Ridgepost Capital Inc (RPC) 2026 Q1 法說會逐字稿

Hello and welcome to Ridgepost Capital's first-quarter 2026 conference call. My name is Latif, and I will be coordinating your call today. (Operator Instructions) As a reminder, today's conference call is being recorded. I will now pass the call to your host, Mark Hood, EVP and Chief Administrative Officer.

各位好，歡迎參加 Ridgepost Capital 2026 年第一季電話法說會。我是 Latif，今天將由我協調本次會議。（接線員指示）提醒各位，今天的電話會議將被錄音。現在我將把電話交給本次會議主持人、執行副總裁暨首席行政官 Mark Hood。

Mark, please go ahead.

Mark，請開始。

Thank you, operator, and thank you all for joining us. On today's call, we will be joined by Luke Sarsfield, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer; Amanda Coussens, EVP and Chief Financial Officer; and Arjay Jensen, Executive Vice President, Head of M&A and Strategy. After our prepared remarks, Sarita Jairath, EVP, Global Head of Client Solutions, will join us for our Q&A session.

謝謝接線員，也謝謝各位撥冗參與。今天的電話會議將由 Luke Sarsfield（董事長兼執行長）、Amanda Coussens（執行副總裁兼財務長）以及 Arjay Jensen（執行副總裁、併購與策略主管）與我們一同出席。在我們的準備發言之後，Sarita Jairath（執行副總裁、全球客戶解決方案主管）也將加入問答環節。

Before we begin, I'd like to remind everyone that this conference call, as well as the presentation slides, may include forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Federal Securities Laws, including the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1,995.

在開始之前，我想提醒各位，本次電話會議以及簡報投影片可能包含《聯邦證券法》所定義的前瞻性陳述，包括 1995 年《私人證券訴訟改革法》。

Forward-looking statements reflect management's current plans, estimates and expectations and are inherently uncertain. Actual results for future periods may differ materially from those expressed or implied by forward-looking statements due to a number of risks and uncertainties that are described in greater detail in our earnings release and in our periodic reports filed from time to time with the SEC.

前瞻性陳述反映管理層目前的計畫、估計與預期，且本質上具有不確定性。由於多項風險與不確定因素，未來期間的實際結果可能與前瞻性陳述所明示或暗示者存在重大差異；相關風險與不確定因素已在我們的財報新聞稿以及不時向美國證券交易委員會（SEC）提交的定期報告中更為詳盡地說明。

The forward-looking statements included are made only as of the date hereof. We undertake no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements as a result of new information or future events except as otherwise required by law. During the call, we will also discuss certain non-GAAP measures that we believe can be useful in evaluating the company's performance. A reconciliation of these measures, the most directly comparable GAAP measure, is included in the presentation slides posted on our website and our filings with the SEC.

本次所包含的前瞻性陳述僅截至本日為止。我們不承擔因新資訊或未來事件而更新或修訂任何前瞻性陳述之義務，除非法律另有規定。在本次會議中，我們也將討論若干非 GAAP 指標，我們認為這些指標有助於評估公司的表現。這些指標與最直接可比的 GAAP 指標之調節表，已收錄於我們網站上發布的簡報投影片以及向 SEC 提交的文件中。

I will now turn the call over to Luke.

現在我把電話交給 Luke。

Thank you, Mark. Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining us today. I'll first recap Ridgepost Capital's first-quarter 2026 financial and operational highlights, and then spend a few minutes reflecting on the attractive and durable nature of our LP base.

謝謝你，Mark。各位早安，感謝今天加入我們。我將先回顧 Ridgepost Capital 2026 年第一季的財務與營運重點，接著花幾分鐘談談我們 LP（有限合夥人）基礎的吸引力與長期穩健性。

Arjay will provide an update on our acquisition of Stellus Capital Management, Amanda will dive deeper into our financial performance, and then I will provide some closing thoughts.

Arjay 將就我們收購 Stellus Capital Management 一事提供最新進展，Amanda 會更深入說明我們的財務表現，之後我將做一些結語。

Ridgepost Capital had an extremely strong start to the year, hitting several key milestones. Importantly, our fee-paying assets under management crossed $30 billion for the first time, and we experienced a record quarter in terms of fundraising and deployment. Additionally, we continue to observe strong investment performance across our strategies.

