富蘭克林資源 (BEN) 2023 Q3 法說會逐字稿

Welcome to Franklin Resources Earnings Conference Call for the quarter ended June 30, 2023. Hello. My name is Joanna, and I will be your call operator today. As a reminder, this conference is being recorded. And at this time, all participants are in a listen-only mode. I would now like to turn the conference over to your host, Selene Oh, Head of Investor Relations for Franklin Resources. You may begin.

歡迎參加富蘭克林資源截至 2023 年 6 月 30 日的季度收益電話會議。您好。我叫喬安娜，今天我將擔任您的接線員。提醒一下，本次會議正在錄製中。而此時，所有參與者都處於只聽模式。現在我想將會議交給主持人、富蘭克林資源公司投資者關係主管 Selene Oh。你可以開始了。

Good morning, and thank you for joining us today to discuss our quarterly results. Statements made on this conference call regarding Franklin Resources, Inc., which are not historical facts are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements involve a number of known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from any future results expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements.

早上好，感謝您今天加入我們討論我們的季度業績。本次電話會議中有關富蘭克林資源公司的聲明並非歷史事實，而是 1995 年《私人證券訴訟改革法案》含義內的前瞻性聲明。這些前瞻性聲明涉及許多已知和未知的風險，可能導致實際結果與此類前瞻性陳述明示或暗示的任何未來結果存在重大差異的不確定性和其他重要因素。

These and other risks, uncertainties and other important factors are described in more detail in Franklin's recent filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including in the Risk Factors and the MD&A sections of Franklin's most recent Form 10-K and 10-Q filings.

這些和其他風險、不確定性和其他重要因素在富蘭克林最近向美國證券交易委員會提交的文件中進行了更詳細的描述，包括富蘭克林最近提交的 10-K 表格和 10-Q 表格的風險因素和 MD&A 部分。

Now I'd like to turn the call over to Jenny Johnson, our President and Chief Executive Officer.

現在我想將電話轉給我們的總裁兼首席執行官珍妮·約翰遜 (Jenny Johnson)。

Thank you, Selene. Hello, everyone, and thank you for joining us today to discuss Franklin Templeton's results for the third fiscal quarter of 2023. As usual, I'm joined by Matt Nicholls, our CFO and COO; and Adam Spector, our Head of Global Distribution. Over the past several years, we have been intentional in building a diversified company that offers a broad range of investment expertise and capabilities across asset classes, investment vehicles and geographies to benefit a broad range of clients through various market conditions and cycles.

謝謝你，塞琳娜。大家好，感謝您今天加入我們討論富蘭克林鄧普頓 2023 年第三財季的業績。像往常一樣，我們的首席財務官兼首席運營官馬特·尼科爾斯 (Matt Nicholls) 也將與我一起討論。以及我們的全球分銷主管 Adam Spector。在過去的幾年裡，我們一直致力於打造一家多元化的公司，提供跨資產類別、投資工具和地域的廣泛投資專業知識和能力，以便在不同的市場條件和周期中使廣大客戶受益。

We believe our corporate model of preserving the investment autonomy of each of our specialist investment managers combined with the resources of a global firm meets the demands of our diverse client base and produces strong long-term results.

我們相信，我們保留每位專業投資經理的投資自主權的企業模式與全球公司的資源相結合，可以滿足我們多元化客戶群的需求，並產生強勁的長期業績。

This quarter, long-term net flows turned positive. Investment performance remains strong and adjusted operating income improved by 8%. Financial markets in general stage rebounds in the first half of the calendar year. The S&P 500's Indexes concentration in 5 companies is at its most extreme level in more than 30 years. A challenge for those seeking to outperform the index while managing for concentration risk in their equity portfolios, but also an opportunity for skilled and disciplined active managers with a long-term horizon.

本季度，長期淨流量轉正。投資業績依然強勁，調整後營業收入提高了 8%。上半年金融市場總體階段性反彈。標準普爾 500 指數中 5 家公司的集中度達到 30 多年來的最高水平。對於那些尋求跑贏指數同時管理股票投資組合集中風險的人來說，這是一個挑戰，但對於具有長期視野、技術精湛、紀律嚴明的主動型基金經理來說，這也是一個機會。

Client focus has always been a hallmark of Franklin Templeton and we've been actively engaging with our clients to assist them in navigating this complex environment. As our industry and client preferences continue to evolve, there is strong demand for asset managers to have a full range of investment options that span geographical regions, both in public and private market strategies.

以客戶為中心一直是富蘭克林鄧普頓的標誌，我們一直積極與客戶合作，協助他們應對這個複雜的環境。隨著我們的行業和客戶偏好的不斷發展，資產管理公司強烈需要在公共和私人市場策略中擁有跨越地理區域的全方位投資選擇。

We generated interest in our alternative and multi-asset strategies, in particular, which both saw positive net flows during the quarter. In addition, we experienced strong flows in ETFs, SMAs and the high net worth channel. And flow trends continued to improve across all geographies benefiting from our regional sales model and strategy. Our EMEA and Asia Pacific regions both reported positive long-term net flows. That's the second consecutive quarter of net inflows for Asia Pacific.

我們對我們的另類和多元資產策略產生了興趣，特別是，這兩種策略在本季度都實現了正淨流量。此外，我們還經歷了 ETF、SMA 和高淨值通道的強勁流動。受益於我們的區域銷售模式和戰略，所有地區的流量趨勢持續改善。我們的歐洲、中東和非洲和亞太地區均報告了正的長期淨流量。這是亞太地區連續第二個季度出現淨流入。

While we're always focused on organic priorities, we have previously stated our interest in distribution-led strategic transactions that would further diversify our business and accelerate growth in key markets.

雖然我們始終專注於有機優先事項，但我們之前曾表示過對以分銷為主導的戰略交易的興趣，這將進一步使我們的業務多元化並加速關鍵市場的增長。

With the vision of offering more choice to more clients in important sectors, we were pleased to announce the establishment of a long-term partnership with the Power Corporation of Canada and Great-West Lifeco this quarter. As part of the relationship, we will acquire Putnam Investments which managed $136 billion in AUM as of April 30, 2023, from Great-West for approximately $925 million, primarily funded with equity. Great-West will make an initial incremental asset allocation of $25 billion to our specialist investment managers within 12 months of closing, with that amount expected to increase over the next several years.

懷著為重要領域的更多客戶提供更多選擇的願景，我們很高興地宣布本季度與加拿大電力公司和 Great-West Lifeco 建立了長期合作夥伴關係。作為合作關係的一部分，我們將以約 9.25 億美元的價格從 Great-West 手中收購 Putnam Investments，截至 2023 年 4 月 30 日，Putnam Investments 管理著 1,360 億美元的資產管理規模，主要由股權融資。 Great-West 將在交易完成後 12 個月內向我們的專業投資經理進行 250 億美元的初始增量資產配置，預計該金額在未來幾年內將增加。

Great-West will also become a long-term shareholder in Franklin Resources. And of the equity issued to Great-West, shares representing 4.9% of our common stock are subject to a 5-year lockup. This is a compelling transaction for both firms and we're looking forward to actively partnering to develop additional opportunities that will be realized over time. The agreement aligns with our focus to further grow insurance client assets and expands the existing relationship between Franklin Templeton and the Power group of companies in the key areas of Retirement, Asset Management and Wealth Management.

Great-West 還將成為 Franklin Resources 的長期股東。在向 Great-West 發行的股權中，占我們普通股 4.9% 的股份有 5 年禁售期。這對兩家公司來說都是一項引人注目的交易，我們期待著積極合作，開發更多的機會，這些機會將隨著時間的推移而實現。該協議符合我們進一步增加保險客戶資產的重點，並擴大了富蘭克林鄧普頓與 Power 集團公司在退休、資產管理和財富管理等關鍵領域的現有關係。

The transaction will also enable us to further increase our investment in Retirement and Insurance to better serve each and every client in these important segments. Our clients will benefit from expanded and complementary investment capabilities across key asset classes with strong long-term track records. Specifically, the acquisition of Putnam will increase Franklin Templeton's defined contribution AUM to almost $100 billion. As a reminder, the acquisition of Putnam is expected to be modestly accretive to run rate adjusted EPS by the end of the first year after closing, adding approximately $150 million of run rate adjusted operating income in the first year post closing, inclusive of cost synergies. The acquisition remains on track to close in the fourth calendar quarter of 2023 subject to customary closing conditions.

此次交易還將使我們能夠進一步增加對退休和保險的投資，以更好地服務這些重要領域的每一位客戶。我們的客戶將受益於具有良好長期業績記錄的關鍵資產類別的擴展和互補投資能力。具體來說，收購 Putnam 將使富蘭克林鄧普頓的固定繳款 AUM 增加至近 1000 億美元。需要提醒的是，收購 Putnam 預計將在交易完成後第一年年底適度增加運行率調整後每股收益，在交易完成後第一年增加約 1.5 億美元運行率調整後營業收入，其中包括成本協同效應。根據慣例成交條件，此次收購仍有望於 2023 年第四季度完成。

Turning now to our specific numbers for the quarter, starting first with Assets under management and flows. Ending AUM increased to $1.43 trillion, primarily due to market appreciation, and we shifted into positive long-term net flows of $200 million inclusive of reinvested distributions. Our long-term net flows continue to benefit from a diversified mix of assets in the quarter, led by record net inflows of $4 billion into alternative strategies.

