雷蒙詹姆斯金融 (RJF) 2024 Q1 法說會逐字稿

Good afternoon, and welcome to Raymond James Financial's Fiscal 2024 First Quarter Earnings Call. This call is being recorded and will be available for replay on the company's Investor Relations website. I'm Kristie Waugh, Senior Vice President of Investor Relations. Thank you for joining us today. With me on the call today are Paul Reilly, Chair and Chief Executive Officer; and Paul Shoukry, Chief Financial Officer. The presentation being reviewed today is available on Raymond James' Investor Relations website. Following the prepared remarks, the operator will open the line for questions.

下午好，歡迎參加 Raymond James Financial 的 2024 財年第一季財報電話會議。本次電話會議正在錄音，並將在公司投資者關係網站上重播。我是克里斯蒂·沃 (Kristie Waugh)，投資者關係高級副總裁。感謝您今天加入我們。今天與我一起參加電話會議的是董事長兼執行長 Paul Reilly；和財務長 Paul Shoukry。今天正在審查的演示文稿可在雷蒙德詹姆斯的投資者關係網站上找到。在準備好發言後，接線員將開通提問線路。

Calling your attention to Slide 2. Please note that certain statements made during this call may constitute forward-looking statements. These statements include, but are not limited to, information concerning future strategic objectives, business prospects, financial results, industry or market conditions, anticipated timing and benefits of our acquisitions and our level of success integrating acquired businesses, anticipated results of litigation and regulatory developments and general economic conditions. In addition, words such as believes, expects, anticipates, intends, plans, estimates, projects, forecasts and future or conditional verbs, such as may, will, could, should and would, as well as any other statements that necessarily depends on future events are intended to identify forward-looking statements.

請注意投影片 2。請注意，本次電話會議期間所做的某些陳述可能構成前瞻性陳述。這些陳述包括但不限於有關未來策略目標、業務前景、財務業績、行業或市場狀況、我們收購的預期時機和收益以及我們整合所收購業務的成功程度、訴訟和監管發展的預期結果的資訊和一般經濟狀況。此外，諸如相信、期望、預計、打算、計劃、估計、項目、預測等詞語和將來時或條件動詞，例如可能、將、能夠、應該和將，以及任何其他必然依賴於未來的陳述事件旨在辨識前瞻性陳述。

Please note that there can be no assurance that actual results will not differ materially from those expressed in these statements. We urge you to consider the risks described in our most recent Form 10-K and subsequent Forms 10-Q and Forms 8-K, which are available on our website. Now I'm happy to turn the call over to Chair and CEO, Paul Reilly. Paul?

請注意，無法保證實際結果與這些聲明中表達的結果不會有重大差異。我們強烈建議您考慮我們最新的表格 10-K 以及後續表格 10-Q 和表格 8-K 中所述的風險，這些風險可在我們的網站上取得。現在我很高興將電話轉給董事長兼執行長 Paul Reilly。保羅？

Thank you, Kristie. Good evening. Thank you for joining us today. Who would have thought, given all the uncertainty over the past year, we would have ended the last fiscal year with record results and generated record earnings per share and record client assets this quarter. This is a testament to our focus on executing on our strategic priorities, which are rooted in our adviser and client-focused cultures. These priorities have remained consistent over many years. They are: to drive organic growth throughout our businesses, invest in technology and service capabilities and to maintain focus on strategic M&A and effective integrations. Through our relentless focus on these priorities, we have maintained long-term success across changing market environments.

謝謝你，克里斯蒂。晚安.感謝您今天加入我們。誰會想到，考慮到過去一年的所有不確定性，我們將以創紀錄的業績結束上一財年，並在本季度創造創紀錄的每股收益和創紀錄的客戶資產。這證明了我們專注於執行我們的策略優先事項，這些優先事項植根於我們的顧問和以客戶為中心的文化。這些優先事項多年來一直保持一致。它們是：推動整個業務的有機成長，投資於技術和服務能力，並保持對策略併購和有效整合的關注。透過對這些優先事項的不懈關注，我們在不斷變化的市場環境中保持了長期成功。

Now to review the first quarter results, starting on Slide 4. The firm reported quarterly net revenues of $3.01 billion, an increase of 8% over the prior year quarter primarily due to higher asset-based revenues. Quarterly net income available to common shareholders was $497 million or a record $2.32 per diluted share. Excluding expenses related to acquisitions, adjusted net income available to common shareholders was $514 million or $2.40 per diluted share, both records. We generated strong returns for the quarter with annualized return on common equity of 19.1% and annualized adjusted return on tangible common equity of 23.8%, a great result particularly given our strong capital base.

現在從幻燈片 4 開始回顧第一季的業績。該公司公佈的季度淨收入為 30.1 億美元，比去年同期增長 8%，這主要是由於資產收入的增加。普通股股東可獲得的季度淨利潤為 4.97 億美元，即稀釋後每股收益 2.32 美元，創歷史新高。不包括與收購相關的費用，調整後普通股股東可獲得的淨利潤為 5.14 億美元，或稀釋後每股 2.40 美元，均創歷史新高。本季我們創造了強勁的回報，普通股年化回報率為 19.1%，調整後的有形普通股年化回報率為 23.8%，這一成績尤其出色，尤其是考慮到我們強大的資本基礎。

Moving to Slide 5. Client assets grew to record levels this quarter driven by strong adviser retention and recruiting results along with the strong market. Total client assets under administration increased 9% sequentially to $1.37 trillion. Private Client Group assets in fee-based accounts grew to $747 billion, and financial assets under management reached $215 billion. PCG continues to generate strong organic growth evidenced this quarter with domestic net new assets of $21.6 billion, representing a 7.8% annualized growth rate on beginning-of-period domestic PCG assets. Advisers are attracted to our robust technology capabilities and client-first values. And through our long-established, multiple affiliation options, they can find the right fit for their business.

轉向幻燈片 5。在強勁的顧問保留率和招聘結果以及強勁的市場推動下，本季客戶資產增長至創紀錄水平。管理下的客戶總資產較上季成長 9%，達到 1.37 兆美元。私人客戶集團收費帳戶資產增至 7,470 億美元，管理的金融資產達 2,150 億美元。 PCG 本季持續實現強勁的有機成長，國內淨新資產達 216 億美元，較期初國內 PCG 資產年化成長率為 7.8%。我們強大的技術能力和客戶至上的價值觀吸引了顧問。透過我們歷史悠久的多種隸屬關係選項，他們可以找到適合其業務的合適人選。

During the quarter, we recruited to our domestic independent contractor and employee channels financial advisers with approximately $60 million of trailing 12 production and $13 billion of client assets at their previous firms. These results do not include our RIA and Custody Services businesses, which also continued to have recruiting success and finished the quarter with $147 billion of assets. Despite strong recruiting activity, the financial adviser count was sequentially flat mostly due to an elevated number of retirements, which are seasonally higher in the first quarter but where the firm typically retains the vast majority of assets through previously established succession plans. In addition, advisers moving to our RIA channel are excluded from the adviser count since they no longer carry a FINRA license with us.

本季度，我們向國內獨立承包商和員工管道招募了財務顧問，這些顧問擁有約 6,000 萬美元的過去 12 個生產項目和 130 億美元的客戶資產。這些結果不包括我們的 RIA 和託管服務業務，這些業務也繼續取得成功，並在本季結束時擁有 1,470 億美元的資產。儘管招聘活動強勁，但財務顧問數量環比持平，主要是由於退休人數增加，第一季退休人數季節性較高，但公司通常透過先前製定的繼任計劃保留絕大多數資產。此外，轉移到我們 RIA 管道的顧問也不計入顧問數量，因為他們不再持有我們的 FINRA 許可證。

We announced that the President of our PCG Independent Contractor Division, Jodi Perry, transitioned to a newly created role of national head of adviser recruiting. Jodi has generated outstanding results in every role she has held in her nearly 30-year career with Raymond James, and I am confident she will continue to strengthen this key growth engine for the firm. This key leadership appointment continues to highlight the importance and focus on adviser recruiting. With this transition, we are excited about Shannon Reid becoming the PCG Independent Contractor Division President and joining the firm's executive committee. Shannon's most recently served as Senior Vice President of our Northeast division. She has an impressive background and has been a stellar leader in an important market.

我們宣布，PCG 獨立承包商部門總裁 Jodi Perry 轉任新成立的國家顧問招募主管。 Jodi 在 Raymond James 近 30 年的職業生涯中，在擔任的每個職位上都取得了出色的業績，我相信她將繼續加強公司的這一關鍵成長引擎。這一重要的領導層任命繼續強調了顧問招聘的重要性和重點。透過此次交接，我們很高興 Shannon Reid 成為 PCG 獨立承包商部門總裁並加入公司執行委員會。香農最近擔任東北部門的高級副總裁。她擁有令人印象深刻的背景，並且一直是重要市場的傑出領導者。

Total clients' domestic sweep and Enhanced Savings Program balances ended the quarter at $58 billion, up 3% over September 2023. Balances were boosted by growth in both the Enhanced Savings Program as well as the client sweep balances. Bank loans increased 1% from the preceding quarter to a record $44.2 billion, although loan demand remains relatively muted given higher rates.

本季末，客戶的國內掃款和增強儲蓄計畫餘額總額達到 580 億美元，比 2023 年 9 月成長 3%。增強儲蓄計畫和客戶掃款餘額的成長推動了餘額的成長。銀行貸款較上一季成長 1%，達到創紀錄的 442 億美元，但由於利率上升，貸款需求仍相對疲軟。

Moving to Slide 6. Private Client Group generated quarterly net revenues of $2.23 billion and pretax income of $439 million. Year-over-year, results were driven by higher asset management fees, reflecting 18% growth of assets in fee-based accounts. The Capital Markets segment generated quarterly net revenues of $338 million and a pretax income of $3 million. Investment Banking revenues grew 15% compared to a year ago quarter due to higher M&A and underwriting revenues. Sequentially, robust fixed income brokerage revenue growth largely offset weaker M&A and affordable housing investment results. While fixed income results were stronger during the quarter, investment banking activity industry-wide appear to be on a gradual recovery. The uncertain market environment, along with the impact of the amortization of share-based compensation granted in the preceding periods, has strained the near-term profitability of segment results. We remain focused on managing controllable expenses.