Ridgepost Capital 今年開局極為強勁，達成多項關鍵里程碑。重要的是，我們的計費資產管理規模（fee-paying AUM）首次突破 300 億美元，且在募資與資金部署方面創下單季新高。此外，我們也持續觀察到各項策略皆有強勁的投資績效。

In particular, this quarter, I would highlight increases to the already strong results for the flagship funds at TrueBridge, our venture capital strategy, most of which have achieved 3 times to nearly 6 times net ROIC as of December 31, 2025. Our fee-paying assets under management increased to approximately $31 billion, representing 18% year-over-year growth.

特別是本季，我要強調 TrueBridge（我們的創投策略）旗下旗艦基金在既有強勁成果之上再度提升；截至 2025 年 12 月 31 日，其中多數基金已達到 3 倍至接近 6 倍的淨投資資本報酬倍數（net ROIC）。我們的計費資產管理規模提升至約 310 億美元，年增 18%。

Since June 2024 the as-of-date we used at our Investor Day, fee-paying AUM has grown at a 16% compound annual growth rate, keeping us on track to achieve our long-term target of $50 billion by the end of 2029.

自 2024 年 6 月（我們在投資人日所採用的基準日期）以來，計費 AUM 以 16% 的年複合成長率成長，使我們持續朝著 2029 年底達成 500 億美元長期目標的方向前進。

Turning to our fundraising activity, we delivered a record quarter with gross fundraising and deployment totaling approximately $2 billion. This level of fundraising was in line with our expectations and included in our two-year guidance discussed on the fourth quarter 2025 earnings call.

談到募資活動，我們繳出創紀錄的一季，總募資額與資金部署合計約 20 億美元。此一募資水準符合我們的預期，並已納入我們在 2025 年第四季財報電話會議中所討論的兩年期指引。

We had a total of 19 funds in the market this quarter. We are extremely proud of this fundraising performance, which we think reflects the growing LP demand for the solutions we offer our clients. It also reflects a number of favorable elements coming together at once in the quarter, in particular at our venture capital strategy, TrueBridge, which Amanda will cover in greater detail.

本季共有 19 檔基金在市場上募資。我們對這項募資表現深感自豪，因為我們認為這反映 LP 對我們為客戶提供之解決方案的需求日益增加。同時，這也反映本季多項有利因素同時到位，尤其是在我們的創投策略 TrueBridge 上；Amanda 將進一步詳細說明。

I would also point out that fundraising will not always follow a linear path, and we, of course, expect some variability between quarters.

我也要指出，募資不一定會呈線性成長，我們當然也預期各季之間會有一定的波動。

Turning now to a few points I wanted to make about our business, which I think are important to highlight. The first few months of this year were eventful for the firm. On our fourth quarter earnings call, we covered our 2025 year-end results, our announced acquisition of Stellus Capital Management and our rebranding as RidgePost Capital.

接下來談幾點我認為值得強調、且對我們業務很重要的事項。今年前幾個月對公司而言事件頻仍。在第四季財報電話會議上，我們說明了 2025 年年終業績、宣布收購 Stellus Capital Management，以及更名為 RidgePost Capital。

There has also been a good deal of news flow regarding the alternative asset management space, including around software and AI disruption concerns around private credit, driving a general focus on credit quality and related high levels of redemption requests. This has directly and negatively impacted public market valuations.

另類資產管理領域也出現大量新聞動態，包括軟體與 AI 對私募信貸可能造成顛覆的疑慮，進而使市場普遍聚焦於信用品質，以及相關的高水準贖回申請。這些因素已直接且負面地影響公開市場估值。

Importantly, RidgePost has very little exposure to these trends, and we wanted to take the opportunity to double-click on a few areas, in particular, aspects of our business that we believe are truly differentiating and demonstrate that the franchise is progressing on both the organic and inorganic initiatives we outlined at our Investor Day in 2024.

重要的是，RidgePost 幾乎沒有曝險於這些趨勢。我們也希望藉此機會更深入檢視幾個面向，特別是我們認為真正具差異化的業務特質，並展現本公司在 2024 年投資人日所提出的有機與非有機成長計畫上，正持續推進。

Next, I want to touch on the durability of our LP investor base. Our products and vehicles are predominantly structured as commingled funds, or SMAs, with long-dated, locked-up capital. The majority of our fee-paying assets under management use committed capital as the fee base, providing a stable, locked-in source of revenue that typically lasts for 10-plus years.

