Hamilton Lane Inc (HLNE) 2024 Q4 法說會逐字稿

Good morning, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to the Hamilton Lane Corp's (sic - Hamilton Lane Incorporated) fiscal-quarter and full fiscal--year 2024 earnings call. (Operator instructions) This call is being recorded on Thursday, May 23, 2024.

早安，女士們、先生們，歡迎參加 Hamilton Lane Corp（原文如此，Hamilton Lane Incorporated）的 2024 財季和完整財年財報電話會議。（接線生說明）此電話錄音時間為 2024 年 5 月 23 日星期四。

I would now like to turn the conference over to John Oh, Head of Shareholder Relations. Please go ahead.

我現在想將會議交給股東關係主管 John Oh。請繼續。

Thank you, Eva. Good morning, and welcome to the Hamilton Lane Q4 and fiscal year end 2024 earnings call. Today, I will be joined by Erik Hirsch, Co-Chief Executive Officer; and Jeff Armbrister, Chief Financial Officer.

謝謝你，伊娃。早上好，歡迎參加 Hamilton Lane 第四季和 2024 財年末財報電話會議。今天，聯合執行長 Erik Hirsch 也將加入我的行列。和財務長傑夫·阿姆布里斯特。

Earlier this morning, we issued a press release and slide presentation, which are available on our website. Before we discuss the quarter and year-end results, we want to remind you that we will be making forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements discuss our current expectations and projections relating to our financial position, results of operations, plans, objectives, future performance, and business. These forward-looking statements do not guarantee future events or performance and are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause our actual results to differ materially from those projected. For discussion of these risks, please review the cautionary statements and risk factors included in Hamilton Lane's fiscal 2023 10-K and subsequent reports we file with the SEC including our upcoming Form 10-K for fiscal 2024. These forward-looking statements are made only as of today and except as required, we undertake no obligation to update or revise any of them.

今天早些時候，我們發布了新聞稿和幻燈片演示，這些內容可以在我們的網站上找到。在我們討論季度和年終業績之前，我們想提醒您，我們將做出前瞻性陳述。前瞻性陳述討論了我們目前對財務狀況、營運績效、計畫、目標、未來績效和業務的預期和預測。這些前瞻性陳述不保證未來的事件或業績，並受到風險和不確定性的影響，可能導致我們的實際結果與預測有重大差異。有關這些風險的討論，請查看 Hamilton Lane 的 2023 財年 10-K 以及我們向 SEC 提交的後續報告（包括即將發布的 2024 財年 10-K 表格）中包含的警示性聲明和風險因素。這些前瞻性陳述僅在今天作出，除非有要求，我們不承擔更新或修改其中任何內容的義務。

We will also be referring to non-GAAP measures that we view as important in assessing the performance of our business. Reconciliation of those non-GAAP measures to GAAP can be found in the earnings presentation materials made available on the shareholders section of the Hamilton Lane website. Our detailed financial results will be made available when our 10-K is filed. Please note that nothing on this call represents an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to purchase interest in any of Hamilton Lane's products.

我們也將提及我們認為對評估我們業務績效非常重要的非公認會計原則衡量標準。這些非公認會計原則措施與公認會計原則的調節可以在 Hamilton Lane 網站股東部分提供的收益簡報資料中找到。當我們提交 10-K 時，我們將提供詳細的財務結果。請注意，本次電話會議中的任何內容均不代表對 Hamilton Lane 任何產品的銷售要約或購買興趣的要約邀請。

Before we get to the results, I'd like to highlight our upcoming HLNE Shareholder Day that will take place on June 5, both in person at our Conshohocken, PA, headquarters and simultaneously webcast live for those unable to join us in person. The event will provide detailed insight into growth drivers for our business and showcase our leadership in the private market. For more information on the event, please visit the shareholders section of the Hamilton Lane website.

在公佈結果之前，我想強調即將於 6 月 5 日舉行的 HLNE 股東日活動，活動將在賓州康舍霍肯總部舉行，同時為那些無法親自參加的人進行網路直播。活動將詳細介紹我們業務的成長動力，並展示我們在私募市場的領導地位。有關該活動的更多信息，請訪問 Hamilton Lane 網站的股東部分。

Let's move now to some financial highlights. For fiscal year 2024, our management and advisory fee revenue grew by 22%, while our fee-related earnings also grew by 22% versus the prior year. This translated into full year GAAP EPS of $3.69 based on $141 million of GAAP net income and non-GAAP EPS of $3.92 based on $212 million of adjusted net income.

現在讓我們來看一些財務亮點。2024 財年，我們的管理和諮詢費收入成長了 22%，而我們的費用相關收入也比前一年成長了 22%。根據 1.41 億美元的 GAAP 淨利潤計算，全年 GAAP 每股收益為 3.69 美元，根據 2.12 億美元的調整後淨利潤計算，非 GAAP 每股收益為 3.92 美元。

Lastly, our Board has approved a 10% increase to our annual fiscal dividend to $1.96 per share, or $0.49 per share per quarter. This marks the seventh consecutive annual double-digit percentage increase to our dividend since going public in 2017. Our ability to consistently increase distributions to our shareholders every year speaks to the growth and the strength of our business.