轉向投影片 6。私人客戶集團季度淨收入為 22.3 億美元，稅前收入為 4.39 億美元。與去年同期相比，業績成長是由資產管理費上漲推動的，反映出收費帳戶中的資產成長了 18%。資本市場部門的季度淨收入為 3.38 億美元，稅前收入為 300 萬美元。由於併購和承銷收入增加，投資銀行業務收入較去年同期成長 15%。因此，強勁的固定收益經紀收入成長在很大程度上抵消了併購和經濟適用房投資績效的疲軟。儘管本季固定收益業績表現強勁，但整個產業的投資銀行活動似乎正在逐步復甦。市場環境的不確定性，加上前期授予的股權激勵攤銷的影響，對分部績效的近期獲利能力造成壓力。我們仍然專注於管理可控費用。

The Asset Management segment generated pretax income of $93 million on net revenues of $235 million. Results were largely attributable to higher financial assets under management compared to the prior year quarter due to market appreciation and net inflows into PCG fee-based accounts. The Bank segment generated net revenues of $441 million and pretax income of $92 million. Bank segment net interest margin of 2.74% declined 13 basis points compared to the preceding quarter primarily due to a higher cost mix of deposits as Enhanced Savings Program balances that replaced a portion of lower RJBDP cash sweep balances.

資產管理部門的稅前收入為 9,300 萬美元，淨收入為 2.35 億美元。業績主要歸因於市場升值和 PCG 收費帳戶淨流入，管理的金融資產較去年同期增加。銀行部門淨收入為 4.41 億美元，稅前收入為 9,200 萬美元。銀行部門淨利差為 2.74%，較上一季下降 13 個基點，主要是由於增強型儲蓄計畫餘額的存款成本組合較高，取代了部分較低的 RJBDP 現金週轉餘額。

Now I'll turn it over to Paul Shoukry for a more detailed review of the first quarter results. Paul?

現在我將把它交給 Paul Shoukry，讓他對第一季的表現進行更詳細的審查。保羅？

Thank you, Paul. Starting on Slide 8. Consolidated net revenues were $3.01 billion in the first quarter, up 8% over the prior year and down 1% sequentially compared to the record set in the preceding quarter. Asset management and related administrative fees grew 13% over the prior year and declined 3% compared to the preceding quarter. The sequential decline was largely the result of lower fee-based assets at the beginning of the quarter compared to the beginning of the preceding quarter. This quarter, fee-based assets increased 9%, which will be a strong tailwind for asset management and related administrative fees in the fiscal second quarter. Brokerage revenues of $522 million grew 8% year-over-year mostly due to higher transactional activity in PCG. Sequentially, brokerage revenues increased 9%, the result of higher institutional fixed income brokerage revenues as client activity increased and the trading environment was more favorable. I'll discuss account and service fees and net interest income shortly.

謝謝你，保羅。從投影片 8 開始。第一季合併淨收入為 30.1 億美元，比去年同期成長 8%，與上一季創下的紀錄相比季減 1%。資產管理及相關管理費用較去年同期成長13%，季減3%。環比下降主要是由於本季初的收費資產較上一季初有所下降。本季收費資產成長9%，將成為第二財季資產管理和相關行政費用的強勁推動力。經紀收入為 5.22 億美元，年增 8%，主要是由於 PCG 交易活動增加。隨後，經紀收入增加了 9%，這是由於客戶活動增加和交易環境更加有利，機構固定收益經紀收入增加的結果。我很快就會討論帳戶和服務費以及淨利息收入。

Investment banking revenues of $181 million increased 28% year-over-year. Sequentially, the 10% decline was driven predominantly by lower M&A revenues. We are cautiously optimistic that the environment for M&A is improving, and we continue to see a healthy investment banking pipeline and solid new business activity. However, there remains a lot of uncertainty, and we are hopeful a gradual recovery will lead to better results over the next 6 to 9 months. Other revenues of $38 million were down 30% compared to the preceding quarter primarily due to lower affordable housing investment revenues compared to the seasonally high fiscal fourth quarter.

投資銀行業務收入達 1.81 億美元，年增 28%。接下來，10% 的下降主要是由於併購收入下降。我們對併購環境正在改善持謹慎樂觀態度，我們繼續看到健康的投資銀行管道和穩健的新業務活動。然而，仍存在許多不確定性，我們希望逐步復甦將在未來 6 至 9 個月內帶來更好的結果。其他收入為 3,800 萬美元，較上一季下降 30%，主要是由於經濟適用房投資收入低於季節性高收入第四季。

Moving to Slide 9. Clients' domestic cash sweep and Enhanced Savings Program balances ended the quarter at $58 billion, up 3% compared to the preceding quarter and representing 4.8% of domestic PCG client assets. Advisers continue to serve their clients effectively, leveraging our competitive cash offerings. Many clients have now taken advantage of the attractive Enhanced Savings Program and other high-yielding products. Thus, the pace of flows into this program has decelerated as we expected, growing approximately $900 million or 7% this quarter. A large portion of the total cash coming into ESP has been new cash brought into the firm by advisers, highlighting the attractiveness of this product and Raymond James being viewed as a source of strength and stability.

轉向投影片 9. 本季末，客戶的國內現金掃描和增強型儲蓄計畫餘額達到 580 億美元，比上一季成長 3%，佔國內 PCG 客戶資產的 4.8%。顧問利用我們有競爭力的現金產品，繼續有效地為客戶提供服務。許多客戶現在已經利用了有吸引力的增強儲蓄計劃和其他高收益產品。因此，正如我們預期的那樣，該計劃的資金流入速度有所放緩，本季增長了約 9 億美元，即 7%。進入 ESP 的現金總額中很大一部分是顧問為公司帶來的新現金，這突顯了該產品的吸引力，並且雷蒙德·詹姆斯被視為力量和穩定的源泉。

While we are encouraged by the modest sequential growth of client cash balances during the quarter, which was helped by seasonal tailwinds in the fourth calendar quarter, we continue to expect some further yield-seeking activity by clients. Through Monday of this week, sweep and ESP balances are down approximately $1.5 billion for the month of January primarily due to quarterly fee billings of $1.35 billion. RJBDP sweep balances with third-party banks were $17.8 billion at quarter end, up 12% from September 2023.

儘管我們對本季度客戶現金餘額的溫和連續增長感到鼓舞，這得益於第四季度的季節性順風，但我們仍然預計客戶將採取進一步的尋求收益的活動。截至本週一，1 月份的掃款和 ESP 餘額減少了約 15 億美元，主要是由於季度費用帳單為 13.5 億美元。截至季末，RJBDP 與第三方銀行的清償餘額為 178 億美元，較 2023 年 9 月成長 12%。

The strong growth of Enhanced Savings Program balances at Raymond James Bank has allowed for more balances to be deployed off balance sheet with third-party banks. While this dynamic has negatively impacted the bank segment's NIM because of the lower-cost sweep balances being swept off balance sheet, it ultimately provides clients with an attractive deposit solution while also optimizing the firm's funding flexibility by providing a large funding cushion for when attractive growth opportunities emerge. Looking forward, we have ample funding and capital to support attractive loan growth.

雷蒙德詹姆斯銀行增強儲蓄計劃餘額的強勁增長使得更多餘額可以在第三方銀行的表外配置。雖然這種動態對銀行部門的淨利差產生了負面影響，因為較低成本的清償餘額被從資產負債表中清除，但它最終為客戶提供了有吸引力的存款解決方案，同時還通過在在有吸引力的成長時提供大量融資緩衝來優化公司的融資靈活性。機會出現。展望未來，我們有充足的資金和資本來支持有吸引力的貸款成長。

Turning to Slide 10. Combined net interest income and RJBDP fees from third-party banks was $698 million, down 2% from the preceding quarter due to lower firm-wide net interest income resulting from NIM compression, but outperforming our expectations on the last earnings call as client cash balance were more stable than we expected at that time. The Bank segment's net interest margin decreased 13 basis points sequentially to 2.74% for the quarter, and the average yield on RJBDP balances with third-party banks increased 6 basis points to 3.66%.

轉向幻燈片10。來自第三方銀行的淨利息收入和RJBDP 費用合計為6.98 億美元，較上一季度下降2%，原因是淨息差壓縮導致全公司淨利息收入下降，但超出了我們對上一財報的預期由於客戶現金餘額比我們當時預期的更穩定，因此致電。本季銀行部門的淨利差較上季下降 13 個基點至 2.74%，第三方銀行 RJBDP 餘額的平均收益率上升 6 個基點至 3.66%。

While there are many variables that will impact actual results, absent any changes to short-term interest rates, we currently expect combined net interest income and RJBDP fees from third-party banks to be about 5% lower in the fiscal second quarter compared to the fiscal first quarter just based on spot balances after the fee billings this quarter and our expectation of some continued client cash sorting activity. Hopefully, we can outperform this expectation again this quarter, but we believe it's prudent to err on the side of conservatism given the continued uncertainty around client cash balance trends. We remain focused on preserving flexibility and growing net interest income and RJBDP fees over the long term, which we believe we are well positioned to do.

儘管有許多變數會影響實際結果，但在短期利率沒有任何變化的情況下，我們目前預計第二財季來自第三方銀行的淨利息收入和 RJBDP 費用合計將比上一財季低 5% 左右。第一財季僅基於本季費用帳單後的現貨餘額以及我們對一些持續的客戶現金分類活動的預期。希望本季我們能夠再次超越這一預期，但我們認為，鑑於客戶現金餘額趨勢持續存在不確定性，謹慎行事是明智之舉。從長遠來看，我們仍然專注於保持靈活性並增加淨利息收入和 RJBDP 費用，我們相信我們有能力做到這一點。

Moving to consolidated expenses on Slide 11. Compensation expense was $1.92 billion, and the total compensation ratio for the quarter was 63.8%. Excluding acquisition-related compensation expenses, the adjusted compensation ratio was 63.4%. Looking ahead, the impact of salary increases effective on January 1 and the reset of payroll taxes at the beginning of the calendar year will be reflected in the fiscal second quarter. Noncompensation expenses of $462 million decreased 20% sequentially largely due to elevated provisions for legal and regulatory matters in the preceding quarter, whereas this quarter was a relatively quiet quarter for legal and regulatory reserves. The bank loan provision for credit losses for the quarter declined to $12 million. I'll discuss more related to the credit quality in the Bank segment shortly.

轉到投影片 11 上的綜合費用。薪資費用為 19.2 億美元，該季度的總薪酬率為 63.8%。剔除與收購相關的補償費用，調整後的補償率為63.4%。展望未來，1 月 1 日生效的加薪和年初工資稅重置的影響將在第二財季反映出來。非薪資支出為 4.62 億美元，季減 20%，這主要是由於上一季法律和監管事務撥備增加，而本季法律和監管準備金相對平靜。本季信貸損失的銀行貸款準備金下降至 1,200 萬美元。我將很快討論與銀行部門信貸品質相關的更多內容。

We remain focused on managing expenses while continuing to invest in growth and ensuring high service levels for advisers and their clients. For the fiscal year, we expect noncompensation expenses, excluding provision for credit losses, unexpected legal and regulatory items or non-GAAP adjustments, to be around $1.9 billion. This implies incremental noncompensation growth throughout the year as we continue to invest in growth and ensure high service levels for advisers and their clients throughout our businesses. And remember, many of the noncompensation expenses, such as investment sub-advisory fees, represent healthy growth that follows the corresponding revenue growth.

