Forge Global Holdings Inc (FRGE) 2023 Q1 法說會逐字稿

Hello. My name is Mallory, and I will be your conference operator today. At this time, I would like to welcome everyone to the Forge Global first-quarter financial results conference call. (Operator Instructions)

你好。我叫馬洛里，今天我將擔任你們的會議操作員。此時此刻，我謹歡迎大家參加 Forge Global 第一季度財務業績電話會議。 （操作員說明）

Thank you. I would now like to turn the conference over to Dominic Paschel, Head of Investor Relations. Please go ahead.

謝謝。我現在想將會議交給投資者關係主管多米尼克·帕舍爾 (Dominic Paschel)。請繼續。

Awesome. Thank you, Mallory, and thank you for all joining us today for Forge's first-quarter 2023 earnings call. Joining me today are Kelly Rodrigues, Forge's CEO; and Mark Lee, Forge's CFO. They will share prepared remarks regarding the quarter's results and then take questions at the end.

驚人的。謝謝 Mallory，也感謝大家今天參加 Forge 的 2023 年第一季度財報電話會議。今天加入我的是 Forge 首席執行官 Kelly Rodrigues；和 Forge 首席財務官 Mark Lee。他們將分享有關本季度業績的準備好的評論，然後在最後回答問題。

Just after the market closed today, we issued a press release announcing Forge's first quarter fiscal year 2023 financial results. A discussion of our results today is complementary to the press release, which is available on the Investor Relations page of our website. This conference call is being webcast live and will be available for replay. There's also an accompanying investor presentation on our IR page.

今天收盤後，我們發布了新聞稿，宣布 Forge 2023 財年第一季度財務業績。今天對我們業績的討論是對新聞稿的補充，新聞稿可在我們網站的投資者關係頁面上找到。本次電話會議正在進行網絡直播，並將可供重播。我們的 IR 頁面上還有附帶的投資者演示文稿。

During this conference call, we may make forward-looking statements based on current expectations, forecasts, and projections as of today's date. Any forward-looking statements that we make are subject to various risks, uncertainties, and there are important factors that could cause these actual outcomes to differ materially from those included in the statements. We discuss these factors in our SEC filings included in our quarterly report on Form 10-Q, which has also published recently. As a reminder, we are not required to update our forward-looking statements.

在本次電話會議期間，我們可能會根據截至今天的當前預期、預測和預測做出前瞻性聲明。我們做出的任何前瞻性陳述都受到各種風險、不確定性的影響，並且存在一些重要因素可能導致這些實際結果與陳述中包含的結果存在重大差異。我們在 10-Q 表季度報告中向 SEC 提交的文件中討論了這些因素，該報告也在最近發布。提醒一下，我們不需要更新我們的前瞻性陳述。

In our presentation today, unless otherwise noted, we will be discussing adjusted financial measures, which are non-GAAP measures that we believe are meaningful when evaluating the company's performance. For detailed disclosures on these measures and the GAAP reconciliations, you should refer to the financial data contained within our press release, which is also posted on the IR page.

在今天的演講中，除非另有說明，否則我們將討論調整後的財務指標，這些指標是我們認為在評估公司業績時有意義的非公認會計準則指標。有關這些措施和 GAAP 調節表的詳細披露，您應該參閱我們新聞稿中包含的財務數據，該新聞稿也發佈在 IR 頁面上。

Additionally, we have posted our first quarter supplemental information, which we believe is helpful to understand the business. Today's discussion will focus on the first-quarter 2023 results. As always, we encourage you to value both annual and quarterly results for a full picture of Forge's performance, which can be affected by unexpected events that are outside our control.

此外，我們還發布了第一季度的補充信息，我們認為這有助於了解業務。今天的討論將重點關注 2023 年第一季度業績。一如既往，我們鼓勵您重視年度和季度業績，以全面了解 Forge 的業績，這可能會受到我們無法控制的意外事件的影響。

With that, let me turn it over to Kelly.

那麼，讓我把它交給凱利。

Thanks, Tom. I'll start with some brief news and highlights before turning it over to Mark for the detailed financial overview for the first quarter. And then I'll come back and close some of the market insights that we are seeing from our data. Despite continued challenges posed by the markets in the first few months of 2023, we remain confident that Forge is well positioned for an eventual market rebound.

謝謝，湯姆。我將從一些簡短的新聞和亮點開始，然後將其交給馬克以了解第一季度的詳細財務概覽。然後我會回來總結一些我們從數據中看到的市場見解。儘管市場在 2023 年前幾個月持續面臨挑戰，但我們仍然相信 Forge 已為最終的市場反彈做好了準備。

On the Forge's platform, sell-side interest remains strong, and buy-side interest is improving. Buy-side indications of interest jumped 37% in Q1 and sell-side indications of interest grew 12% from Q4.

在 Forge 平台上，賣方興趣依然強勁，買方興趣正在改善。第一季度買方的興趣指數增長了 37%，賣方的興趣指數較第四季度增長了 12%。

We also observed buy interest in a broader number of companies, a 20% increase in Q1 over Q4. While there is improving interest on both the buy and the sell side, Q1 volumes reflected the continued uncertainty of market participants about the economic outlook and the health of the banking industry, which affected volumes in the quarter and impacted total revenue.

我們還觀察到更多公司的購買興趣，第一季度比第四季度增加了 20%。儘管買賣雙方的興趣都在增加，但第一季度的交易量反映出市場參與者對經濟前景和銀行業健康狀況的持續不確定性，這影響了該季度的交易量並影響了總收入。

We did see the take rate normalized compared to Q4, reaching 3.6%, up 29% quarter over quarter. And total custodial administration fee revenue grew to $10.8 million, up 9% quarter over quarter. In addition, our total custodial accounts increased from $1.87 million to $1.94 million, a 4% quarter-over-quarter increase.

與第四季度相比，我們確實看到採用率正常化，達到 3.6%，環比增長 29%。託管管理費總收入增長至 1,080 萬美元，環比增長 9%。此外，我們的託管賬戶總額從 187 萬美元增加到 194 萬美元，環比增長 4%。

We're encouraged by the fact that while investors have remained cautious throughout the downturn, they are turning to us for proprietary data and unique insights to help them navigate this moment. Investors are watching unique signals in Forge's private market data, including trade price discounts compared to last funding round, the bid-ask spread, and the rate at which companies exercise their right of first refusal or ROFR to time their entry or re-entry into this market.

我們感到鼓舞的是，儘管投資者在整個經濟低迷時期保持謹慎，但他們正在向我們尋求專有數據和獨特的見解，以幫助他們度過這一時刻。投資者正在關注 Forge 私募市場數據中的獨特信號，包括與上一輪融資相比的交易價格折扣、買賣差價以及公司行使優先購買權或 ROFR 來確定進入或重新進入時間的比率這個市場。

We are also excited about the launch of our first index, the Forge Private Market Index, which we have designed to be the pre-eminent benchmark for actively traded private companies. We launched the Board's Private Market Index on May 4.

