Perella Weinberg Partners (PWP) 2023 Q2 法說會逐字稿

Hey, standby, your program is about to begin. (Operator Instructions) Good morning and welcome to the Perella Weinberg Partners' second quarter 2023 earnings conference call. (Operator Instructions) This conference call is being recorded. At this time, I'd like to turn the conference over to Taylor Reinhardt, Head of Investor Relations. Please go ahead.

嘿，等等，你的節目就要開始了。 （操作員說明）早上好，歡迎參加 Perella Weinberg Partners 的 2023 年第二季度收益電話會議。 （操作員說明）本次電話會議正在錄音。這次，我想將會議交給投資者關係主管泰勒·萊因哈特 (Taylor Reinhardt)。請繼續。

Thank you, operator, and welcome to our second quarter 2023 earnings call. Joining me today are Andrew Bednar, Chief Executive Officer; and Gary Barancik Chief Financial Officer. A replay of this call will be available through the investor page on the company's website approximately two hours following the conclusion of this live broadcast through August 10, 2023.

謝謝運營商，歡迎參加我們的 2023 年第二季度財報電話會議。今天加入我的是首席執行官安德魯·貝德納 (Andrew Bednar)；和加里·巴蘭西克（Gary Barancik）首席財務官。本次電話會議的重播將於本次直播結束後約兩小時至 2023 年 8 月 10 日期間通過公司網站上的投資者頁面進行重播。

For those who listen to the rebroadcast of this presentation, we remind you that the remarks made herein are as of today, August 3, 2023, and have not been updated subsequent to the initial earnings call. Before we begin, I'd like to note that this call may contain forward-looking statements, including PWP's expectations of future financial and business performance and conditions and industry outlooks. Forward-looking statements are inherently subject to risks, uncertainties and assumptions that could cause actual results to differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements and are not guarantees of future events or performance. Please refer to PWP's most recent SEC filings for discussion of certain of these risks and uncertainties.

對於那些收聽重播本演示文稿的人，我們提醒您，本文中的言論截至今天，即 2023 年 8 月 3 日，在首次財報電話會議後尚未更新。在我們開始之前，我想指出，本次電話會議可能包含前瞻性陳述，包括 PWP 對未來財務和業務業績、狀況以及行業前景的預期。前瞻性陳述本質上受到風險、不確定性和假設的影響，這些風險、不確定性和假設可能導致實際結果與前瞻性陳述中討論的結果存在重大差異，並且前瞻性陳述不是對未來事件或業績的保證。請參閱 PWP 最近向 SEC 提交的文件，了解其中某些風險和不確定性的討論。

The forward-looking statements are based on our current beliefs and expectations and the firm undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements. During the call, there will also be discussion of some metrics, which are non-GAAP financial measures, which management believes are relevant in assessing the financial performance of the business. PWP has reconciled these items to the most comparable GAAP measures in the press release filed with today's Form 8-K, which can be found on the company's website. I will now turn the call over to Andrew Bednar to discuss our results.

前瞻性陳述基於我們當前的信念和期望，公司不承擔更新任何前瞻性陳述的義務。在電話會議期間，還將討論一些指標，這些指標是非公認會計準則財務指標，管理層認為這些指標與評估企業的財務業績相關。 PWP 已將這些項目與今天的 8-K 表格一起提交的新聞稿中最具可比性的 GAAP 衡量標准進行了調整，該表格可在公司網站上找到。我現在將把電話轉給安德魯·貝德納爾討論我們的結果。

Thank you, Taylor, and good morning. Today we reported second quarter revenues of $166 million, up 10% from a year ago and up 26% from the prior quarter. Our first half revenues of $297 million were essentially flat year over year. This quarter is the first in five where we deliver a year-over-year increase even as global M&A market volumes continue to decline year over year.

謝謝你，泰勒，早上好。今天，我們報告第二季度收入為 1.66 億美元，同比增長 10%，環比增長 26%。我們上半年的收入為 2.97 億美元，與去年同期基本持平。本季度是我們五個季度中第一個實現同比增長的季度，儘管全球併購市場交易量繼續同比下降。

Our above market performance speaks to the strength of our brand and our client relationships, the quality and tenacity of our team, and the continued effective positioning of our firm's resources. In the second quarter, our results were driven by strong relative performance in our traditional M&A business with activity spread across our key industries. Our revenue increase reflected more absolute transaction completions as well as more transactions with larger seats.

