivity to support your investment teams across the organization. I hope you could elaborate on that a bit more. If you could speak to the use cases, how many you've identified, how many you have in production? What sort of impact you've seen? How do you see this evolving? And what steps are you looking to take here in '25 to better capture the opportunity within your own business?

偉大的。這只是一個後續問題，繼續圍繞著人工智慧主題。您曾提到—布魯斯在電話會議中早些時候提到過，您正在使用人工智慧來推動自動化和生產力，以支援整個組織的投資團隊。我希望您能對此進行更詳細的說明。如果您可以談談用例，您已經確定了多少個，有多少個已在生產中？您看到了什麼樣的影響？您如何看待這項發展？您希望在 25 年採取哪些措施來更好地抓住您自己業務中的機會？

Michael, what we would say is it's exciting. We're still very early days in rolling this out within our platform, but already, some of the opportunities, efficiency and gains are quite meaningful. And really, what we're doing is we're fortunate across both Brookfield Asset Management, but all of our portfolio companies. What we're looking to do is use the knowledge that it's created across all of those businesses through trialing and erring different AI functions. And when something is deemed that's very useful, we share that knowledge and see where else across the platform it can be used.

邁克爾，我們想說的是，這很令人興奮。我們仍在平台內推出此功能的早期階段，但已經獲得的一些機會、效率和效益已經相當有意義。事實上，我們很幸運，不僅擁有 Brookfield Asset Management，而且擁有我們所有的投資組合公司。我們希望做的是透過試驗和測試不同的人工智慧功能，利用在所有這些業務中創造的知識。當某些東西被認為非常有用時，我們就會分享這些知識並看看它可以在平台上的其他地方使用。

And similarly, when something is tried and deemed as not useful, we also share that knowledge so somebody else doesn't need to take that shot and miss as well. So it's very early days, but by leveraging our entire platform and the knowledge and increasing use cases across it to use those synergies across our ecosystem, I would say we're early days, but the gains are meaningful. And it's really, I would say, at this point, focused on cost and efficiency. And going forward, it will also be focused on revenue as well.

同樣，當嘗試某種方法並被認為無用時，我們也會分享這些知識，這樣其他人就不必嘗試並同樣失敗。所以現在還處於早期階段，但透過利用我們的整個平台和知識以及增加使用案例來利用我們整個生態系統的協同效應，我想說我們還處於早期階段，但收益是有意義的。我想說，目前我們真正關注的是成本和效率。展望未來，它也將專注於收入。

Okay, thank you.

好的，謝謝。

Ken Worthington, J.P. Morgan.

肯‧沃辛頓，摩根大通。

Great, good morning. Thanks for taking the question. Maybe to follow up on Michael's question. The deployment opportunity in infrastructure would seem to be immense, but 4Q in 2024 witnessed, I would say, depressed deployment in infrastructure relative to your other asset classes.

太好了，早安。感謝您回答這個問題。也許是為了跟進麥可的問題。基礎設施領域的部署機會似乎巨大，但我想說，2024 年第四季度，相對於其他資產類別，基礎設施領域的部署出現低迷。

So I guess the question is, do these big deals and these big opportunities just take a lot longer to get to the point of investment check writing? As we think about [the 5], does the 4-year investment cycle seem to be right for this fund or given size and complexity of the opportunity set? Is it expected or obvious that it just might take longer to get those dollars out the door?

所以我想問題是，這些大交易和大機會是否需要更長的時間才能達到投資支票開立的程度？當我們考慮 [5] 時，4 年的投資週期是否適合該基金，或考慮到機會集的規模和複雜性？是否預計或很明顯，這些資金可能需要更長的時間才能到達？

So given the breadth of our franchise, I would say a lack of significant deployment in infrastructure in Q4 of 2024, that's just timing, that's just coincidence. Our infrastructure pipeline is as robust today as it's ever been. The demand for capital is at an all-time high. And it's also perhaps important to recognize just some of our segregation. We've been out in Q4, some of our largest investments ever in the power space. And those investments are directly tied to supporting the build-out of AI. They just happened to sit within our power classification as opposed to our infrastructure classification.