最後，我們的董事會批准將年度財政股息增加 10%，達到每股 1.96 美元，即每季每股 0.49 美元。這標誌著自 2017 年上市以來我們的股息連續第七次實現年度兩位數百分比增長。我們每年持續增加股東分配的能力證明了我們業務的成長和實力。

With that, I'll now turn the call over to Erik.

這樣，我現在將把電話轉給艾瑞克。

Thank you, John, and good morning. Let's get straight to the results. It was another strong quarter.

謝謝你，約翰，早安。讓我們直接看結果。這是又一個強勁的季度。

I'll start with our total asset footprint. This stood at $921 billion and represents a 7% increase to our footprint year-over-year. AUM stood at $124 billion at quarter end and grew $13 billion or 11%. The growth came from both our specialized funds and customized separate accounts. AUA was up $51 billion or 7% year over year, primarily the result of market value growth and the addition of technology solution mandates.

我將從我們的總資產足跡開始。這一數字達到 9,210 億美元，這意味著我們的足跡年增了 7%。截至季末，資產管理規模為 1,240 億美元，成長 130 億美元，成長 11%。成長來自我們的專業基金和客製化的獨立帳戶。AUA 年增 510 億美元，即 7%，這主要是市場價值成長和技術解決方案授權增加的結果。

Turning now to fee-earning AUM, which continues to be the largest driver of management fees. We continue to generate strong growth in both our customized separate accounts and specialized funds. Our total fee-earning AUM stood at $65.7 billion and grew $8.4 billion or 15% relative to the prior year period. Taken separately, $2.9 billion of net fee-earning AUM came from our customized separate accounts and over the same period, $5.5 billion came from our specialized funds.

現在轉向收費資產管理規模，它仍然是管理費的最大驅動因素。我們的客製化獨立帳戶和專業基金持續實現強勁成長。我們的收費資產管理規模總額為 657 億美元，較上年同期成長 84 億美元，即 15%。單獨來看，29 億美元的淨收費資產管理規模來自我們客製化的獨立帳戶，同期，55 億美元來自我們的專業基金。

Our blended fee rate across the platform also continues to increase. This stems from the continuing shift in the mix of our fee-earning AUM towards higher fee rate specialized funds, most notably our evergreen products where growth remains strong. When we went public in 2017, our blended fee rate was 57 basis points. Today, it stands at 63 basis points.

我們整個平台的混合費率也持續增加。這是因為我們的收費資產管理規模不斷轉向更高費率的專業基金，尤其是成長依然強勁的長青產品。2017 年我們上市時，我們的混合費率為 57 個基點。今天，該匯率為 63 個基點。

Moving now to additional detail on our customized separate accounts. Fee-earning AUM here stood at $37.6 billion, growing 8% over the past 12 months. We continue to see the growth coming across type, mandate, size, and geographic location of the clients. Our customized separate accounts are built in close partnership with our clients who look to us to create, manage, and invest their capital to achieve long-term success.

現在轉到我們自訂的單獨帳戶的更多詳細資訊。這裡的收費資產管理規模達到 376 億美元，在過去 12 個月中成長了 8%。我們繼續看到客戶類型、任務、規模和地理位置的成長。我們客製化的獨立帳戶是與客戶密切合作建立的，這些客戶希望我們創造、管理和投資他們的資本以實現長期成功。

Let me give you an example of a recent win. After months of interactions with us, and I'll note here that the sales cycle can be long given the length and size of the mandate, we secured a new separate account that importantly would be this Canadian-based endowments' first investments in the private markets. There were several of our competitors vying for the business, and we were selected due to track record, breadth of service offering, and the belief that we could help them grow their program over time. So while this is an institution that is brand new to the asset class, we also continue to find meaningful growth through our existing customers.

讓我舉一個最近獲勝的例子。經過與我們幾個月的互動，我要在這裡指出，考慮到授權的長度和規模，銷售週期可能會很長，我們獲得了一個新的單獨帳戶，重要的是這將是這家總部位於加拿大的捐贈基金對私人領域的首次投資市場。我們有幾個競爭對手在爭奪這項業務，我們之所以被選中是因為我們的業績記錄、服務提供的廣度以及我們相信我們可以幫助他們隨著時間的推移發展他們的項目。因此，雖然這是一家對於資產類別來說是全新的機構，但我們也繼續透過現有客戶尋找有意義的成長。

Today on a fee-earning AUM basis, the average length of relationship with our separate account clients is over 10 years with several that exceed that meaningfully. For example, we've had the privilege of managing the portfolio for a nationally recognized Taft-Hartley organization whose relationship started back in the early 2000s with a single private equity separate account. Fast-forward to today, that partnership is now on its 14th tranche and along the way, we added private credit for them in 2010, and that's now on its 10th tranche, and they've had multiple commitments to various secondary funds of ours. This approach of finding clients who are new to the private markets, combined with expanding with our existing base, has served us well as we've continued to build out our separate customized business.