我們的上述市場表現證明了我們的品牌和客戶關係的實力、我們團隊的素質和堅韌，以及我們公司資源的持續有效定位。第二季度，我們的業績受到傳統併購業務強勁的相對錶現以及遍布關鍵行業的活動的推動。我們的收入增長反映了更多的絕對交易完成以及更多座位更大的交易。

The market environment remains challenging, but conditions have improved. We see encouraging signs of activity across our business, and we are increasingly optimistic that the trough in activity is behind us. Our key indicators of forward volume are announced and pending backlog has steadily increased year over year and year to date.

市場環境仍然充滿挑戰，但情況已有所改善。我們看到整個業務的活動出現了令人鼓舞的跡象，並且我們越來越樂觀地認為活動的低谷已經過去。我們公佈了遠期交易量的關鍵指標，並且待處理的積壓訂單逐年穩步增加。

We expect revenue related to this activity will lag as nearly all aspects of transaction timelines continue to be elongated relative to historical norms. Nevertheless, after nearly 18 months of sobering data points, we do see signs of a turning M&A cycle. Our financing and capital solutions business is increasingly active as we see opportunities to place and structured private debt and equity solutions for our clients in what has been a prolonged period of uncertainty of access to capital and increasing cost of capital.

我們預計與此活動相關的收入將滯後，因為交易時間表的幾乎所有方面都相對於歷史正常水平繼續延長。儘管如此，經過近 18 個月的發人深省的數據點之後，我們確實看到了併購週期轉向的跡象。我們的融資和資本解決方案業務日益活躍，因為我們看到了在資本獲取渠道長期不確定且資本成本不斷增加的情況下為客戶提供和構建私人債務和股權解決方案的機會。

Restructuring has continued to gain momentum in the year, both in the US and Europe with mandates driven by strong liability management activity, including new financings, maturity extensions, and debt exchanges designed to address 2024 and 2025 maturity walls. In what is expected to be a higher for longer rate environment, and given the surge in private credit, we anticipate a higher baseline of financing and capital solutions activity through the next M&A cycle. We continue to invest in scaling our franchise and make selective senior hires to enhance our client footprint and product offering.

今年，美國和歐洲的重組勢頭繼續強勁，在強有力的負債管理活動的推動下，包括新的融資、期限延長和旨在解決 2024 年和 2025 年到期限制的債務交換。在預期長期利率較高的環境下，並且考慮到私人信貸的激增，我們預計下一個併購週期的融資和資本解決方案活動的基線會更高。我們繼續投資擴大我們的特許經營權，並選擇性地聘用高級人員，以擴大我們的客戶足跡和產品供應。

Year to date, we have added four advisory partners and eight managing directors with an additional two partners committed to join in the third quarter. Our new hires bring expertise in strategically active sectors, including technology, business and consumer services, aerospace and defense, and stakeholder activism.

今年迄今為止，我們增加了四名諮詢合作夥伴和八名董事總經理，另外兩名合作夥伴承諾在第三季度加入。我們的新員工帶來了戰略活躍領域的專業知識，包括技術、商業和消費者服務、航空航天和國防以及利益相關者積極主義。

We have been at a mode of above market talent growth since the lead-up to our public listing with consistently 25% to 30% of our partners in their seat for less than three years. These partners are not yet at full productivity and represent a built-in source of revenue growth in the years ahead. We are confident that our steady investment in talent without lowering our high admission standards will prove to be highly accretive to our stakeholders over time.

自公開上市以來，我們一直處於高於市場水平的人才增長模式，在不到三年的時間裡，我們的合作夥伴一直擁有 25% 至 30% 的席位。這些合作夥伴尚未充分發揮生產力，並且是未來幾年收入增長的內在來源。我們相信，隨著時間的推移，在不降低高准入標準的情況下對人才的穩定投資將為我們的利益相關者帶來巨大的增值。

Our financial results from the first half have positioned us very well to execute on our strategic and financial goals for this year and beyond. Thank you to our clients and to our teams globally for their commitment and dedication to our firm and to our mission.