現在轉向本季度的具體數據，首先從管理下的資產和流量開始。期末資產管理規模增加至 1.43 萬億美元，這主要是由於市場升值，我們轉向了 2 億美元的正長期淨流量（包括再投資分配）。我們的長期淨流量繼續受益於本季度多元化的資產組合，其中另類策略淨流入創紀錄的 40 億美元。

Our 3 largest alternative managers; Benefit Street Partners, Clarion Partners and Lexington Partners generated a combined total of almost $5 billion in net inflows. This included raising over $1 billion in secondary private equity in the Wealth Management channel under the alternatives by Franklin Templeton brand. Today, Alternative Assets are $257 billion or 18% of our total AUM and contribute more significantly to our financial results.

我們最大的 3 位另類投資經理； Benefit Street Partners、Clarion Partners 和 Lexington Partners 總共產生了近 50 億美元的淨流入。其中包括以富蘭克林鄧普頓品牌的替代品在財富管理渠道籌集超過 10 億美元的二級私募股權。如今，另類資產已達 2,570 億美元，占我們總資產管理規模的 18%，對我們的財務業績貢獻更大。

In terms of other areas of activity in the quarter, our Multi-Asset strategies generated another quarter of positive net flows with $2.3 billion. Our Solutions team has been gaining success with large institutions building customized solutions across our broad array of investment strategies. Equity net outflows improved to $3 billion this quarter, including the funding of a previously disclosed 3.2 billion institutional mandate. While active equities continued to be impacted by the risk off environment, we saw positive net flows into International, Large Cap Core, Emerging Markets, All Cap Value and Small Mid-Cap equity strategies.

就本季度的其他活動領域而言，我們的多元資產策略又創造了一個季度的正淨流量，達 23 億美元。我們的解決方案團隊一直在幫助大型機構在我們廣泛的投資策略中構建定制解決方案方面取得成功。本季度股權淨流出增至 30 億美元，其中包括之前披露的 32 億美元機構授權資金。儘管活躍股票繼續受到避險環境的影響，但我們看到國際、大盤核心、新興市場、全盤價值和中小型股票策略的淨流入為正。

Fixed income net outflows were $3.1 billion. Despite market uncertainty, we experienced increasing demand for fixed income, and we benefited from having a broad range of strategies with noncorrelated investment philosophies. Client interest continued with net inflows into Multi-Sector, Core Bond, Enhanced Liquidity and TIPS strategies. Our regionally focused sales model and strategy resulted in improving flow trends across all of our geographies compared to the prior quarter.

固定收益淨流出為 31 億美元。儘管市場存在不確定性，但我們對固定收益的需求不斷增加，並且我們受益於採用不相關投資理念的廣泛策略。客戶興趣持續升溫，淨流入多部門、核心債券、增強流動性和 TIPS 策略。與上一季度相比，我們以區域為重點的銷售模式和策略改善了所有地區的流量趨勢。

As mentioned earlier, the EMEA and Asia Pacific regions generated positive long-term net flows. From a vehicle perspective, ETFs generated net inflows of $1.1 billion, representing the third consecutive quarter of net flows of approximately $1 billion and AUM totaled $16.2 billion at quarter end. In the quarter, we also launched 2 thematic ETFs in Europe in both Future of Food and Health and Wellness, 2 areas where we expect to see strong client interest.

如前所述，歐洲、中東和非洲和亞太地區產生了正的長期淨流量。從投資工具的角度來看，ETF 產生了 11 億美元的淨流入，連續第三個季度淨流入約 10 億美元，季末資產管理規模總計 162 億美元。本季度，我們還在歐洲推出了 2 只主題 ETF，涉及食品的未來以及健康和保健，我們預計客戶會對這兩個領域產生濃厚的興趣。

Separately Managed Account AUM ended the quarter at $116 billion and generated positive net flows. We continue to expand our SMA offerings in important growth categories and new market segments to provide clients choice in how they access our investment expertise across the breadth of our products. This quarter, we had important launches focused on customization such as tax managed overlay and SMA key flagship strategies, including the Franklin Income Fund.

本季度末獨立管理賬戶資​​產管理規模達到 1,160 億美元，並產生正淨流量。我們繼續在重要的增長類別和新的細分市場中擴展我們的 SMA 產品，以便為客戶提供選擇，讓他們能夠選擇如何在我們的產品範圍內獲取我們的投資專業知識。本季度，我們推出了專注於定制的重要產品，例如稅收管理疊加和 SMA 關鍵旗艦策略，包括富蘭克林收入基金。

Canvas, our custom indexing solution platform, continued its trend of net inflows in each quarter since the platform launched in September 2019 and its AUM has doubled to $4.5 billion since the announcement of the acquisition. This past quarter, Canvas generated net inflows of approximately $300 million and continues to have a robust pipeline. Canvas allows financial advisers to build and manage custom indexes in SMAs that are individually tailored to the client's specific needs preferences and objectives. We believe custom indexing represents the next progression of direct indexing and ETFs and is a significant long-term growth opportunity.

我們的定制索引解決方案平台 Canvas 自 2019 年 9 月推出以來，每個季度都延續了淨流入的趨勢，自宣布收購以來，其 AUM 翻了一番，達到 45 億美元。上個季度，Canvas 產生了約 3 億美元的淨流入，並繼續擁有強勁的管道。 Canvas 允許財務顧問在 SMA 中構建和管理自定義指數，這些指數是根據客戶的特定需求偏好和目標單獨定制的。我們相信定制指數代表了直接指數和 ETF 的下一步發展，並且是一個重要的長期增長機會。

Turning now to Investment performance, which we're pleased to say remain strong, 63%, 53%, 67% and 63% of our strategy composite AUM outperformed their respective benchmarks in the 1-, 3-, 5- and 10-year periods, respectively. For Mutual Fund Investment performance; 44%, 58%, 66% and 51% of our AUM outperformed their peers on a 1-, 3-, 5- and 10-year basis. This represents improvement in the 3-year and 5-year periods from the prior quarter due to strengthened performance in equity and certain fixed income strategies. The 1-year decline was primarily due to one of the largest funds managed for income, which was overweight utilities and financials, which generate higher yield and underweight technology compared to the S&P 500.

現在轉向投資表現，我們很高興地說，投資表現依然強勁，我們的戰略綜合資產管理規模中有 63%、53%、67% 和 63% 在 1 年、3 年、5 年和 10 年表現優於各自的基準期間，分別。對於共同基金投資業績；我們 44%、58%、66% 和 51% 的資產管理規模在 1 年、3 年、5 年和 10 年基礎上表現優於同行。由於股票和某些固定收益策略的業績增強，這表明三年和五年期較上一季度有所改善。一年來的下跌主要是由於最大的收益管理基金之一，該基金增持了公用事業和金融股，與標準普爾 500 指數相比，這些基金的收益率更高，而科技股則減持。

Touching briefly on our financial results, ending AUM increased by 0.7% to $1.43 trillion as of June 30, from the prior quarter, reflecting market appreciation and positive net flows. Average AUM was flat from the prior quarter at $1.42 trillion. While our effective fee rate remained stable, adjusted operating revenue increased by 3% to $1.56 billion. Adjusted operating income increased by 8.3% to $476.8 million from the prior quarter. Adjusted operating margin was 30.5% compared to 28.9% in the prior quarter. We continue to maintain a strong balance sheet with total cash and investments of $6.9 billion as of June 30, 2023.

簡單談一下我們的財務業績，截至 6 月 30 日，期末資產管理規模較上一季度增長 0.7%，達到 1.43 萬億美元，反映了市場升值和正淨流量。平均資產管理規模與上一季度持平，為 1.42 萬億美元。雖然我們的有效費率保持穩定，但調整後的營業收入增長了 3%，達到 15.6 億美元。調整後營業收入較上一季度增長 8.3%，達到 4.768 億美元。調整後營業利潤率為 30.5%，上一季度為 28.9%。截至 2023 年 6 月 30 日，我們繼續保持強勁的資產負債表，現金和投資總額為 69 億美元。

To wrap up, we have worked through another quarter of complicated markets, and our progress and success would not be possible if it weren't for our dedicated employees around the world. I would like to thank them for their many contributions and for their unwavering client focus.

總而言之，我們已經經歷了又一個季度複雜的市場，如果沒有我們遍布世界各地的敬業員工，我們就不可能取得進步和成功。我要感謝他們的眾多貢獻和對客戶堅定不移的關注。

Now let's turn to your questions. Operator?

現在我們來回答你的問題。操作員？

(Operator Instructions) First question comes from Alex Blostein of Goldman Sachs.