我們還對推出第一個指數 Forge 私人市場指數感到興奮，我們將其設計為交易活躍的私人公司的卓越基準。我們於 5 月 4 日推出了董事會私人市場指數。

Now while other benchmarks that target this asset class often rely on stale funding data or fund level performance marks, the Forge's Private Market Index reflects the recent performance and pricing activity of venture-backed, late-stage companies that are actively traded in the secondary market. It's a tool that we believe, just like in public markets and other established asset classes, can be used to measure or attribute portfolio returns or track private market performance against other asset classes.

現在，雖然針對該資產類別的其他基准通常依賴於過時的融資數據或基金水平績效標記，但 Forge 的私人市場指數反映了在二級市場上活躍交易的風險投資支持的後期公司的近期績效和定價活動。我們相信，就像公開市場和其他已建立的資產類別一樣，它可以用來衡量或歸因投資組合回報或跟踪私人市場相對於其他資產類別的表現。

The first index speaks to the opportunity we see in front of us, to drive the solutions that investors need to fully participate in this asset class. We view this as a foundational steppingstone to a future where passively managed index solutions and other derived financial products drive increased liquidity and open access to a completely new market segment. And we believe it marks a pivotal leap forward and a necessary leap forward in the development of an efficient, transparent, and liquid private market accessible to all types of investors.

第一個指數說明了我們面前的機會，以推動投資者充分參與這一資產類別所需的解決方案。我們認為這是未來的基石，被動管理的指數解決方案和其他衍生金融產品將推動流動性增加並開放進入全新的細分市場。我們相信，這標誌著一個關鍵的飛躍，也是發展一個可供所有類型投資者參與的高效、透明和流動性私人市場的必要飛躍。

I'll now hand it over to Mark for a more detailed review of our Q1 financials.

我現在將把它交給馬克，讓他對我們第一季度的財務狀況進行更詳細的審查。

Thanks, Kelly. We will continue to benchmark our discussion of Forge's business performance in the first quarter compared to last quarter as we believe it's more meaningful to focus our remarks on a comparison to the prior quarter, given the unique economic environment in play at this time.

謝謝，凱利。我們將繼續對 Forge 第一季度的業務表現與上季度進行比較，因為我們認為，考慮到目前獨特的經濟環境，將我們的評論重點放在與上一季度的比較上更有意義。

In the first quarter of 2023, Forge's total revenue less transaction-based expenses totaled $15.5 million from $16.7 million last quarter due to the continuing volatility we witnessed in the quarter. Total placement fee revenues less transaction-based expenses reached $4.6 million from $6.8 million last quarter.

2023 年第一季度，由於我們在該季度看到的持續波動，Forge 的總收入減去基於交易的費用從上季度的 1670 萬美元增至 1550 萬美元。扣除交易費用後的安置費總收入從上季度的 680 萬美元增至 460 萬美元。

Due to the market conditions that Kelly touched upon, transaction volume for the quarter decreased to $128.2 million in Q1, while our overall take rate increased from 2.8% last quarter to 3.6% in Q1, which is more on par with our historical norms. Forge's custodial cash balances totaled $574 million in Q1, down from $635 million at the end of last quarter. The decline was largely driven by a spike of cash transfers. However, there are early indications in this quarter that following the Q1 spike, cash transfers have slowed significantly.

由於凱利提到的市場狀況，第一季度的交易量下降至 1.282 億美元，而我們的整體採用率從上季度的 2.8% 上升至第一季度的 3.6%，這與我們的歷史正常水平更為接近。第一季度 Forge 的託管現金餘額總計 5.74 億美元，低於上季度末的 6.35 億美元。下降的主要原因是現金轉移激增。然而，本季度的早期跡象表明，繼第一季度的激增之後，現金轉移已顯著放緩。

While Forge's custodial cash balances did drop, the decrease was more than offset by the continued increase in the Fed funds rate, resulting in total custodial administration fees rising 9% in Q1 to $10.8 million up from $9.9 million last quarter. Total custody accounts totaled $1.9 million in Q1, flat from last quarter. Assets under custody were $14.8 billion at the end of Q1 versus $14.9 billion last quarter, essentially flat.

雖然 Forge 的託管現金餘額確實有所下降，但聯邦基金利率的持續上漲抵消了下降幅度，導致第一季度託管管理費總額從上季度的 990 萬美元上漲 9% 至 1,080 萬美元。第一季度託管賬戶總額為 190 萬美元，與上季度持平。第一季度末託管資產為 148 億美元，上季度為 149 億美元，基本持平。

Total headcount decreased to 339 at the end of March. First-quarter net loss was $21.3 million compared to $26.2 million last quarter. This improvement was largely driven by a reduction stop in compensation expense along with other proactive cost saves. In the first quarter, adjusted EBITDA loss improved to $13 million compared to a loss of $14.3 million last quarter as the expense savings in the quarter more than offset the slight decline in revenues.

3 月底總人數減少至 339 人。第一季度淨虧損為 2130 萬美元，上一季度淨虧損為 2620 萬美元。這一改善主要是由於補償費用的減少以及其他積極主動的成本節約而推動的。第一季度，調整後的 EBITDA 虧損從上一季度的虧損 1430 萬美元改善至 1300 萬美元，因為該季度的費用節省足以抵消收入的小幅下降。

Net cash used in operating activities was $17.7 million in the quarter compared to net cash used by operating activities of $9 million last quarter. This increase was, for the most part, due to the payment of roughly $8 million in annual bonuses after year end as we had previewed in our last call.

本季度經營活動使用的現金淨額為 1770 萬美元，而上季度經營活動使用的現金淨額為 900 萬美元。這一增長在很大程度上是由於年底後支付了約 800 萬美元的年度獎金，正如我們在上次電話會議中所預見的那樣。

Cash and cash equivalents ended the quarter at approximately $175.3 million compared to a $193.1 million last quarter. From a housekeeping perspective, our weighted average basic number of shares used to compute net loss was 172 million shares, and our fully diluted outstanding share count as of March 31 was 187 million shares. For the second quarter of 2023, we estimate 173 million weighted average basic common shares for EPS modeling purposes.

本季度末現金和現金等價物約為 1.753 億美元，上季度為 1.931 億美元。從內務管理的角度來看，我們用於計算淨虧損的加權平均基本股數量為1.72億股，截至3月31日的完全稀釋流通股數量為1.87億股。對於 2023 年第二季度，出於 EPS 建模目的，我們估計加權平均基本普通股為 1.73 億股。

In summary, we're continuing to monitor the state of the markets and manage our cost structure. Forge is committed to lowering our overall burn in 2023 and to being good stewards of our capital.

總之，我們將繼續監控市場狀況並管理我們的成本結構。 Forge 致力於在 2023 年降低我們的總體消耗，並成為我們資本的好管家。

I'll hand it back to Kelly for a brief market overview before we turn it over for questions.

在我們將其轉交提問之前，我會將其交還給凱利，以獲取簡短的市場概述。

Thanks, Mark. Before moving to market insights, I wanted to note the strategic addition to the Forge Board.