上半年的財務業績使我們能夠很好地執行今年及以後的戰略和財務目標。感謝我們的客戶和我們的全球團隊對我們公司和我們使命的承諾和奉獻。

Before I turn the call over to Gary, I just want to acknowledge our announcement in today's earnings release that Gary will be stepping down from his position as CFO at the end of the year. We have been so fortunate to have Gary with us since our founding over 17 years ago with his many contributions, so integral to the firm's growth and development, including our transition from a private partnership to a public company. Even that Gary will remain in his position until the end of the year to ensure a smooth transition, I'm sure we will both have more to say on this topic on November's call. But for now, I just want to say thank you, Gary, for your partnership and for your dedication to the firm since day one.

在我把電話轉給加里之前，我只想確認我們在今天的財報中宣布加里將在今年年底辭去首席財務官的職務。自我們 17 年前成立以來，我們非常幸運地擁有加里 (Gary) 的陪伴，他做出了許多貢獻，對公司的成長和發展至關重要，包括我們從私人合夥企業向上市公司的轉型。即使加里將留任到今年年底以確保平穩過渡，我相信我們雙方都會在 11 月的電話會議上就這個話題有更多話要說。但現在，我只想說謝謝你，加里，感謝你的合作以及你從第一天起對公司的奉獻。

And also, I'll finish by saying congratulations to Alex Gottschalk, currently our Chief Accounting Officer, who will become CFO, January 1. We look forward to working with her and wish her success in her new role. Gary, over to you.

最後，我還要向現任首席會計官 Alex Gottschalk 表示祝賀，他將於 1 月 1 日成為首席財務官。我們期待與她合作，並祝愿她在新職位上取得成功。加里，交給你了。

Thank you, Andrew. I just want to note that it's been an honor and a privilege to have been at PWP Advisory Partner since the firm's founding in 2006 and to have served as its CFO since 2018. I've worked very closely with Alex over the past five years and can attest to the fact that she's an exceptional talent who is well positioned to guide the firm as its next CFO.

謝謝你，安德魯。我只是想指出，自 2006 年公司成立以來一直擔任 PWP Advisory Partner 並自 2018 年起擔任首席財務官，我感到非常榮幸。在過去的五年裡，我與 Alex 密切合作，可以證明她是一位傑出的人才，完全有能力擔任公司的下一任首席財務官。

Turning to our results, as Andrew already spoke to top line performance in his remarks, I'll begin with review of our expenses. We accrued adjusted compensation expense at 69% of revenues in the second quarter. This resulted in a blended accrual of 67% for the first half, a level that reflected our expectations at the end of the second quarter for our full year margin. The decision to increase our compensation margin was dictated by a few factors, including the revenue environment, investments in talent, and relative industry compensation levels. As we progress through the year, we'll continue to assess the appropriateness of this estimate.

談到我們的結果，正如安德魯已經在他的講話中談到了頂線業績，我將首先審查我們的支出。我們第二季度應計調整後薪酬費用佔收入的 69%。這導致上半年的混合應計利潤為 67%，這一水平反映了我們在第二季度末對全年利潤率的預期。提高薪酬利潤率的決定是由幾個因素決定的，包括收入環境、人才投資和相對行業薪酬水平。隨著這一年的進展，我們將繼續評估這一估計的適當性。

Our adjusted non-compensation expense was $36 million for the second quarter and $71 million for the first half. Adjusted non-compensation spend grew 12% in the first half compared to the same period last year, largely the result of expenses, which will enhance our brands and help drive revenue, including those related to our new offices in New York and London and increased T&E spend. Our expectation remains that full year 2023 adjusted non-comp expense will come in 15% to 20% higher than 2022, largely result of infrastructure investments to support our next phase of growth.