（操作員說明）第一個問題來自高盛的 Alex Blostein。

Maybe we could start with some of the trends you're seeing in the alternative asset management space. First, I was hoping we could get a little bit more color on how much capital Lexington raised in the second quarter in their flagship fund. And as you highlighted in the deck, continuing to find raise here. So how large do you think the size could ultimately of that fund be? And then when you expand a little bit broader into private Alts generally, what else is in the pipeline that you expect to come in over the next 6 to 12 months?

也許我們可以從您在另類資產管理領域看到的一些趨勢開始。首先，我希望我們能夠更多地了解列剋星敦在第二季度在其旗艦基金中籌集了多少資金。正如你在牌組中強調的那樣，繼續在這裡尋找加註。那麼您認為該基金的規模最終有多大？然後，當您將業務範圍擴大到私人替代品時，您預計在未來 6 到 12 個月內還會推出哪些產品？

I think we publicly disclosed that Lexington's raised $18.2 billion so far on their latest fund. I think in the quarter, it was about -- it's a little over $3 billion, maybe $3.4 billion. And of that, I think what we're incredibly proud of is the fact that we raised a little over $1 billion in the Wealth channel and first-time fund. I think the expectation was that if we raise $500 million, that would be pretty good for our first-time fund. And we've talked on these calls before about how complicated it is to raise alternatives in the Wealth channel because it requires not only retraining of your own sales team, but actually training of the financial advisers.

我認為我們公開披露了 Lexington's 迄今為止在其最新基金中籌集了 182 億美元。我認為本季度的銷售額約為 30 億美元多一點，也許是 34 億美元。其中，我認為我們非常自豪的是我們通過財富渠道和首次基金籌集了略高於 10 億美元的資金。我認為，如果我們籌集到 5 億美元，這對於我們的首次基金來說就相當不錯了。我們之前在這些電話會議上討論過在財富渠道中提出替代方案是多麼複雜，因為它不僅需要對自己的銷售團隊進行再培訓，而且實際上還需要對財務顧問進行培訓。

And so we put a lot of effort over the last 18 months. We've built out a 40-person Alts' specialist team. We've used our academy to train our own internal sales folks as well as helping to train the financial advisers. So that was a great part of it. And I think the fund can raise up to $20 billion, and I think it's quite possible that, that will happen.

因此，我們在過去 18 個月裡付出了很多努力。我們已經組建了一支由 40 人組成的 Alts 專家團隊。我們利用我們的學院來培訓我們自己的內部銷售人員，並幫助培訓財務顧問。所以這是其中很重要的一部分。我認為該基金最多可以籌集 200 億美元，而且我認為這很有可能會發生。

Great. And then just as far as the pipeline of other things there in the hopper as you look out over the next 6 to 12 months?

偉大的。那麼，在接下來的 6 到 12 個月內，您會看到料斗中其他物品的管道情況如何？

Well, it's specifically in all space. I mean so private credit, we still think is just a great opportunity. Our view is that banks are going to even lend less than they've been lending. And it is -- definitely, deploying capital has been slowed down by the fact that M&A has slowed down. Just read an article yesterday where somebody was talking about they're seeing M&A pick up. That will make a difference. We're thrilled because having BSP at $78 billion, we cover both the U.S. and Europe.

嗯，它特別是在所有空間中。我的意思是，我們仍然認為私人信貸是一個很好的機會。我們的觀點是，銀行的放貸量甚至會比以往更少。毫無疑問，由於併購放緩，資本部署也已放緩。昨天剛剛讀到一篇文章，有人在談論他們看到併購活動正在回升。這將會有所作為。我們很高興，因為 BSP 價值 780 億美元，我們的業務覆蓋美國和歐洲。

But in addition to that, one of the things that's actually really important in these times is having the knowledge and expertise in special situations where you could work out deals. So if you have an underlying credit that is struggling because of, maybe they can't cover their rates, being able to restructure it is really important, and BSP has that expertise internally.

但除此之外，在這個時代真正重要的事情之一是擁有在特殊情況下可以達成交易的知識和專業知識。因此，如果你的基礎信貸陷入困境，因為他們可能無法支付利率，那麼能夠對其進行重組就非常重要，而菲律賓央行內部擁有這方面的專業知識。

So the biggest issue there has been around deploying, but they're seeing -- continue to see very good deals. They're seeing their underlying companies be very strong and where there are some stresses, they've been able to handle those workouts. And again, we think as M&A activity picks back up, you're going to -- they're going to be able to deploy more capital. They just said they're seeing the best deals since they've seen since the global financial crisis.

因此，最大的問題是部署，但他們看到——繼續看到非常好的交易。他們看到他們的基礎公司非常強大，並且在存在一些壓力的情況下，他們能夠應對這些考驗。我們再次認為，隨著併購活動的回升，他們將能夠部署更多資本。他們只是表示，他們看到了自全球金融危機以來最好的交易。

And then in the case of real estate with Clarion, probably the biggest issue is price discovery. Now I think everybody knows the office story. Unfortunately, Clarion has just about 10% exposure to office. So that's not been a big exposure for them. Their focus has been on industrial space, data centers and things like that, which with AI, frankly, will only get bigger and more demand, but also multifamily. And I think the story about the underbuilding of multifamily is important.

就歌樂的房地產而言，最大的問題可能是價格發現。現在我想每個人都知道辦公室的故事。不幸的是，Clarion 的辦公室業務佔比僅為 10% 左右。所以這對他們來說並不是一個很大的曝光。他們的重點是工業空間、數據中心和類似的東西，坦率地說，隨著人工智能的發展，這些東西只會變得更大、需求更多，而且還會增加多戶住宅。我認為有關多戶住宅建設不足的故事很重要。

But the issue has been a little bit around the bid ask on just the sellers being willing to accept lower prices and the buyers being willing to pay out. So as that -- as we see that move out, I think you'll see more movement in the real estate space. They -- just on the redemption to, just a reminder, their clients are mostly institutional and so they don't have the kind of requirement to do redemptions because the institutions don't want any kind of fire sale. And so, they have more flexibility on their redemption queues which equates to less than, I think, 2%, if any. Adam, it looks like you want to add something there?

但問題有點圍繞著賣方願意接受較低價格而買方願意付款的出價。因此，當我們看到這種情況發生時，我認為您會看到房地產領域出現更多變化。他們只是在贖回，只是提醒一下，他們的客戶大多是機構，因此他們沒有進行贖回的要求，因為機構不希望進行任何形式的甩賣。因此，他們的兌換隊列具有更大的靈活性，我認為這相當於不到 2%（如果有的話）。 Adam，看起來你想在那裡添加一些東西？

Sure. I was going to say a couple of things, Alex. One, I think we see strong fundraising in the traditional markets that they've been in, but with stronger public markets, the denominator effect is less than an issue. So we're feeling really good about the raise for all of our alternative firms in the private markets. I would also say that in the Wealth channel, it's not just the Lexington flagship we're offering. We have Clarion products in there like CP Reef, an opportunity zone that are going well, launching BDCs and interval funds for BSP, our venture funds in the Wealth channel. So feeling good about that.

當然。我想說幾件事，亞歷克斯。第一，我認為我們在他們所處的傳統市場中看到了強勁的籌款活動，但隨著公開市場的增強，分母效應不再是一個問題。因此，我們對私募市場上所有另類公司的加薪感到非常滿意。我還想說，在財富頻道中，我們提供的不僅僅是列剋星敦旗艦店。我們在那裡有 CP Reef 等 Clarion 產品，這是一個進展順利的機會區，為 BSP（我們在財富渠道中的風險基金）推出了 BDC 和區間基金。所以感覺很好。

And then the Alcentra acquisition has been very positive for us and having the ability to launch a European managed product in Europe through our distribution force there, we think will be a very positive add as well.

然後，收購 Alcentra 對我們來說非常積極，並且能夠通過我們在那裡的分銷力量在歐洲推出歐洲託管產品，我們認為這也將是一個非常積極的補充。

And then one other data point, Alex. In terms of dry powder, BSP has in excess of $4 billion. And over the next 12 months, they expect to raise several billion dollars more.

然後是另一個數據點，亞歷克斯。就乾粉而言，BSP 擁有超過 40 億美元。在接下來的 12 個月裡，他們預計將再籌集數十億美元。

Got it. Super helpful. Just a quick follow-up, staying on the Alts for a second, and it's a little bit of a nuanced question. But when we look at the roll forward in the AUM table, it looks like the Alts had a negative market. And I'm a little surprised just given that the mark-to-market dynamic generally have been positive in other places. So is it a lag? Or is there something idiosyncratic that drove the negative mark-to-market in the old bucket of things?

知道了。超級有幫助。只是一個快速的跟進，停留在 Alts 上一秒鐘，這是一個有點微妙的問題。但當我們查看 AUM 表中的前滾時，看起來 Alts 的市場為負。考慮到其他地方的按市值計價的動態總體上是積極的，我有點驚訝。那麼是不是有滯後呢？或者是否有什麼特殊因素導致了舊事物中的負市價？

I think we had positive marks in BSP and Lexington and the slightly negative and might have been realizations in real estate. So I'm not sure, but -- it may have been redemption. I'm not sure what you were referring to, Alex.