接著，我想談談我們 LP 投資人基礎的穩健性。我們的產品與投資工具主要以混合基金（commingled funds）或 SMA（單一管理帳戶）形式架構，資本期限長且具鎖定性。我們多數的計費資產管理規模以承諾資本（committed capital）作為收費基礎，提供穩定、鎖定的收入來源，通常可持續 10 年以上。

This product and investor profile provides us with highly durable future revenue reflected in a weighted average remaining duration of approximately seven years across all of our strategies and vehicles.

此一產品與投資人結構，使我們擁有高度可持續的未來收入，並反映在我們所有策略與投資工具的加權平均剩餘存續期間約為 7 年。

The corollary to this is that semi-liquid products for retail investors have not been at all meaningful to our historical growth. As a consequence, we have not been directly impacted by the news around redemption requests and debate around the merits of alternatives for retail investors.

相對應地，面向零售投資人的半流動性產品，對我們過往的成長並不顯著。因此，我們並未直接受到近期關於贖回申請的新聞，以及圍繞零售投資人是否適合配置另類資產之辯論所影響。

Now, this may seem counterintuitive, considering that over a third of our LP investor base has been sourced through the wealth management channel. However, our high net worth investor base has more of an institutional orientation, with several high net worth aggregators making up the majority of this channel for us. Providing a drastically different LP profile compared to the typical retail-oriented products that have been the subject of many of the recent headlines.

考量到我們超過三分之一的 LP 投資人基礎來自財富管理通路，這點看似有些違反直覺。然而，我們的高淨值投資人基礎更偏向機構化取向，且多家高淨值資金整合平台（aggregators）構成我們在此通路的主要來源。這使我們的 LP 結構與近期許多新聞標題所聚焦的典型零售導向產品相比，呈現出截然不同的樣貌。

So, I've touched on the durability of our LP base, as well as how our high net worth channel differs from others. I would also point out that nearly three-quarters of our LP base falls under our three largest categories: one, wealth and high net worth. Two. Pensions. And three, endowments and foundations.

因此，我已談到我們 LP 基礎的穩健性，以及我們的高淨值通路與其他通路的差異。我也要指出，我們的 LP 基礎中，近四分之三集中在三大類別：第一，財富管理與高淨值；第二，退休金；第三，捐贈基金與基金會。

We're particularly proud of this breakdown and are continuously working to expand the level of investor overlap across our strategies. And we are clearly seeing that work pay off.

我們對這樣的結構分布特別自豪，並持續努力提升投資人在各項策略之間的重疊程度。而我們也清楚看到這些努力正在帶來成果。

We flagged on our fourth-quarter call that over 10% of our capital raise since Investor Day stems from successful cross-marketing efforts. To put a finer point on that. Approximately $1.2 billion of the capital we've raised since our Investor Day reference date of June 2024 is a result of clients investing in the strategy beyond their initial RidgePost capital investment.

我們在第四季電話會議中提到，自投資人日以來，我們募得資金中有超過 10% 來自成功的交叉行銷成果。更精確地說，自以 2024 年 6 月作為投資人日參考日期以來，我們所募集的資金中，約 12 億美元是因客戶在其最初的 RidgePost 資本投資之外，進一步投資於其他策略所帶來。

This progress represents roughly 300 basis points of our 15% fee-paying AUM compound annual growth rate through the end of 2025. And this is just the beginning, as we continue to accelerate capital formation, collaborate on new business development opportunities, and leverage our proprietary data capabilities across the broader platform.

這項進展約占我們截至 2025 年底 15% 計費 AUM 年複合成長率中的 300 個基點。而這只是開始；我們將持續加速資本形成、在新業務開發機會上協同合作，並在更廣泛的平台上運用我們的專有數據能力。

Finally, I would also like to remind you that our differentiated investment strategies are focused on the middle and lower middle markets, where we see considerable advantages. We believe this space presents far more opportunities than the larger sponsor segment with lower valuations, less competition for assets, and more disciplined use of leverage.

最後，我也想提醒各位，我們具差異化的投資策略聚焦於中型與中小型市場（middle and lower middle markets），我們在該領域看見相當可觀的優勢。我們相信，相較於估值較高、競爭更激烈的大型贊助商市場區隔，這個領域提供更多機會，資產競爭較少，且槓桿運用更為審慎。

When you combine these dynamics with our team, culture, and data advantage, we think it uniquely positions us to generate strong returns for clients as we grow our franchise.

當你把這些動態與我們的團隊、文化以及數據優勢結合起來，我們認為這使我們具備獨特定位，能在擴大我們的平台版圖的同時，為客戶創造強勁報酬。

I'll now turn it to Arjay to provide an update on Stellus.