第二季度調整後的非薪酬費用為 3600 萬美元，上半年調整後的非薪酬費用為 7100 萬美元。上半年調整後的非薪酬支出與去年同期相比增長了12%，這主要是費用的結果，這將增強我們的品牌並有助於推動收入，包括與我們在紐約和倫敦的新辦事處相關的收入以及增加的收入差旅費支出。我們的預期仍然是，2023 年全年調整後的非補償費用將比 2022 年高出 15% 至 20%，這主要是支持我們下一階段增長的基礎設施投資的結果。

In the future periods, we expect our non-comp growth rate to moderate without the impact of one-time expenditures, such as overlapping rent, which is projected to account for approximately $4.5 million of non-comp expense in 2023. Our adjusted, if converted effective tax rate for the first half of 2023 was 22%, which includes a tax benefit recognized in the second quarter, which will not recur in the second half of the year. And we, therefore, currently expect that our effective tax rate for the full year should be close to last year's 28%.

在未來一段時間內，我們預計我們的非公司支出增長率將放緩，而不會受到一次性支出（例如重疊租金）的影響，預計2023 年這將佔非公司費用約450 萬美元。我們調整後的情況是，如果2023年上半年的折算有效稅率為22%，其中包括第二季度確認的稅收優惠，該優惠不會在下半年再次出現。因此，我們目前預計全年的有效稅率應該接近去年的28%。

Year to date, we've returned a total of $47 million to investors through repurchases, net settlement in lieu of share issuances, common stock dividends, and pro rata distributions. Looking forward, we'll continue to return capital to shareholders through dividends and repurchases, although the cadence of repurchases will vary from quarter to quarter and will be dependent on the operating environment our business needs at such time.

今年迄今為止，我們已通過回購、以淨額結算代替股票發行、普通股股息和按比例分配等方式向投資者返還了總計 4700 萬美元的資金。展望未來，我們將繼續通過股息和回購向股東返還資本，儘管回購的節奏會因季度而異，並將取決於當時我們業務所需的運營環境。

On the balance sheet, we ended the quarter with $180 million in cash in short-term investments and no debt. This morning we declared a quarterly dividend of $0.07 per share. With that, I will now turn the call back to the operator to open the line for questions.

在資產負債表上，本季度末我們有 1.8 億美元的現金用於短期投資，沒有債務。今天早上，我們宣布季度股息為每股 0.07 美元。這樣，我現在將把電話轉回接線員以打開提問線路。

Devin Ryan, JMP Securities.

德文·瑞安 (Devin Ryan)，JMP 證券。

Hey, great. Good morning, Andrew and Gary. It's been a pleasure. Best wishes. And I guess, we'll have another quarter with you, but just really appreciate the time together here.

嘿，太棒了。早上好，安德魯和加里。這是我的榮幸。最好的祝愿。我想，我們還會再和你一起度過一個季度，但我真的很感激在這里共度的時光。

First question, want to touch on -- thanks, Gary. I want to just touch on the financing and capital solutions. So the revenues were roughly flat in the quarter year over year. It was actually down a little bit year over year. Yet you guys talked about kind of the growing activity there.

第一個問題，想談談——謝謝，加里。我想談談融資和資本解決方案。因此，該季度的收入與去年同期大致持平。事實上，它逐年下降了一點。然而你們談到了那裡日益增長的活動。

We're tracking kind of a growing backlog in these businesses as well from the outside. And so maybe just talk about how you see that acceleration in backlog showing up in results. Is that a back half of this year? Is that 2024 and just kind of what was the magnitude of how much better activity is there? Thanks.

我們也在從外部追踪這些業務中不斷增加的積壓訂單。因此，也許只是談談您如何看待積壓的加速在結果中的體現。這是今年下半年嗎？到了 2024 年，活動的改善程度是多少？謝謝。

Yes, sure, Devin. Hi, good morning. When you look back at the quarter and really the first half, it's a very well-balanced business across our platform, whether you look at it by industry or products or geography. So we're just really pleased with the results.

是的，當然，德文。早上好。當你回顧本季度和上半年時，無論從行業、產品還是地理位置來看，我們平台上的業務都非常平衡。所以我們對結果非常滿意。

There's nothing that's one-off or anything anomalous. And so it sets us well. I think it sets us up for growth very well going forward. And looking at the mix, when you look at just the comparison back to 2022, we did have one revenue event in 2022, which was outsized and that makes for the comparison, which puts our revenue in the financing and capital solutions arena about flat. And again, most of our growth here in the quarter is coming from traditional M&A. And as I said, we like the balance of the business right now in the mix.