我認為我們在 BSP 和列剋星敦取得了積極的成績，而在房地產方面則略有下降，可能已經實現了。所以我不確定，但是——這可能是救贖。我不確定你指的是什麼，亞歷克斯。

Next question comes from Glenn Schorr of Evercore.

下一個問題來自 Evercore 的 Glenn Schorr。

So one I'll drill a little further in Putnam. It's interesting, because after Benefit Street in Lexington, I think our minds were all focused in the old world. And so I like the partnership we formed with them. I like the $25 billion they're investing with you, the 5-year lockup on the stock. I'm curious on the insurance and the retirement channels, were they growing there? Which strategies? And then more importantly, with your broad diversified offering, what do you expect that you can actually sell into that channel so like lever that distribution?

因此，我將在普特南進一步深入研究。這很有趣，因為在列剋星敦的福利街之後，我認為我們的注意力都集中在舊世界上。所以我喜歡我們與他們建立的伙伴關係。我喜歡他們與你一起投資的 250 億美元，以及股票的 5 年禁售期。我很好奇保險和退休渠道，它們在那裡增長嗎？哪些策略？更重要的是，通過您廣泛的多元化產品，您期望您實際上可以向該渠道銷售什麼，就像利用該分銷一樣？

Sure. It's Adam here. So a couple of things. I would say, one, with Putnam, we get tremendous investment performance. I think they're the only firm that had their fund family in the top 10 for like the 3 to 5 in the 10-year period. So good investment performance across the board. They bring a few investment capabilities that we did not have before. Target date is a good example where they have $6.5 billion and given that about 1/3 of the assets in D.C. go into things like that, we're feeling that, that gives us a real leg up. Stable Value and Ultrashort are 2 other areas where they're quite strong.

當然。亞當在這裡。有幾件事。我想說，第一，通過普特南，我們獲得了巨大的投資業績。我認為他們是唯一一家其基金系列在 10 年內躋身前 10 名的公司（大約有 3 到 5 名）。整體投資表現良好。他們帶來了一些我們以前沒有的投資能力。目標日期就是一個很好的例子，他們擁有 65 億美元，考慮到華盛頓特區大約 1/3 的資產都用於此類事情，我們覺得這給了我們真正的優勢。穩定價值和超短期是他們相當強大的另外兩個領域。

They have been very strong in both insurance and the DCIO market. And our plan there is to really integrate those 2 distribution teams so that we will be stronger in each and every client that we partner with. We have a broad range of clients in the insurance and DCIO space. And we think together, the 2 teams will be able to serve all of them in a much more effective way.

他們在保險和 DCIO 市場都非常強大。我們的計劃是真正整合這兩個分銷團隊，以便我們在與我們合作的每一個客戶中變得更強大。我們在保險和 DCIO 領域擁有廣泛的客戶。我們認為，兩支團隊將能夠以更有效的方式為所有人提供服務。

And I will add -- I mean I'm just looking at the morning start flows, I think it's something like 4 out of the top 10 slowing categories are Target Date funds. And so having a good performing Target Date with really what Putnam brings is the expertise on selling into the retirement channel that we're really excited. We think that, that will benefit all the retirement platforms that we do business with. And then as Adam mentioned, just having 2 great products and a stable value in the Target Date to be nice to add to our suite.

我要補充一點——我的意思是我只是在關注早上的啟動資金流，我認為前 10 個放緩類別中有 4 個是目標日期基金。因此，擁有一個表現良好的目標日期，普特南真正帶來的是向退休渠道銷售的專業知識，我們對此感到非常興奮。我們認為，這將使所有與我們開展業務的退休平台受益。然後，正如 Adam 提到的，只要在目標日期內擁有 2 款出色的產品和穩定的價值，就可以很好地添加到我們的套件中。

And then Glenn, the only thing I'd add on Putnam is just to make the point that, obviously, it's been a month ago, actually over a month now since we announced the transaction, their AUM is up slightly by 2% to 3% based on the market. The flows have been stable, the performance is still as strong as Adam just outlined, we've got team agreements in place with all the key investors and our planning process around the acquisition of what we expect to get out of the acquisition from both a financial perspective and the strategic perspective, as Adam and Jenny just mentioned, we feel that we're very much on track as we communicated at the time of the acquisition announcement.

然後 Glenn，我對 Putnam 唯一要補充的一點是，顯然，自從我們宣布交易以來，已經過去一個月了，實際上已經一個多月了，他們的 AUM 略有上升 2% 至 3% % 基於市場。資金流一直穩定，業績仍然像亞當剛剛概述的那樣強勁，我們已經與所有主要投資者達成了團隊協議，並且我們圍繞收購我們期望從收購中獲得的收益進行了規劃流程從財務角度和戰略角度來看，正如 Adam 和 Jenny 剛才提到的，我們認為正如我們在宣布收購時所溝通的那樣，我們已經步入正軌。

The next question comes from Michael Cyprys at Morgan Stanley.

下一個問題來自摩根士丹利的邁克爾·賽普里斯。

Just wanted to ask about capital deployment. The cash balance continues to rise here. Cash and investment $6.9 billion, nearly $7 billion. Just curious how you're thinking about putting that to work from here. It sounds like a little bit of debt pay down, some buybacks limited to offset share dilution. So it seems like meaningful capital put to work in M&A. So just curious how you're thinking about that opportunity set as you look out from here?

只是想問一下資金配置的問題。這裡的現金餘額繼續增加。現金和投資 69 億美元，接近 70 億美元。只是好奇你是如何考慮從這裡開始工作的。聽起來像是一點點債務償還，一些回購僅限於抵消股票稀釋。因此，這似乎是投入到併購中的有意義的資本。所以只是好奇當你從這裡向外看時，你是如何看待這個機會的？

Yes. So I think our capital management strategy is going to remain consistent with what we communicated in the past. Number one is maintaining the trajectory of our dividend, we've had over many, many years. Number two is organic growth opportunities in the business. Number three, as you alluded to, it's hedging our employee grants. It might look like we're a little bit behind on that front in the context of the shares we've repurchased to date, but we will catch up on that this quarter and make sure that we are very much in line with that communication that we've been consistent about.

是的。因此，我認為我們的資本管理策略將與我們過去溝通的內容保持一致。第一是保持我們多年來的股息軌跡。第二是業務的有機增長機會。第三，正如您提到的，它是對沖我們的員工補助金。就迄今為止我們回購的股票而言，我們在這方面可能有點落後，但我們將在本季度趕上這一點，並確保我們與我們的溝通非常一致我們一直保持一致。

We obviously have debt that we need to service. We paid down $300 million of debt in July as announced, and that was the term loan that we had in place and we paid that off. We're saving about $4.5 million by doing that, but we're retaining the exact same amount of liquidity by replacing that $300 million term loan with a larger revolver. So we've taken out $500 million revolving credit facility and a $300 million term loan, which was $800 million in total; paid off the $300 million term loan and replaced it with 1 single $800 million 5-year revolving credit facility. So we've actually enhanced our liquidity and financial flexibility by doing that and saved $4 million to $5 million in the process.

顯然我們有需要償還的債務。正如宣布的那樣，我們在 7 月份償還了 3 億美元的債務，這是我們已經到位的定期貸款，我們還清了這筆貸款。通過這樣做，我們節省了大約 450 萬美元，但通過用更大的左輪手槍取代那筆 3 億美元的定期貸款，我們保留了完全相同數量的流動性。因此，我們已經獲得了 5 億美元的循環信貸額度和 3 億美元的定期貸款，總計 8 億美元；還清了 3 億美元的定期貸款，並用 1 筆 8 億美元的 5 年期循環信貸額度代替。因此，我們實際上通過這樣做增強了流動性和財務靈活性，並在此過程中節省了 400 萬至 500 萬美元。

And then opportunistic share repurchases on top of that M&A. I think Jenny has mentioned several times, we're very interested in the infrastructure space around M&A and the alternative asset space in particular. And in terms of the opportunistic share repurchase, the way I would describe that is, as a consequence of how we decided to fund the Putnam acquisition. We're issuing 33.3 million shares when the closing date occurs and we expect to start repurchasing those shares in a methodical manner, all else being equal in fiscal 2024, obviously, after the date that we've closed the transaction. So we certainly expect to pick up share repurchase as a consequence of doing that transaction.

然後在併購的基礎上進行機會主義的股票回購。我想珍妮已經多次提到，我們對圍繞併購的基礎設施領域，特別是另類資產領域非常感興趣。就機會主義股票回購而言，我的描述方式是，我們決定為普特南收購提供資金的結果。當截止日期到來時，我們將發行 3330 萬股股票，我們預計將開始以有條不紊的方式回購這些股票，顯然，在我們完成交易之日之後，2024 財年其他條件都相同。因此，我們當然希望通過該交易進行股票回購。

Just a quick follow-up question, more broadly, AI, Generative AI getting a lot more attention these days. So just curious how you're thinking about the potential and opportunity from AI? Is this a revenue or an expense benefit? What sort of impact do you think this could have on the competitive landscape? And maybe you could talk a little bit about how you're experimenting to what extent would that today?