我現在把時間交給 Arjay，請他提供 Stellus 的最新進展。

Thank you, Luke. In February, we announced our agreement to acquire Stellus Capital Management, a leading direct lending business that provides senior secured loans to lower middle market sponsor-backed companies in the US.

謝謝你，Luke。2 月，我們宣布已達成協議，將收購 Stellus Capital Management——一家領先的直接放貸（direct lending）業務，為美國由贊助商支持的中小型市場（lower middle market）公司提供優先擔保貸款（senior secured loans）。

On our fourth quarter earnings call, we discussed Stellus exceptional history, its 20-plus year track record, and its complementary fit with our other strategies, given its focus on the lower middle market. Stellus represents a fantastic fit for our entry into the direct lending space, and we are excited to build with them as a rich post-capital strategy.

在我們第四季財報電話會議上，我們討論了 Stellus 卓越的歷史、超過 20 年的業績紀錄，以及鑑於其聚焦於中小型市場，與我們其他策略之間的互補契合度。Stellus 非常適合我們進入直接放貸領域，我們也很期待與他們共同打造，作為 Ridgepost 資本策略版圖中的重要一環。

To expand on Luke's commentary, I'll provide additional context on Stellus financial profile and the expected financial impact of the transaction. As of December 31, 2025, Stellus had $3.8 billion in assets under management and $2.6 billion in fee-paying AUM.

為了延伸 Luke 的評論，我將補充 Stellus 的財務概況以及本交易預期的財務影響。截至 2025 年 12 月 31 日，Stellus 的資產管理規模（AUM）為 38 億美元，其中收費 AUM（fee-paying AUM）為 26 億美元。

From a fee rate perspective, Stellus weighted average management fee rate was approximately 120 basis points of average fee-paying AUM in 2025. So, had Stellus been a part of Ridgepost capital for all of 2025, our core fee rate would have increased from 104 to 105 basis points.

從費率角度來看，2025 年 Stellus 的加權平均管理費率約為平均收費 AUM 的 120 個基點。因此，若 Stellus 在 2025 年全年都屬於 Ridgepost 資本的一部分，我們的核心費率（core fee rate）將從 104 個基點提高至 105 個基點。

We noted in February that the announcement valuation of $250 million of upfront consideration represented approximately 12 times Stellus 2025 estimated FRE. In addition, as Stellus FRE margin is in the mid to high 50s, we would expect modest accretion in our FRE margin.

我們在 2 月指出，公告時的估值包含 2.5 億美元的前期對價（upfront consideration），約相當於 Stellus 2025 年預估費用相關收益（FRE）的 12 倍。此外，由於 Stellus 的 FRE 利潤率在 50% 中段至高段，我們預期我們的 FRE 利潤率將有溫和增厚（modest accretion）。

From an earnings impact perspective, I would note that we anticipate approximately $2 million in annual tax savings as a result of the additional amortization from goodwill and intangibles from the $125 million in cash consideration, which Amanda will cover in greater detail shortly.

就盈餘影響而言，我要指出，因 1.25 億美元現金對價所產生的商譽與無形資產帶來額外攤銷，我們預期每年約可節省 200 萬美元稅負；Amanda 稍後會更詳細說明。

As you'll recall, with respect to the stock consideration in the transaction, the number of units issued was fixed at signing, with the units issued priced at $10.62. These metrics we've provided will allow you to validate the impact guidance we provided at announcement, modestly accretive to ANI per share in the first full year post-closing and modestly accretive to FRE margin. Both relative to street estimates at the time and with no synergies included.

如各位所記得，關於本交易中的股票對價，發行單位數在簽約時即已固定，且發行單位的定價為 10.62 美元。我們提供的這些指標，將使各位能夠驗證我們在公告時給出的影響指引：在交割後第一個完整年度，每股 ANI 將溫和增厚，且 FRE 利潤率亦將溫和增厚。這兩者皆是相對於當時市場一致預估（street estimates），且未納入任何協同效益（synergies）。

Now, I'd like to highlight some recent developments in Stellus business. First, Stellus closed its fourth vintage private fund at approximately $775 million that will pay fees as deployed inclusive of co-mingled fund commitments and SMAs. Slightly ahead of the $750 million cover we had communicated in our initial announcements.