因此，考慮到我們特許經營的廣度，我認為 2024 年第四季缺乏對基礎設施的重大部署，這只是時機問題，只是巧合。我們的基礎設施管道如今一如既往地強大。資本的需求達到了歷史最高水準。認識我們之間的部分隔離也許也很重要。我們在第四季度對電力領域進行了迄今為止最大的一些投資。這些投資與支援人工智慧的建設直接相關。它們恰好屬於我們的電力分類，而不是基礎設施分類。

And as it pertains to of our BIP franchise. BIP 5 approximately 50% deployed at this point. It's traditionally had a track record of deploying those funds approximately over a three-year time line. There is nothing in the market today that suggests that will continue to hold.

這與我們的 BIP 特許經營有關。目前 BIP 5 已部署約 50%。它傳統上有著在大約三年的時間內部署這些資金的記錄。當今市場上沒有任何跡象表明這種情況將繼續維持。

Great. Thank you. And then on credit, it was one of the best inflow quarters for fee-bearing capital I think in Brookfield's history, but we also saw, I think, the biggest quarter of outflows in distributions. And fee-bearing capital ended roughly flat for the quarter, and I assume that higher rates and FX didn't help. Can you talk about the credit inflows and outflows for the quarter, maybe how insurance is driving the relationship between gross and net inflows? And ultimately, I'm curious to -- well, we'll just leave it there. Can you talk about that?

偉大的。謝謝。然後就信貸而言，我認為這是 Brookfield 歷史上收費資本流入最好的季度，但我認為，我們也看到了分配流出最大的季度。本季收費資本基本上持平，我認為更高的利率和外匯並沒有起到幫助作用。您能談談本季的信貸流入和流出情況嗎？保險如何影響總流入和淨流入之間的關係？最後，我很好奇——好吧，我們就到此為止。你能談談這個嗎？

Certainly. So thank you for the question. And we know -- we very much recognize that that Q4 credit outflow number looks a bit funny. Two things we would just highlight there. One of them is a reflection of something we very much expected to happen as we took on more insurance capital under our IMA with Brookfield Wealth Solutions. Part of our intention with that portfolio was to optimize it and reallocate it over time. And one of the things that showed up in Q4 was the very much planned reallocation of some of their credit allocations to other platforms within Brookfield. So that inflated the number a little bit in Q4. That will continue to some extent going forward as we continue to optimize the allocation of that business.

當然。謝謝你的提問。我們知道——我們非常清楚第四季度信貸流出數字看起來有點奇怪。我們只想強調兩件事。其中之一反映了我們在與 Brookfield Wealth Solutions 的 IMA 下承擔更多保險資本時非常期待發生的事情。我們對該投資組合的部分意圖是隨著時間的推移進行優化和重新分配。第四季出現的一個現像是，他們計劃將部分信貸分配重新分配給 Brookfield 內部的其他平台。因此第四季的數字略有膨脹。隨著我們繼續優化該業務的配置，這種情況將在一定程度上持續下去。

The other thing that was a little bit unique in Q4 is our credit business is a little bit unique versus our other platforms, in that when we raise credit capital, it becomes fee-bearing on deployment, not on commitment. However, when we monetize things, that obviously draws out of fee-bearing capital in real time. And with some of the robustness in credit markets in Q4, we did monetize some assets that therefore follow to fee-bearing capital. And while we raise capital, it will only be inserted into fee-bearing capital upon deployment.

第四季的另一個獨特之處在於，我們的信貸業務與其他平台相比有些獨特，當我們籌集信貸資本時，它會根據部署而不是承諾收取費用。然而，當我們將事物貨幣化時，這顯然會即時消耗收費資本。由於第四季信貸市場表現強勁，我們確實將一些資產貨幣化，轉化為收費資本。雖然我們籌集了資金，但只有在部署時才會將其納入收費資本。

I think the comments about the capital we've raised in credit demonstrate the market's enthusiasm and the opportunities in the space. And one of the big levers for our cash flows and [FRV] going forward is deploying the very significant amount of not yet fee-bearing capital that we have available to us within our credit franchise.

我認為有關我們在信貸領域籌集的資金的評論表明了市場的熱情和該領域的機會。我們未來現金流和 [FRV] 的一大槓桿是部署我們信貸特許經營權中可用的大量尚未收費的資本。

Great, very helpful. Thank you very much.

非常好，很有幫助。非常感謝。

Mike Brown, Wells Fargo.