謝謝，馬克。在進行市場洞察之前，我想先介紹一下 Forge 董事會的戰略補充。

Debra Chrapaty, Chief Technology Officer of Toast, recently joined our Board. Debra's extensive leadership experience across world-class financial services, technology, and consumer companies makes her a valuable addition to our Board. We look forward to working with Deborah and leveraging her expertise as we continue to execute our long-term strategic plan and further scale the private market asset class for the future.

Toast 首席技術官 Debra Chrapaty 最近加入了我們的董事會。 Debra 在世界一流的金融服務、技術和消費品公司擁有豐富的領導經驗，這使她成為我們董事會的寶貴補充。我們期待與 Deborah 合作，利用她的專業知識，繼續執行我們的長期戰略計劃，並進一步擴大未來私募市場資產類別的規模。

Now moving on to market insights. As published in our April private market update, we noted that despite concerns over possible ripple effects from the Silicon Valley Bank and other bank collapses as well as ongoing interest rate increases and recessionary fears, both public and private markets closed the first quarter showing some signs of resilience. The banking issues cascaded by the collapse of SVB did cause a temporary disruption in trading activities as many companies and investors scrambled to understand their exposure. But swift action by the government and regulators to stem the fallout seems to have avoided some of the worst-case scenarios.

現在轉向市場洞察。正如我們在 4 月份私人市場更新中發布的那樣，我們注意到，儘管人們擔心矽谷銀行和其他銀行倒閉可能產生連鎖反應，以及持續的利率上升和經濟衰退的擔憂，但公共和私人市場第一季度的收盤都顯示出一些跡象的韌性。由於許多公司和投資者爭先恐後地了解自己的風險敞口，SVB 倒閉引發的一系列銀行問題確實導致了交易活動的暫時中斷。但政府和監管機構迅速採取行動遏制影響似乎避免了一些最壞的情況。

The banking crisis was an additional distraction, and price dislocation continued in Q1 as investors remained cautious. As Forge has noted, since we started publishing the private market update, private markets generally lag public markets. We're monitoring the unique signals in Forge's private market data that we believe could be added to market participants' ability to identify the bottom and may also give indications of any signs of a rebound.

銀行業危機是另一個乾擾因素，由於投資者保持謹慎態度，第一季度價格繼續混亂。正如 Forge 所指出的，自從我們開始發布私募市場更新以來，私募市場普遍落後於公開市場。我們正在監測 Forge 私人市場數據中的獨特信號，我們相信這些信號可以增強市場參與者識別底部的能力，也可能給出任何反彈跡象的跡象。

As we published in our April private market update, we observed after several quarters of steep valuation declines through 2022, prices on closed trade held steady from Q4 to Q1, averaging about a 51% discount the last primary round in both quarters. We noted a slight narrowing of the bid-ask spread down to 21% from '23 at the end of Q4 and down from a peak of 28% in August of last year. And in Q1, we saw the rate at which companies are exercising the right of first refusal to buy back shares reach its highest level in the last two years. As I noted at the top of the call, we witnessed IOI activity on the Forge platform in Q1 compared to Q2, and a 20% increase in the breadth of issuers in which investors place bids.

正如我們在 4 月份私募市場更新中發布的那樣，我們觀察到，在 2022 年之前的幾個季度估值急劇下降之後，封閉交易的價格從第四季度到第一季度保持穩定，兩個季度的最後一輪主要融資平均折扣約 51%。我們注意到，買賣價差從 2023 年第四季度末略有收窄至 21%，也低於去年 8 月的峰值 28%。在第一季度，我們看到公司行使優先購買權回購股票的比率達到了過去兩年的最高水平。正如我在電話會議開頭指出的那樣，與第二季度相比，我們見證了第一季度 Forge 平台上的 IOI 活動，以及投資者出價的發行人范圍增加了 20%。

So we feel encouraged about the interest and activity on the platform. Based on what we can see so far in the quarter, we expect second-quarter market results to exceed those of Q1. We can sum up the sentiment in the market like this. Just like with public market investors, private market investors don't want to catch the following night, but they do want to be the first to pick it up.

因此，我們對該平台上的興趣和活動感到鼓舞。根據我們本季度迄今為止所看到的情況，我們預計第二季度的市場業績將超過第一季度。我們可以這樣總結市場情緒。就像公開市場投資者一樣，私人市場投資者不想在第二天晚上抓住機會，但他們確實希望成為第一個抓住機會的人。

We're helping investors prepare for what comes next with actionable private market data and insights that investors need to find their re-entry into this market. And we've said this before, but we're optimistic about our position when the market inevitably returns.

我們正在幫助投資者為接下來的情況做好準備，提供投資者重新進入這個市場所需的可操作的私人市場數據和見解。我們之前已經說過這​​一點，但當市場不可避免地回歸時，我們對我們的立場持樂觀態度。

At Forge, we continue to leverage our strongest assets, our team, our technology, and our prudent management of capital to build momentum and manage through this cycle. While there are many macroeconomic factors out of our control, we have taken measured steps to support our business and come out of this period ahead. And we continue to make progress to deliver solutions, data, insights, and trading capabilities that institutional investors will increasingly recognize as a competitive advantage and that all market participants can leverage to access and navigate the private market. Thank you.

在 Forge，我們繼續利用我們最強大的資產、我們的團隊、我們的技術和我們審慎的資本管理來建立動力並管理這個週期。儘管有許多宏觀經濟因素是我們無法控制的，但我們已採取謹慎的措施來支持我們的業務並走出這一時期。我們在提供解決方案、數據、見解和交易能力方面不斷取得進展，機構投資者將越來越多地認識到這些是競爭優勢，並且所有市場參與者都可以利用這些來進入和駕馭私募市場。謝謝。

Mallory, can we please open to questions?

馬洛里，我們可以接受提問嗎？

(Operator Instructions)

（操作員說明）

Devin Ryan, JMP Securities.

德文·瑞安 (Devin Ryan)，JMP 證券。

Hi, this is Michael Falco on for Devin. Good afternoon. I wanted to start on the custody business. Obviously, custodial fees took another nice step up in the quarter, and the number of custodial accounts was also up.

大家好，我是德文的邁克爾·法爾科。下午好。我想開始託管業務。顯然，本季度託管費用又大幅上漲，託管賬戶數量也有所增加。

But Mark, I believe you mentioned a spike in cash transfers. Can you just provide maybe a little bit of insight on what drove that spike in transfers and maybe how we should be thinking about cash sorting dynamics from this point forward?

但是馬克，我相信你提到了現金轉移的激增。您能否提供一些關於推動轉賬激增的原因以及從現在開始我們應該如何考慮現金分類動態的一些見解？

Hey, Devin. This is Kelly. I'm going to let Mark answer that question about cash, but I wanted to clarify one point that I made in the prepared comments.