我們仍然專注於管理費用，同時繼續投資於成長並確保為顧問及其客戶提供高水準的服務。對於本財年，我們預計非補償費用（不包括信貸損失撥備、意外法律和監管項目或非公認會計準則調整）約為 19 億美元。這意味著隨著我們繼續投資於成長並確保為整個業務中的顧問及其客戶提供高水準的服務，全年無薪成長將不斷增加。請記住，許多非補償費用，例如投資子諮詢費，代表著相應收入成長後的健康成長。

Slide 12 shows the pretax margin trend over the past 5 quarters. This quarter, we generated a pretax margin of 20.9% and an adjusted pretax margin of 21.7%, a strong result given the industry-wide challenges impacting capital markets. As a reminder, our current targets provided at our Analyst and Investor Day last May are for pretax margin of 20-plus percent and a compensation ratio of less than 65%. We still think these targets are appropriate, and we will provide an update as needed at the next Analyst and Investor Day scheduled for May 22.

投影片 12 顯示了過去 5 個季度的稅前利潤率趨勢。本季度，我們的稅前利潤率為 20.9%，調整後的稅前利潤率為 21.7%，考慮到影響資本市場的全行業挑戰，這是一個強勁的業績。提醒一下，我們在去年 5 月的分析師和投資者日上提出的當前目標是稅前利潤率超過 20%，薪資比率低於 65%。我們仍然認為這些目標是合適的，我們將在定於 5 月 22 日舉行的下一個分析師和投資者日根據需要提供最新資訊。

On Slide 13, at quarter end, total balance sheet assets were $80.1 billion, a 2% sequential increase. Liquidity and capital remained very strong. RJF corporate cash at the parent ended the quarter at $2.1 billion, well above our $1.2 billion target, and we remain well capitalized with a Tier 1 leverage ratio of 12.1% and a total capital ratio of 23%. Our capital levels continue to provide significant flexibility to continue being opportunistic and invest in growth. The effective tax rate for the quarter was 21%, reflecting a tax benefit recognized for share-based compensation that vested during the period. Going forward, we still believe that 24% to 25% is an appropriate estimate to use in your models.

在投影片 13 中，截至季末，資產負債表總資產為 801 億美元，季增 2%。流動性和資本仍然非常強勁。本季末，母公司的 RJF 公司現金為 21 億美元，遠高於我們 12 億美元的目標，我們的資本充足，一級槓桿率為 12.1%，總資本率為 23%。我們的資本水準繼續提供顯著的靈活性，以繼續機會主義和投資於成長。本季的有效稅率為 21%，反映了該期間歸屬的股權激勵所確認的稅收優惠。展望未來，我們仍然認為 24% 到 25% 是在模型中使用的合適估計值。

Slide 14 provides a summary of our capital actions over the past 5 quarters. During the quarter, the firm repurchased 1.4 million shares of common stock for $150 million at an average price of $107 per share. As of January 24, 2024, approximately $1.39 billion remained available under the Board's approved common stock repurchase authorization. Our current plan, which is subject to change, is to repurchase at least $200 million of shares in the fiscal second quarter to complete the remaining repurchases associated with the dilution from the TriState Capital acquisition. Following the second quarter, we expect to continue to offset share-based compensation dilution and to be opportunistic with incremental repurchases.

投影片 14 總結了我們過去 5 個季度的資本行動。本季度，該公司以 1.5 億美元的價格回購了 140 萬股普通股，平均價格為每股 107 美元。截至 2024 年 1 月 24 日，根據董事會批准的普通股回購授權，仍有約 13.9 億美元可供使用。我們目前的計畫（可能會改變）是在第二財季回購至少 2 億美元的股票，以完成與 TriState Capital 收購稀釋相關的剩餘回購。第二季之後，我們預計將繼續抵銷以股票為基礎的薪資稀釋，並透過增量回購來把握機會。

Lastly, on Slide 15, we provide key credit metrics for our Bank segment, which includes Raymond James Bank and TriState Capital Bank. The credit quality of the loan portfolio is solid. Criticized loans as a percentage of total loans held for investment ended the quarter at 1.09%. The bank loan allowance for credit losses as a percentage of total loans held for investment ended the quarter at 1.08%. The bank loan loss allowance for credit losses on corporate loans as a percentage of corporate loans held for investment was 2.06% at quarter end. We believe this represents an appropriate reserve, but we continue to closely monitor economic factors that may impact our corporate loan portfolio, including the commercial real estate portfolio. Within the CRE portfolio, we have prudently limited the exposure to office loans, which represent just 3% of the Bank segment's total loans.

最後，在投影片 15 中，我們提供了銀行部門的關鍵信用指標，其中包括 Raymond James Bank 和 TriState Capital Bank。貸款組合的信用品質穩健。截至本季末，批評貸款佔投資貸款總額的百分比為 1.09%。本季末，銀行信貸損失準備金佔投資貸款總額的百分比為 1.08%。截至季末，銀行企業貸款信用損失貸款損失準備佔投資性企業貸款的比例為2.06%。我們認為這是適當的儲備，但我們將繼續密切關注可能影響我們的企業貸款組合（包括商業房地產組合）的經濟因素。在商業房地產投資組合中，我們謹慎地限制了辦公室貸款的風險，該貸款僅佔銀行部門總貸款的 3%。

Now I'll turn the call back over to Paul Reilly to discuss our outlook. Paul?

現在我將把電話轉回給保羅·賴利 (Paul Reilly)，討論我們的前景。保羅？

Thank you, Paul. As I said at the start of the call, I am pleased with our results for the first fiscal quarter, generating record earnings per share and ending the quarter with record client assets. And while there is still economic uncertainty, I believe we are in a position of strength and are well positioned to drive growth over the long term across all of our businesses.

謝謝你，保羅。正如我在電話會議開始時所說的那樣，我對我們第一財季的業績感到滿意，每股收益創歷史新高，本季末客戶資產創歷史新高。儘管經濟仍然存在不確定性，但我相信我們處於優勢地位，並且有能力推動我們所有業務的長期成長。

In the Private Client Group, next quarter results will be positively impacted by the 9% sequential increase of assets in fee-based accounts. Near term, we expect some headwinds to the interest-sensitive earnings at both PCG and the Bank segment given ongoing cash sorting activity in uncertain rate environment. However, we are already seeing some of the higher-yield competitor rates coming in. Despite this, I believe our effort and focus on being a destination of choice for our current and prospective advisers will continue to drive industry-leading growth. Our adviser recruiting activity remains robust, including a record number of large teams in the pipeline.

在私人客戶組中，收費帳戶資產較上季成長 9%，將對下季業績產生正面影響。短期內，鑑於不確定的利率環境下持續的現金分類活動，我們預計 PCG 和銀行部門的利率敏感收益將面臨一些阻力。然而，我們已經看到一些較高收益率的競爭對手出現。儘管如此，我相信我們的努力和專注於成為我們當前和未來顧問的首選目的地將繼續推動行業領先的成長。我們的顧問招募活動仍然強勁，包括數量創紀錄的大型團隊。

In the Capital Markets segment, we continue to have a healthy M&A pipeline and good engagement levels. But our expectations for a gradual recovery are heavily influenced by market conditions, and we would expect activity to likely pick up over the next 6 to 9 months. And the fixed income business, we saw improvements in this quarter with higher activity, but the dynamics of the past year persists. Depository clients are experiencing flat to declining deposit balances and have less cash available for investing in securities, putting pressure on our brokerage activity. We hope that once rates and cash balances stabilize, we will start to see an improvement. Despite some of the near-term challenges, we believe Capital Markets business is well positioned for growth once the market and rate environment become conducive.

在資本市場領域，我們持續擁有健康的併購管道和良好的參與程度。但我們對逐步復甦的預期在很大程度上受到市場狀況的影響，我們預計未來 6 至 9 個月的經濟活動可能會回升。至於固定收益業務，我們看到本季有所改善，活動增加，但去年的動態仍然存在。存款客戶的存款餘額持平甚至下降，可用於投資證券的現金減少，這對我們的經紀活動造成壓力。我們希望，一旦利率和現金餘額穩定下來，我們將開始看到改善。儘管近期面臨一些挑戰，但我們相信，一旦市場和利率環境變得有利，資本市場業務就有望成長。

In the Asset Management segment, financial assets under management are starting the fiscal second quarter up 9% over the preceding quarter, which should provide a tailwind to revenues. We remain confident that strong growth of assets in fee-based accounts in the Private Client Group segment will drive long-term growth of financial assets under management. In addition, we expect Raymond James investment management to help drive further growth over time.

在資產管理領域，第二財季開始時管理的金融資產較上一季成長 9%，這將為收入帶來推動力。我們仍然相信，私人客戶集團業務收費帳戶資產的強勁成長將推動所管理金融資產的長期成長。此外，我們預計雷蒙德詹姆斯投資管理公司將隨著時間的推移幫助推動進一步成長。

In the Bank segment, we remain focused on fortifying the balance sheet with diversified funding sources and prudently growing assets to support client demand. We have seen security-based loans payoffs decelerate and are starting to experience growth. We expect demand for these loans to recover as clients get comfortable with the current level of rates. With little activity in the market, corporate loan growth has been muted. However, spreads have improved and with ample client cash balances and capital, we are well positioned to lend once activity increases in our conservative risk parameters. In addition to our focus on organic growth across our businesses, we have also ramped up corporate development efforts.

在銀行業務方面，我們仍然專注於透過多元化的資金來源和審慎成長的資產來強化資產負債表，以支持客戶需求。我們已經看到基於擔保的貸款償還速度放緩，並開始成長。我們預計，隨著客戶對當前利率水準感到滿意，這些貸款的需求將會恢復。由於市場活動較少，企業貸款成長乏力。然而，利差有所改善，且客戶現金餘額和資本充裕，一旦我們保守的風險參數中的活動增加，我們就可以很好地放貸。除了注重業務的有機成長外，我們還加強了企業發展。

In closing, we are well positioned entering the second fiscal quarter with strong competitive positioning in all of our businesses and solid capital and liquidity base to invest in future growth. As always, I would be remiss if I did not thank our advisers and associates for their continued dedication to providing excellent service to their clients. Thank you for all you do.