富國銀行的麥克布朗。

Hey, good morning, thanks for taking my questions. Right. So Connor, I wanted to ask on insurance. So I guess somewhat related question. Within the $6.6 billion of inflows this quarter, can you just break that down? How much was from the Brookfield's Partners and how much is from third-party SMAs? And then on a related note, when I look at Slide 21 and the mix of investments there, can you just give us a view into what's the end game mix in terms of that liquid private? And what's the difference in the fee rate there that we should think about?

嘿，早上好，感謝您回答我的問題。正確的。康納，我想問保險問題。所以我猜這個問題有點相關。在本季 66 億美元的流入量中，您能詳細分析一下嗎？有多少來自 Brookfield 的合作夥伴，有多少來自第三方 SMA？然後，在相關說明中，當我查看投影片 21 和那裡的投資組合時，您能否讓我們了解一下流動性私人資產的最終組合是什麼？我們應該考慮那裡的費率有什麼差異？

Certainly. So in terms of the inflows from insurance in Q4, almost 100%, I would say, for purpose of modeling, you can assume that all of it came from Brookfield Wealth Solutions. We obviously do have our SMAs. We did some in Q3. We expect it to be more in Q1. But in Q4, it came almost entirely from Brookfield Wealth Solutions.

當然。因此，就第四季度來自保險的資金流入而言，我想說，為了建模的目的，幾乎 100% 的資金都可以假設全部來自 Brookfield Wealth Solutions。我們顯然有我們的 SMA。我們在第三季做了一些。我們預計第一季會有更多。但在第四季度，其營收幾乎全部來自 Brookfield Wealth Solutions。

In terms of how we optimize that for portfolio. I would say we're increasingly moving product out of liquid into our funds and higher returning strategies. That's an ongoing process. In particular, our real asset credit strategies, in particular real estate debt, infrastructure debt, are a very, very strong fit for those insurance funds. And maybe directionally, we would be expecting to move anywhere between, call it, $2 billion to $4 billion, $2 billion to $5 billion of capital into those strategies on an annual basis.

關於我們如何優化投資組合。我想說的是，我們正在越來越多地將產品從流動性轉移到我們的基金和更高回報的策略中。這是一個持續的過程。特別是我們的實體資產信貸策略，特別是房地產債務、基礎設施債務，非常適合這些保險基金。從方向來看，我們預計每年將向這些策略投入 20 億至 40 億美元、20 億至 50 億美元的資金。

And any color on that kind of fee rate pickup?

這種費率上漲有什麼具體原因嗎？

Yeah. Sorry, I apologize, I glossed over that. With our IMA with Brookfield Wealth Solutions, we get a 25 basis point fee on 100% of the capital we manage on their behalf. When we move -- when that product is invested into one of our private funds, we also get to charge the private fund fee. So it is meaningfully higher when we do allocate it to a private fund. Of course, we can only do that with a minority portion of that available capital.

是的。抱歉，我道歉，我掩蓋了這一點。透過與 Brookfield Wealth Solutions 合作的 IMA，我們可以從代表他們管理的 100% 資本中獲得 25 個基點的費用。當我們將該產品投資到我們的一個私募基金時，我們也會收取私募基金費用。因此，當我們將其分配給私募基金時，其價值會更高。當然，我們只能用一小部分可用資本來做到這一點。

Okay. Great. Yes. And I appreciate the addition there. I know it was kind of a multiparter. I wanted to ask about Oaktree, just in light of the final close news for Oaktree Opportunities Fund VII at $16 billion of commitments. Just wanted to check in and hear about how the team is thinking about the investment opportunities there post election?

好的。偉大的。是的。我很欣賞你的補充。我知道這是一部多部分的作品。我想問一下關於橡樹資本的情況，因為橡樹資本機會基金 VII 的最終收盤消息是承諾募資 160 億美元。只是想了解並聽聽團隊對選舉後的投資機會有何看法？

Base rates are certainly higher than where the market thought six months ago, which certainly can impact certain industries. But spreads are tighter, capital markets are still open. So how are they thinking about deployment? I guess would it be more special sits versus distressed? And how could that kind of progress for deployment for them? Thank you.