沒有什麼是一次性的或異常的。這讓我們受益匪淺。我認為這為我們未來的增長奠定了良好的基礎。看看組合，當你只看與 2022 年的比較時，我們確實在 2022 年發生了一次收入事件，規模過大，這使得我們在融資和資本解決方案領域的收入基本持平。再說一遍，本季度我們的大部分增長都來自傳統的併購。正如我所說，我們喜歡目前業務的平衡。

I think it's a strong foundation from which we can grow. We don't really predict quarter by quarter or even year by year when that revenue is going to hit, but we like the early indications of the activity levels. Historically, that type of activity can be more recent in hitting revenue versus the M&A cycle. But again, we don't really predict it by quarter or by year.

我認為這是我們成長的堅實基礎。我們並沒有真正預測逐季度甚至逐年收入何時會達到，但我們喜歡活動水平的早期跡象。從歷史上看，與併購週期相比，此類活動可能是最近才影響收入的。但同樣，我們並沒有真正按季度或按年進行預測。

Okay, perfect. Just on the M&A outlook, if you can just elaborate a little bit more on some of the green shoots that they track or alluding to where you're seeing some of that increased activity? Is it broad-based or is it specific sectors?

好的，完美。就併購前景而言，您能否詳細說明一下他們追踪的一些新芽，或者暗示您在哪些方面看到了一些活動的增加？是廣泛的還是特定的部門？

And then there's also PWP story. Here, you guys have higher number of bankers that are kind of ramping on the platform that have been on the platform for less than two or three years. I'd just love to kind of talk about also maybe some use in credit growth that you're seeing. Maybe it's just bankers are maturing and connecting with clients and there's more business coming through from more recently added talent. Thanks.

還有 PWP 的故事。在這裡，有更多的銀行家在該平台上工作了不到兩三年。我只是想談談您所看到的信貸增長的一些用途。也許只是銀行家正在成熟並與客戶建立聯繫，並且最近增加的人才帶來了更多業務。謝謝。

Yeah, Devin. So as you well know, given our scale, we tend to be less tethered to the global M&A volumes. And so we, from time to time, we'll have outsized growth relative to what's happening in broader market. And I think we can continue to do that over time because of our scale.

是的，德文。眾所周知，鑑於我們的規模，我們往往不太受全球併購數量的束縛。因此，相對於更廣泛的市場情況，我們時不時會出現超額增長。我認為，由於我們的規模，我們可以隨著時間的推移繼續這樣做。

We're really happy with our '21 and '22 class of partner hires, especially coming out of COVID, where we made some very strategic and very deliberate hires. And those sectors continue to be quite active. And we see very early returns in areas like energy transition, basic materials, and turnaround technology. So those have been good investments that we made.

我們對 '21 和 '22 級合作夥伴的聘用感到非常滿意，尤其是在新冠疫情期間，我們進行了一些非常具有戰略性和深思熟慮的聘用。這些行業仍然相當活躍。我們在能源轉型、基礎材料和周轉技術等領域看到了非常早期的回報。所以這些都是我們所做的很好的投資。

We're very pleased with our very steady investment in that type of talent. I think generally, the activity and even though revenue always lags and certainly it's very hard to predict again, quarter by quarter, year over year with activity converting to revenue. That's always quite challenging especially in what is an elongation cycle here for M&A, things are taking longer.

我們對此類人才的穩定投資感到非常滿意。我認為，一般來說，活動和收入總是滯後的，而且當然很難再逐季度、逐年預測活動轉化為收入。這總是相當具有挑戰性，尤其是在併購週期延長的情況下，事情需要更長的時間。

I think we're finding that most managements and boards are just saying that there's going to be a time here where they have to stop thinking about when conditions will improve and start accepting that current conditions might be there for a while and setting a plan forward. And I think we're starting to see that type of thinking change. And that's been good for the increase in activity, which again, is happening across the platform.