嘿，德文。這是凱利。我將讓馬克回答有關現金的問題，但我想澄清我在準備好的評論中提出的一點。

What I said is we witnessed IOI activity on the Forge's platform in Q1 compared to Q2. I meant to say, compared to Q4. So for those of you who heard that, the reference was comparing Q1 to Q4, not Q1 to Q2. And so that was a 20% increase in the breadth of issuers in Q1 over Q4, just to make that crystal clear. And so I'm sorry, was this Mike or Devin?

我想說的是，與第二季度相比，我們在第一季度見證了 Forge 平台上的 IOI 活動。我的意思是，與第四季度相比。因此，對於那些聽說過這一點的人來說，參考是比較 Q1 和 Q4，而不是 Q1 和 Q2。因此，第一季度發行人的範圍比第四季度增加了 20%，只是為了清楚地表明這一點。抱歉，這是邁克還是德文？

This is Mike. But yes, go ahead.

這是邁克。但是，是的，繼續吧。

Okay. All right. Go ahead, Mark.

好的。好的。繼續吧，馬克。

Yeah. Mike, so your question was just looking for further detail in terms of the movements of cash at the press company, correct?

是的。邁克，所以你的問題只是想了解新聞公司現金流動的更多細節，對嗎？

That's correct. Yes.

這是正確的。是的。

Yeah. So Mike, we specifically -- I specifically referred to it as cash transfers. As opposed to, I didn't specifically call out cash sorting because from our perspective, our visibility, what we literally see, is looking at the cash inflows and the cash outflows, in and out of the trust company.

是的。邁克，我們特別 - 我特別將其稱為現金轉移。相反，我沒有特別指出現金分類，因為從我們的角度來看，我們的可見性，我們真正看到的，是關注信託公司的現金流入和現金流出。

And as we see those -- as we saw those transfers increase during Q1 going to other financial institutions, I think we would speculate that cash burning sorting is a major component. But we simply don't see the end destination. We don't know if that cash is going to be investing in higher yielding securities and equities.

正如我們所看到的那樣——當我們看到第一季度流向其他金融機構的轉移增加時，我認為我們推測燒錢分類是一個主要組成部分。但我們根本看不到最終目的地。我們不知道這些現金是否會投資於收益率更高的證券和股票。

We don't actually know ultimately where the customers are moving their cash. So that's why we're limiting our description to a cash transfer, right? And so this is a number that I think we have started to see some movement towards the end of the year, and we saw -- we did see an increase in Q1. But as I noted earlier, there's a significant drop off in net transfers out as we have completed the month of April.

我們實際上並不知道客戶最終將現金轉移到哪裡。這就是為什麼我們將我們的描述限制為現金轉移，對吧？因此，我認為這個數字在年底時我們已經開始看到一些變化，我們確實看到第一季度有所增長。但正如我之前指出的，隨著 4 月份的結束，淨轉出量大幅下降。

Sure. That's helpful. And then maybe just to shift gears a little bit on the operating backdrop. Kelly, I believe you mentioned some of the banking industry turmoil that impacted volumes during the quarter. And it sounds like there's maybe several positive factors that are indicating that the environment maybe stabilizing a little bit heading into 2Q.

當然。這很有幫助。然後也許只是在操作背景上稍微改變一下。凱利，我相信您提到了影響本季度交易量的一些銀行業動盪。聽起來可能有幾個積極因素表明環境可能會在進入第二季度時稍微穩定下來。

We're about halfway through the quarter. Is there any quantitative insights that you can provide on how things have progressed 2Q to date? And I guess, what are the key indicators that we should be watching that may underlie a broader rebound in activity on the platform from here, trading activity that is?

本季度已經過半了。您是否可以提供有關第二季度迄今為止的進展情況的定量見解？我想，我們應該關注哪些關鍵指標，這些指標可能是平台活動（即交易活動）出現更廣泛反彈的基礎？

Yes. So we're not providing specific KPIs or metrics here. As I said, towards the end, we do have a view based on what we see right now that Q2 will do a little bit than Q1.

是的。因此，我們在此不提供具體的 KPI 或指標。正如我所說，最後，根據我們現在所看到的情況，我們確實認為第二季度的表現將比第一季度好一些。

Now I did reference three different signals, and we've talked about these before. And so the combination of them, just to reiterate, are the bid-ask spread narrowing. And really for the last six months, seeing that discounted closed pricing being consistent from the beginning of Q4 through the end of Q1. So that does indicate a flattening of discounting in the market.

現在我確實提到了三個不同的信號，我們之前已經討論過這些信號。因此，重申一下，它們的結合就是買賣價差的縮小。事實上，在過去六個月中，從第四季度初到第一季度末，折扣封閉定價保持一致。因此，這確實表明市場折扣趨於平緩。

And then finally, those ROFR numbers, we had mentioned this last year at one point because they popped. But the ROFR numbers coming in at 11% is the highest we've seen in two years. I think in 2022, it was somewhere averaging around 6%.

最後，這些 ROFR 數字，我們去年曾一度提到過，因為它們突然出現了。但 11% 的 ROFR 數字是我們兩年來最高的。我認為到 2022 年，平均增長率約為 6%。

So the fact that companies and insiders are buying back at this rate is another interesting signal for us. But those are the ones that I'd say our clients are looking at, and we're tracking them closely too. But we're letting the customers of Forge make calls on where we are relative to the market, but we do look at those three signals optimistically.

因此，公司和內部人士以這種速度回購的事實對我們來說是另一個有趣的信號。但我想說的是，我們的客戶正在關注這些，我們也在密切跟踪它們。但我們讓 Forge 的客戶詢問我們相對於市場的情況，但我們確實樂觀地看待這三個信號。

Great. That's a helpful context. Thank you. I'll hop back in the queue.

偉大的。這是一個有用的背景。謝謝。我會跳回到隊列中。

Rich Repetto, Piper Sandler.

里奇·雷佩托，派珀·桑德勒。

Good morning, Kelly and Mark. And I guess the first question is on the take rate, Kelly or Mark. It rebounded this quarter from the fourth quarter. And last quarter you talked about having to, I guess, seek liquidity on -- with third parties.

早上好，凱利和馬克。我想第一個問題是凱利或馬克的接受率。本季度較第四季度有所反彈。我想，上個季度您談到必須向第三方尋求流動性。

Is that the reason why it rebounded that you didn't have to do that in the first quarter? And what changed? Because certainly, we've seen how difficult a volume it was. But what changed was, I guess, where liquidity was, I guess is the question, to get that take right up.

這就是你第一季度不必這樣做而反彈的原因嗎？發生了什麼變化？因為當然，我們已經看到這本書有多麼困難。但我想，改變的是流動性在哪裡，我想這就是問題所在，要讓這種情況得到解決。

Yeah. Hey, Rich. This is Mark. So yes, you kind of hit it on the head.

是的。嘿，里奇。這是馬克。所以是的，你有點擊中了它的頭。

What we called out in Q4 was a large increase in the number of transactions where we were working with external third parties and basically splitting the revenues on those transactions. And what happened in Q1 was that number normalized to -- I mean, we're always out there looking to complete trades. And normally, we can cross trades internally between buyers and sellers on the Forge network.