基準利率肯定高於六個月前市場預期的水平，這肯定會對某些行業產生影響。但利差較窄，資本市場仍開放。那麼他們是如何考慮部署的呢？我猜想這會是更特殊的坐姿而不是苦惱的坐姿嗎？那麼，他們的部署如何取得這樣的進展呢？謝謝。

Sure, I'll answer that one. It's interesting because we are very excited about an opportunistic strategy. And of course, the fundraise dictates that our clients are as well. And the opportunity when you look forward, first of all, it's probably worth noting that they've already deployed a lot of that capital, probably close to 50%. So they've been able to find very interesting, attractive investment opportunities in this climate, with base rates higher, with capital structures dealing with the higher interest rate component, even with tighter spreads, with maturity walls.

當然，我會回答這個問題。這很有趣，因為我們對機會主義策略感到非常興奮。當然，募款也要求我們的客戶也這麼做。當你展望未來時，首先值得注意的是，他們已經部署了大量資本，可能接近 50%。因此，他們能夠在這種環境下找到非常有趣、有吸引力的投資機會，基準利率較高，資本結構能夠應對較高的利率成分，甚至利差較小，有期限障礙。

And so that will continue to create opportunity set going forward for them, both on the special sits side, finding interesting opportunities where their capital can be valuable, but then also on the distressed side as that builds to a certain extent. So overall, the Oaktree team and ourselves feel very good about the opportunity set and the deployment options that they have are at the fingertips.

因此，這將繼續為他們創造未來的機會，既在特殊情況下，尋找有趣的機會，使他們的資本變得有價值，同時也在陷入困境的情況下，隨著這種情況發展到一定程度。因此，總體而言，Oaktree 團隊和我們自己都對所擁有的機會和部署選項感到非常滿意。

Okay, great, thank you very much.

好的，太好了，非常感謝。

Nik Priebe, CIBC Capital Markets.

Nik Priebe，CIBC 資本市場。

Okay, thanks. I wanted to ask a question on the initiative to better position BAM for inclusion in US indices. Following the Investor Day when the changes were first announced, I think S&P has subsequently announced some changes to its global domicile policy that places greater emphasis on country of incorporation.

好的，謝謝。我想就 BAM 更好地納入美國指數的舉措提出一個問題。在投資者日首次宣布這些變化之後，我認為標準普爾隨後宣布了其全球註冊地政策的一些變化，並更加重視公司註冊國家。

And I think at Investor Day, you indicated that the intent is to keep BAM incorporated in Canada. I recognize there's a much broader array of indices that you hope to qualify for, but is the country of incorporation a change that you could also contemplate from a longer-term standpoint to better position yourself for inclusion in the S&P 500 specifically?

我認為在投資者日，您表示意圖是讓 BAM 繼續在加拿大註冊。我知道您希望納入的指數範圍要廣泛得多，但從長遠角度來看，您是否可以考慮改變公司註冊國家，以便更好地將公司納入標準普爾 500 指數？

So in that vein, as you recall, two things that we've done to make sure that we have access to additional US indices. One is, of course, changing our headquarters to New York, which is a very simple change and had no impact in our business, but represented the framework of our business now with our AUM, our revenues, our employees heavily based in the US. The second change, of course, is what we closed last week, which is the exchange of being shares for the private to public Brookfield Asset Management. And so that's additive as well. So we're in a good position to add in (inaudible) already are seeing the impact of that.

因此，正如您所記得的那樣，我們做了兩件事來確保我們能夠獲得更多美國指數。一是將我們的總部遷至紐約，這是一個非常簡單的變化，對我們的業務沒有影響，但代表了我們現在的業務框架，我們的資產管理規模、收入和員工都主要在美國。當然，第二個變化是我們上週完成的，即將私人持有的 Brookfield Asset Management 的股份轉換為上市公司的股份。這也是一種附加作用。因此，我們處於有利地位，可以添加（聽不清楚）並且已經看到了其影響。

In terms of specifically the S&P 500, and the incorporation is a factor, and we are incorporated in Canada, and we don't think we need to change that in order to have access to other US indices. So from our standpoint, given our US focused business and the other criteria that are applicable in this type of analysis, we feel we're well framed out for that.