我認為我們發現大多數管理層和董事會只是說，將來他們必須停止思考情況何時會改善，並開始接受當前情況可能會持續一段時間並製定未來計劃。我認為我們開始看到這種思維方式的改變。這對於整個平台上活動的增加是有好處的。

Okay. That's great color. I'll leave it there and let someone ask. Thanks, guys.

好的。那顏色真棒。我會把它留在那裡，讓別人問。多謝你們。

Thank you.

謝謝。

James Yaro, Goldman Sachs.

詹姆斯·亞羅，高盛。

Hey. Good morning and thanks for taking my questions. With the benefit of hindsight, the restructuring tone from your peers have been quite different. Maybe you just speak to the trends that you're seeing in your business and maybe differentiate between chapter 11 versus liability management?

嘿。早上好，感謝您提出我的問題。事後看來，同行的重組基調已經大不相同。也許您只是談論您在業務中看到的趨勢，並可能區分第 11 章與責任管理？

Yeah, I think some of our peers may have had some extraordinary events they've certainly reported on, and those are well documented. I think for our business in this particular quarter, we didn't have those type of extraordinary events, but we have, I think, a very steady and growing increase in activity across our financing and capital solutions business. As I mentioned on the prior set of questions, my answer is there was a revenue event in '22 that was outsized that makes a bit more challenging comparison for the current quarter.

是的，我認為我們的一些同行可能發生過一些他們確實報導過的非凡事件，而且這些事件都有詳細記錄。我認為對於我們在這個特定季度的業務來說，我們沒有發生此類特殊事件，但我認為我們的融資和資本解決方案業務的活動非常穩定且不斷增長。正如我在前一組問題中提到的，我的答案是 22 年發生了一次規模過大的收入事件，這使得當前季度的比較更具挑戰性。

Going forward, we're seeing pretty broad activity around liability management and in our financing advisory business. I'd say that people have reported on the uptick in bankruptcies. I don't think we have a significant uptick, though there are some that are very well documented and well publicized. I think it's more about companies realizing that it's a more challenging market with respect to accessing capital and certainly a more challenging market with respect to cost capital.

展望未來，我們看到圍繞負債管理和融資諮詢業務的活動相當廣泛。我想說的是，人們已經報告了破產數量的增加。我不認為我們有顯著的上升，儘管有些已經有很好的記錄和廣泛宣傳。我認為更多的是公司意識到這是一個在獲取資本方面更具挑戰性的市場，當然在成本資本方面也是一個更具挑戰性的市場。

We have the advent and the increase in private credit markets, which our new participants that have lot of our client base is unfamiliar with. So that is a helpful trend in our business for sure where our traditional corporate client base will need assistance in accessing the private credit markets. So we're seeing a request for a balance sheet management for complex stories where people need help and thinking through maturities a lot of which is coming in '24 and '25.

我們有私人信貸市場的出現和增長，但我們擁有大量客戶群的新參與者對此並不熟悉。因此，這對我們的業務來說是一個有益的趨勢，因為我們的傳統企業客戶群在進入私人信貸市場時需要幫助。因此，我們看到了對複雜故事進行資產負債表管理的請求，在這些故事中，人們需要幫助並思考到期日，其中很多將在 24 年和 25 年到來。

So I think some of that revenue always lags, and we look at the early indicators for what we see as positive trends. And we're seeing positive trends in that market, both across Europe as well as the United States where -- as you know in Europe, we've made significant investments in our team and feel very good about our positioning there.

因此，我認為其中一些收入總是滯後的，我們會研究早期指標，以發現我們認為是積極的趨勢。我們看到整個歐洲和美國市場的積極趨勢——正如你所知，在歐洲，我們對我們的團隊進行了大量投資，並對我們在那裡的定位感到非常滿意。

Okay. That's very clear. Thank you for that. Just wanted to touch on the comp ratio, both in the near term and the longer term.

好的。這非常清楚。謝謝你。只是想談談短期和長期的補償比率。

You've talked about additional hires coming on the platform. Could that result in additional near-term upward pressure on the comp ratio in 2023? And then maybe just if we could get your thoughts on over what time period you think the comp ratio could normalize back to the 64%, 65% range that you put up in recent quarters?