最後，我們在進入第二財季時處於有利地位，在我們所有業務中都具有強大的競爭地位，並擁有堅實的資本和流動性基礎來投資未來的成長。一如既往，如果我不感謝我們的顧問和同事持續致力於為客戶提供優質服務，那就是我的失職。謝謝你所做的事。

That concludes our prepared remarks. Operator, will you please open the line for questions?

我們準備好的演講到此結束。接線員，請開通提問線好嗎？

(Operator Instructions) And your first question comes from the line of Michael Cho from JPMorgan.

（操作員說明）您的第一個問題來自摩根大通的 Michael Cho。

For my first question, I just wanted to touch on net new assets. I mean, clearly, there seems to be a pickup in NNA and you continue to call out a robust recruiting backdrop. The question is what do you think is driving that NNA acceleration now? And how much do you think a more stable macro outlook could contribute for NNA acceleration from here?

對於我的第一個問題，我只想談談淨新資產。我的意思是，很明顯，NNA 似乎有所回升，而且你繼續強調強勁的招募背景。問題是您認為現在推動 NNA 加速的因素是什麼？您認為更穩定的宏觀前景對 NNA 從現在開始的加速有何貢獻？

Well, historically, like this quarter, it's a pretty good NNA number. So what's really driving it is still rate retention, recruiting. And most of our recruiting -- the adviser count number is a little misleading now because we're recruiting more and more larger -- very large teams, fewer number but larger teams. This quarter, we had a lot of retirements. But the retirement -- seasonally, we do at the end of the year. But the retirement, almost all of them have transition plans. So we keep the assets, [which drive] the adviser count number down. And when people transfer to the RIA division, which happens every quarter, we take them out because they don't have a FINRA license.

嗯，從歷史上看，就像本季一樣，這是一個相當不錯的 NNA 數字。所以真正推動它的仍然是保留率和招募。我們的大部分招募——顧問人數現在有點誤導，因為我們正在招募越來越大的——非常大的團隊，數量更少但規模更大。本季度，我們有很多人退休。但退休——按季節性，我們在年底退休。但退休後，幾乎所有人都有過渡計畫。因此，我們保留資產，[這會導致]顧問數量減少。當人們調到 RIA 部門時（每季都會發生這種情況），我們會將他們剔除，因為他們沒有 FINRA 許可證。

So if you look at the net asset -- net new assets, you can go over the last few years, I mean, we continue to be near the top of the market or at the top of the market. And it's really just the great retention and robust recruiting. And as we recruit larger and larger teams, a lot of those teams are -- their businesses are still growing significantly, and it's really generating net new assets. And of course, there's market health, right? If the market goes up, you bring people over, the assets are higher. So we feel pretty comfortable. And as we announced, we brought over Jodi Perry to really even add more robustness to our recruiting efforts, which were kind of diversified or spread out between the channels but really bring them together to a more unified effort. We think we can do better than we have been doing.

因此，如果你看淨資產——淨新資產，你可以回顧過去幾年，我的意思是，我們繼續接近市場頂部或市場頂部。這實際上只是出色的保留率和強勁的招募。隨著我們招募越來越大的團隊，其中許多團隊的業務仍在顯著成長，並且確實在產生淨新資產。當然，還有市場健康，對吧？如果市場上漲，你把人帶過來，資產就更高。所以我們覺得很舒服。正如我們所宣布的那樣，我們聘請了喬迪·佩里（Jodi Perry），為我們的招募工作增添了更多的穩健性，這些工作在某種程度上是多元化的或分散在各個管道之間，但實際上將它們聚集在一起，形成了更統一的工作。我們認為我們可以做得比以前更好。

Okay. Great. I just want to switch gears on the capital markets side of the business, specifically investment bank. I mean you continue to invest in talent there despite the choppy backdrop over the last 18 months. And I think you've called out a higher-quality banker or a higher-producing banker at Raymond James now (inaudible) versus previous periods. I mean how should we think about something like revenue per MD going forward in a more normalized environment if the backlog starts to flow through at some point?

好的。偉大的。我只是想轉向資本市場方面的業務，特別是投資銀行。我的意思是，儘管過去 18 個月的情況動盪不安，但你們仍繼續在那裡投資人才。我認為，與之前的時期相比，您現在（聽不清楚）已經在雷蒙德·詹姆斯（Raymond James）找到了一位更高素質的銀行家或一位更高產的銀行家。我的意思是，如果積壓的訂單在某個時候開始流動，我們應該如何考慮在更正常化的環境中未來每個總經理的收入之類的問題？

Back in the last -- the peak of the last market, we exceeded $10 million per MD. So I mean, we generate a very, very high productive number. If you go back a few years, we were a couple of million dollars per MD, and that really is the difference. So part of that is the market. But certainly, part of that was the high-quality MDs recruited and the teams that joined us. So I don't know what that number is in a good market. I think we could still produce that number or better. We continue to recruit people in some of the businesses that we felt were subscale or didn't have the senior people that we wanted. And I think the productivity is still there. So if we had a market as robust as we did a couple of years ago, we could top that $10 million. But certainly, we'd be much higher than the high single digits, I think, in a reasonable market. But again, the market, as we said, is we see slow improvement, but nothing that's really moving quickly up but moving up steadily.

回到上一個市場的頂峰，我們每個 MD 的收入超過了 1000 萬美元。所以我的意思是，我們產生了非常非常高的生產力。如果你回到幾年前，我們每個 MD 的薪水是幾百萬美元，這確實是區別。所以其中一部分是市場。但當然，其中一部分原因是招募了高素質的總經理以及加入我們的團隊。所以我不知道在好的市場中這個數字是多少。我認為我們仍然可以生產這個數字或更好的數字。我們繼續在一些我們認為規模較小或沒有我們想要的高級人才的企業中招募人員。我認為生產力仍然存在。因此，如果我們的市場像幾年前一樣強勁，我們的銷售額可能會超過 1000 萬美元。但當然，我認為，在一個合理的市場中，我們的股價會比高個位數高得多。但同樣，正如我們所說，市場正在緩慢改善，但沒有什麼真正快速上漲，而是穩定上漲。

Your next question comes from the line of Devin Ryan from JMP Securities.

您的下一個問題來自 JMP 證券的 Devin Ryan。

So first question, if we go back to early calendar 2023, you guys have built a fair amount of liquidity and maybe gave up some interest income short term. And I think the view was that lending spreads could widen out, and so you wanted to have some capacity. Obviously, there's also a reason to be conservative at that time. But it did seem like some of maybe the headwinds to spread revenues was more of a timing dynamic and intentional. So looking at today, you still have a lot of excess liquidity to grow loans if you see attractive risk-adjusted returns. So I'm just curious if kind of that view still holds that you had kind of through most of calendar 2023. And then are those better spreads materializing as maybe you thought they would? Are you still waiting for that as you're trying to think about the interplay with that and then accelerating the lending activity into that as well?

所以第一個問題，如果我們回到 2023 年初，你們已經建立了相當數量的流動性，並且可能會短期放棄一些利息收入。我認為人們的觀點是貸款利差可能會擴大，因此你需要有一定的能力。顯然，當時保持保守也是有原因的。但看起來確實有一些阻礙所得分配的阻力更多的是一種時間動態和有意為之。因此，從今天來看，如果你看到有吸引力的風險調整回報，你仍然有大量過剩的流動性來增加貸款。所以我很好奇，在 2023 年的大部分時間裡，你是否仍然持有這樣的觀點。然後，這些更好的利差是否會像你想像的那樣實現？您是否還在等待這一點，因為您正在嘗試考慮與之之間的相互作用，然後也加速貸款活動？

Yes. I think there's 2 pieces to that, Devin, is that we have seen spreads widen. The problem is, is the market hasn't been really robust in the area that we like to lend. And we have a target both in industries, borrowers. So it's fairly conservative. And that pipeline of new loans, as you can see from other banks, too, has just slowed down. So we're still waiting for that kind of resurgence in activity, which we think will happen at some point. But that's really been the -- we're ready to lend. We're also seeing SBL loans and things -- which was deteriorating. We've seen that the payoffs are really decreasing. We're seeing some growth there now, too. So we're starting to see the beginning of growth in those portfolios. But certainly, the market isn't giving us that opportunity to put on loans at the same rate we did in like early 2023 or certainly '22.

是的。德文，我認為有兩點是我們看到利差擴大。問題是，在我們喜歡貸款的領域，市場並不是真正強勁。我們在行業和借款人都有一個目標。所以還是比較保守的。正如你從其他銀行看到的那樣，新貸款的發放速度也剛剛放緩。因此，我們仍在等待這種活動的復甦，我們認為這將在某個時候發生。但這確實是──我們已經準備好放款了。我們也看到 SBL 貸款等情況正在惡化。我們已經看到回報確實在減少。我們現在也看到了一些成長。因此，我們開始看到這些投資組合開始成長。但可以肯定的是，市場並沒有給我們像 2023 年初或 22 年初那樣的利率發放貸款的機會。

Okay. And then just a follow-up on the institutional fixed income brokerage. Obviously, really material improvement in the quarter and kind of run rating over $400 million. Last year, you did mid-300s. And just looking at like 2023 relative to 2021, you're down over 30% even though you have SumRidge today and arguably a bigger, better business. So love to just think about kind of the -- some of the momentum that you saw in the quarter, depositories are maybe becoming more active again, and just how to think about kind of what a normalization in that business looks like. Is it the, call it, [a little bit more than over] $400 million run rate that we saw in this quarter? Or is it something better? And is this quarter kind of a good jumping off point because it is such a stark change from the prior quarter?

好的。然後是機構固定收益經紀業務的後續行動。顯然，本季確實取得了重大進展，運行評級超過了 4 億美元。去年，你做了300多歲。與 2021 年相比，2023 年的業績下降了 30% 以上，儘管您現在擁有 SumRidge，並且可以說是一家規模更大、更好的業務。因此，我喜歡思考一下您在本季度看到的一些勢頭，存款機構可能會再次變得更加活躍，以及如何思考該業務的正常化是什麼樣子的。這是我們在本季看到的（略高於）4 億美元的運行率嗎？還是有更好的東西？這個季度是否是一個很好的起點，因為它與上一季相比發生瞭如此明顯的變化？

Yes. So first, it's a pretty fickle market. SumRidge has done well the whole time. They [day traded] on volatility. So if you look at volatility, you could probably look at their results. They're really good, very hedged, very focused corporate trading strategy and consistently have executed since day 1. And their business has not been off. It's done well. Our traditional depository business, which is a big part of our franchise, as they got cash squeezed, it slowed down. Two things were happening. A lot of banks already had plenty of fixed-rate maturities, and they weren't looking for more bonds and they were worried about their liquidity. I think what happened in December as liquidity looked like it was easing some and rates looked like they were going to come down, they got much more active.