如今，以收費資產管理規模計算，我們與獨立帳戶客戶的平均關係時間已超過 10 年，其中有幾個甚至超過了這一長度。例如，我們有幸為一家全國公認的 Taft-Hartley 組織管理投資組合，該組織的關係始於 2000 年代初，當時有一個私募股權獨立帳戶。快進到今天，該合作夥伴關係現已進入第14 期，在此過程中，我們在2010 年為他們增加了私人信貸，現在已是第10 期，他們對我們的各種二級基金做出了多項承諾。這種尋找私人市場新客戶的方法，加上我們現有基礎的擴展，對我們很有幫助，因為我們繼續建立我們單獨的客製化業務。

Let's move on now to our specialized funds where momentum also continues to be strong. Fee-earning AUM here stood at $28.2 billion at quarter end. Over the past 12 months, we've achieved positive net inflows of $5.5 billion, representing an increase of 24% relative to the prior year period. This growth stemmed from additional closes for our funds currently in market, robust investment activity, and continued expansion of our evergreen platform.

現在讓我們轉向我們的專業基金，該基金的勢頭也繼續強勁。截至季末，這裡的收費資產管理規模為 282 億美元。過去 12 個月，我們實現了 55 億美元的正淨流入，較去年同期成長 24%。這一成長源自於我們目前市場上基金的額外交割、強勁的投資活動以及我們常青平台的持續擴張。

Moving to the drivers of specialized funds flow, let's start with our current secondary fund. During the quarter, we held additional closes in February and March that totaled just over $800 million of investor commitments this generated retro fees of $12.3 million for the quarter. Subsequent to quarter end, we held an additional close in April that totaled $618 million, which generated over $11 million of retro fees that will be recognized in the quarter ending June 30, our first quarter of fiscal year 2025.

談到專業資金流的驅動因素，讓我們從目前的二級基金開始。在本季度，我們在 2 月和 3 月進行了額外的交割，投資者承諾總額略高於 8 億美元，這為本季度產生了 1,230 萬美元的追溯費用。季度末後，我們在4 月進行了額外的結算，總額達6.18 億美元，產生了超過1,100 萬美元的追溯費用，這些費用將在截至6 月30 日的季度（即2025 財年第一季）中確認。

This brings the total fund size to over $5 billion. As with prior fundraises, we have received a small extension in order to accommodate the last remaining investors who are completing administrative work and expect to close the fund over the next few weeks.

這使得基金總規模超過 50 億美元。與先前的籌款一樣，我們獲得了小幅延期，以適應最後剩下的投資者，他們正在完成行政工作並預計在未來幾週內關閉該基金。

I'll note at this point, the total current fund size of over $5 billion is the largest institutional fundraise in our history and represents a 30% increase to the prior fund. The secondary platform is a key component of our specialized fund growth, and our platform continues to expand as the overall secondaries market grows. The success of this fundraise is a direct result of our market-leading position within the asset class as we continue to be a holistic solution provider to both GPs and LPs seeking liquidity.

我要指出的是，目前基金總規模超過 50 億美元，是我們史上最大的機構融資規模，比之前的基金增加了 30%。二級平台是我們專業基金成長的關鍵組成部分，隨著整體二級市場的成長，我們的平台不斷擴大。此次融資的成功是我們在資產類別中的市場領先地位的直接結果，因為我們繼續為尋求流動性的普通合夥人和有限合夥人提供整體解決方案。

Let's now turn to our strategic opportunities fund, which is our annual direct credit fund targeting the institutional LP. As a refresher, the series of funds as effectively always in market as we raise and deploy the capital with short investment periods and charge management fees on invested capital.

現在讓我們轉向我們的策略機會基金，這是我們針對機構有限合夥人的年度直接信貸基金。回顧一下，該系列基金在市場上始終有效，因為我們以較短的投資期限籌集和部署資金，並對投資資金收取管理費。

During the quarter, we held the final close for our eighth series of this strategy at over $690 million of LP commitments. Overall, our credit platform continues to scale and deal flow remains robust. Private credit continues to benefit and fill the void left from the continued retrenchment by traditional lending sources and those regional banks. For calendar 2023 across our entire credit complex, which includes our separate accounts, closed-end funds, and evergreen platform; we invested more than $1.3 billion into credit transactions, not funds, which is an increase of more than 45% versus the prior year.

在本季度，我們以超過 6.9 億美元的有限合夥人承諾完成了該策略的第八個系列的最終收盤。整體而言，我們的信貸平台持續擴大規模，交易流依然強勁。私人信貸持續受益，並填補傳統貸款來源和地區銀行持續緊縮留下的空白。2023 年，我們整個信用綜合體（包括我們的獨立帳戶、封閉式基金和長青平台）；我們在信貸交易（而非資金）上投資了超過 13 億美元，比前一年增長了 45% 以上。

Before we move on to Evergreen, I wanted to provide a quick update on our first dedicated specialized fund in the venture space. Recall that we have been actively investing in venture since 1996 through our separate account business and are now providing investors with co-mingled fund access to the venture capital market with primary, secondary, and co-investment strategies. We announced the first closing in May of 2023. And to date, we've raised nearly $250 million LP commitments for this first-time fund, and we will remain in market throughout the remainder of calendar 2024.