就標準普爾 500 指數而言，合併是一個因素，我們在加拿大註冊成立，我們認為我們不需要改變這一點才能獲得其他美國指數。因此，從我們的角度來看，考慮到我們專注於美國的業務以及適用於此類分析的其他標準，我們認為我們已經做好了充分的準備。

Okay. That's good color. And then just switching gears, the new Trump administration has made a bit of noise about the tax treatment of carried interest paid to investment professionals. And I was wondering if the tax treatment of carried interest were to change, would the compensation structure also change? For example, would employees be entitled to a higher percentage of the gross carry? And I'm also just wondering, is the debate around tax treatment of carry isolated to personal income tax treatment for the investment professionals, or would it also impact the corporate tax rate on carry as well?

好的。這顏色真好。然後，話題又轉換了，新一屆川普政府對投資專業人士獲得的附帶權益的稅收待遇發表了一些言論。我想知道，如果附帶權益的稅務待遇發生變化，薪資結構是否也會改變？例如，員工是否有權獲得更高比例的總收益？我還想知道，關於持有收益的稅收待遇的爭論是否只與投資專業人士的個人所得稅待遇有關，還是也會影響持有收益的公司稅率？

We obviously have a very global business and tax treatment of carry is different in every market around the world. So a change in US tax treatment, the US is obviously the biggest market and our biggest market. So it does generate a lot of headlines. But I would say it's not going to change our global compensation approach. We manage through different tax treatments of carry in other regions, and we'll treat the US as the same.

顯然，我們的業務非常全球化，而且全球每個市場的稅收待遇都不同。因此，美國稅收待遇的改變，美國顯然是最大的市場，也是我們最大的市場。因此它確實引發了很多頭條新聞。但我想說這不會改變我們的全球薪酬方式。我們透過對其他地區實行不同的稅務處理方式來管理，並且我們將對美國採取同樣的處理方式。

Okay, all right, fair enough, those are my two, thanks very much.

好的，好的，夠公平了，這是我的兩個，非常感謝。

Dan Fannon, Jefferies.

丹‧範農 (Dan Fannon)，傑富瑞集團。

Thanks. Good morning. I wanted to talk about the outlook for base management fee growth, particularly within private equity and real estate. As we think about '25, given some of, I think, the fundraising you talked about as well as the ins and outs around activity and deployment and exit? So as we look at the next at 2025, how are you thinking about base management fee growth in those two subsegments?

謝謝。早安.我想談談基本管理費成長的前景，特別是在私募股權和房地產領域。當我們思考 25 時，我想，考慮到您談到的一些籌款活動以及活動、部署和退出的細節？那麼，當我們展望 2025 年時，您如何看待這兩個子領域的基本管理費成長？

Certainly. So real estate, we're seeing a lot of momentum, obviously, as they finish fundraising for the latest of the flagship [Bez wrap] series and that will be completed in the first half of the year, and that will obviously be run rating through the numbers for an additional 12 months beyond that. So with real estate, it's very, I would say, obvious and on lock that train is going well down the path.

當然。因此，我們顯然看到了房地產的巨大發展勢頭，因為他們完成了最新旗艦 [Bez wrap] 系列的融資，這將在今年上半年完成，而且顯然還將在此之後的 12 個月內通過數字進行評級。因此，對於房地產而言，我想說，這列火車顯然會沿著這條路徑順利行駛。

When it comes to private equity, very much appreciate the question because we are seeing a ton of momentum in our private equity business right now. We think our approach to private equity investing lends itself to this environment. And the pipeline for our private equity platform is very, very robust. And we do expect to be back in the market with the next vintage of our private equity vehicle earlier than expected, very much expected at some point this year. And that will obviously lead to the next step change in revenues for that platform.

談到私募股權，非常感謝您的提問，因為我們現在看到私募股權業務發展勢頭強勁。我們認為我們的私募股權投資方法適合這種環境。我們的私募股權平台的管道非常非常強大。我們確實希望我們的私募股權投資工具能比預期更早重返市場，預計今年某個時候。這顯然將導致該平台收入的下一步變化。

Great. And then to follow up just on the margin outlook. Some of the momentum you've talked about in terms of fundraising and ultimately, revenues. How are we thinking about margins as an investment into exterior vis-a-vis where we fit?

偉大的。然後只跟進利潤前景。您談到了籌款和最終收入的一些動力。我們如何將利潤視為對外部的投資，並考慮我們的適用性？

There's two things in terms of our margin. One, our margin improvement is very much driven by revenues. During 2023 and the early part of 2024, we were very vocal that we were investing in our platforms ahead of step changes in revenues as those step changes in revenues have come on through the latter half of the year, and they'll continue to come on in the early part of 2025. That's been what's driven the margin improvement. And we do expect it to continue for a number of quarters here to come.