是的。首先，這是一個非常變化無常的市場。 SumRidge 一直表現良好。他們根據波動性進行[當日交易]。因此，如果你專注於波動性，你可能會關注他們的結果。他們真的很優秀，非常對沖，非常專注的企業交易策略，並且從第一天起就一直執行。而且他們的業務並沒有停止。做得很好。我們傳統的存款業務是我們特許經營的重要組成部分，但隨著現金緊縮，業務發展速度放緩。有兩件事發生了。許多銀行已經擁有大量固定利率債券，他們並沒有尋求更多債券，而且擔心自己的流動性。我認為 12 月發生的事情是，流動性看起來很放鬆，利率看起來會下降，他們變得更加活躍。

So I think that environment, which has been okay beginning of the year but it's too early to tell, is what happens with the rates. If people really think these are peak rates and liquidity continues to [feel settled], they'll get more active or at least be active as they are today. But I don't see the return to 2 years ago until the market really gets a lot better and a lot stable. But the guys, they've performed very, very well and it's just -- if rates go up, it's going to be a headwind. If rates go down some or (inaudible) rates going down materializes or people get confident, I think it will pick up.

因此，我認為今年年初的環境還不錯，但現在下結論還為時過早，利率會發生什麼變化。如果人們真的認為這些是峰值利率並且流動性繼續[感覺穩定]，他們會變得更加活躍，或者至少像今天一樣活躍。但在市場真正變得更好、穩定之前，我認為不會再回到兩年前。但這些傢伙，他們的表現非常非常好，只是——如果利率上升，這將是一個逆風。如果利率下降一些或（聽不清楚）利率下降成為現實，或者人們變得有信心，我認為利率將會回升。

Your next question comes from the line of Dan Fannon from Jefferies.

您的下一個問題來自 Jefferies 的 Dan Fannon。

Wanted to follow up on your comments around cash sorting and your expectation that you expect that to continue and curious if that's just some of the seasonal cash coming back into the market that may be built up in December and/or what other factors you think that are going to continue to have that be an ongoing trend beyond the billing and other things you mentioned so far in January.

想跟進您對現金分類的評論以及您對這種情況持續下去的期望，並且好奇這是否只是 12 月份可能積累的一些季節性現金返回市場和/或您認為的其他因素除了您一月份到目前為止提到的帳單和其他事情之外，這種趨勢將繼續成為一種持續的趨勢。

Yes, you touched on them. I mean, we, in the December quarter, typically have sort of seasonal tailwinds with tax loss harvesting, maturities and those type of things. And then throughout the year -- quarterly fee billings alone this quarter were north of $1.3 billion, and we'll hopefully see that continue to grow throughout the year. And then we also have the headwind as we enter April with income taxes as well. So rates are still high there -- out there. They've come in a little bit, as Paul said, just with the expectation for lower rates. So we have seen some declines across the industry.

是的，你觸及了它們。我的意思是，我們在 12 月的季度通常會遇到一些季節性的順風，包括稅收損失收穫、到期日等。然後全年 - 僅本季的季度費用就超過 13 億美元，我們希望看到這一數字在全年繼續增長。當我們進入四月時，我們也遇到了所得稅的逆風。所以那裡的利率仍然很高。正如保羅所說，他們進來了一點，只是因為預期利率會降低。因此，我們看到整個行業出現了一些下滑。

But really, money market funds are -- the yields there are really the biggest competitor we have, if you will, and those -- the yields are still attractive. And so we still have to have attractive alternatives to bring in new cash to compete against the money market funds. So as I said in the last couple of calls, I think we're much closer to the end of that cash sorting dynamic than we -- we get closer and closer, I feel like, every quarter, but we're not going to declare that it's over until we have several months of history to prove it out.

但實際上，貨幣市場基金的收益率確實是我們最大的競爭對手，如果你願意的話，而這些收益率仍然具有吸引力。因此，我們仍然必須有一個有吸引力的替代方案來引入新現金，以與貨幣市場基金競爭。因此，正如我在過去幾次電話中所說，我認為我們比我們更接近現金分類動態的結束——我感覺每個季度我們都越來越接近，但我們不會宣布一切都結束了，直到我們有幾個月的歷史來證明這一點。

And I think that if people look at kind of the beta there is, they'll say if rates come down, will that spread increase quickly? Well, on normal sweeps, they kind of follow fed funds. But really, if you look at money markets, they're more -- they're buying bonds, and it takes 2 to 3 weeks for them to adjust. So if they're -- if you consider them some of the competition for rate, it's going to take a few weeks at least for that to sort through before there's -- before rates start moving at the more expensive people who are investing in higher-yielding types of certificates. But it will be moving in the right direction [of rates].

我認為，如果人們關注某種貝塔值，他們會說，如果利率下降，利差會迅速增加嗎？嗯，在正常的掃描中，他們有點跟隨聯邦基金。但實際上，如果你看看貨幣市場，你會發現他們更多的是購買債券，並且需要 2 到 3 週的時間來調整。因此，如果你認為它們是利率的競爭者，那麼至少需要幾週的時間才能解決這個問題，然後利率才會開始向那些投資於更高價格的更昂貴的人移動。- 生成證書類型。但它會朝著[利率]正確的方向發展。

And then just as a follow-up, within PCG, insurance and annuity products have been growing and a bigger contributor. Just curious with the DOL's proposal how you think that these products might be impacted or momentum in that might be impacted by the proposal.

隨之而來的是，在 PCG 內部，保險和年金產品一直在成長，並做出了更大的貢獻。只是對勞工部的提案感到好奇，您認為這些產品可能會受到該提案的影響，或者可能受到該提案影響的勢頭。

So first, there's always been scrutiny on those products over time, and we believe we have good products and systems to manage that. And the DOL, we had put in systems to comply with a fairly similar law in the beginning, and then we had to take them out as we -- as the industry defeated the rule. The second interpretation of questions came out, and the industry defeated the rule. So we'll have to see in court, and we'll have to see what this rule finishes with before we look at the impact. And my guess is the industry will challenge the rule again. So we've won twice. Well, my guess -- I think there will be a substantial challenge with a lot of things that could challenge what is proposed today, and so we'll have to see. So I'm -- it's kind of early to speculate on that until it's finalized, until we see if it really can withstand the third court challenge.

首先，隨著時間的推移，人們總是對這些產品進行審查，我們相信我們擁有良好的產品和系統來管理這一點。對於勞工部，我們一開始就建立了遵守相當類似法律的系統，然後我們不得不將它們刪除，因為該行業打破了規則。問題第二解讀出爐，業界克服了規則。因此，我們必須在法庭上看看，在我們考慮影響之前，我們必須先看看這條規則的最終結果。我的猜測是，該行業將再次挑戰這項規則。所以我們贏了兩次。好吧，我的猜測是——我認為很多事情都會面臨巨大的挑戰，這些事情可能會挑戰今天的建議，所以我們必須拭目以待。因此，在最終確定之前，在我們看看它是否真的能夠承受第三次法庭挑戰之前，現在對此進行推測還為時過早。

Your next question comes from the line of Kyle Voigt from KBW.

您的下一個問題來自 KBW 的 Kyle Voigt。

So first, on the balance sheet, just given how much sweep cash you have sitting off balance sheet at this point at $18 billion and the excess capital you're currently running with combined with the shape of the forward curve, would you consider beginning to grow the securities portfolio again over the next few quarters and start to lock in some yield? Or do you still have a preference to allow that to run off?

首先，在資產負債表上，考慮到您目前在資產負債表上擁有 180 億美元的現金，以及您目前使用的超額資本，再加上遠期曲線的形狀，您是否會考慮開始在接下來的幾個季度再次擴大證券投資組合併開始鎖定一些收益率？或者你仍然傾向於允許它消失？

Yes, Kyle, our position on taking duration on the balance sheet has remained very consistent through different rate cycles, which certainly positioned us well this time last year, which is really to keep more of a floating rate balance sheet and not try to time rates one way or the other. To the extent that we do take duration on the balance sheet, we really wanted to be -- to support and accommodate client needs, mortgages and those tax exempt loans, et cetera. And so we're really not looking to try to time what might happen to rates. I know the forward curve has been wrong more than right in the last 2 to 3 years and have misguided a lot of other firms. And so we're just going to remain flexible and really focus on accommodating clients versus making best for our own benefit.

是的，凱爾，我們在資產負債表上計算久期的立場在不同的利率週期中一直保持非常一致，這無疑使我們在去年的這個時候處於有利地位，這實際上是為了保持更多的浮動利率資產負債表，而不是試圖對利率進行計時以一種方式或另一種方式。就我們確實在資產負債表上計入久期而言，我們確實希望能夠支持和滿足客戶的需求、抵押貸款和免稅貸款等。因此，我們確實不想嘗試計算利率可能發生的情況。我知道在過去的兩三年裡，遠期曲線的錯誤多於正確，並且誤導了許多其他公司。因此，我們將保持彈性，真正專注於滿足客戶需求，而不是為自己的利益謀求最大利益。

And we've heard a lot of people speculate over at the top rates, but we went from no rate cuts to 3, to people speculating 6, to speculating, well, maybe we won't get one for months. So we just don't want to really play that game. And I think one of the keys to our consistent performance is we're not making bets. We're just consistently running the business. So we really don't look at locking in rates like that. And right now, the spread on the sweep rates is very, very good and compelling anyways.

我們聽到很多人以最高利率進行投機，但我們從不降息到 3 次，到人們猜測 6 次，再到猜測，好吧，也許我們幾個月都不會降息。所以我們只是不想真正玩那個遊戲。我認為我們保持穩定表現的關鍵之一是我們不賭注。我們只是持續經營業務。所以我們真的不會考慮鎖定這樣的利率。現在，掃描率的利差非常非常好，而且無論如何都很引人注目。

Yes. Understood. Maybe just a question on the noncomp expense guidance of $1.9 billion. I think that implies a 10% increase or so in the average noncomp expenses for the remaining 3 quarters versus the first quarter run rate. I know there's some variable expenses that you laid out in terms of the investment advisory fees, but just wondering if you could expand a bit on some of the other areas where you may be ramping investments through the remainder of the year.

是的。明白了。也許只是關於 19 億美元非公司支出指引的問題。我認為這意味著剩餘 3 個季度的平均非公司費用與第一季運行率相比將增加 10% 左右。我知道您在投資諮詢費用方面列出了一些可變費用，但只是想知道您是否可以在今年剩餘時間內增加投資的其他一些領域進行一些擴展。

Yes. This quarter was pretty low almost across the board. IT -- the technology expenses, we typically pull back on external support during the December quarter just because it's a little bit slower for those vendors as well even to bring people in. We -- it's a relatively quiet quarter for conferences and trips. And so we -- and it was also a relatively favorable quarter for legal and regulatory. And so I think as the year progresses, we should expect to see growth to get to that $1.9 billion sort of guidance. And then as a reminder, that excludes some of the non-GAAP items, which most of you exclude, as well as the bank loan loss provision and unexpected legal and regulatory reserves because it's just -- it's impossible for us to try to forecast those over the next 3 quarters.