在我們轉向長榮之前，我想快速介紹一下我們在創投領域的第一個專門基金的最新情況。回想一下，自 1996 年以來，我們一直透過我們的獨立帳戶業務積極投資風險投資，現在透過一級、二級和聯合投資策略為投資者提供進入創投市場的混合基金。我們宣布將於 2023 年 5 月首次交割。迄今為止，我們已為這只首次基金籌集了近 2.5 億美元的有限合夥人承諾資金，我們將在 2024 年剩餘時間內繼續留在市場上。

Now on to our evergreen funds. We ended calendar 2023 with $5.7 billion of AUM, and we're averaging $160 million of monthly net inflow onto the platform. As of March 31, 2024, total AUM across our three offerings stood at nearly $6.5 billion. Our goal remains simple with our evergreen platform, maintain steady, consistent growth in monthly flows over the longer term, accomplished by expanding with current distribution relationships while also adding new ones. We saw our average further tick-up during this first quarter of calendar 2024, where the platform averaged over $255 million of monthly net inflow. This was the result of adding additional relationships and some backlog from relationships added earlier with the latter being more one-off in nature.

現在談談我們的常青基金。截至 2023 年，我們的資產管理規模為 57 億美元，平均每月淨流入該平台的資金為 1.6 億美元。截至 2024 年 3 月 31 日，我們三項產品的總資產管理規模接近 65 億美元。我們的目標仍然很簡單，即透過我們的常青平台，長期維持每月流量的穩定、持續成長，透過擴大現有的分銷關係並增加新的分銷關係來實現。在 2024 年第一季度，我們的平均淨流入量進一步上升，平台平均每月淨流入超過 2.55 億美元。這是添加額外關係以及先前添加的關係積壓的結果，而後者本質上是一次性的。

I would also like to highlight that we continue to make great progress within our wirehouse channel. As of the end of the first calendar quarter of '24, we have taken in close to $900 million of flows as we approach the one-year anniversary of getting approved and onboarded there. In addition to that, non-wirehouse flows continue to scale nicely and complement the wirehouse success. We remain enthused about what we've already accomplished and very enthused about what lies ahead.

我還想強調，我們的有線頻道繼續取得巨大進展。截至 2024 年第一季末，隨著我們獲得批准併入職一周年之際，我們已吸收了近 9 億美元的資金。除此之外，非線室流量繼續良好地擴展，並補充了線室的成功。我們對已經取得的成就仍然充滿熱情，對未來也充滿熱情。

Let's move on now to some announcements around our most recent technology partnerships and balance sheet investments. On February 29, we announced the launch of a newly created distributed ledger technology or DLT share class, built on the Polygon blockchain for our global private asset evergreen fund, together with Signum Bank and Apex Group. This first-of-its-kind, digitally native, and tokenized share class marks the first entry in Apex's on-chain share register. This offering represents a significant breakthrough in making the private markets more broadly accessible, efficient, and investable via tokenization. We believe this partnership can potentially serve as a catalyst for broader adoption within the banking and wealth management industry.

現在讓我們來看看我們最近的技術合作夥伴關係和資產負債表投資的一些公告。2 月 29 日，我們宣布與 Signum Bank 和 Apex Group 合作，為我們的全球私人資產常青基金推出新創建的分散式帳本技術或 DLT 份額類別，該技術基於 Polygon 區塊鏈。這種首創的數位原生代幣化股票類別標誌著 Apex 鏈上股票登記冊中的第一個條目。此次發行代表了一項重大突破，透過代幣化使私募市場變得更廣泛、更有效率、更可投資。我們相信這種合作關係有可能成為銀行和財富管理產業更廣泛採用的催化劑。

Next on May 1, we announced our newest strategic balance sheet investment to join the Hamilton Lane innovations portfolio that being Securitize. You've heard us speak in the past around partnering with Securitize and providing tokenized access to our products, spanning strategies such as evergreen, secondaries, and direct equity. And we're now pleased to announce that we have further solidified this partnership by becoming an investor in Securitize.

接下來，5 月 1 日，我們宣布了最新的策略資產負債表投資，以加入 Hamilton Lane 創新投資組合 Securitize。您過去曾聽過我們談論與 Securitize 合作並提供對我們產品的代幣化訪問，涵蓋常綠樹、二級市場和直接股權等策略。現在，我們很高興地宣布，我們透過成為 Securitize 的投資者進一步鞏固了這種合作關係。

Hamilton Lane participated in the company's most recent strategic fundraise that was led by BlackRock, which recently launched their first tokenized money market fund in partnership with Securitize. The [round] also included investments from ParaFi and Tradeweb. We continue to view Securitize as a pioneer and a leader in the tokenization and digital asset space, and we look forward to providing updates on our journey with them in the future.

Hamilton Lane 參與了該公司最近由 BlackRock 牽頭的策略性融資，該公司最近與 Securitize 合作推出了首個代幣化貨幣市場基金。本輪融資還包括來自 ParaFi 和 Tradeweb 的投資。我們仍然將 Securitize 視為代幣化和數位資產領域的先驅和領導者，我們期待在未來提供我們與他們合作的最新資訊。

Lastly, on Tuesday of this week, Novata, another strategic investment within our Hamilton Lane innovations balance sheet portfolio, announced the closing of their most recent financing. Recall that the modest technology platform and expert services allow for the private markets to collect, analyze, and report on sustainability metrics.

最後，本週二，我們 Hamilton Lane 創新資產負債表投資組合中的另一項策略投資 Novata 宣布完成最近的融資。回想一下，適度的技術平台和專家服務允許私人市場收集、分析和報告永續性指標。

Hamilton Lane participated in this financing alongside existing investors. S&P Global. The financing also included new investors, Motive Ventures, which is backed by affiliates of Apollo Global Management. Since its launch in 2021, Novata has continued to build a sophisticated platform, which enables the private markets to achieve a more sustainable and inclusive form of capitalism, and we look forward to continuing our support in their mission.