接下來，我想強調 Stellus 業務近期的一些進展。首先，Stellus 的第四期（第四個 vintage）私募基金完成最終關帳，規模約 7.75 億美元；該基金在資金部署後將開始收取費用，包含共同投資基金（co-mingled fund）承諾與 SMA。這略高於我們在最初公告中所溝通的 7.5 億美元目標。

Including the impact of Fund IV's final close, dry power sits at approximately $450 million. This represents the sum of uncalled capital as well as related leverage for the private BDC, both additive to the fee base once the capital is deployed.

納入第四期基金最終關帳的影響後，未動用資金（dry powder）約為 4.5 億美元。這包括未被要求繳款的承諾資本（uncalled capital）以及私募 BDC 的相關槓桿；一旦資金部署，兩者都將增加收費基礎（fee base）。

As a reminder, Stellus private BDC has approximately $400 million in gross assets, or approximately 15% of fee-paying AUM. It was launched in 2021 with institutional seed investors, who comprise approximately 75% of the capital.

提醒一下，Stellus 的私募 BDC 約有 4 億美元總資產（gross assets），約占收費 AUM 的 15%。該產品於 2021 年推出，並由機構種子投資人（institutional seed investors）支持，其資金約占 75%。

Quarterly redemptions averaged 1.0% in 2025, or 2.9% in the first quarter and just 3.0% in the second quarter. Redemption rates that stand in stark contrast to what we're seeing at the upper part of the market and we think reflect Stellus very strong investor support, its differentiated focus on the lower middle market and its disciplined approach to underwriting and strong historical credit performance.

2025 年季度贖回率平均為 1.0%；而第一季為 2.9%，第二季僅 3.0%。這樣的贖回率與我們在市場高端（upper part of the market）所看到的情況形成鮮明對比；我們認為這反映了 Stellus 非常強的投資人支持、其在中小型市場的差異化聚焦、其嚴謹的承作（underwriting）紀律，以及其強勁的歷史信用品質表現。

As we've previously discussed, we believe Stellus unique focus on the lower middle market contributes to its strong credit portfolio with a lower leverage profile than is typical for the upper part of the market. This structurally lower leverage, coupled with Stellus disciplined investment and underwriting process has driven a 1.1% annualized default rate and a 14 basis points annualized loss rate since inception through year-end 2025 across all loans.

如我們先前所討論，我們認為 Stellus 對中小型市場的獨特聚焦，有助於其建立強健的信貸投資組合，其槓桿水準低於市場高端常見水準。這種結構性較低的槓桿，再加上 Stellus 嚴謹的投資與承作流程，使其自成立以來至 2025 年底、涵蓋所有貸款的年化違約率為 1.1%，年化損失率為 14 個基點。

Stellus lower middle market focus and portfolio granularity also help insulate it against some of the recent volatility and headlines surrounding SaaS and software.

Stellus 對中小型市場的聚焦以及投資組合的分散度，也有助於其抵禦近期圍繞 SaaS 與軟體的波動與新聞標題風險。

To reiterate, no single Stellus position represents more than 2% of the overall portfolio, and its total exposure to SaaS and software is less than 8%. Importantly, this exposure is not to the large-scale software sector, but rather to companies better described as industry-specific tech-enabled solutions providers. These businesses leverage AI to enhance their services while maintaining proprietary data advantages.

再次強調，Stellus 的任何單一部位占整體投資組合的比重都不超過 2%，其對 SaaS 與軟體的總曝險低於 8%。重要的是，這些曝險並非大型軟體領域，而是更適合被描述為特定產業的科技賦能解決方案提供者。這些企業運用 AI 強化其服務，同時維持其專有資料優勢。

Another important point I want to make about the Stellus transaction is that their decision to combine with Ridgepost demonstrates that both our value proposition and our business model are resonating. At our Investor Day, we outline what we offer to potential new strategies and Stellus choice reinforces that vision.

我還想就 Stellus 交易再補充一個重點：他們選擇與 Ridgepost 合併，顯示我們的價值主張與商業模式都正在獲得共鳴。在我們的投資人日（Investor Day）上，我們闡述了我們能為潛在新策略提供的內容，而 Stellus 的選擇也強化了這一願景。

Stellus brings a robust brand and excellent market reputation and had other alternatives as its team considered its strategic options and next steps for the business. They chose to join Ridgepost based on our shared vision and focus on the lower middle market, their ability to retain investment autonomy and day-to-day operational control, and the opportunity to enhance both their loan origination funnel and our combined fundraising capabilities.