是的。本季幾乎全面下滑。 IT——技術支出，我們通常會在 12 月季度減少外部支持，只是因為這些供應商甚至引進人員的速度也慢了一點。我們——對於會議和旅行來說，這是一個相對安靜的季度。所以我們——這也是法律和監管相對有利的季度。因此，我認為隨著時間的推移，我們應該會看到成長達到 19 億美元的指導水準。然後提醒一下，這不包括一些非公認會計準則項目（你們大多數人都排除在外），以及銀行貸款損失準備金和意外的法律和監管準備金，因為我們不可能嘗試預測這些項目未來3個季度。

And that was kind of our initial guidance was the $1.9 billion. So we're just -- it is lumpy, but we still think that's a good number.

我們最初的指導是 19 億美元。所以我們只是——它是不穩定的，但我們仍然認為這是一個不錯的數字。

Your next question comes from the line of Brennan Hawken from UBS.

您的下一個問題來自瑞銀集團 (UBS) 的布倫南·霍肯 (Brennan Hawken)。

Curious if you could maybe disclose what portion of your client asset base is in retirement accounts. And also, when you think about recruiting, typically, how much of those assets tend to come in, in the form of retirement accounts, IRAs and the like?

我想知道您是否可以透露您的客戶資產基礎的哪一部分存在於退休帳戶中。而且，當你考慮招募時，通常會有多少資產以退休帳戶、個人退休帳戶等形式進入？

Yes, we'll provide more of that breakout at our Analyst/Investor Day in May. When we last went through this in 2016, last time we disclosed this metric, it was about 1/3 of the assets were in IRAs and retirement accounts, but we haven't provided any real disclosure on that since then. So we'll plan on doing that at the Analyst/Investor Day.

是的，我們將在五月份的分析師/投資者日提供更多有關突破的資訊。當我們上次在 2016 年討論這個問題時，上次我們披露這個指標時，大約有 1/3 的資產存在於 IRA 和退休帳戶中，但從那時起我們就沒有提供任何真正的披露。因此，我們計劃在分析師/投資者日這樣做。

Okay. And then when you think about the NNA, had a nice jump here this quarter, was there a bank activity within the bank channel here in the quarter that might have caused some of the significant quarter-over-quarter changes? And generally, what's your outlook for growth coming from that channel in the near term?

好的。然後，當您考慮 NNA 時，本季這裡有一個不錯的跳躍，本季銀行通路內是否有銀行活動可能導致一些重大的季度環比變化？總的來說，您對該通路近期的成長前景有何看法？

There wasn't anything lumpy in the bank channel. We -- that tends to be a lumpier one just because of the -- with advisers, there's many, many. So they average out with the banks. We don't expect anything lumpy. It's part of our growth platform, and I think our NNA has continued to be very, very solid. So we like the trajectory. And this is, I think, a very strong number, both given the environment and given our competitors this quarter, and still believe we have the opportunity to keep -- we don't forecast a number, but I think we can be right at the top of NNA.

銀行通路裡並沒有什麼亂七八糟的東西。我們——這往往是個比較笨拙的人，只是因為——顧問有很多很多。所以他們與銀行持平。我們不希望有任何塊狀的東西。這是我們成長平台的一部分，我認為我們的 NNA 一直非常非常穩定。所以我們喜歡這個軌跡。我認為，考慮到本季度的環境和我們的競爭對手，這是一個非常強勁的數字，並且仍然相信我們有機會保持——我們沒有預測一個數字，但我認為我們可以在NNA 的頂部。

Our next question comes from the line of Bill Katz from TD Cowen.

我們的下一個問題來自 TD Cowen 的 Bill Katz。

Maybe to mix up the topics a little bit, I was wondering if we could circle back to capital return just given the fact that you have a very strong capital position. You mentioned sort of mix dynamics on the loan side or lending side. Why not pick up the pace of capital return through buyback? And then maybe as a subsector to that -- subset to that, what's your incremental thinking of inorganic opportunities at this point? And what might you be looking at?

也許有點混淆主題，我想知道我們是否可以回到資本回報，因為您擁有非常強大的資本狀況。您提到了貸款方或貸款方的某種混合動態。為什麼不透過回購加快資本回流的腳步？然後，也許作為一個子部門，您目前對無機機會的增量思考是什麼？您可能在看什麼？

So we think -- first, we were a little late into the quarter because we had a self-imposed blackout given, as we said, given an accrual for our off-platform communications. So we get a little late jump. And so we weren't in a rush. We had a good period in that market, so we didn't try to catch up. But we're committed to, next quarter, the $200 million, which I think will catch us up on the TriState commitment and continue on our dilution and as we go forward, to be opportunistic. We are trying to balance. As we've said, we've put a new head of corporate development. We're seeing a lot of opportunities in the market, and we want to make sure that just like -- I remember -- forgot the timing -- 2 years ago, [we presented] that we're going to spend the cash when it got over 12%. And we did 6 acquisitions in 18 months, right, and got our ratio down to 10%.

因此，我們認為，首先，我們進入本季度有點晚了，因為正如我們所說，考慮到我們的平台外通訊的應計費用，我們自行實行了停電。所以我們跳得有點晚。所以我們並不著急。我們在那個市場度過了一段美好時光，所以我們沒有試圖追趕。但我們承諾下個季度提供 2 億美元，我認為這將趕上我們對 TriState 的承諾，並繼續稀釋我們的股權，並在我們前進的過程中，抓住機會。我們正在努力平衡。正如我們所說，我們任命了一位新的企業發展主管。我們在市場上看到了很多機會，我們希望確保就像 - 我記得 - 忘記了時間 - 兩年前，[我們提出]我們將在以下時間花掉現金它超過了12%。我們在 18 個月內進行了 6 次收購，對吧，我們的比率降至 10%。

So -- and the reason we could do them is we have capital on the balance sheet. And we think there are opportunities. The problem is you never know if they're actionable. You can talk a lot, but we're certainly out in the market and looking. And so we just try to balance those 2. The good news is we have strong earnings, so we understand we'll keep adding to the capital base. But we're just trying to balance the 2 of them. We think $200 million is a good target. And if we can't get -- if we get to the point where we don't think there are accretive acquisitions that would be accretive to the positioning of the firm, not just earnings, we will buy back stock. We're not trying to hoard capital. Our RSUs, at least half of them, are [ROE] and TSR-based. So we're not trying to hoard capital just for fun. We just think it's the right thing to do, looking at the potential opportunities.

所以——我們能夠做到這些的原因是我們的資產負債表上有資本。我們認為有機會。問題是你永遠不知道它們是否可行。你可以說很多，但我們肯定會在市場上尋找。因此，我們只是嘗試平衡這兩者。好消息是我們擁有強勁的盈利，因此我們知道我們將繼續增加資本基礎。但我們只是想平衡兩者。我們認為 2 億美元是個不錯的目標。如果我們不能——如果我們達到了我們認為沒有增值收購能夠增加公司定位而不僅僅是盈利的地步，我們將回購股票。我們不是想囤積資本。我們的 RSU（至少有一半）是基於 [ROE] 和 TSR 的。因此，我們並不是為了好玩而囤積資本。我們只是認為這是正確的做法，看看潛在的機會。

Okay. Just a follow-up, maybe talk about margins for a moment. Appreciate the -- we look forward to the Investor Day in the spring. Just conceptually, though, to the extent that the investment banking backdrop were to pick up, how do we think about the incremental margin in both the segment and how that might translate down to the holding company at this point in time? Obviously, you're running about breakeven, if you will. I'm just trying to think through the puts and takes of some pressure on NII offset by maybe a little bit more countercyclical pickup in the i-bank and then how that might filter down to profitability.

好的。只是後續行動，也許可以談談利潤率。感謝——我們期待春天的投資者日。不過，僅從概念上講，在投資銀行業背景有所回升的情況下，我們如何看待該領域的增量利潤以及此時如何將其轉化為控股公司？顯然，如果你願意的話，你正在接近收支平衡。我只是想透過看跌期權和看跌期權來思考 NII 上的一些壓力，也許可以透過 i-bank 中更多的反週期回升來抵消，然後這可能會如何滲透到盈利能力。

Yes, Bill, I think in the Capital Markets segment, when they were operating at record levels over the last couple of years, 2 years ago, they, I think, hit a maximum margin or a record margin of around 26%. And so that just shows you the upside potential for that segment. And that was both the equity side and the fixed income side of the business running on all cylinders, which is somewhat atypical across the industry just given the countercyclical nature of some of those businesses. But we -- there's a lot of upside from just breaking even this quarter in capital markets to what the potential is and that we proved out a couple of years ago, and that obviously would help the overall margin of the firm. We're still saying it's a 20% plus margin target for the firm at this juncture, and we'll update that as appropriate at Analyst/Investor Day in May.

是的，比爾，我認為在資本市場領域，當他們在過去幾年中以創紀錄的水平運營時，我認為兩年前，他們達到了最大利潤率或創紀錄的約 26% 的利潤率。這只是向您展示了該細分市場的上行潛力。這既是股權方面，也是固定收益方面，業務全速運轉，考慮到其中一些業務的反週期性質，這在整個行業中有些不典型。但我們——從資本市場本季的收支平衡到潛力，我們幾年前就證明了這一點，有很多好處，這顯然將有助於公司的整體利潤率。目前我們仍表示公司的利潤率目標為 20% 以上，我們將在 5 月的分析師/投資者日酌情更新這一目標。

But we have a diversified business. So there's always puts and takes. And what we don't try to do is sell you on a story that just adds the incremental margin of everything happening to the plus side without factoring in potential offsets. And so we think that's a more balanced approach. But obviously, all else being equal, if we had the same exact sort of performance from the other businesses with the upside potential of capital markets, that would be accretive to the margins overall for the firm. But we're just reluctant to guide that now given all the uncertainty, particularly around cash sorting dynamics, which is a huge driver of margins. The cash balances and where interest rates are is a big driver of margins for the firm. So we're going to be conservative there until things stabilize.

但我們的業務多元化。所以總有投入和拿取。我們不想做的是向您推銷一個故事，該故事只是增加了所有發生的事情的增量利潤，而不考慮潛在的抵消因素。所以我們認為這是一種更平衡的方法。但顯然，在其他條件相同的情況下，如果我們擁有與其他具有資本市場上行潛力的業務相同的業績，這將增加公司的整體利潤率。但考慮到所有的不確定性，我們現在不願意指導這一點，特別是現金分類動態，這是利潤率的巨大推動因素。現金餘額和利率是公司利潤率的重要推動因素。因此，在事情穩定下來之前，我們將保持保守。

Your next question comes from the line of Steven Chubak from Wolfe Research.