Hamilton Lane 與現有投資者一起參與了本次融資。標準普爾全球。此次融資還包括新投資者 Motive Ventures，該公司獲得了 Apollo Global Management 附屬公司的支持。自 2021 年推出以來，Novata 不斷建構複雜的平台，使私募市場能夠實現更永續和包容的資本主義形式，我們期待繼續支持他們的使命。

And with that, I'll now turn the call over to Jeff to cover the financials.

現在，我將把電話轉給傑夫，讓他介紹財務狀況。

Thank you, Erik, and good morning, everyone.

謝謝你，艾瑞克，大家早安。

For fiscal 2024, we achieved strong growth in our business with management and advisory fees up 22% versus the prior year. Our specialized funds revenue increased by $64.7 million or 33% compared to the prior year. This was driven primarily by a $2.7 billion increase to fee-earning AUM in our evergreen platform in the last 12 months and over $4.3 billion raised since inception in our latest secondary fund. Retro fees for the fiscal year included $19.6 million from our secondary funded market versus $2.4 million from our direct equity fund in the prior year.

2024 財年，我們的業務實現了強勁成長，管理和諮詢費用比上一年增長了 22%。與前一年相比，我們的專業基金收入增加了 6,470 萬美元，即 33%。這主要是由於過去 12 個月內我們常青平台的收費資產管理規模增加了 27 億美元，以及自我們最新的二級基金成立以來籌集了超過 43 億美元。本財年的追溯費用包括來自我們二級融資市場的 1,960 萬美元，而前一年來自我們直接股權基金的 240 萬美元。

As a reminder, investors that come into later closes during a fundraise pay retroactive fees dating back to the fund's first close. We expect to generate additional retro fees as we hold the final closes for our secondary fund end market.

提醒一下，在籌款期間較晚結束的投資者需要支付追溯到基金首次結束時的追溯費用。當我們持有二級基金終端市場的最終收盤價時，我們預計會產生額外的追溯費用。

Moving on to customized separate accounts. Revenue increased to $11.1 million or 9% compared to the prior year period due to the addition of several new accounts, re-ups from existing clients, and continued investment activity.

繼續客製化單獨的帳戶。由於增加了幾個新帳戶、現有客戶的重新增加以及持續的投資活動，收入增加至 1,110 萬美元，較上年同期增長 9%。

Revenue from our advisory reporting and other offerings decreased slightly by less than $1 million compared to the prior year due primarily to the sale of the 361 Capital assets, partially offset by increases in revenue coming from our technology solutions.

與前一年相比，我們的諮詢報告和其他產品的收入略有下降，減少了不到100 萬美元，這主要是由於出售361 Capital 資產，但部分被我們的技術解決方案收入的增長所抵消。

Lastly, the final component of our revenue is incentive fees. Incentive fees totaled $101.9 million for fiscal 2024 and are down 35% relative to the prior year. Recall that last fiscal year, we generated a large amount of incentive fees due to the catch-up period that several of our carry eligible vehicles were in.

最後，我們收入的最後一部分是獎勵費。2024 財年的激勵費用總計 1.019 億美元，較前一年下降 35%。回想一下，在上一財年，由於我們的幾輛符合資格的車輛處於追趕期，我們產生了大量獎勵費用。

Let's turn to our unrealized carry balance. The balance is up 19% from the prior year, while having recognized $101.9 million of incentive fees during the last 12 months. The unrealized carry balance now stands at over $1.2 billion.

讓我們看看未實現的套利餘額。餘額較上年增長 19%，同時在過去 12 個月內確認了 1.019 億美元的獎勵費用。未實現的套利餘額目前超過 12 億美元。

Moving to expenses, total expenses for fiscal 2024 increased $19.3 million compared to the prior year. Total compensation and benefits increased by $5.6 million, driven by headcount growth and partially offset by incentive fee related compensation.

說到費用，2024 財年的總費用比前一年增加了 1,930 萬美元。由於員工人數增長，薪資和福利總額增加了 560 萬美元，但部分被激勵費相關薪酬所抵消。

G&A increased $13.7 million, driven primarily by revenue related expenses, which are the third-party commissions related to our US evergreen product being offered on wirehouses that we've discussed on prior calls.

G&A 增加了 1,370 萬美元，主要是由收入相關費用推動的，這些費用是與我們在有線電視公司上提供的美國常青產品相關的第三方佣金，我們在之前的電話會議中已經討論過。

Lastly, fee-related earnings or FRE for fiscal 2024 were up 22% relative to the prior year as a result of the management fee and fee-earning AUM growth discussed earlier. As we discussed on our prior call, FRE margin for the year came in at 42.8% with the fiscal fourth quarter's margin coming in higher in offsetting fiscal third quarter's timing related FRE margin impact, stemming from the extension of our secondary fund end markets.