Stellus 擁有強健的品牌與優異的市場聲譽；在其團隊評估策略選項與業務下一步時，也有其他替代方案。他們選擇加入 Ridgepost，原因在於我們共享的願景與對中小型市場的聚焦、他們能保留投資自主權與日常營運控制權，以及有機會同時強化其放款來源管道（loan origination funnel）與我們合併後的募資能力。

Equally important, we each identified a strong cultural alignment between our teams. In terms of timing, we continue to be on track for a mid-year 2026 closing of the transaction.

同樣重要的是，我們也都認為雙方團隊在文化上高度契合。就時程而言，我們仍按計畫在 2026 年年中完成本交易交割。

With that, I will turn it over to Amanda.

接下來，我把時間交給 Amanda。

Thanks, Arjay. I'll now cover our financial results in greater detail. As Luke mentioned, we had a strong start to 2026 in the first quarter, crossing $30 billion in -- AUM for the first time and hitting a quarterly record of approximately $2 billion in fundraising and deployment. We also continue to deliver strong operating results, with core fee rate and FRE margin in line with the guidance we provided on our last earnings call.

謝謝你，Arjay。接下來我將更詳細說明我們的財務結果。如 Luke 所提到，我們在 2026 年第一季有個強勁的開局，AUM 首次突破 300 億美元，並創下單季約 20 億美元的募資與部署紀錄。我們也持續交出強勁的營運成果，核心費率與 FRE 利潤率皆符合我們在上次財報電話會議所提供的指引。

I'll start by giving a bit more detail on fundraising in the quarter. As Luke discussed, our record fundraising in Q1 was driven by a number of elements coming together at once, both clearly at our venture capital strategy, TrueBridge, which accounted for approximately $1 billion of the fundraising and deployment level this quarter.

我先補充本季募資的更多細節。如 Luke 所述，我們在第一季創紀錄的募資，是由多項因素同時到位所推動，其中很明顯地來自我們的創投策略 TrueBridge，本季約占募資與部署水準的 10 億美元。

This was the result of multiple funds being in the market concurrently, with that $1 billion driven by both the latest vintage of the flagship fund. The second vintage of the Venture Secondaries Fund, and incremental fee-paying AUM from two large strategic SMAs.

這是多檔基金同時在市場上募資的結果；其中這 10 億美元同時來自旗艦基金最新一期（latest vintage）、Venture Secondaries Fund 的第二期（second vintage），以及兩個大型策略型 SMA 所帶來的新增收費 AUM。

Additionally, we raised approximately $872 million across our private equity strategies, largely driven by the activation of fees for the next vintage of our GP Stakes flagship fund at Bonaccord.

此外，我們在私募股權策略方面募得約 8.72 億美元，主要由 Bonaccord 的 GP Stakes 旗艦基金下一期開始啟動收費（activation of fees）所帶動。

This record fundraising quarter brought our fee-paying AUM at the end of the quarter to approximately $31 billion, an almost 18% increase on a year-over-year basis. The average core fee rate, excluding direct and secondary catch-up fees, was 97 basis points in the first quarter and 103 basis points on an LTM basis.

這個創紀錄的募資季度，使我們在季末的收費 AUM 約達 310 億美元，年增近 18%。第一季的平均核心費率（不含直接投資與次級市場的追溯補收費用〔direct and secondary catch-up fees〕）為 97 個基點；以過去十二個月（LTM）計算則為 103 個基點。

As a reminder, we anticipate the core fee rate to expand in the second-half of the year, due to the seasonality of our tax credit business, we continue to anticipate 103 basis points in core fee rate for the full-year 2026, excluding the impact of the Stellus acquisition.

提醒一下，我們預期核心費率將在下半年擴張，原因在於我們稅務抵免（tax credit）業務的季節性。我們仍預期 2026 全年核心費率為 103 個基點（不含 Stellus 收購的影響）。

Our total fee-related revenue of approximately $75 million in the quarter represented approximately 11% growth from a year ago. Our FRE margin in the quarter was approximately 44% and consistent with the guidance we provided last quarter.

本季總費用相關營收（fee-related revenue）約為 7,500 萬美元，較去年同期成長約 11%。本季 FRE 利潤率約為 44%，與我們上季提供的指引一致。

As a reminder, FRE margins are expected to grow throughout 2026 as we begin to see additional operating leverage for an overall mid-40s margin for 2026 and continual margin expansion from mid-40s to near-50 over the next few years, excluding the impact from acquisitions.