只是一個快速的後續問題，更廣泛地說，人工智能、生成式人工智能如今受到了更多關注。只是好奇您如何看待人工智能的潛力和機遇？這是收入還是支出效益？您認為這會對競爭格局產生什麼樣的影響？也許你可以談談你今天是如何進行實驗的？

Yes. So I mean, fortunately, I think that's probably one of the benefits of being headquartered in Silicon Valley. We've been actually doing some work in AI for the last 4 years, if you probably have heard about our gold optimization engine tool that's all built on AI. And we're doing what others are doing around. You use AI for early warning systems, so things like risk management, business intelligence, intelligent automation. So we have a proof of concept or a pilot going on where we have our -- it's sort of like a portfolio research assistant. So it's summarizing 10-Ks and annual reports for our PM teams.

是的。所以我的意思是，幸運的是，我認為這可能是總部設在矽谷的好處之一。如果您可能聽說過我們完全基於人工智能構建的黃金優化引擎工具，那麼過去 4 年我們實際上一直在人工智能方面做一些工作。我們正在做其他人正在做的事情。您將人工智能用於早期預警系統，例如風險管理、商業智能、智能自動化等。因此，我們有一個概念驗證或正在進行的試點，有點像投資組合研究助理。因此，它為我們的 PM 團隊總結了 10-K 和年度報告。

One of the most important things you have to do is to build a sense around your data so that you're not training the world on your own data. And so we've had that undergoing. We're working on things like conversational AI to for help desk hoping to respond within 10 seconds. We've got a pilot going on to generate a draft fund commentary. Again, it's all training the models to be able to see good generating marketing material.

您必須做的最重要的事情之一是圍繞您的數據建立一種感覺，這樣您就不會用自己的數據來訓練世界。我們也經歷過這樣的事情。我們正在開發諸如對話式人工智能之類的服務台，希望能夠在 10 秒內做出響應。我們正在進行試點，以生成基金評論草案。同樣，這一切都是為了訓練模型能夠看到好的營銷材料。

So we're -- and we're using both Azure and Amazon because we're not quite sure what's the best for us from the language model. So we have -- the message is we've got quite a bit going on here. We've been early in it because the GO product sort of got us in there. And we think it will be both -- I think initially, it's more of a expense benefit and efficiency benefit, but you hope that it makes your portfolio managers and your research assistance more efficient and then things like revenue-generating tools.

因此，我們同時使用 Azure 和 Amazon，因為我們不太確定語言模型中哪種最適合我們。所以我們——傳達的信息是我們已經發生了很多事情。我們很早就進入了這個領域，因為 GO 產品讓我們進入了這個領域。我們認為這將是兩者兼而有之——我認為最初，這更多的是費用效益和效率效益，但你希望它使你的投資組合經理和你的研究援助更加高效，然後是創收工具之類的東西。

The next question comes from Patrick Davitt at Autonomous Research.

下一個問題來自自治研究中心的帕特里克·戴維特。

Sorry if I missed this, but is there any change to your expectations for expenses this year? And do you have any early thoughts on how to think about the path into fiscal 2024 as we enter the fourth quarter?

抱歉，如果我錯過了這一點，但是您今年的支出預期有什麼變化嗎？當我們進入第四季度時，您對如何思考 2024 財年的發展道路有什麼初步想法嗎？

Yes. Thank you. So I'll go through what we expect in the fourth quarter in terms of the guide and then that will lead to what the full year guide is essentially. So firstly, in terms of our EFR rate, we expect it to remain around 39 basis points. I think it might be slightly higher than 39 basis points in the fourth quarter, but let's call it around 39 basis points.

是的。謝謝。因此，我將詳細介紹我們對第四季度指南的預期，然後這將導致全年指南的實質內容。首先，就我們的 EFR 率而言，我們預計其將保持在 39 個基點左右。我認為可能會略高於第四季度的39個基點，但我們姑且稱之為39個基點左右吧。

In terms of comp and benefits, again, this is all fourth quarter. For modeling purposes, I would assume $50 million in performance fees, as we've described in the past, that would lead us to approximately $740 million in comp and benefits. IS&T, we put that similar to what we described last quarter at $ 120 million, very consistent. Occupancy in the mid- to high 50s. We guided the high 50s last quarter, we came in a little bit lower than that. We expect to be roughly the same again. And in G&A, we expect to be in the mid-140s, inclusive of continued normalization of T&E for the quarter.

就薪酬和福利而言，這都是第四季度的事。出於建模目的，我假設績效費為 5000 萬美元，正如我們過去所描述的那樣，這將使我們獲得大約 7.4 億美元的薪酬和福利。 IS&T，我們認為這與我們上季度描述的 1.2 億美元類似，非常一致。入住率在50多歲左右。上個季度我們的指導值是 50 多歲，但我們的成績比這個值要低一些。我們預計會再次大致相同。在 G&A 方面，我們預計將達到 140 多歲，其中包括本季度 T&E 的持續正常化。

In terms of what that means for the year, due to higher assets under management, better performance, increased fundraising related to -- increased fundraising related compensation and expenses, our overall guide increases slightly to just over $4 billion. It's very similar to what I described last time, but maybe slightly higher than that, certainly on the high end of $ 4.08 billion or something like that, $4.09 billion. But again, that's all -- that's assuming the market stays where it is today, and it's assuming those -- excluding performance fees, that is, as I described.

就今年的意義而言，由於管理資產增加、業績改善、與籌款相關的薪酬和費用增加相關的籌款增加，我們的總體指導略有增加，略高於 40 億美元。這與我上次描述的非常相似，但可能略高一些，當然是 40.8 億美元或類似的高端，40.9 億美元。但同樣，這就是全部 - 假設市場保持在今天的水平，並且假設這些 - 不包括績效費，也就是說，正如我所描述的那樣。

I mean then in terms of the margin, though, and I think you've asked about this several times in the past year, it's obviously difficult to guide on the margin because that means we're guiding on revenue essentially, but all else remaining equal, we would expect our operating margin to be stable in the 30% area in the next quarter.

我的意思是，就利潤率而言，我想你在過去的一年裡已經多次詢問過這個問題，顯然很難指導利潤率，因為這意味著我們本質上是在指導收入，但其他一切都剩下同樣，我們預計下一季度的營業利潤率將穩定在 30% 左右。

And any thoughts on next year? Or is it still too early?

對明年有什麼想法嗎？還是現在還太早？

It's too early. The only thing I'd say -- it's an interesting question, obviously, because we're going to be in the process of implementing or integrating the Putnam acquisition. I think as we've dug further into this post announcement, and as we get into the integration work and execution work, we're quite familiar with by now. I think we can say 2 things; one, you can expect from us continued meaningful expense discipline going into 2024 and I think you can see from us potentially more potential with the acquisition of Putnam as we integrate because we found other areas within Franklin Templeton that we can be more efficient in as a consequence of the transaction.

太早了。我唯一想說的是——顯然，這是一個有趣的問題，因為我們將處於實施或整合普特南收購的過程中。我認為，隨著我們進一步深入研究此公告，並進入集成工作和執行工作，我們現在已經非常熟悉了。我想我們可以說兩件事；第一，您可以期待我們在 2024 年繼續實行有意義的支出紀律，我認為您可以從我們身上看到，隨著我們的整合，收購 Putnam 可能會帶來更大的潛力，因為我們發現富蘭克林鄧普頓內部的其他領域我們可以作為一個更高效的公司交易的後果。

We've highlighted in the past that one of the benefits of M&A, is we always focus on the growth areas. That's what drives our acquisitions. But the second sort of derivative of the transactions that we've chosen to pursue it has helped us on the expense and efficiency side to reexamine how we do things and reexamine how we can be better and do things better. And as a result of that, I think you'll find that our expense discipline in 2024 will be -- will continue and perhaps outperform what we've communicated in terms of what we get out of the Putnam acquisition.

我們過去曾強調過，併購的好處之一是我們始終專注於增長領域。這就是我們收購的動力。但我們選擇追求的交易的第二種衍生品幫助我們在費用和效率方面重新審視我們做事的方式，並重新審視我們如何才能做得更好、把事情做得更好。因此，我認為您會發現我們在 2024 年的支出紀律將繼續下去，並且可能會優於我們從收購 Putnam 中獲得的收益方面所傳達的內容。

And one quick housekeeping. Could you give us the exact amount of the catch-up fees? And then how much offsetting placement fee was in expenses?

以及一項快速的客房服務。您能給我們具體的追趕費金額嗎？那麼費用中抵消安置費是多少？

Yes, the way, Patrick, I would look at that for this quarter is that essentially an operating income 0. So in other words, the revenue associated with the catch-up is practically the same as the expense. In fact, the expenses might have been slightly higher like $1 million or something like that. So it's an all operating income neutral.

是的，帕特里克，我認為本季度的營業收入基本上為 0。換句話說，與追趕相關的收入實際上與費用相同。事實上，費用可能會稍高一些，比如 100 萬美元或類似的金額。所以它的所有營業收入都是中性的。

And what was that in number so we can kind of get to the run rate of management fees?

這個數字是多少，以便我們可以了解管理費的運行率？

Like, $33 million, something like that -- in the low to mid-30s.