您的下一個問題來自 Wolfe Research 的 Steven Chubak。

Wanted to start off with a question on deposit betas and pricing flex amid rate cuts. Just one of the challenges that we collectively are grappling with is that your mix of deposits is quite different than peers. You have a lower concentration of higher beta savings deposits that should carry very high deposit betas with rate cuts. At the same time, your current payout on your sweep deposits is actually much more competitive than your peer set. So I was hoping you could frame separately what your expectation is for deposit pricing flex on the ESP piece versus the sweep deposits within the bank channel.

想從降息期間存款貝塔和定價彈性的問題開始。我們共同應對的挑戰之一是，您的存款組合與同業有很大不同。高貝塔儲蓄存款的集中度較低，這些存款在降息的情況下應該具有非常高的存款貝塔。同時，您目前的掃描存款支付實際上比您的同行更具競爭力。因此，我希望您能夠分別闡述您對 ESP 部分存款定價彈性與銀行通路內掃款存款的期望。

Yes. I mean we -- the ESP balances, we would expect the correlation of the movement of those rates to be much more aligned with what happens with fed funds effective. And I think that's what advisers and clients expect not only at Raymond James but across the industry as well for those higher-yielding products. You say it's different in terms of mix of deposits than others in the industry. But you also have to remember, with the TriState acquisition, we have -- they have $18 billion of deposits now, which are higher-cost deposits and are likely higher beta deposits, too, both on the upside and on the downside of rates. So it gives us more similar sensitivity than just looking at the sort of PCG-related deposits, which we feel good about.

是的。我的意思是，我們——ESP 餘額，我們預計這些利率變動的相關性將與聯邦基金有效情況更加一致。我認為這不僅是雷蒙德詹姆斯的顧問和客戶的期望，也是整個行業以及那些高收益產品的期望。你說它在存款組合方面與業內其他公司不同。但你還必須記住，透過 TriState 的收購，他們現在擁有 180 億美元的存款，這些存款成本較高，而且貝塔係數也可能較高，無論是利率上行還是下行。因此，它給我們帶來了更多類似的敏感性，而不是僅僅關注與 PCG 相關的存款，我們對此感到滿意。

And then as you point out, the BDP, the sweep deposits, we were much more generous than most of our competitors on the way up, which gives us more kind of cushion on the way down as well with those deposits. So as Paul said, it's going to be a competitive dynamic, something that we'll look at as rates move. But we feel really good about the position we're in right now.

然後，正如您所指出的，BDP，掃蕩存款，我們在上漲過程中比大多數競爭對手更加慷慨，這為我們在下跌過程中以及這些存款方面提供了更多緩衝。正如保羅所說，這將是一種競爭動態，我們將隨著利率的變化而關注這一點。但我們對現在所處的位置感覺非常好。

That's great color, Paul. And for my follow-up, it's related to what Bill had just asked, but I was hoping to pin you down with an explicit number in terms of how to think about incremental margins because the offset from lower rates is clearly expected to come from the capital market side of the business. The concern is that NII is not compensable. But if we actually look at what you guys did during the period of robust capital markets activity, you cited the 25%-plus type margins. The incremental margins were actually close to 50% during that period. So I just want to get a sense, if we do have a more meaningful ramp in capital markets activity, is a 50% incremental margin a reasonable assumption consistent with what we saw during the COVID period?

那顏色真棒，保羅。對於我的後續行動，這與比爾剛才問的問題有關，但我希望能用一個明確的數字來說明如何考慮增量利潤，因為較低利率的抵消顯然預計將來自資本市場方面的業務。令人擔憂的是 NII 無法獲得賠償。但如果我們實際看看你們在資本市場活動強勁期間所做的事情，就會發現你們引用了 25% 以上的利潤率。在此期間，增量利潤實際上接近 50%。所以我只是想了解一下，如果我們的資本市場活動確實出現了更有意義的增長，那麼 50% 的增量利潤是否是一個合理的假設，與我們在新冠疫情期間看到的情況一致？

Yes, I mean, I guess what I would say is if you kind of look at the revenues now versus the revenues of the peak of capital markets and being breakeven now versus getting a 26% margin during the peak of capital markets, I mean, it's pretty linear. There's a lot of incremental margin as you grow revenues from the current base to where we were at that point in time. So it also depends on, frankly, the mix of revenues in capital markets, how much comes from M&A versus underwriting versus fixed income. All those businesses have different incremental margins, too. So we can make up a simplistic number for modeling purposes. But frankly, I think it would be false precision. And we also know that the dynamics that may help the capital markets business may be dynamics that may positively or negatively impact our other businesses.

是的，我的意思是，我想我想說的是，如果你比較一下現在的收入與資本市場高峰期的收入，以及現在的盈虧平衡與資本市場高峰期的26% 利潤率，我的意思是，這是非常線性的。當您將收入從當前基礎增加到當時的水平時，就會有很多增量利潤。因此，坦白說，這也取決於資本市場的收入組合，有多少來自併購、承銷和固定收益。所有這些業務也有不同的增量利潤。因此，我們可以出於建模目的編造一個簡單的數字。但坦白說，我認為這是錯誤的精確性。我們也知道，可能有助於資本市場業務的動態可能會對我們的其他業務產生正面或負面的影響。

So with generating a 20% plus margin and generating record earnings in the last 3 years in very different market environments is something that really reinforces the value of having our diversified business model and being able to generate return -- adjusted returns on tangible common equity of over 20% -- 23% this quarter on our strong capital basis without the support of capital markets is something we're really happy about.

因此，過去3 年在截然不同的市場環境中實現了20% 以上的利潤率並創造了創紀錄的收益，這確實增強了我們多元化業務模式的價值，並能夠產生回報——有形普通股的調整後回報。在我們強大的資本基礎上，在沒有資本市場支持的情況下，本季度實現了超過 20% 至 23% 的增長，這是我們非常高興的事情。

Your next question comes from the line of Jim Mitchell from Seaport Global.

您的下一個問題來自 Seaport Global 的 Jim Mitchell。

Maybe just a quick question on the brokered sweeps. Your yield went up -- net yield went up again. You've had pricing power. How long do you think the pricing power can last? I mean deposits in the industry have seemingly stabilized for banks. Does that start to erode some of that pricing power? What's your outlook on the sweep pricing?

也許只是一個關於經紀掃描的簡單問題。你的殖利率上升了——淨收益率再次上升。你有定價權。您認為定價能力還能維持多久？我的意思是，對於銀行來說，該行業的存款似乎已經穩定下來。這是否會開始削弱部分定價能力？您對掃碼定價有何看法？

Yes. We're still seeing a lot of demand for these deposits across the banks that we deal with. So we still think that there's pricing power. But in fairness, the pricing power we're talking about is 5 basis points to 10 basis points, which on the balances of $17 billion is meaningful, but it pales in comparison to what's happening with the base rates nowadays and what might happen, going down or up. So we still think there's pricing power. There's a lot of demand for these deposits. But we're hopeful that over the next year or 2, we're using more of these deposits to grow the balance sheet and support clients with loan activity, which generates a higher yield and returns for the firm overall.

是的。我們仍然看到與我們有業務往來的銀行對這些存款的大量需求。所以我們仍然認為有定價能力。但公平地說，我們談論的定價能力是5 個基點到10 個基點，這在170 億美元的餘額中是有意義的，但與現在的基本利率發生的情況以及可能發生的情況相比，它就顯得蒼白無力了。向下或向上。所以我們仍然認為有定價能力。這些存款的需求很大。但我們希望在未來一兩年內，我們能夠使用更多的存款來擴大資產負債表並透過貸款活動來支持客戶，從而為公司整體帶來更高的收益率和回報。

Great. Makes sense. And then maybe as a follow-up on just sort of the large team pipeline sort of at a record. I think you highlighted that last quarter as well. How much of that is -- what is your win rate among the large teams? Do you feel like it's getting better? And how much is in the pipeline versus actually in the door, I guess, when I think about just as you win new mandates and new clients and FAs?

偉大的。說得通。然後也許可以作為創紀錄的大型團隊管道的後續行動。我認為您在上個季度也強調了這一點。其中有多少——你在大球隊中的勝率是多少？你覺得情況有好轉嗎？當我想到你贏得了新的任務、新的客戶和 FA 時，我猜想，有多少是正在醞釀中的，而實際上是在門口的？

Yes. I don't know if I have those exact numbers. I will say, we didn't see $10 million teams a year or 2 [ago]. Now we see $20 million and $30 million teams that are -- the batting average is pretty good, but there's a lot of competition. We're not the highest payer, but we still -- we're still doing really, really well. Yes, we have a lot in the door. But right now, when we say in the pipeline, they're not committed. We're in the middle of -- we're right there neck and neck, and I think we have a pretty good read on who will come in or not or who are close and you just stay at it.

是的。我不知道我是否有這些確切的數字。我想說的是，我們在一兩年前並沒有看到價值 1000 萬美元的團隊。現在我們看到價值 2000 萬美元和 3000 萬美元的球隊——擊球率相當不錯，但競爭也很激烈。我們不是支付最高的人，但我們仍然做得非常非常好。是的，我們門口有很多。但現在，當我們說正在醞釀時，他們還沒有做出承諾。我們正處於中間——我們並駕齊驅，我認為我們對誰會加入或不加入或誰接近，你只要堅持下去就可以很好地了解。

So -- but it's a large number, and we're actually honestly a little surprised. I think it's both the growth of our firm and our platform, the high net worth initiatives that we've had and what we've built really since Alex Brown has joined us with [their help] being a place for people and the high net and ultrahigh net worth feel very comfortable. And then our technology and our systems and culture, it's all combined to add it to a place where, frankly, if you'd asked us a couple of years ago, we would say -- we wouldn't have told you we'd expected $10 million, $20 million, $30 million teams, multiple teams at one time. So our job is to get them in the door, right? So the good ones. So that's what we work hard on.

所以——但這是一個很大的數字，老實說我們有點驚訝。我認為這既是我們公司的發展，也是我們平台的發展，是我們所擁有的高淨值計劃的發展，也是自從亞歷克斯·布朗在[他們的幫助]下加入我們以來我們所建立的真正目標，成為人們和高淨值人群的場所而且超高淨值感覺很舒服。然後我們的技術、我們的系統和文化，它們全部結合在一起，將其添加到一個地方，坦白說，如果你幾年前問我們，我們會說——我們不會告訴你我們會預計1000萬美元，2000萬美元，3000萬美元的團隊，同時多個團隊。所以我們的工作就是讓他們進來，對嗎？所以是好的。這就是我們努力的方向。

Your next question comes from the line of Mark McLaughlin from Bank of America.