您談到了該平台將增加更多員工。這是否會導致 2023 年的補償比率面臨額外的短期上行壓力？然後，也許我們可以了解您的想法，您認為在什麼時間段內，補償比率可以恢復到您最近幾個季度提出的 64%、65% 的範圍？

Yeah. So I think we're still within our parameters and the guidance we put out when we had our public listing that we'd be around the mid 60s. We were precise in the statement, but that statement provides a little bit of flexibility, downside and upside. I think we're still within the band.

是的。因此，我認為我們仍然在我們的參數和我們在 60 年代中期公開上市時提出的指導範圍內。我們的聲明很精確，但該聲明提供了一點靈活性、缺點和好處。我認為我們仍在樂隊之內。

We've had an operating environment where I think it warrants a bit of an uptick in the comp margin. Gary has highlighted the reasons for that. And I think we've always been quite disciplined and very steady in how we think about hiring. And so even though it is a much more favorable recruiting environment in terms of the numbers and the people that are interested in changing their employers, we're still maintaining very, very high standards for joining the firm.

我認為我們的運營環境值得我們的利潤率有所上升。加里強調了其中的原因。我認為我們在招聘方面一直非常自律且非常穩定。因此，儘管就數量和有興趣更換雇主的人員而言，這是一個更加有利的招聘環境，但我們仍然保持非常非常高的加入公司的標準。

And so I think you always have a challenge culturally and financially with that type of growth that goes beyond a steady growth of talent. So we'll continue to be steady. We don't see any gap up in hiring. We're going to continue to be steady so that we can stay within our bounds in terms of comp ratio and also not require our current productive bankers to overinvest in growth.

因此，我認為，這種類型的增長超出了人才的穩定增長，因此在文化和財務上總是面臨挑戰。所以我們會繼續保持穩定。我們認為招聘方面沒有任何差距。我們將繼續保持穩定，以便我們能夠在薪酬比率方面保持在我們的範圍內，並且不要求我們當前富有成效的銀行家過度投資於增長。

So we're pretty disciplined there and pretty deliberate right now. As Gary said in the opening remarks, we believe that we're at a level that it is our current expectation where we'll end the year, but conditions can change. And we watch it very closely.

所以我們現在非常有紀律，而且非常謹慎。正如加里在開幕詞中所說，我們相信我們目前的預期水平是年底，但情況可能會發生變化。我們非常密切地關注它。

And as I said in prior calls, we are always going to invest behind our team. That would be foolish not to. And so hopefully we are in an environment where we don't need to move the comp ratio. But right now, reflects our best view, and that's at the 67 level, which is where we ended up in the first half.

正如我在之前的電話會議中所說，我們始終會為我們的團隊進行投資。不這樣做就太愚蠢了。因此，希望我們處於一個不需要改變薪酬比率的環境中。但現在，反映了我們最好的觀點，那就是 67 級，這是我們上半場結束的位置。

Okay. That's very clear. Thanks a lot. And thanks a lot, Gary, for all your help over the past few years, and all the best.

好的。這非常清楚。多謝。非常感謝加里，過去幾年你的幫助，祝一切順利。

Thank you, James.

謝謝你，詹姆斯。

Steven Chubak, Wolfe Research.

史蒂文·丘巴克，沃爾夫研究中心。

Good morning. This is Brendan O'Brien filling in for Steven. I wanted to follow up on the comp question. In the release, you indicated that you're undertaking some actions on the expense side. I was hoping if you provide more color on what the aims are of the business realignment initiative and what type of actions we should expect you to take going forward.

早上好。我是布倫丹·奧布萊恩 (Brendan O'Brien) 接替史蒂文。我想跟進補償問題。在新聞稿中，您表示您正在費用方面採取一些行動。我希望您能提供更多關於業務調整計劃的目標是什麼以及我們期望您今後採取什麼類型的行動的信息。

Yeah. Thanks. Our actions were to really optimize our allocation of capital and less about reducing the overall expense base. And so we took a really close look at where we had resources both geographically as well as from an industry and product perspective. And our focus is around making sure that we have the right team on the ground in the right place and where we can win.