比如說 3300 萬美元，大約是 30 多歲。

The next question comes from Craig Siegenthaler from BofA.

下一個問題來自美國銀行的克雷格·西根塔勒。

Thanks. Good morning. On the Putnam transaction, I know it's going to bring $25 billion of flows in 12 months after closing. But I want to come back to what could happen from some of the cost cuts because you're cutting a lot of costs out of the company, I think, $150 million. So maybe I'll provide some perspective on the potential for merger-related dyssynergies or outflows on Putnam's $140 billion AUM base?

謝謝。早上好。關於 Putnam 交易，我知道交易完成後 12 個月內將帶來 250 億美元的資金流。但我想回到一些成本削減可能會發生什麼，因為你正在從公司削減大量成本，我認為，1.5 億美元。那麼，也許我會就 Putnam 1400 億美元資產管理規模基礎上與合併相關的協同失調或資金外流的可能性提供一些看法？

Yes. So the $150 million guide that we gave as we announced the transaction, that is inclusive of some modest attrition across the company. And so that's how we've got that. I think we, again, have a history. We don't want to jinx ourselves for this, of course, but we're extremely focused on asset retention as well as the potential growth.

是的。因此，我們在宣布這項交易時給出的 1.5 億美元指導中，包含了整個公司的一些適度的人員流失。這就是我們得到的結果。我認為我們再次擁有歷史。當然，我們不想因此而陷入困境，但我們非常關注資產保留和潛在增長。

The overlap is relatively modest in this transaction given the complementary investment strategies that Adam outlined at the beginning, and therefore, we expect modest attrition from this transaction across the board, which -- and frankly, we think that any attrition that we get above what we had expected, would be more than offset by other potential operating income and operating expense reductions in the transaction. So again, we stay very firm on the $150 million, and we think there's potential to be higher than that.

考慮到 Adam 一開始概述的補充投資策略，本次交易中的重疊相對較小，因此，我們預計本次交易會出現全面的適度損耗，坦率地說，我們認為我們獲得的任何損耗都不會超過我們曾預計，交易中其他潛在的營業收入和營業費用的減少將足以抵消這一影響。因此，我們對 1.5 億美元保持非常堅定，並且我們認為有可能比這個數字更高。

Craig, the other thing I would add is that given the number of transactions we've done and the continuity of portfolio management teams post transaction, we're getting very good reactions from clients that they feel that their investment teams will be stable and they don't make -- intend to make any shift, which is very positive.

克雷格，我要補充的另一件事是，考慮到我們已完成的交易數量以及交易後投資組合管理團隊的連續性，我們從客戶那裡得到了很好的反應，他們認為他們的投資團隊將是穩定的，並且他們不打算做出任何改變，這是非常積極的。

I would just also add. Thank you, Adam. I'd just also add that I would never understate ever the complexity of integration and implementation and working across the firm involving a new acquisition. But the $150 million is 30% margin. So it's not a hugely aggressive margin objective from that business. We should be able to get to that and exceed it over time. But our guide remember is on the first year, but after that first year, all else remaining equal, we certainly see other opportunities to go beyond that.

我也想補充一下。謝謝你，亞當。我還想補充一點，我永遠不會低估涉及新收購的整個公司的整合和實施以及工作的複雜性。但 1.5 億美元是 30% 的利潤。因此，該業務的利潤目標並不是非常激進。隨著時間的推移，我們應該能夠達到並超越它。但我們的指南記住的是第一年，但在第一年之後，在其他條件保持不變的情況下，我們當然會看到其他超越這一點的機會。

One follow-up on the SMA business. You've got a great business here. It's inflowing. I think you highlighted Franklin Income as one of the flagships that's driving this and also direct indexing. But what are some of the other funds that are driving flows into the SMA business? And then and when you think -- when you look at sales, what does the mix look like across channels? Is it heavily wirehouse? Is it heavily RIA? I'm curious to see what in upside?

SMA 業務的一項後續行動。你在這裡生意很好。正在流入。我認為您強調富蘭克林收入是推動這一目標以及直接索引的旗艦之一。但是還有哪些其他基金正在推動資金流入 SMA 業務呢？然後，當您思考時，當您查看銷售情況時，跨渠道的組合是什麼樣的？電線密集嗎？ RIA 嚴重嗎？我很好奇有什麼好處？

Sure. I think the way to think about that is; one, look at the legacy business, and two, look at the projection of the business going forward. So if we look at the legacy of the business, it really was strongest at the old Legg Mason, which means that a significant portion of the assets are with Western and ClearBridge, and those firms tended to be stronger in the wires.

當然。我認為思考這個問題的方法是；第一，看看遺留業務，第二，看看未來業務的預測。因此，如果我們看看該業務的遺產，它確實是老 Legg Mason 中最強大的，這意味著很大一部分資產都在 Western 和 ClearBridge 上，而這些公司往往在線路上更強大。

If you look at the trajectory of the business, it's really adding new products like our income fund to the SMA platform. We're already now since recently launching it on 6 broker-dealers and a number of RIAs there. So that's where -- really where a lot of the momentum is.

如果你看看業務的發展軌跡，你會發現它確實在 SMA 平台上添加了新產品，例如我們的收入基金。自從最近以來，我們已經在 6 家經紀交易商和一些 RIA 上推出了它。這就是真正的動力所在。

The other place I would say that we have huge opportunity is in our -- in the SMA businesses in munis, where we've seen about a 30% increase in our AUM there year-over-year and I think that's a place where we can really grow as well. So again, the strategy is to make sure that we give our clients vehicles of choice. So for all of our key strategies, we'd like to be able to offer them in both the fund format and an SMA format, and that's what we're building out right now.

我想說的另一個地方是我們有巨大的機會，在市政的 SMA 業務中，我們的 AUM 同比增長了約 30%，我認為這是我們可以提升的地方。也能真正成長。同樣，我們的策略是確保我們為客戶提供選擇的車輛。因此，對於我們所有的關鍵策略，我們希望能夠以基金形式和 SMA 形式提供它們，這就是我們現在正在構建的。

Next question comes from Brennan Hawken at UBS.

下一個問題來自瑞銀集團的布倫南·霍肯。

So just wanted to follow up there on the catch-up fees in Lexington. Number one, this was -- you're still raising, it sounds like. So was this a preliminary close? And do you expect there'll be further catch-up fees at the actual formal close. And I was just running the math on the $33 million, and I may be a little confused about your prior comment on fees being expected to be flat quarter-over-quarter. Do you think there'll be more catch-up fees in the coming quarter because it seems as though the catch-up maybe contributed about a basis point this quarter. So I wasn't quite sure about that, if you could clarify?

所以只是想跟進列剋星敦的追趕費用。第一，聽起來你還在加註。那麼這是一個初步的結束嗎？您是否預計在實際正式結束時還會產生進一步的追趕費用？我剛剛對 3300 萬美元進行了計算，我可能對您之前關於預計費用將環比持平的評論感到有點困惑。您是否認為下個季度會有更多的追趕費用，因為追趕費用似乎可能為本季度貢獻了一個基點。所以我不太確定，你能澄清一下嗎？

Yes. Thanks, Brennan. So firstly, I said $33 million, but I was just using that as a midpoint. That's not the exact number. We're not going to guide on where our catch-up fees are going. But I'll just say a couple of things. So the -- in terms of the fundraise, I think Jenny mentioned this at the beginning, where a couple of things we're allowed to say around the fundraise: Number one, we're ahead of target; number two, we're at $18.2 billion right now, that was what was announced filed recently; number three, we're still fundraising, which means, to answer your question, we may have another closing in the next quarter.

是的。謝謝，布倫南。首先，我說 3300 萬美元，但我只是用它作為中點。這不是確切的數字。我們不會指導追補費用的去向。但我只想說幾件事。因此，就籌款而言，我認為珍妮在一開始就提到了這一點，我們可以圍繞籌款說幾件事：第一，我們領先於目標；第二，我們現在的資產為 182 億美元，這是最近宣布的；第三，我們仍在籌款，這意味著，為了回答你的問題，我們可能會在下個季度再次關閉。

We don't know exactly, but I think it's likely we have some form of closing in that quarter. And that could have a positive impact on our effective fee rate. But even without, so to speak, I'll just be clear about this because I think this is a question that Patrick was getting at earlier. I think even without the catch-up be in the fourth quarter, our EFR, we would expect it to be around 39 basis points.

我們並不確切知道，但我認為我們很可能會在該季度以某種形式完成交易。這可能會對我們的有效費率產生積極影響。但即使沒有，可以這麼說，我也會澄清這一點，因為我認為這是帕特里克早些時候提出的問題。我認為即使沒有第四季度的追趕，我們的 EFR 也預計會在 39 個基點左右。

So we're not -- our 39 basis points is not reliant upon the catch-up fee per se. That's, I think, your -- I think that's the question you were trying to get at. Correct?

因此，我們的 39 個基點並不依賴於追趕費本身。我認為，這就是你想要解決的問題。正確的？

Yes, yes, yes. I appreciate that. Just want to try to understand some of those mechanics. So thanks for laying that out.