提醒一下，隨著我們開始看到更多營運槓桿，FRE 利潤率預期將在 2026 年持續提升，2026 年整體利潤率目標為 40% 中段（mid-40s）；並在未來幾年持續由 40% 中段擴張至接近 50%，不含併購帶來的影響。

Moving down the income statement, our Q1 cash tax rate was 2.5%. Our cash tax rate will be higher in Q2, resulting from two cash tax payments being made in the quarter, as has been our historical practice. As we discussed in 2025, we continue to expect to fully utilize the NOL and become a federal taxpayer in 2026.

往下看損益表，我們第一季的現金稅率為 2.5%。我們第二季的現金稅率將會較高，原因是本季將支付兩筆現金稅款，這一直是我們過往的慣例。如同我們在 2025 年所討論的，我們仍預期將完全運用 NOL（淨營運虧損結轉），並於 2026 年成為聯邦納稅人。

In addition, as Arjay mentioned, we anticipate $2 million in annual tax savings resulting from the $125 million in upfront cash consideration for Stellus. As a reminder, the equity consideration of the deal is in the form of about 11.8 million units that represented $125 million in value at the time of the deal signing.

此外，如 Arjay 所提到的，我們預期因 Stellus 交易中 1.25 億美元的前期現金對價，每年可帶來約 200 萬美元的稅務節省。提醒一下，該交易的股權對價形式為約 1,180 萬個單位，於簽約時代表 1.25 億美元的價值。

The equity consideration will be additive to our tax shield when the units are converted into common shares of Ridgepost Capital Inc.

當這些單位轉換為 Ridgepost Capital Inc. 的普通股時，該股權對價將增加我們的稅盾。

We are also pleased to announce that our Board of Directors has approved an increase in the quarterly cash dividend, with a cash dividend this quarter of $0.04 per share, payable on June 18, 2026, to shareholders of record as of the close of business on May 29, 2026.

我們也很高興宣布，董事會已核准提高季度現金股利；本季現金股利為每股 0.04 美元，將於 2026 年 6 月 18 日支付給截至 2026 年 5 月 29 日營業結束時登記在冊的股東。

Additionally, we repurchased 701,000 shares in the quarter at an average price of $8.55 for a total repurchase of $6 million, leaving $15 million available on our share repurchase program. Following the closing of Stellus, we anticipate allocating capital to a combination of debt paydown and share repurchase.

此外，我們在本季以平均每股 8.55 美元回購 701,000 股，回購總額為 600 萬美元，使我們的股票回購計畫尚餘 1,500 萬美元可用額度。Stellus 交割完成後，我們預期將把資本配置於償還債務與股票回購的組合。

I'll now turn it back to Luke for a few closing comments before we open it up to Q&A.

在進入問答之前，我先把電話交回給 Luke，請他做幾點結語。

Thanks, Amanda. Before I open it up to questions, I wanted to summarize some key takeaways from today's call.

謝謝你，Amanda。在開放提問之前，我想先總結今天電話會議的幾個重點。

First, Ridgepost has built a differentiated private markets platform with a unique focus on the middle and lower middle markets and a diverse and extremely durable LP investor base.

第一，Ridgepost 已建立一個具差異化的私募市場平台，獨特聚焦於中型與中小型市場，並擁有多元且極為穩健的 LP（有限合夥人）投資人基礎。

Second, our middle and lower middle market focus results in a meaningful opportunity set that has insulated us from many of the market dynamics that have owned the headlines thus far in 2026. The middle and lower middle markets have more than 5 times the number of GPs compared to the upper segment of the market and more than 10 times the number of companies.

第二，我們對中型與中小型市場的聚焦帶來了具實質意義的機會集合，使我們得以避開 2026 年迄今許多登上新聞標題的市場動態。相較於市場上端，中型與中小型市場的 GP（普通合夥人）數量超過其 5 倍，企業數量超過其 10 倍。

This represents immense opportunity for our platform as both these sponsors and LP investors generally are looking for strategic solutions that our platform can provide across private equity and private credit.

這為我們的平台帶來龐大機會，因為這些贊助方與 LP 投資人通常都在尋找策略性解決方案，而我們的平台可在私募股權與私募信貸領域提供這些解決方案。

Finally, we've established Ridgepost as a destination of choice for like-minded investment firms that are seeking to grow their franchises while also continuing to drive investment decisions. As evidenced by our Stellus acquisition, as Arjay discussed.

最後，我們已將 Ridgepost 打造成志同道合投資公司首選的合作平台，這些公司希望在持續主導投資決策的同時擴大其事業版圖。正如 Arjay 所談到的，我們收購 Stellus 即為明證。

To close, I wanted to spend a minute on capital allocation and state strongly that while we continue conversations in the market regarding potential new strategies in line with the proactive M&A effort Arjay and I have talked about since joining, RidgePost will not be issuing our stock at recent levels in new M&A transactions.