我們在第四季度指出的是，我們與外部第三方合作的交易數量大幅增加，並且基本上分割了這些交易的收入。第一季度發生的情況是，這個數字標準化為——我的意思是，我們總是在尋求完成交易。通常，我們可以在 Forge 網絡上的買家和賣家之間進行內部交叉交易。

And from time to time, we'll partner with outside third parties to complete the trade for the benefit of our customers. And we saw an unusual increase in activity in Q4, and Q1 was returned to more normalized levels of that -- of the use of outside third parties in our trades.

我們會不時與外部第三方合作來完成交易，以維護客戶的利益。我們看到第四季度的活動異常增加，而第一季度則恢復到更正常的水平——在我們的交易中使用外部第三方。

Okay. I guess I'm assuming that that will likely -- could maintain itself going forward. If you could address that --

好的。我想我假設這種情況很可能會持續下去。如果你能解決這個問題——

Yeah. Rich, I would say that when you looked at the prior year and you looked at the various quarters, it was pretty common that one quarter out of a year, we would see a blip. And it's relatively random. It's situational based on the names that we're trading and the buying and selling interest in any particular given name.

是的。里奇，我想說，當你看看前一年和各個季度時，你會發現一年中的一個季度我們會看到一個短暫的現象，這是很常見的。而且是比較隨機的。它是根據我們正在交易的名稱以及任何特定名稱的買賣興趣而定的。

We had a blended rate of 3.3% for 2021 and 2022. So pretty consistent year over year. And we're not suggesting any overall change in take rates going up or down, broadly speaking. We're not raising prices; we're not dropping prices.

我們 2021 年和 2022 年的混合利率為 3.3%。所以逐年相當穩定。從廣義上講，我們並不建議採取任何上升或下降的總體變化。我們不會提高價格；我們會提高價格。我們不會降價。

And as we said before, the actual take rates in any given quarter will be a blend of the mix of business we're doing, whether that be institutional and more block oriented, more retail oriented, and/or the use of third parties. So there's multiple variables that can drive the take rate in any given quarter. But I think we're trying to share that our view in terms of overall [blended] take rates is relatively stable.

正如我們之前所說，任何特定季度的實際採用率將是我們正在開展的業務組合的混合體，無論是機構業務、更多面向區塊、更多面向零售和/或第三方的使用。因此，有多個變量可以推動任何特定季度的轉化率。但我認為我們正在努力分享我們對總體[混合]採用率的看法是相對穩定的。

Okay. Thank you. And one last follow up is sort of on the volumes, Kelly. And I'm just trying to see whether -- how things progressed maybe through the quarter. Was the banking -- did the banking crisis, even though it's -- you sort of imply that it's healed now but did that have an impact in the quarter?

好的。謝謝。最後一個後續行動是關於卷的，凱利。我只是想看看這個季度事情進展如何。銀行業是否——銀行業危機，儘管它——你暗示它現在已經痊癒了，但這對本季度有影響嗎？

And then sort of tied to that is the metrics that you are talking about. How long does it take when you see some improvements? Like would -- you're fighting industry-wide headwind in capital markets activity. And like how soon do these metrics --? How correlated are they? I guess, with the turn, how quick do they predict the turn?

然後與此相關的是您正在談論的指標。當您看到一些改進時需要多長時間？就像——你正在與資本市場活動中的全行業逆風作鬥爭。這些指標多久會出現——？它們之間的相關性如何？我猜，隨著轉彎，他們預測轉彎的速度有多快？

So let me start with the first question, which was, we came into Q1 watching the pipeline and we continue to do that. The banking impact really happened in the second half of the quarter. And it's hard to quantify just based on the way things emerge in pipeline and ultimately close. But we know that it disrupted installed trades, and that it delayed activity for some period of time.

讓我從第一個問題開始，我們進入第一季度觀察管道，我們將繼續這樣做。銀行業的影響真正發生在本季度下半年。僅根據事情在管道中出現和最終結束的方式很難進行量化。但我們知道它擾亂了已安裝的交易，並使活動延遲了一段時間。

We didn't and don't prepare an exact number for how much it affected. But there were certainly a period there or where everybody was checking the brakes and looking at what was going to be the state of money that had to move, whether they could move it. So there are a number of factors that we were watching, like everybody else, day to day.

我們沒有也沒有準備其影響的確切數字。但肯定有一段時間，每個人都在檢查剎車，看看必須轉移的資金狀況如何，是否可以轉移。因此，像其他人一樣，我們每天都在關注許多因素。

We feel pretty good about where it is right now. But like everybody else, we're watching the broader bank, kind of regional bank sector right now as well.

我們對現在的情況感覺很好。但和其他人一樣，我們現在也在關注更​​廣泛的銀行，即區域銀行部門。

Now in terms of how long it takes for some of these metrics to deliver, we're a little bit in uncharted waters right now because it's been, probably, a few years since we've seen the market get disrupted. And given all the factors that are going on right now, it's really tough to predict it. I will say this, seeing the price and discounts sustained for close to six months is a positive indication that the discounts have reached a correlation to the public market.

現在，就其中一些指標需要多長時間來實現而言，我們現在有點處於未知領域，因為自從我們看到市場受到干擾以來，可能已經有幾年了。考慮到目前正在發生的所有因素，很難預測它。我想說的是，看到價格和折扣持續了近六個月，這是一個積極的跡象，表明折扣已經與公開市場相關。

And so I'd say we said for a while that the private markets will react similarly to the public markets. It just takes them some time. I'd say we believe we fully caught up now. And so we're like everybody else, watching other macroeconomic factors, which would indicate that people should come back in.

所以我想說，我們有一段時間說過，私人市場的反應將與公開市場類似。他們只是需要一些時間。我想說，我們相信我們現在已經完全趕上了。因此，我們和其他人一樣，正在關注其他宏觀經濟因素，這表明人們應該回來。

But the other interesting data point here that I just want to double click on a little bit are the ROFR numbers. Because that's the one that says that people who really know the performance of the company -- because look, the ultimate trigger for more liquidity is more information and more volume. And I'd say in the ROFR numbers, you see indications of buyers who have more detailed performance data on companies than anybody else. And the fact that they're buying at elevated levels to those buybacks, that 12% is encouraging.

但我只想雙擊一下的另一個有趣的數據點是 ROFR 數字。因為那是說真正了解公司業績的人——因為看，更多流動性的最終觸發因素是更多信息和更多數量。我想說的是，在 ROFR 數據中，您可以看到買家比其他任何人都擁有更詳細的公司績效數據。事實上，他們的回購水平很高，即 12%，這一點令人鼓舞。

We need to keep watching that one. And we'll be sure to come back, Rich, and report on that coming out of Q2. But we haven't seen company buybacks like this since 2020. So we're watching it carefully.

我們需要繼續關注那個。 Rich，我們一定會回來報告第二季度的情況。但自 2020 年以來，我們還沒有見過這樣的公司回購。所以我們正在仔細觀察。

Hey, Rich. I would add also. I mean, if you look at public markets in 2023 thus far, perhaps somewhat volatile or choppy.