對對對。我很感激。只是想嘗試了解其中一些機制。感謝您提出這一點。

And then obviously, after the -- when we have this moment in time we do a closing and we have a catch-up fee and then we have expenses associated with raising the funds. And after that, of course, we don't have those one-off expenses, but we do have the normalized alternative asset higher fee rate against the assets that we're raising on the entire AUM, which is, as you know, around the 1% area.

顯然，在這一刻之後，我們會進行結算，我們會收取追繳費用，然後我們會產生與籌集資金相關的費用。當然，在那之後，我們就沒有那些一次性費用了，但相對於我們在整個資產管理規模上籌集的資產，我們確實有標準化的另類資產更高的費率，正如你所知，大約是1%的面積。

So -- and that's the aspect of the fees that I would focus on that helps our EFR on the long term. That's what helps us remain around that 39 basis points.

所以，這就是我關注的費用方面，從長遠來看有助於我們的 EFR。這就是幫助我們保持在 39 個基點左右的原因。

For sure. Yes. This is just sort of noise and whatnot. I just wanted to understand it for modeling purposes. So thank you for that. You guys flagged in your comment document, I believe is what is referred to, that there was some improving performance in taxable fixed income strategies, which led to the lift in the investment performance versus benchmark. So just wanted to confirm that Western and whether or not you're seeing any impact from this improving performance on either RFP activity or client dialogue and what drove the reversal?

一定。是的。這只是某種噪音之類的。我只是想出於建模目的理解它。非常感謝你的幫忙。你們在評論文件中指出，我相信這就是所提到的，應稅固定收益策略的績效有所改善，這導致投資績效相對於基準的提升。因此，我只是想確認一下 Western，以及您是否看到這種績效改善對 RFP 活動或客戶對話產生了任何影響，以及是什麼推動了這種逆轉？

Yes. So significantly improved performance at Western in Core, Core Plus and [Macro Opps] trying to remember the numbers exactly, but it's first quartile year-to-date. And what we've seen is significantly improved net flows to the point where I thought we might be positive this month at Western. I'm not sure it will be quite, but it feels like they've kind of turned the corner there.

是的。因此，Western 在 Core、Core Plus 和 [Macro Opps] 中的性能顯著提高，試圖準確記住這些數字，但它是今年迄今為止的第一個四分位數。我們所看到的是淨流量顯著改善，我認為本月西方可能會出現積極的情況。我不確定情況會怎樣，但感覺他們已經扭轉了局面。

I want to address one other just performance because on the 1-year mutual fund ETF performance at 44%, I think it's really important to understand how significant the Franklin Income Fund can be in swinging this. So that's 14% of the mutual fund ETF number. The Franklin Income Fund is in -- there's no such category for multi-asset income in the retail channel at Morningstar.

我想談談另一項業績，因為就 1 年期共同基金 ETF 的 44% 業績而言，我認為了解富蘭克林收入基金在這一方面的影響力非常重要。這相當於共同基金 ETF 數量的 14%。富蘭克林收入基金屬於——晨星零售渠道中沒有這樣的多資產收入類別。

There is an institutional category. And if you were to compare it to the institutional category, they would be an 11th percentile. The peer average yield in that category is about 4.25% versus the Income Fund at 5.75%. The peer average in the retail category yields 1.84% versus 5.75%. So if there were an income category at Morningstar, they would be in the top quartile, and that would swing us up to 58 percentile.

有一個機構類別。如果你將其與機構類別進行比較，它們將排在第 11 個百分點。該類別的同類平均收益率約為 4.25%，而收益基金為 5.75%。零售類別的同行平均收益率為 1.84%，而同行平均收益率為 5.75%。因此，如果晨星公司有一個收入類別，他們將位於前四分之一，這將使我們上升到 58%。

And because it's so significant, I just feel like it's important to understand, it just isn't a category. Unfortunately, the $1.5 billion inflows that we've had, net flows in the Franklin Income proves that the income strategy is as relevant today as when my grandfather started it 70-plus years ago despite the fact that there are no true peers in that space.

因為它如此重要，所以我覺得理解它很重要，它不是一個類別。不幸的是，我們擁有的 15 億美元的流入，富蘭克林收入的淨流量證明，收入戰略在今天仍然與我祖父 70 多年前開始實施該戰略時一樣重要，儘管事實上在該領域沒有真正的同行。

And to that, I just might add because your question was about RFPs and pipeline and such. What we're really seeing is if you think about a sales pipeline, a significant buildup in late-stage opportunities but what we're not seeing is the conversion to that as quickly as we would expect to one but not funded. And that is really because we believe a number of institutions are waiting for the interest rate cycle to settle in. Are we going to have one more hike? What will happen to inflation? So that last stage of deployment and final contracting is a little slower, but we do see a bit of a bulge building up in those late-stage opportunities.

對此，我可能會補充一點，因為您的問題是關於 RFP 和管道等。我們真正看到的是，如果你考慮銷售渠道，後期機會的顯著積累，但我們沒有看到的是像我們預期的那樣快速轉換，但沒有資金。這實際上是因為我們相信許多機構正在等待利率週期穩定下來。我們還會再加息一次嗎？通貨膨脹會發生什麼？因此，部署和最終簽約的最後階段要慢一些，但我們確實看到這些後期機會有所增加。

Next question comes from Ken Worthington from JPMorgan.

下一個問題來自摩根大通的肯·沃辛頓。

When commenting on the improvements in multi-asset product flows, you mentioned Solutions as a contributor. To what extent are alternative investment capabilities important to growing Franklin Solutions AUM? And to what extent are your existing alternative products already integrated with your public market capabilities within the Solutions ecosystem?

在評論多資產產品流程的改進時，您提到了解決方案作為貢獻者。另類投資能力對於富蘭克林解決方案資產管理規模的增長有多重要？您現有的替代產品在多大程度上已與解決方案生態系統中的公共市場功能集成？

So I would say that, that depends more on the clients. So for example, FTIS has won mandates in model portfolios in the retail channel and very few of those have so far included alternatives in those model portfolios. On the other hand, they've also won insurance mandates that have some combination of alternatives in there. So I think that's more -- I think that question, it depends more on the channel the FTIS, Franklin Templeton Solutions -- Investor Solutions Group is serving then how that group performs.

所以我想說，這更多地取決於客戶。例如，FTIS 已經贏得了零售渠道模型組合的授權，但迄今為止，很少有模型組合中包含替代品。另一方面，他們還贏得了保險授權，其中包含一些替代方案的組合。所以我認為這個問題更多地取決於 FTIS、富蘭克林鄧普頓解決方案投資者解決方案集團所服務的渠道，然後取決於該集團的表現。

The other thing, Jenny, that I would add to that is that we can really build Traditional only a mix or what we're starting to do now is to build Alts only solutions as well, where if a client wants to have a single source for private equity venture, private debt, real estate, I think we're one of the few firms that can build those for clients.

珍妮，我要補充的另一件事是，我們真的可以構建僅傳統的混合版本，或者我們現在開始做的是構建僅 Alts 的解決方案，如果客戶想要擁有單一來源對於私募股權投資、私人債務、房地產，我認為我們是少數能夠為客戶打造這些服務的公司之一。

And actually, one thing is we also have been working with some retirement platforms who are interested in trying to figure out how to bring alternatives to retirements and building sleeves to go leases and managed accounts and some models in there. So we think that's a real opportunity.

事實上，我們也一直在與一些退休平台合作，他們有興趣嘗試找出退休的替代方案，並建立租賃和管理賬戶以及其中的一些模型。所以我們認為這是一個真正的機會。

Okay. So Solutions really isn't about combining these different capabilities together and providing a solution that results from the combination. It's really just solutions in single silos marketed out?

好的。因此，解決方案實際上並不是將這些不同的功能組合在一起並提供由組合產生的解決方案。市場上真的只是單一孤島的解決方案嗎？

No, I don't think -- no, because it might be that somebody wants an income solution model portfolio, right, or LDI type and so they will go in, depending on what the client's desired outcome is, and they will use multiple of our managers to bring that ultimate solution to the client. It's a real OCIO type situation. They even do -- they have a team that researches outside managers. But most of their solutions include multiple of our SIMs.

不，我不認為 - 不，因為可能有人想要一個收入解決方案模型投資組合，正確的，或 LDI 類型，所以他們會進去，取決於客戶想要的結果是什麼，他們會使用多個我們的經理為客戶帶來最終的解決方案。這是真正的 OCIO 類型的情況。他們甚至這樣做了——他們有一個研究外部經理的團隊。但他們的大多數解決方案都包含我們的多個 SIM 卡。

Next question comes from Dan Fannon of Jefferies.

下一個問題來自 Jefferies 的 Dan Fannon。

I wanted to clarify on performance fees, what the funds or affiliates that were the contributors. And I know -- I hear the guidance, and you've been consistent with that, but you've also consistently been above that in terms of the results. So as you think about where high watermarks sit and we think about fourth quarter, and even potentially into December, which has some other crystallizations. How we should think about, maybe where performance sits for that performance eligible AUM?