是的。謝謝。我們的行動是真正優化我們的資本配置，而不是減少總體支出基礎。因此，我們從地理位置以及行業和產品的角度仔細研究了我們在哪裡擁有資源。我們的重點是確保我們在正確的地點擁有正確的團隊，並在其中贏得勝利。

And so we've decided to make some changes across our platform at all levels. And we will redeploy that capital toward investment and toward making sure that we are positioning new resources in places where we see growth and where we see opportunities. So it's not about taking cost out of the system to get to a better earnings result. And I don't think of it as cost cutting, I think of it as capital allocation and where we're putting our resources so that we can better position the firm for growth.

因此，我們決定在我們的平台的各個層面進行一些改變。我們將重新部署這些資本進行投資，並確保我們將新資源部署在我們看到增長和機會的地方。因此，這並不是為了獲得更好的盈利結果而降低系統成本。我不認為這是削減成本，而是將其視為資本配置以及我們將資源投入何處，以便我們能夠更好地為公司的增長做好定位。

That's great color. Thank you for that. I guess from my follow-up I wanted to discuss Europe.

那顏色真棒。謝謝你。我想從我的後續行動中我想討論歐洲。

Central banks in Europe are behind aside in terms of where they are in the rate hike cycle. And we've seen how certainty on the path of rates has impacted activity in the US. Would be great if you could give some perspective on the dynamics at play in the region and how conversations and activity levels compare there for US?

歐洲央行在加息週期中處於落後地位。我們已經看到利率路徑的確定性如何影響美國的經濟活動。如果您能對該地區的動態以及美國的對話和活動水平進行比較如何提供一些看法，那就太好了？

Yeah, I think you're right that Bank of England and ECB are probably a step or two behind. But I think people are pretty well modeling in the expected terminal rates there. So perhaps some surprise. I think people have adjusted to what are likely to be conditions that persist for some time and this concept of higher rates for longer, I believe will be that conditions in the United States as well as across Europe.

是的，我認為你是對的，英格蘭銀行和歐洲央行可能落後了一兩步。但我認為人們對那裡的預期終端利率進行了很好的建模。所以也許有些驚喜。我認為人們已經適應了可能持續一段時間的情況，以及這種更高利率的概念會持續更長時間，我相信這將是美國和整個歐洲的情況。

I think Europe is seeing similar type of activity. I think, again, revenue always lags. But when we look at our key indicators of activity, they're very similar across Europe because what we're seeing in the United States, I think the lag effects are usually a little bit higher in Europe than what we see in the United States in terms of converting to revenue. But we are seeing increased activity across our European platform which is similar to the United States. And in terms of the early indicators, they're quite similar in spite of macro and central bank activity potentially being a little bit behind.

我認為歐洲正在經歷類似的活動。我再次認為，收入總是滯後的。但是，當我們查看我們的關鍵活動指標時，它們在整個歐洲非常相似，因為我們在美國看到的情況，我認為歐洲的滯後效應通常比我們在美國看到的要高一些就轉化為收入而言。但我們看到歐洲平台上的活動有所增加，這與美國類似。就早期指標而言，儘管宏觀和央行活動可能有點落後，但它們非常相似。

Thank you for taking my questions.

感謝您回答我的問題。

This concludes the Q&A portion of today's call. I would now like to turn the call back over to Andrew Bednar for additional or closing remarks.

今天電話會議的問答部分到此結束。我現在想將電話轉回給安德魯·貝德納 (Andrew Bednar)，請他發表補充或結束語。

Okay. Thank you, operator, and thank you, everyone, for joining and for your interest in our firm and of course, for your support. And we look forward to talking to you in November. Thank you.

好的。感謝運營商，感謝大家的加入以及對我們公司的興趣，當然還有你們的支持。我們期待在 11 月與您交談。謝謝。

This concludes the Perella Weinberg Partners second quarter 2023 earnings call and webcast. You may disconnect your line at this time and have a wonderful day.

Perella Weinberg Partners 2023 年第二季度財報電話會議和網絡廣播到此結束。此時您可以斷開線路並度過美好的一天。