嘿，里奇。我也想補充一下。我的意思是，如果你看看 2023 年迄今為止的公開市場，可能會有些波動或波動。

The public markets have come off their lows from towards the end of the year. And as we talk about the private markets, it takes longer, right? That process of integrating information and price discovery, it's just more difficult in alternative assets and less liquid markets. But hopefully, the sign that the public markets have started to come off their bottoms and the stabilization of the valuations that we're seeing trade in the private markets, hopefully, that provides an indication that perhaps things will improve.

公開市場已走出年底以來的低點。當我們談論私人市場時，需要更長的時間，對吧？整合信息和價格發現的過程，在另類資產和流動性較低的市場中更加困難。但希望公開市場已經開始觸底的跡像以及我們在私人市場交易中看到的估值趨於穩定，有望表明情況可能會有所改善。

Got it. Thanks very much. Very helpful, thank you.

知道了。非常感謝。非常有幫助，謝謝。

Owen Lau, Oppenheimer.

歐文·劉，奧本海默。

Good afternoon, and thank you for taking my question. Could you please talk about or give us an update on the headcount expectation this year? Do you still expect this to be flat from, I think, 339 employees? Any more color would be helpful. Thanks.

下午好，感謝您提出我的問題。您能否談談或向我們介紹一下今年的員工人數預期的最新情況？我想，您是否仍然認為 339 名員工會持平？任何更多的顏色都會有幫助。謝謝。

Hi, Owen. Thanks, for the question. Look, we are still operating under a headcount freeze. Obviously, there's attrition, there's backfilling. But overall, we're still operating with a goal to maintain our overhead -- our overall headcount flat.

嗨，歐文。謝謝你的提問。看，我們仍然在人員凍結的情況下運營。顯然，有消耗，就有回填。但總的來說，我們的運營目標仍然是維持我們的管理費用——我們的總人數持平。

Obviously, we're going to continue to monitor how the year evolves and what we see happening in terms of our credit volume and revenues. But at this point, we're still maintaining that flat headcount posture.

顯然，我們將繼續關注這一年的發展以及我們在信貸量和收入方面所看到的情況。但目前，我們仍保持人員數量不變的態勢。

Got it. That's helpful. And then on private market index, how is it different from other competing private market index out there? Do you have any plan to monetize this index like licensing to asset manager or creating an exchange rate product down the role? Or it's still too early to say? Thanks.

知道了。這很有幫助。那麼，在私募市場指數方面，它與其他競爭性私募市場指數有何不同？您是否有任何計劃將該指數貨幣化，例如向資產管理者授權或創建匯率產品？或者現在說還為時過早？謝謝。

Well, let me start, and I'll let -- this is Kelly. I'm going to start, and I'll let Mark jump in. He and I have been both very close to this launch.

好吧，讓我開始，我會讓——這是凱利。我要開始了，我會讓馬克介入。他和我都非常接近這次發布。

It's a strategic priority for us here at Forge. And I'll start by saying that it's most significant differentiator. As we sat back and watched for the last couple of years, others announced these private market indexes which are largely based on last funding rounds.

這是我們 Forge 的戰略重點。我首先要說的是，這是最重要的差異化因素。當我們坐下來觀察過去幾年時，其他人宣布了這些私人市場指數，這些指數主要基於最後幾輪融資。

We fundamentally have believed those are stale data points, particularly as the market does what it does and goes down and demonstrates the volatility that it's demonstrated. And both Mark and I have backgrounds in asset management ourselves and have seen fund marks that are put out by participants' funds particularly, have a lag effect in terms of reflecting the true value of what these companies trade at, particularly, the ones that are most traded in this space.

我們從根本上認為這些都是過時的數據點，特別是當市場按照它的行為行事並下跌並顯示出其所表現出的波動性時。馬克和我自己都有資產管理背景，並且看到特別是由參與者的基金推出的基金標記，在反映這些公司交易的真實價值方面具有滯後效應，特別是那些在這個領域交易最多。

So we really are excited about filling the gap around data and marks that represent the most actively traded companies in the US. So we feel really good about how we stack up competitively. As it relates to the future, Mark, you might want to jump in here about our views and options going forward.

因此，我們真的很高興能夠填補代表美國交易最活躍公司的數據和標記方面的空白。因此，我們對自己的競爭力感到非常滿意。因為這關係到未來，馬克，你可能想在這裡談談我們對未來的看法和選擇。

Yeah. Hey, Owen, thanks for the question. As Kelly said, this is an area that we're both just super excited about. I think Forge is in a really unique position to lead the market with this product.

是的。嘿，歐文，謝謝你的提問。正如凱利所說，這是一個我們都非常興奮的領域。我認為 Forge 處於一個非常獨特的位置，可以通過該產品引領市場。

And just some really quick background in numbers for context. And I think people are very familiar with indices in the public markets. There's over 5,000 public market indices that are being used. There's about $12 trillion of money being managed in domestic equity funds, 54% of which employ a passive strategy.

以及一些非常快速的數字背景知識。我認為人們對公開市場的指數非常熟悉。目前正在使用的公開市場指數超過 5,000 個。國內股票基金管理著大約12萬億美元的資金，其中54%採用被動策略。

So I think we all know. And we're so familiar with major indices like the S&P 500, and the Russell, Nasdaq, FTSE. And we know how important they are to the markets on the public side.

所以我想我們都知道。我們非常熟悉標準普爾 500 指數、羅素指數、納斯達克指數、富時指數等主要指數。我們知道它們對公眾市場有多麼重要。

As Kelly said, I mean, there are some indices that are out there. I mean, you mentioned how the ones that are based on -- there are indices that are based on last funding round. And if you look at our index, the Forge's Private Market Index, and you look at the 75 names that compose them, if you look at all the underlying information that we're using to construct the index and cap-based returns, 90% of the names are based on information that is three months or less in terms of how relevant the information is versus longer dated. And 100% of our data is 12 months or less, based on information, 12 months or less.

正如凱利所說，我的意思是，有一些指數。我的意思是，您提到了那些基於的指數 - 有些指數是基於上一輪融資的。如果你看看我們的指數，Forge 的私人市場指數，你看看組成它們的 75 個名字，如果你看看我們用來構建指數和基於上限的回報的所有基礎信息，90%的名稱基於三個月或更短的信息（就信息的相關性與更長的日期而言）。而我們100%的數據都是12個月或更短，根據信息，12個月或更短。

If you look at those same 75 names, and you will going to base it on funding round data, then almost 90% of the names have a funding round in excess of one year. And when you looked at some of the other indices that are using funding round, they showed positive returns in 2022, and you just know that that wasn't the case in 2022. So the most important point and takeaway I think we are trying to stress is just how different and relevant the Forge Private Market Index is.