我想澄清績效費、哪些基金或附屬機構是貢獻者。我知道——我聽到了指導意見，你們一直遵守這一指導方針，但在結果方面你們也一直高於這一指導方針。因此，當你想到高水位線在哪裡時，我們會想到第四季度，甚至可能到 12 月，其中還有一些其他的結晶。我們應該如何思考，也許該績效符合 AUM 條件？

Yes. So this quarter, it was -- and it has been for the last few, I mean, even though we received performance fees from several of our specialist investment managers, in particular, on the alternative side, there has been a meaningful portion of it driven by our Clarion Specialist Investment Manager on the real estate side. And 80% of the performance fees is driven by multiyear performance thresholds being hit by clients that invested 5 years ago where a 5-year performance threshold has been hit.

是的。所以這個季度，過去幾個季度都是這樣，我的意思是，儘管我們從幾位專業投資經理那裡收到了績效費，特別是在另類投資方面，但其中有很大一部分是有意義的。由我們的 Clarion 房地產專業投資經理推動。 80% 的績效費是由 5 年前投資且已達到 5 年績效門檻的客戶所達到的多年績效門檻驅動的。

We expect going into next quarter performance fees, I think -- we continue to guide at $50 million because it's so hard to predict this in any form of accuracy but we guide between $50 million and $60 million for the quarter. As you mentioned, going into the -- our first fiscal quarter, which is the last calendar quarter, the fourth calendar quarter, that's sort of a little bit more widespread across the Specialist Investment Managers, and we may experience a little bit more performance fees then. But we'll provide more guidance on that next quarter when we get to that point.

我認為，我們預計下季度的績效費用將繼續保持在 5000 萬美元，因為很難以任何形式準確預測這一數字，但我們本季度的指導值為 5000 萬美元至 6000 萬美元之間。正如您提到的，進入我們的第一個財政季度，即最後一個日曆季度，第四個日曆季度，這在專業投資經理中更為普遍，我們可能會收取更多的績效費然後。但當我們達到這一點時，我們將在下個季度提供更多指導。

Okay. That's helpful. And then, Adam, just a broader question on distribution. Given all of the acquisitions over the last several years, I was hoping you could update us on how much of the AUM is actually utilizing the centralized distribution at this point? And where you are in terms of onboarding, whether it's some of the Specialist Managers or acquisitions that are more recent in terms of closing in terms of fully onto that platform to think about the momentum and where you are in that process?

好的。這很有幫助。然後，亞當，這是一個關於分配的更廣泛的問題。考慮到過去幾年的所有收購，我希望您能向我們通報目前有多少 AUM 實際上正在利用集中式分佈？在入職方面，您處於什麼位置，無論是一些專業經理還是最近完成的收購，都完全進入該平台，以思考勢頭以及您在該過程中的位置？

Sure. I think let me go back to where the starting point was, which was that the central distribution team was responsible for, globally, all institutional and all Wealth management raising and client servicing for legacy Franklin Templeton. On the Legg Mason side, again, it was more the SIMs handled a large portion of their institutional asset management, especially in the U.S.

當然。我想讓我回到起點，即中央分銷團隊負責全球範圍內所有機構和所有財富管理的籌集以及富蘭克林鄧普頓遺產的客戶服務。在美盛集團方面，同樣，SIMs 處理了大部分機構資產管理，尤其是在美國。

What we've seen over the last 2 years is a gradual movement towards a more coordinated global efforts. I would say that movement is quicker at a smaller firm like a Martin Currie, where the benefits of centralized resources are much more significant.

過去兩年我們看到，全球努力正在逐步走向更加協調一致。我想說，像 Martin Currie 這樣的小公司的行動速度更快，集中資源的好處更加顯著。

If you look at the other end of the spectrum at a Western that has a massively well built out global distribution capability of their own, it's really more episodic where the central distribution team is raising assets for them. So it does depend on the side, but the -- on the size, but the movement has been to find more places to cooperate. And we're also seeing a lot of benefits in the alternative space where the general salespeople are able to make introductions that then the alternative firms can close on their own.

如果你看看西方公司的另一端，他們擁有自己的大規模完善的全球發行能力，那麼中央發行團隊正在為他們籌集資產的情況確實更加偶發。所以這確實取決於一方，但取決於規模，但這一運動一直在尋找更多合作的地方。我們還看到替代領域有很多好處，一般銷售人員可以進行介紹，然後替代公司可以自行關閉。

Is there any way to put numbers around that in terms of like what still is held at the affiliate manager level versus?

有什麼辦法可以將數字與聯盟經理級別仍然持有的數據進行比較嗎？

Yes. I can tell you I shy away from that because what we're trying to build is a culture of cooperation where these teams work together and numbers imply that one team did it or the other team did it and what we're really trying to move towards just where it's a collaborative effort.

是的。我可以告訴你，我迴避這一點，因為我們正在努力建立一種合作文化，這些團隊一起工作，數字意味著一個團隊做到了，或者另一個團隊做到了，以及我們真正想要改變的朝著需要協作努力的方向發展。

The next question comes from Brian Bedell at Deutsche Bank.

下一個問題來自德意志銀行的布萊恩·比德爾。

Great. Just want to hop back on the Franklin Income Fund for 1 second. I think that's from that moderate allocation Morningstar category. But -- and I agree with what you're saying about the performance and the sort of mischaracterization of it. But do financial intermediaries use that Morningstar? O have you seen them use that Morningstar categorization in terms of, I guess, just recommending the fund because I do see it still in outflows despite the improved performance?

偉大的。只是想回到富蘭克林收入基金一秒鐘。我認為這是來自晨星的中等分配類別。但是——我同意你對錶演的看法以及對錶演的錯誤描述。但金融中介機構會使用晨星嗎？你是否看到他們使用晨星分類，我猜，只是推薦該基金，因為我確實看到儘管業績有所改善，但該基金仍在流出？

Well, I actually think it's in net flows, so that's why I said there was about $1.5 billion in net flows. Look, it is a frustration. During when interest rates grew 0, he was in the 80% equity category because, of course, he looked for dividend-yielding equity because you couldn't get anything in income. And then as he has been able to earn money in fixed income, he shifted. So now he's in the 50% to 70%. So yes, it's -- honestly, it's a discussion I personally at with Morningstar on it, and they're just the problem as there's no real competitors in the Wealth channel that -- so they can't build a big enough peer group. And so, we often point to the institutional one and his outperformance there.

嗯，我實際上認為是淨流量，所以這就是為什麼我說淨流量約為 15 億美元。看吧，這是一種挫敗感。當利率增長為 0 時，他屬於 80% 的股票類別，因為他當然會尋找能產生股息的股票，因為你無法從收入中獲得任何東西。然後，當他能夠通過固定收益賺錢時，他就轉向了。所以現在他處於50%到70%之間。所以，是的，老實說，這是我個人與晨星公司的一次討論，他們就是問題所在，因為財富渠道中沒有真正的競爭對手，所以他們無法建立一個足夠大的同行群體。因此，我們經常將矛頭指向機構人士以及他在這方面的出色表現。

And so to answer your question, yes, I'm sure there are some situations where it gets screened out. On the other hand, the team has tremendous following and loyalty. And one of the challenges has been as the world went to fee-based, it's harder for some financial advisers to buy and hold the income fund for 10 years, like they used to do. And that's why we've really pushed to get it on the SMA platform because they can hold it on an SMA platform, and they do, they love it.

因此，回答你的問題，是的，我確信在某些情況下它會被篩選掉。另一方面，該團隊擁有大量的追隨者和忠誠度。挑戰之一是，隨著世界走向收費化，一些財務顧問更難像以前那樣購買並持有收益基金 10 年。這就是為什麼我們真正推動將其放到 SMA 平台上，因為他們可以將其保留在 SMA 平台上，而且他們確實這樣做了，他們喜歡它。

They'll put a client in there and sit through them quite retirement. So it's a message that we continue to try to get the story out. And I just think that because it's 14%, it was important that people understand how much it will swing our 1-year category or any of the categories it can. But he's going to manage it, the team is going to manage it for yield, which is what the clients expect.

他們會把一個客戶放在那裡，然後坐到退休的時間。因此，這表明我們將繼續努力將這個故事公之於眾。我只是認為，因為它是 14%，所以重要的是讓人們了解它將對我們的 1 年期類別或任何可能的類別產生多大的影響。但他會管理它，團隊會管理它以提高產量，這是客戶所期望的。

Thank you. This concludes today's Q&A session. I would now like to hand the call back over to Jenny Johnson, Franklin's President and CEO for final comments.

謝謝。今天的問答環節到此結束。我現在想將電話轉回富蘭克林總裁兼首席執行官珍妮·約翰遜 (Jenny Johnson)，以徵求最終意見。

Right. Well, I just want to thank everybody for participating in today's call. And again, I would like to thank our employees for their hard work and dedication, and we look forward to speaking to you all again next quarter. So thank you.

正確的。嗯，我只想感謝大家參加今天的電話會議。我要再次感謝我們的員工的辛勤工作和奉獻精神，我們期待下個季度再次與大家交談。所以謝謝。

Thank you. This concludes today's conference call. You may now disconnect.

謝謝。今天的電話會議到此結束。您現在可以斷開連接。