您的下一個問題來自美國銀行的馬克·麥克勞克林。

For my first one, I was curious, how do you view your use of transition assistance and loans to financial advisers? I know some of your competitors use that a lot in terms of generating growth. How do you view your competitivity in that space?

對於我的第一個，我很好奇，您如何看待過渡援助和財務顧問貸款的使用？我知道你們的一些競爭對手在促進成長方面經常使用這一點。您如何看待您在該領域的競爭力？

Yes. First, everyone uses them. So if you want to recruit with zero transition of systems, good luck. I mean you might bring some people in, but not much. I mean advisers feel there's a value to their practices and want a fair return on those. So that is part of recruiting for all the firms, not so much in the RIA channel, but certainly in the employee and independent channel. We consistently, since my time and before, have not been the highest on purpose. And we want -- we've always said it's part of self-selection that we want people to come because they believe it's the right place, not for the highest check. Now having said that, in the last few years, transition of systems has gone up. So we've had to make adjustments. But I mean we're rarely ever the highest offer. I mean we rarely match the highest offer, and we still have a very good batting average. But that's part of the business.

是的。首先，每個人都使用它們。因此，如果您想以系統零轉換的方式進行招聘，祝您好運。我的意思是你可能會帶一些人進來，但不會太多。我的意思是，顧問們認為他們的做法有價值，並希望獲得公平的回報。因此，這是所有公司招募的一部分，不是在 RIA 管道，而是在員工和獨立管道。自我的時代以來以及之前，我們始終沒有刻意做到最高。我們一直說，這是自我選擇的一部分，我們希望人們來，因為他們相信這是正確的地方，而不是為了獲得最高的報酬。話雖如此，在過去幾年中，系統的轉換有所增加。所以我們必須做出調整。但我的意思是我們很少是最高的報價。我的意思是，我們很少能匹配最高的報價，但我們的成功率仍然很高。但這是業務的一部分。

Your next question comes from the line of Alex Blostein from Goldman Sachs.

您的下一個問題來自高盛的 Alex Blostein。

Paul, I was wondering if you could just expand a little bit on the comment earlier to Bill's point around building excess capital position and the fact that the last time you guys were over 12% Tier 1 leverage, you went out and did a significant number of deals. So maybe articulate a little bit more what the M&A pipelines look like for the business today and what areas within Raymond James look most interesting from an inorganic perspective.

保羅，我想知道你是否可以稍微擴展一下比爾之前關於建立過剩資本頭寸的觀點，以及上次你們一級槓桿率超過 12% 的事實，你們出去做了很多事情交易。因此，也許可以更闡明當今企業的併購管道是什麼樣的，以及從無機角度來看，雷蒙德詹姆斯的哪些領域看起來最有趣。

Yes. Well, honestly, there's a lot of opportunities in all of our business segments. We've been -- we think there's inorganic opportunities. The challenge is you just don't know -- some are on the market. Many we keep in touch with and say is this a good time for you to look at teaming with us versus competing with us. And I think during the last year with everything going on, discussions are up. Now when you can close those or when they're actionable or -- and frankly, in this market where we suffer a little bit from what our own M&A business does, that the sellers' price expectations adjust much slower than the buyers do. So just take in our industry with cash sorting right? We've always said conservatively, we'd expect cash sorting to continue, which it has over the last year. And many people were saying, "Well, cash sorting is over, and this should be our -- this should be the EBITDA you value us on." So we just say, no, we don't think so.

是的。嗯，老實說，我們所有的業務領域都有很多機會。我們一直認為存在無機機會。挑戰在於你只是不知道——有些是在市場上的。許多與我們保持聯繫的人都表示，現在是您考慮與我們合作而不是與我們競爭的好時機。我認為去年一切都在發生，討論也在增加。現在，當您可以關閉這些項目或當它們可採取行動時，或者坦率地說，在這個市場中，我們因自己的併購業務而受到一些影響，賣方的價格預期調整速度比買方慢得多。那麼，就用現金分類來看看我們這個行業吧？我們一直保守地說，我們預計現金分類將繼續下去，就像去年一樣。許多人說，“好吧，現金分類已經結束，這應該是我們的——這應該是您重視我們的 EBITDA。”所以我們只是說，不，我們不這麼認為。

And so part of that sometimes solves over timing or part of that people say, "Well, at this valuation, we're not going to sell," and that happens in all the segments. But the number of dialogues are up. The interest, I mean, sustain dialogues. And some we walk from. Some they walk from. Some we just say, "Hey, maybe it's not the right timing price-wise." And that was no different to the dynamic a few years ago and then all of a sudden, [4] we were after for a while and [2] would came out of the blue almost [that we found are] closed. So we can't predict that timing and don't want to even try because there's nothing concrete to predict it. But when there's enough activity, you want to make sure you have enough capital that if that time does come, that you can execute.

因此，部分問題有時會隨著時間的推移而解決，或者部分人們會說，“好吧，按照這個估值，我們不會出售”，這種情況發生在所有細分市場。但對話的數量卻增加了。我的意思是，興趣可以維持對話。還有一些我們步行過去。有些是他們步行過來的。有些人只是說，“嘿，從價格角度來看，也許現在時機不對。”這與幾年前的動態沒有什麼不同，然後突然之間，[4]我們追尋了一段時間，[2]突然幾乎[我們發現]關閉了。所以我們無法預測那個時間，甚至不想嘗試，因為沒有任何具體的東西可以預測它。但是，當有足夠的活動時，您需要確保擁有足夠的資本，以便在時機到來時可以執行。

Your next question comes from the line of Michael Cyprys from Morgan Stanley.

您的下一個問題來自摩根士丹利的 Michael Cyprys。

I wanted to come back to some of your comments on the recruiting backdrop. I was hoping you might be able to elaborate a bit on the competitive environment today versus, say, 6 or 12 months ago for recruiting and how you might expect that to evolve if rates come down over the next year or 2.

我想回顧一下您對招聘背景的一些評論。我希望您能夠詳細說明當今的競爭環境與 6 或 12 個月前的招聘情況相比，以及如果未來一年或兩年工資率下降，您預計這種情況會如何發展。

On recruiting, since my 15th year, I think, in this role -- I mean, since I've been here, everybody told me recruiting was going to slow down, and it's just picked up. There would be aging advisers. There'd be no more advisers left. And we see teams in their 40s that have bigger books than we've ever seen before. So I think the recruiting potential is going to stay there. I think we have a unique value proposition given our size on one hand with -- and our A ratings across the 3 rating agencies; our capital on the other hand, allowing independents and Freedom advisers to own their books so they can leave if they want to leave. The technology platform and wealth, we think, is second to none, and that's what the industry awards would say.

在招募方面，我想，自從我擔任這個職位以來，我認為，自從我來到這裡以來，每個人都告訴我招募速度會放緩，但現在招募速度才有所加快。將會有老化的顧問。不會再有顧問了。我們看到 40 多歲的球隊擁有比我們以前見過的更多的帳本。所以我認為招募潛力將保持不變。我認為我們擁有獨特的價值主張，一方面考慮到我們的規模，另一方面考慮到我們在 3 個評級機構中的 A 評級；另一方面，我們的首都允許獨立人士和自由顧問擁有他們的書籍，這樣他們如果想離開就可以離開。我們認為，技術平台和財富是首屈一指的，這也是業界獎所說的。

So you got to keep competing, and it hasn't slowed down yet. Probably the biggest change in the competitive landscape has been RIA roll-ups that pay prices that we can't quite figure out, and it's a bet on aggregating and being able to go to market at some point even though those private multiples are much higher than the public multiples. So that's a new competitor. It's kind of led price. Now people are selling their firms versus having people still kind of owning their businesses. So that's the newest dynamic. And in an area which is -- I call it new competitor. But again, it's the adviser's choice, right, how do they want to practice, if they want to own their business and get all the support of a leading technology or a great place, if they want to sell their business at a pretty high multiple to roll up. So we're trying to aggregate and then monetize later. I mean that's certainly a viable market option that wasn't really there 3 years ago.

所以你必須繼續競爭，而且它還沒有放緩。競爭格局中最大的變化可能是 RIA 的匯總，其價格我們無法完全弄清楚，而且這是對匯總並能夠在某個時候進入市場的賭注，儘管這些私人倍數要高得多比公共倍數。所以這是一個新的競爭對手。這是一種主導價格。現在人們正在出售他們的公司，而不是讓人們仍然擁有他們的企業。這就是最新的動態。在一個領域——我稱之為新的競爭對手。但同樣，這是顧問的選擇，對吧，他們想如何實踐，如果他們想擁有自己的企業並獲得領先技術或好地方的所有支持，如果他們想以相當高的倍數出售他們的企業捲起來。因此，我們正在嘗試進行聚合，然後再進行貨幣化。我的意思是，這確實是一個可行的市場選擇，但三年前還不存在。

There are no further questions at this time. Mr. Paul Reilly, I turn the call back over to you for some final closing remarks.

目前沒有其他問題。保羅‧賴利先生，我將電話轉回給您，請您發表最後的結束語。

Great. I just want to thank you all for attending. I think we're in great shape with, certainly, good tailwinds with that asset number being up 9%. The markets may surprise us all, continue to be robust. But if they continue, we're in great shape there. And the cash dynamic will sort itself at some time. If the forward curve is right at all, even if it's delayed, that will ultimately be a tailwind when that happens. But right now, we just -- as you know, we're conservative. So we always look at it as (inaudible) [Paul about this] 5% decline in the last few quarters. We haven't quite hit that yet, [so we did] it again, but we don't know. So we try to be conservative. And if rates do moderate or come in, we'll get some tailwinds there for the industry. So thanks for joining, and we'll talk to you again.

偉大的。我只想感謝大家的出席。我認為我們的狀況很好，當然有良好的推動力，資產數量增加了 9%。市場可能會讓我們所有人感到驚訝，並繼續保持強勁。但如果他們繼續下去，我們的狀態就很好。現金動態有時會自行調整。如果遠期曲線完全正確，即使有所延遲，當這種情況發生時，最終也將成為順風車。但現在，正如你所知，我們只是保守。因此，我們總是將其視為（聽不清楚）[保羅對此] 過去幾季下降了 5%。我們還沒有完全達到這個目標，[所以我們又做到了]，但我們不知道。所以我們盡量保守。如果利率確實放緩或上升，我們將為該行業帶來一些順風車。感謝您的加入，我們將再次與您交談。

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。