就我們的利潤而言，有兩件事。首先，我們的利潤率提高很大程度是由收入推動的。在 2023 年和 2024 年初，我們非常明確地表示，我們將在收入發生階躍變化之前對我們的平台進行投資，因為收入的階躍變化已經在今年下半年出現，並且將在 2025 年初繼續出現。這就是利潤率提高的推動力。我們確實預計這種情況將在未來幾季持續下去。

It should also be recognized that there are two things that also impact our margins. One is the mix of our business. And two is we are seeing tons of opportunities for growth. Hadley mentioned in her remarks how we have a balance sheet that can fund new growth opportunities. Those new growth opportunities do tend to be slightly lower margin at the beginning and then escalate over time.

也應該認識到，有兩件事也會影響我們的利潤。一是我們的業務組合。二是我們看到了大量的成長機會。哈德利在演講中提到，我們的資產負債表可以為新的成長機會提供資金。這些新的成長機會在開始時利潤率確實會略低一些，然後隨著時間的推移而上升。

But our core margins -- our core business is seeing significant margin improvement as expected. That will continue. And then really, that will be counterbalanced by investment in new products that will add significant fee revenues in the future.

但我們的核心利潤率——我們的核心業務的利潤率正如預期般顯著提高。這種情況將會持續下去。然後實際上，這將透過對新產品的投資來抵消，這將在未來增加大量的費用收入。

Great, thank you.

太好了，謝謝。

Mario Saric, Scotiabank.

加拿大豐業銀行的馬裡奧·薩里奇。

Hi, good morning. Just dovetailing on the last question with respect to margins and being a bit more specific. The total compensation and benefits line item fell $15 million versus Q3, about 4% to $386 million in Q4. How sustainable is that Q4 figure going forward?

嗨，早安。這與關於利潤的最後一個問題相吻合，而且更具體一些。第四季總薪資和福利項目較第三季下降 1,500 萬美元，降幅約 4%，至 3.86 億美元。第四季的數據未來能持續多久？

Yes. So I would say when we look at our Q4 figure and just in general, our 2024 figure, we have significant step changes in terms of our compensation into '23 and albeit a little bit less so from '23 into '24. We do very much expect to see those costs on a much lower growth rate than our revenue, which will continue to drive margins in 2025.

是的。因此，我想說，當我們查看第四季度的數據以及總體而言的 2024 年數據時，我們會發現，到 23 年，我們的薪酬方面發生了顯著的變化，儘管從 23 年到 24 年的變化略小一些。我們確實非常希望看到這些成本的成長率遠低於我們的收入，這將在 2025 年繼續推動利潤率。

We're a growing business. Our costs will continue to grow up, but we continue to expect to see the trajectory of costs continue to plateau.

我們是一家正在成長的企業。我們的成本將繼續成長，但我們預期成本軌跡將繼續趨於平穩。

Okay. And my second question just relates to potential external growth that's been cited a couple of times now. You mentioned kind of a unique opportunity in terms of buying assets really well and selling assets very well in the broader market. How would you characterize the market for add-on kind of GP expertise at today? And how important do you think BAM's no debt structure as it stands today is to differentiating Brookfield versus some of your peers?

好的。我的第二個問題與潛在的外部成長有關，這個問題已經被提及過幾次了。您提到了一種在更廣泛的市場上很好地購買資產和很好地出售資產的獨特機會。您如何描述當今附加類 GP 專業知識的市場？您認為 BAM 目前的無債務結構對於 Brookfield 和一些同行之間的差異有多重要？

So two parts to that. We will continue to be very opportunistic as it pertains to GP actualizations and GP M&A. The consolidation in this industry at large continues, and we, therefore, continue to monitor it and remain active in that space. But we're only going to do things that are highly accretive, strategic and are additive to our business.

所以這分為兩部分。在 GP 實現和 GP 併購方面，我們將繼續保持良好的機會主義態度。整個行業的整合仍在繼續，因此我們將繼續關注它並在該領域保持活躍。但我們只會做那些對我們的業務具有高度增值性、策略性且附加性的事情。

Are there a number of opportunities being reviewed? Yes, but we'll continue to be very selective. In terms of the comments in and around our balance sheet, I'll start, but Hadley, feel free to jump in. We see a real opportunity given the growth we are seeing, particularly in our key themes and focus is to launch new products that can scale very quickly and be big revenue drivers for our business in years to come. And that will take some investment.