如果您查看這 75 個相同的名稱，並且將其基於融資輪數據，那麼幾乎 90% 的名稱的融資輪時間超過一年。當你查看其他一些使用融資輪的指數時，它們在 2022 年顯示出正回報，而你只知道 2022 年的情況並非如此。因此，我認為最重要的一點和要點是我們正在努力壓力在於 Forge 私人市場指數的不同和相關性。

And to the second part of your question, I mean, we think it's a massive opportunity, right? I mean, the intellectual property, the value of putting out index products. I think you guys are more familiar -- very familiar with the profitability of some of these very large index companies. So it's a high margin, highly scalable business. We think there's tremendous opportunity.

對於你問題的第二部分，我的意思是，我們認為這是一個巨大的機會，對吧？我的意思是，知識產權，推出指數產品的價值。我認為你們更熟悉——非常熟悉其中一些非常大的指數公司的盈利能力。因此，這是一項高利潤、高度可擴展的業務。我們認為存在巨大的機會。

Yeah, I think Kelly made a point of talking about how we think this opens the door to passively managed funds in the private market space, and I think we are well positioned to take advantage of that. And so we don't have any more details to provide at this point in time, Owen. But we're really excited, and we think it's -- we're in the right place at the right time.

是的，我認為凱利談到了我們如何認為這為私募市場領域的被動管理基金打開了大門，我認為我們已經做好充分利用這一點的準備。因此，歐文，我們目前無法提供更多詳細信息。但我們真的很興奮，我們認為我們在正確的時間出現在正確的地點。

(inaudible)

（聽不清）

Ken Worthington, JPMorgan.

肯·沃辛頓，摩根大通。

Hi. How are you doing? Good afternoon. This is Michael Cho on for Ken.

你好。你好嗎？下午好。我是邁克爾·喬 (Michael Cho) 代表肯 (Ken) 發言。

I guess, I just wanted to touch on competition as well. Kelly, Mark, just giving your comments on ongoing volatility and press transaction volumes. I guess, one, are you seeing -- and given that it's been going on for some time now, are you seeing any changes from competitive perspective?

我想，我也只是想談談競爭。凱利、馬克，只是對持續波動和新聞交易量發表評論。我想，第一，你是否看到——考慮到這種情況已經持續了一段時間，從競爭的角度來看，你是否看到任何變化？

And then two, if we are, in fact, passing a trough in terms of volumes into Q2 and maybe beyond, I mean, is there an area that Forge would look to be more aggressive in terms of investments or rollouts or products? And would you also be -- at which point would you be comfortable unfreezing [hiring] as well? Thanks.

然後第二個問題，如果我們實際上在第二季度甚至更長時間內進入了​​銷量低谷，我的意思是，Forge 是否會在投資、推出或產品方面尋求更積極的領域？您是否也會——在什麼時候您也願意解凍[招聘]？謝謝。

Okay. Well, let me start with competition. We're clearly monitoring our competition. As we've talked previously about our own strategy, we've clearly viewed the market as a global market.

好的。好吧，讓我從競爭開始。我們正在明確監控我們的競爭。正如我們之前談到的我們自己的戰略，我們清楚地將市場視為全球市場。

And we think part of this moment in terms of difficulty in raising capital for anybody, I'd say our competitors are challenged to raise the capital required that we think is important to invest at this stage of the private market. So we're looking at our infrastructure investments and looking around at our competitors.

我們認為，在這一時刻，為任何人籌集資金都存在困難，我想說，我們的競爭對手面臨著籌集所需資本的挑戰，我們認為，在私募市場的現階段，這對於投資很重要。因此，我們正在審視我們的基礎設施投資並審視我們的競爭對手。

And while we have seen a few announcements recently, we haven't seen anything that concerns us overly. We believe that the investments we're making in our current market data and custody infrastructure for institutions and the broader participants will help us come out of this time and prevail. We do expect some consolidation in the space. It's just natural because during difficult market times, scale and capital, balance sheet capital matter. So we feel like we're in a really good place there.

雖然我們最近看到了一些公告，但我們還沒有看到任何讓我們過度擔心的事情。我們相信，我們對當前市場數據以及針對機構和更廣泛參與者的託管基礎設施所做的投資將幫助我們走出這個時代並取得勝利。我們確實預計該領域會出現一些整合。這是很自然的，因為在市場困難時期，規模和資本、資產負債表資本很重要。所以我們覺得我們處於一個非常好的位置。

In terms of future investments, we're really focused on data. And the announcement around the index is just one other facet of data. We think that the market needs data. We think that the market would benefit, and liquidity would expand.

就未來的投資而言，我們真正關注的是數據。圍繞該指數的公告只是數據的另一個方面。我們認為市場需要數據。我們認為市場將會受益，流動性將會擴大。

In fact, when 2021 was full bore, people were asking me about what the next three to five years looked like. And I said then, we thought that transparency and information and standardization of tech were the key to creating more liquidity in the market.

事實上，當 2021 年即將到來時，人們問我未來三到五年會是什麼樣子。我當時說，我們認為技術的透明度、信息和標準化是在市場上創造更多流動性的關鍵。

Have we gotten more of that investment underway, you would see a more liquid market in down times that we're seeing right now. So you're still seeing the effect of an illiquid market right now and the need for more information. I think what that translates into for us is a continued investment in infrastructure around data and standardization of tech to allow more participants globally to participate in the private markets. And with that, we're looking at our own revenue composition.

如果我們正在進行更多的投資，您會在我們現在看到的低迷時期看到一個更具流動性的市場。因此，您現在仍然看到市場流動性不足的影響，並且需要更多信息。我認為這對我們來說意味著對圍繞數據和技術標準化的基礎設施的持續投資，以允許全球更多參與者參與私人市場。由此，我們正在研究我們自己的收入構成。

The recurring component of data and data subscriptions are really important to us. So we're going to continue to stay focused on that and on the institutions that are lining up to enter the space for the very first time. I mentioned this on the roadshow a year and a half ago, institutional investors that previously weren't in the private market are coming into it. Now we've seen some disruption here [where] everyone is wanting to see where the prices end up.

數據和數據訂閱的重複部分對我們來說非常重要。因此，我們將繼續關注這一點以及首次排隊進入該領域的機構。我在一年半前的路演中提到過這一點，以前不在私募市場的機構投資者正在進入其中。現在我們在這裡看到了一些混亂，每個人都想知道價格最終會走向何方。

And so I'd say, going back to the data point and signals on the platform, we're really excited about where we sit right now. But I'd say, looking forward, probably being more aggressive in standardizing technology for institutions and for building out our data infrastructure and continued distribution of our data globally.

所以我想說，回到平台上的數據點和信號，我們對我們現在所處的位置感到非常興奮。但我想說，展望未來，可能會更加積極地標準化機構技術、建設我們的數據基礎設施以及在全球範圍內持續分發我們的數據。

Okay. No, great. Thank you for the color. That's great.

好的。不，太好了。謝謝你的顏色。那太棒了。

And then just want to quickly switch gears just on expenses. I guess, one, is there anything to call out if you saw the lower stock comp? And I guess, just outside of that, anything to call out in terms of first-quarter comp? And then is that a normalized number we should have in our head in terms of comp and maybe total adjusted expenses as well? Thanks.