最後，由於前面討論的管理費和收費資產管理規模的增長，2024 財年的費用相關收益或 FRE 較上一年增長了 22%。正如我們在之前的電話會議中討論的那樣，今年的FRE 利潤率為42.8%，第四財季的利潤率更高，抵消了第三財季因二級基金終端市場的擴展而與時間相關的FRE 利潤率影響。

I'll wrap up here with some commentary on our balance sheet. Our largest asset continues to be our investments alongside our clients in our customized separate accounts and specialized funds. Over the long term, we view these investments as an important component of our continued growth, and we'll continue to invest our balance sheet capital alongside our clients. In regard to our liabilities, we continue to be modestly levered.

最後我將對我們的資產負債表進行一些評論。我們最大的資產仍然是我們與客戶一起在我們定制的獨立帳戶和專門基金中進行的投資。從長遠來看，我們將這些投資視為我們持續成長的重要組成部分，我們將繼續與客戶一起投資我們的資產負債表資本。就我們的負債而言，我們繼續保持適度的槓桿水平。

With that, we will now open up the call for questions.

現在，我們將開始提問。

(Operator instructions)

（操作員說明）

Stephanie Ma, Morgan Stanley.

史蒂芬妮馬，摩根士丹利。

Hey, good morning. This is Stephanie on for Mike.

嗨，早安。這是麥克的史蒂芬妮。

Our first question is on the retail channel. I appreciate some of the color you gave on the flows that's coming in strong. Maybe you can double-click into that where a momentum is building? And then maybe going forward, as you look ahead, what's the scope for incremental rollouts of the existing funds and what might be on the road map for new product launches? Thank you.

我們的第一個問題是關於零售通路的。我很欣賞你為強勁的流量所提供的一些顏色。也許你可以雙擊進入勢頭正在形成的地方？然後，也許展望未來，現有基金增量推出的範圍是什麼？謝謝。

Good morning, Stephanie. It's Erik. I'll take that.

早安，史蒂芬妮。是埃里克。我會接受的。

So I think we break those two pieces. On the existing side, I think what you're seeing is a couple of factors. One, we continue to expand our own sales resources and those sales resources are getting better. They're building deeper relationships. They're getting deeper relationships, new relationships, expanding the existing relationships. So all of that is working and so we continue to add new partners. We continue to add new channels. And part of this is an education factor. You're still -- you're introducing something that is for most people fundamentally new. And so that process, that education is something that our team is doing a fantastic job on and is very focused on.

所以我認為我們要打破這兩個部分。在現有方面，我認為您看到的是幾個因素。第一，我們不斷擴大自己的銷售資源，而且銷售資源越來越好。他們正在建立更深層的關係。他們正在建立更深層的關係、新的關係、擴展現有的關係。所有這些都在發揮作用，因此我們將繼續增加新的合作夥伴。我們不斷添加新頻道。其中一部分是教育因素。你仍然在介紹一些對大多數人來說都是全新的東西。因此，我們的團隊在這個過程、教育方面做得非常出色，並且非常關注。

In terms of what might come in the future. I think we said in prior calls, and we'll continue to say, expect to see that the current three offerings that we have today becomes more than that. We're looking -- there's a variety of strategies that we think will be well received. And for us, again, I've used the analogy of this is a marathon, not a sprint. We want to just make sure we roll those out properly to make sure that the investor experience remains excellent. Building the brand and deepening those relationships is really our main priority. We want that investor experience and the returns to be outstanding. And so, we want to make sure that we're managing flows, managing new products, but absolutely expect three to become more than three in the future.

就未來可能發生的事情而言。我想我們在之前的電話會議中說過，我們將繼續說，期望看到我們今天擁有的三個產品變得不止於此。我們正在尋找多種我們認為會受到歡迎的策略。對我們來說，我再次使用了這樣的類比：這是一場馬拉松，而不是短跑。我們只想確保正確推出這些內容，以確保投資者體驗保持良好。建立品牌並加深這些關係確實是我們的首要任務。我們希望投資者獲得出色的體驗和回報。因此，我們希望確保我們正在管理流程、管理新產品，但絕對期望未來三個將超過三個。

Great, thank you. And maybe just for my follow-up, zooming out on fundraising more broadly into your fiscal '25. Can you just remind us again what funds are in the market today, where those funds stand, and then what might make sense to come back into the market sooner as we look out over the next 12 months?

太好了謝謝。也許只是為了我的後續行動，將募款範圍縮小到 25 財年。您能否再次提醒我們，目前市場上有哪些基金，這些基金處於什麼位置，以及在我們展望未來 12 個月時，哪些基金可能更適合儘早重返市場？

Thank you.

謝謝。

Sure. So I think in the prior calls, we've talked about impact, some infrastructure. I mentioned today this new venture product. The other thing that we have talked about is that our next in our direct equity series is also in market credit perpetually in market, as I noted. So we've got a pretty full slate of things that we're working on. And of course, on top of that, the Evergreen.

當然。所以我認為在之前的電話會議中，我們討論了影響和一些基礎設施。我今天提到了這個新的風險產品。正如我所指出的，我們討論的另一件事是，我們直接股權系列中的下一個也是永久市場信用。所以我們正在做的事情已經非常全面了。當然，最重要的是，常青樹。

Operator, next question.

接線員，下一個問題。

Ken Worthington, JPMorgan.

肯‧沃辛頓，摩根大通。

Talking about expenses what expense growth are you targeting as we think about this coming fiscal year? And what is the margins that we should expect given the investment plan that you guys have in place?