有多少機會正在審查？是的，但我們會繼續非常謹慎地選擇。就我們的資產負債表及其周圍的評論而言，我先開始，但哈德利，請隨意加入。鑑於我們所看到的成長，我們看到了一個真正的機會，特別是在我們的關鍵主題和重點是推出可以快速擴展並成為未來幾年我們業務主要收入驅動力的新產品。這需要一些投資。

And therefore, we do expect to use our balance sheet more meaningfully in 2025 in order to catalyze some of that growth. And we certainly think that's the most effective use of both our existing balance sheet as well as some of the credit capacity we have available. We will use that to drive organic FRE growth within our business.

因此，我們確實希望在 2025 年更有意義地利用我們的資產負債表來催化部分成長。我們當然認為這是對我們現有資產負債表以及部分可用信貸能力的最有效利用。我們將利用這一點來推動我們業務中的有機 FRE 成長。

Yes. And just as a reminder, I mean, we have $1.8 billion of liquidity, a $750 million revolver that is undrawn and $5 billion today of capacity at very attractive high investment-grade ratings. And so as we grow, that capacity will grow with it. So we do have an opportunistic liquidity position to support that growth.

是的。提醒一下，我們擁有 18 億美元的流動資金、7.5 億美元的未提取循環信貸額度，以及 50 億美元的當前信貸額度，且具有非常有吸引力的高投資級評級。隨著我們的成長，這種能力也會跟著成長。因此，我們確實擁有機會流動性部位來支持這一成長。

Got it. Okay. Just to summarize in terms of using the balance sheet, it sounds like it's more likely to fund co-investments as opposed to a substantial external M&A in '25?

知道了。好的。僅從資產負債表的角度來總結一下，聽起來它更有可能為共同投資提供資金，而不是為 25 年的大規模外部併購提供資金？

If I could perhaps characterize that differently, it will be used to fund two things. One is GP M&A on the programmatic buyout of some of our partner managers, that would be Bucket 1. And then Bucket two is to be seed capital for new strategies. I think that's probably the easiest way to think about it.

如果我可以換一種說法，它將用於資助兩件事。一是針對我們部分合作經理的程序化收購進行 GP 併購，這是 Bucket 1。第二個部分是作為新策略的種子資金。我認為這可能是思考這個問題的最簡單的方式。

Okay, thank you.

好的，謝謝。

Robert Kwan, RBC Capital Markets.

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

Great. Thank you good morning. Maybe come back to the data AI infrastructure. And just -- between your digital infrastructure renewable power and nuclear, you've got these platform businesses in all the facets of the AI infrastructure side of things. And so how do you see this playing out? Do you see this as being more transactions than your peers because of your broader reach? Or could we see more deals along the lines of the French announcement where you're bringing multiple solutions as part of a single transaction? And then do deals like that where your competitors can't do it, does that lead to stronger returns?

偉大的。謝謝，早安。也許回到數據 AI 基礎設施。而且，在數位基礎設施、再生能源和核能之間，你就擁有了涉及人工智慧基礎設施各個方面的平台業務。那麼您認為結果會如何？您是否認為由於你們的業務範圍更廣，交易量會比您們的同行更多？或者我們可以看到更多類似於法國公告的交易，即在單筆交易中提供多種解決方案？然後，在競爭對手無法做到的地方進行這樣的交易，是否會帶來更高的回報？

To the first part of your question, I don't mean to sound like we're hedging, but the answer is both. We certainly will look to do more large-scale transactions that bring multiple facets of the organization together where there are a few that can compete. And obviously, where there's less competition, there's a better chance of outsized returns.

對於你問題的第一部分，我並不是想說我們在迴避問題，但答案是兩者兼具。我們當然會尋求進行更多大規模交易，將組織的多個面向整合在一起，使其成為一個可以相互競爭的領域。顯然，競爭越少，獲得超額報酬的機會就越大。

But maybe going back to some of the comments earlier in the call, the supply-demand imbalance today is very much in favor of those that can build new projects that have either ready to build projects or advanced pipeline. And as the scarcity value of those projects is higher today than ever before, that bodes very well for our significant investments in data centers and renewable powers in recent years. But we'll look to continue to add advanced pipeline and ready to build projects to meet the needs of our biggest counterparties around the world.