然後只想在費用上快速切換。我想，第一，如果您看到較低的股票比較，有什麼值得指出的嗎？我想，除此之外，第一季度的業績還有什麼值得指出的嗎？那麼，這是一個我們應該在頭腦中考慮的標準化數字嗎？就補償而言，也許還有調整後的總費用？謝謝。

Hold on. I think your first -- the first part of your question didn't come through. If you could repeat it? I think it had to do with expenses, but I think it was not comp part. What did you say before the comp part of the question?

堅持，稍等。我認為你的第一個問題的第一部分沒有得到解決。如果可以重複一下嗎？我認為這與費用有關，但我認為這不是補償部分。在問題的比較部分之前您說什麼？

So I was just asking about normalized comp, and I had referenced normalized stock comp as well. So normalized comp in 1Q, is this a normalized number we should have same with stock comp and then kind of total adjusted expense as well? Thanks.

所以我只是問標準化的補償，我也參考了標準化的股票補償。那麼第一季度的標準化補償，這是我們應該與股票補償相同的標準化數字，然後也是調整後的總費用嗎？謝謝。

Okay. So I'm going to let Mark Lee address the Q1 comp number. I know he'd mentioned that we had our annual bonus number in that Q1, so I'll let him get to that.

好的。因此，我將讓馬克·李 (Mark Lee) 談談第一季度的業績數字。我知道他提到我們在第一季度有年度獎金數字，所以我會讓他談談。

But I just want to make one point before I turn it over. And that was, you asked at the end of the previous question, what would cause our headcount to go in the other direction? And clearly, it would be signals from the market that show the sustained improvement in our pipeline and a recovery that was translating into volumes on the platform. I'd say, that's what we're watching if we were going to make any change in our direction around headcount and staffing.

但我只想在翻過來之前先說明一點。也就是說，您在上一個問題結束時問，什麼會導致我們的員工數量朝另一個方向發展？顯然，來自市場的信號表明我們的管道持續改善，並且複蘇正在轉化為平台上的交易量。我想說，如果我們要在員工人數和人員配置方面做出任何改變，這就是我們正在關注的。

There's a ton we can do here. And we have had to really practice discipline around being focused on the things that we really need to build with the headcount and burn that we seek to achieve in 2023. So we're not going to come off in that position unless we see a real, sustained indications that our pipeline is improving. So I want to make sure that gets heard by everybody on the call, and I'll turn over the question relating to Q1 comp to Mark.

我們在這裡可以做很多事情。我們必須真正遵守紀律，專注於我們真正需要通過人員數量和燒錢來建設的事情，我們力求在 2023 年實現這一目標。因此，除非我們看到真正的結果，否則我們不會處於這個位置。 ，持續的跡象表明我們的管道正在改善。因此，我想確保電話會議中的每個人都能聽到這一點，我會將與第一季度補償相關的問題轉交給馬克。

Yeah. Hey, Michael. So Q1 comp represents a fairly normalized number. I mean, if you exclude incentive compensation, if you exclude stock compensation and you look at baseline salaries and wages and benefits, it is a good baseline.

是的。嘿，邁克爾。所以 Q1 comp 代表了一個相當標準化的數字。我的意思是，如果你排除激勵薪酬，如果你排除股票薪酬，然後看看基準工資、工資和福利，這是一個很好的基準。

As you recall, in Q4, we announced that we took a small reserve for some strategic reductions that we were making at the end of the year. And so we realized those benefits in Q1. And in that sense, Q1 is a good baseline.

正如您所記得的，在第四季度，我們宣佈為年底進行的一些戰略削減預留了少量儲備。因此，我們在第一季度意識到了這些好處。從這個意義上說，第一季度是一個很好的基線。

Now the one thing I would caution though is that, particularly in our technology area, we employ a mix of employees and consultants and contractors. And our technology consultant contractors show up in the tech and communications line, separate from our wages and salaries. So there's, at times, interplay between those two different rows of the income statement, right?

現在我要警告的一件事是，特別是在我們的技術領域，我們僱用了員工、顧問和承包商。我們的技術顧問承包商出現在技術和通信領域，與我們的工資和薪水分開。因此，有時損益表的這兩行不同行之間會存在相互作用，對吧？

If we were to add more employees and have less contractors and consultants, you might see an increase in wages offset by a decrease in the tech and comps line or vice versa, right? If we were to add more consultants and contractors then at the expense of or in lieu of employees, then you might see some flip back and forth across those two rows. But yeah, I think that our people-related costs are probably including stock comp about 70% of our total operating expenses. And I think Q1 is a good baseline for you.

如果我們增加更多員工並減少承包商和顧問，您可能會看到工資的增加被技術和補償線的減少所抵消，反之亦然，對嗎？如果我們以犧牲或代替員工的方式增加更多的顧問和承包商，那麼您可能會看到這兩行之間出現一些來回翻轉。但是，是的，我認為我們與人員相關的成本可能包括占我們總運營費用約 70% 的股票費用。我認為第一季度對你來說是一個很好的基線。

Now the second part of your question was about stock compensation. And the answer is that, yeah, Q1 represents a more normalized run rate. If you recall in 2022, we had explained and, in fact, had provided forward guidance about stock compensation because we had this back of retention RSUs related to the go-public transaction that had accelerated amortization. That started to amortize one month in Q2, three months in Q3, and one month in Q4.

現在你問題的第二部分是關於股票薪酬。答案是，是的，Q1 代表了更加標準化的運行率。如果你還記得在 2022 年，我們已經解釋過，事實上，也提供了有關股票補償的前瞻性指引，因為我們擁有與加速攤銷的上市交易相關的保留 RSU。第二季度開始攤銷一個月，第三季度攤銷三個月，第四季度攤銷一個月。

So that portion of the retention RSUs that accelerated has now all -- the first two tranches of that have all now been fully amortized. And so now what you're left with in Q1 is really a normalized run rate for stock compensation. Absent any changes that would accrue from either new grants, new stock grants, or recapture of stock grants from people who are terminated or leave the company.

因此，保留 RSU 中加速的那部分現在已經全部——前兩部分現在已經全部攤銷。因此，現在第一季度剩下的實際上是股票薪酬的標準化運行率。不存在因新授予、新股票授予或從被解僱或離開公司的人員重新獲得股票授予而產生的任何變化。

Okay. Great. Thank you so much.

好的。偉大的。太感謝了。

There are no further questions at this time.

目前沒有其他問題。

Thank you, Mallory. We appreciate all of your time, and we look forward to the coming conversations over the next couple of months on the road. Thank you, Mallory. You can end the call.

謝謝你，馬洛里。感謝您抽出寶貴的時間，我們期待著接下來幾個月的旅途中的對話。謝謝你，馬洛里。您可以結束通話。

Ladies and gentlemen, that concludes today's conference call. Thank you for joining. You may now disconnect.

女士們先生們，今天的電話會議到此結束。感謝您的加入。您現在可以斷開連接。