談到支出，當我們考慮下一個財年時，您的支出成長目標是多少？鑑於你們所製定的投資計劃，我們應該預期的利潤是多少？

Thanks, Ken. Erik, I'll stick with this.

謝謝，肯。埃里克，我會堅持下去。

So I'll pat ourselves in the back and say I think we've actually done a great job managing the margin. So if you think about what's -- what are headwinds right now, costs, inflation. So our team is traveling a lot. Travel costs are up. Conferences are back. Those are more expensive. We have a bigger team today than we had yesterday or certainly a year ago. And so more people, more offices, more activity.

因此，我會拍拍自己的背說，我認為我們實際上在管理利潤方面做得很好。因此，如果你想想現在的逆風是什麼，成本，通貨膨脹。所以我們的團隊經常出差。旅行費用上漲了。會議又回來了。那些比較貴。今天我們的團隊比昨天或一年前都更大。因此，更多的人、更多的辦公室、更多的活動。

So that's a headwind. I think what's also been a headwind is, as you know, as we're onboarding onto these Evergreen and the flows are great and all that's terrific. You're obviously paying to the wirehouses an onboarding cost in that first year. So that's a headwind. So I think despite that and the fact that margins are coming in this year at 43%, obviously a little higher this quarter given some of the retro fee nature that we had talked about last quarter, I think we're doing a great job of managing the business. The tailwinds are that mix shift into this higher margin business. So the specialized funds across the board is helping that.

所以這是一個逆風。我認為，正如你所知，我們正在進入這些常青樹，流量很大，這一切都很棒，這也是一個逆風。顯然，您在第一年向電信公司支付了入職費用。所以這是一個逆風。因此，我認為儘管如此，而且事實上今年的利潤率為 43%，考慮到我們上季度討論過的一些復古費用性質，本季度顯然要高一些，我認為我們在這方面做得很好管理業務。有利的因素是混合轉向這一利潤率更高的業務。因此，全面的專門基金正在為此提供幫助。

I think when I talk to our shareholders, I say that the management team arrives to work every day thinking about how to maintain this strong double-digit growth. We are not arriving at work every day thinking about how we can tweak that margin a little higher. I think that will come over time as we get the benefit of scale and operating efficiencies, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera. But I think that what we're delivering in the current market with what we're dealing with, I think, has been noteworthy.

我想當我與我們的股東交談時，我說管理團隊每天上班都在思考如何保持這種強勁的兩位數成長。我們並不是每天上班時都在思考如何將利潤率調整得更高一些。我認為隨著時間的推移，隨著我們獲得規模和營運效率等方面的好處，這將會實現。但我認為，我們在當前市場上所提供的內容以及我們正在處理的內容是值得注意的。

Thanks.

謝謝。

Is it fair to say, the growth of investments that are gross of expenses that we've seen over the last 12 months that pacing continues for the next?

可以公平地說，我們在過去 12 個月中看到的投資（扣除支出總額）的成長在接下來的幾個月中還會繼續成長嗎？

My answer is I hope it does because I think that's going to indicate that we're continuing to grow. But certainly, you hope that the fees and commissions can continue on the wirehouses and also on just on our distribution costs because, again, all that's indicating strong fundraising. And so, I hope all of that continues.

我的答案是我希望如此，因為我認為這將表明我們正在繼續成長。但當然，您希望電線公司以及我們的分銷成本能夠繼續收取費用和佣金，因為所有這些都再次表明籌款活動強勁。因此，我希望這一切能夠持續下去。

Great. And then just on SMAs, talk to us about the pipeline where it stands, say today versus where it stood 6 or 12 months ago? And where in SMAs you're seeing the greatest interest from your clients?

偉大的。然後就 SMA 而言，與我們談談目前的管道情況，例如今天與 6 或 12 個月前的情況相比？您認為客戶對 SMA 的哪些方面最感興趣？

Good question, and it's Erik. I'll stay on this.

好問題，這是艾瑞克。我會堅持下去。

Pipeline continues to be robust. I mean, our growth rate on the SMA side has continued to be high-single digit. And I think given the breadth of the installed base, I think that's a continued good number for us to shoot for.

管道持續強勁。我的意思是，我們在 SMA 方面的成長率繼續保持高個位數。我認為考慮到安裝基礎的廣度，我認為這對我們來說是一個持續的良好數字。

We gave the two examples in the script today. And I think that speaks to the opportunity set. I mean, you think about those organizations as diametrically different from each other. One, literally entering the asset class for the very first time. No exposure, no relationships are just now saying that they're going to enter the asset class.

我們今天在腳本中給了兩個例子。我認為這說明了機會集。我的意思是，你認為這些組織彼此截然不同。第一，實際上是第一次進入資產類別。沒有曝光，沒有關係現在才說他們將進入資產類別。

And on the other end of the spectrum, someone who has been with us for over 20 years and has all the endless tranches that I spoke about and the fact that we're able to be appealing and attractive to both of those in two different geographies, two different-size organizations, different objectives with what they're trying to achieve in the asset class, I think says to you that the SMA business today is really set up to address whatever needs the customer has. We talk about meeting the customer where they are, and that's what the SMA business is all about.