但也許回到電話會議早些時候的一些評論，今天的供需失衡非常有利於那些可以建造新項目的企業，這些項目要么已經準備好建設項目，要么已經擁有先進的管道。由於這些項目的稀缺價值如今比以往任何時候都高，這對我們近年來在資料中心和再生能源方面的大量投資來說是一個好兆頭。但我們將繼續增加先進的管道和準備建設的項目，以滿足全球最大交易對手的需求。

Maybe to sum it up. The scale and the multifaceted solutions we can bring across data centers, fiber, telecom, nuclear power, renewables, they're unmatched in the space. And therefore, that's why -- that's what we think the French announcement is representative of, and we think there'll be more to come along those lines.

也許可以總結一下。我們能夠在資料中心、光纖、電信、核電、再生能源等領域提供的規模和多方面解決方案在該領域是無與倫比的。因此，我們認為法國的聲明具有代表性，並且我們認為還會有更多類似聲明。

That's great. And if I can just finish with a question on the transaction environment and just the notion that it's a good environment to be both an acquirer and a seller. Are you seeing that broadly across all of your core strategies? Or are there some mismatches out there between the strategies where there's a much more significant tilt to being a buyer versus a seller or vice versa? And which one of those mismatches might be, if there are?

那太棒了。最後，我是否可以就交易環境提出一個問題，即對於收購者和賣方來說，這都是一個良好的環境。您是否在所有核心策略中都廣泛地看到了這一點？或者這些策略之間是否存在一些不符之處，導致買方傾向比賣方傾向更明顯，反之亦然？如果存在不匹配的情況，那麼可能是哪一個不匹配呢？

Yeah. There definitely are individual mismatches within different subsegments. But perhaps a more prevailing comment we are seeing around the world, we could probably make two comments that are pretty widespread across all of our asset classes. One is high-quality assets, whether it's high-quality real estate, high-quality infrastructure, those are seeing incredibly robust bids around the world today, where lower quality assets are still seeing more tepid market demand. And that certainly favors our portfolio given our broad-based focus on highest quality assets in most strategic and core markets.

是的。不同子段內肯定存在個別不匹配的情況。但也許我們在世界各地看到的更普遍的評論是，我們可能可以做出兩個在我們所有資產類別中相當普遍的評論。一是優質資產，無論是優質房地產還是優質基礎設施，這些資產如今在全球範圍內都面臨著極其強勁的競標需求，而低品質資產的市場需求仍然較為低迷。鑑於我們廣泛關注最具策略性和核心性的最優質資產，這無疑有利於我們的投資組合。

The other comment we would generally see that we're seeing across asset classes is operating cash generative, high-quality assets, particularly ones that still have a bit of a growth angle, very, very robust bid, lots of liquidity, lots of capital, good market to sell into. Where we are seeing a scarcity of capital is opportunities to fund the build-out of growth of new platforms that are going to need significant capital and equity injections to build themselves out over time. And that's where you're seeing us deploying more capital in the infrastructure renewable power and even the real estate space to some extent.

我們在各個資產類別中普遍看到的另一個評論是，經營現金流生成能力強、品質高，特別是那些仍然具有一定成長潛力、出價非常強勁、流動性強、資本充足、有良好銷售市場的資產。我們看到資本稀缺的地方就是為新平台的成長提供資金的機會，這些新平台需要大量的資本和股權注入才能隨著時間的推移而發展壯大。這就是你看到我們在基礎設施、再生能源甚至房地產領域投入更多資金的地方。

That's great thank you.

太好了，謝謝。

That concludes today's question and answer session. I'd like to turn the call back to Jason Fooks for closing remarks.

今天的問答環節到此結束。我想將電話轉回給 Jason Fooks 來做最後發言。

Okay, great.

好的，太好了。

If you should have any additional questions on today's release, please feel free to contact me directly. Thank you everyone for joining us.

如果您對今天的發布有任何其他問題，請隨時直接與我聯繫。感謝大家的參與。

This concludes today's conference call. Thank you for participating, and you may now disconnect.

今天的電話會議到此結束。感謝您的參與，您現在可以斷開連接了。