另一方面，他已經和我們一起工作了 20 多年，擁有我談到的所有無盡的部分，而且我們能夠對兩個不同地區的人都具有吸引力和吸引力，兩個不同規模的組織，他們在資產類別中試圖實現的不同目標，我認為今天的SMA 業務確實是為了滿足客戶的任何需求而設立的。我們談論的是在客戶所在的地方與他們會面，這就是 SMA 業務的全部內容。

So interest is varied. People are looking for venture and other people are looking for infrastructure and someone else wants a credit overlay. And that's the beauty of the SMA business is that we can do all of those for all those customers.

所以興趣是多元的。人們正在尋找風險投資，其他人正在尋找基礎設施，而其他人則想要信用覆蓋。SMA 業務的美妙之處在於我們可以為所有這些客戶做所有這些事情。

Great. Thanks very much.

偉大的。非常感謝。

Adam Beatty, UBS.

瑞銀集團的亞當比提。

You mentioned distribution fees and some of what you pay into the wealth management channel for distribution and suggested that some of that was upfront. Just wanted to get your thoughts and commentary on the mix of those upfront fees versus ongoing revenue share arrangements and how that might be changing in the near term?

您提到了分銷費用以及您為分銷而向財富管理管道支付的一些費用，並表示其中一些費用是預先支付的。只是想了解您對這些預付費用與持續收入分成安排的組合的想法和評論，以及這種情況在短期內可能會如何變化？

Thank you.

謝謝。

Sure. Adam, it's Erik.

當然。亞當，是埃里克。

So for us, if you think about the fees, I'd put them in macro, I'll put them in two buckets. One is fundraising commissions that we're paying to our internal people. And those are -- that is on internal measurement for them on dollars raise and a commission structure around that. The other piece of that is in the US only where we're dealing with US-based wirehouses typically one-time upfront fees as a percentage of that first year revenue. And so both of those are increasing for the obvious reason that, as I noted, fund flows on the wirehouse channel continue to be strong and we're dealing with that upfront fee and internal sales continue to be equally strong and then we're dealing with that on a commission structure. But you should think about the majority of that being an upfront, not an ongoing.

所以對我們來說，如果你考慮費用，我會把它們放在宏觀上，我會把它們放在兩個桶子裡。一是我們向內部人員支付的募款佣金。這些是——這是他們對籌集資金的內部衡量以及圍繞此的佣金結構。另一部分僅在美國，我們與美國的電線公司打交道，通常會以第一年收入的百分比收取一次性預付費用。因此，這兩者都在增加，原因很明顯，正如我所指出的，Wirehouse 管道上的資金流動繼續強勁，我們正在處理預付費用，內部銷售繼續同樣強勁，然後我們正在處理與佣金結構有關。但你應該考慮其中大部分是前期的，而不是持續的。

Great. That's very helpful. And certainly, a good [problem] to have for sure.

偉大的。這非常有幫助。當然，這是一個值得肯定的好[問題]。

Just turning to the advent of the specialized fund in VC. As you say, you've been managing VC-type assets for quite some time. And I know that you make these decisions carefully as to when and how to launch a specialized fund. So just wondering what went into that and how you're seeing investor sentiment around VC these days?

談談創投專業基金的出現。正如您所說，您管理創投類型資產已經有一段時間了。我知道你們會謹慎地做出關於何時以及如何啟動專門基金的決定。所以只是想知道這其中發生了什麼以及您如何看待這些天投資者對風險投資的情緒？

Yeah. Adam, it's Erik.

是的。亞當，是埃里克。

So I think -- thank you. I think you're right on both parts. I mean, we've been doing it as I noticed, I mean, going back to 1996. So very, very long track record, terrific relationships, good reputation by us as being a good partner in that venture business.

所以我想——謝謝。我認為你在這兩方面都是對的。我的意思是，我們一直在這樣做，就像我注意到的那樣，我的意思是，可以追溯到 1996 年。我們擁有非常非常長的業績記錄、良好的關係以及作為該創投業務的良好合作夥伴的良好聲譽。

I think what we're seeing today is that the venture business is getting a little bit more rational and that to us feels like a better time to enter versus doing something a couple of years ago when things were just at an absolute frenzy pitch that did not feel like a good time to us. So I think it's just reacting to market environment. And what we see in our client base is that this is a better time to be getting in when prices are beginning to come down.

我認為我們今天看到的是，創投業務正在變得更加理性，對我們來說，與幾年前的情況相比，這是一個更好的進入時機，當時事情正處於絕對瘋狂的狀態。我們覺得這不是一個好時機。所以我認為這只是對市場環境的反應。我們在客戶群中看到的是，當價格開始下降時，這是進入的更好時機。

Great. Thank you, Erik. Appreciate it.

偉大的。謝謝你，埃里克。欣賞它。

(Operator instructions)

（操作員說明）

We do not have further questions at this time. Erik Hirsch, please continue.

目前我們沒有進一步的問題。埃里克·赫希，請繼續。

Great. Well, as always, we appreciate the time, the questions, and the partnership and wishing all of you a safe and healthy Memorial Day weekend for those here in the US.

偉大的。像往常一樣，我們感謝您的時間、問題和合作夥伴關係，並祝大家在美國度過一個安全、健康的陣亡將士紀念日週末。

Thank you.

謝謝。

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

今天的電話會議到此結束。感謝您的參與。您現在可以斷開連線。