最後我想花一分鐘談談資本配置，並強調：儘管我們仍持續就潛在新策略與市場進行對話，且這些策略與 Arjay 和我自加入以來所談的主動式併購（M&A）努力一致，但 RidgePost 不會在近期的股價水準下，於新的併購交易中發行我們的股票。

Simply put, all recent trading levels are not reflective of the progress we've made on the business since I took over. What we are focused on is building our platform, driving returns for our LP investors, and seeking additional ways to provide our client base more investment opportunities across our strategies.

簡而言之，近期所有交易水準並未反映自我接任以來我們在業務上取得的進展。我們專注於打造平台、為 LP 投資人創造報酬，並尋求更多方式，透過我們的策略為客戶群提供更多投資機會。

As I mentioned... We think the franchise is working on both our organic and inorganic initiatives, and we look forward to the opportunities in front of us as we continue to execute on our strategy.

如我所提到的……我們認為，無論是有機或無機的各項舉措，這個事業體都運作良好；我們也期待在持續執行策略的過程中，迎接眼前的各項機會。

Thank you for your time today. I'll now pass the call over to the operator to begin the Q&A session.

感謝各位今天撥冗參與。接下來我會把電話交給接線員，開始問答環節。

Thank you. (Operator instructions)

謝謝。（接線員指示）

Kenneth Worthington, JP Morgan.

JP Morgan 的 Kenneth Worthington。

This is Alex Bernsteinon for Ken. Thanks for taking our questions. You spoke about some of the differences in your business, the exposures. It sounds like, as we expected, you avoided some of the evergreen issues, also not really exposed to software.

我是代替 Ken 的 Alex Bernsteinon。感謝讓我們提問。你談到你們業務的一些差異與曝險。聽起來如同我們預期，你們避開了一些常青基金（evergreen）的議題，也並未真正曝險於軟體領域。

Another theme we've seen this quarter from some of your larger-cap GP - peers has been softer performance in private equity to start the year. And as of late, in general, I wanted to check on how performance is holding up for you and if there's also potential differentiation there?

我們本季從一些大型市值 GP 同業看到的另一個主題，是私募股權在年初的表現較為疲弱。近期整體而言，我想確認一下你們的表現維持得如何，以及是否也存在潛在的差異化？

Well, thank you. It's a great question, and it actually is reflective of what we're seeing. And I don't want to even speak on our peers. I will just speak on our own experience and what we're seeing in the business. But when you look across our private equity strategies, our performance continues to be incredibly strong and incredibly resilient.

謝謝你。這是個很好的問題，而且確實反映了我們所看到的情況。我也不想評論同業；我只談我們自身的經驗與在業務中看到的現象。當你檢視我們各項私募股權策略時，我們的表現仍然非常強勁且極具韌性。

I'd point to a number of factors for that. Factor one, as we talked about, is the fact that we play in the part of the market, the middle and low-mill market, and that part of the market has continued to see a robust opportunity set, and we've been able to deploy against that opportunity set, and it is both differentiated and protected for all the reasons we talked about.

我會指出幾個原因。第一個原因，如我們所談到的，是我們所處的市場區段——中型與中小型市場——該區段仍持續呈現強勁的機會集合；我們得以在這些機會上進行部署，而基於我們討論過的各項原因，這些機會同時具差異化且受到保護。

It's a broader opportunity set than the upper part of the market. It is less intermediate. We have the ability to be more selective. We're generally buying these businesses not from. In a primary -- in a secondary or tertiary transaction, sorry, but in a primary transaction from a founder/owner and as a result, we have the opportunity to drive meaningful value creation in that portfolio.

相較於市場上端，這是一個更廣泛的機會集合，且中介程度較低。我們能更具選擇性。我們通常不是在一次市場——抱歉，是在二級或三級交易中購買這些企業，而是在一次交易中向創辦人／所有者收購，因此我們有機會在該投資組合中推動具意義的價值創造。

We're buying them at lower levels of kind of overall purchase price, and we're using less leverage in the transactions. And all of those things accrue to our benefit and the benefit of the GP sponsors that we're backing to do that.

我們以較低的整體收購價格水準買入，並在交易中使用較少的槓桿。所有這些因素都對我們有利，也對我們所支持的 GP 贊助方有利。

The second thing I would point to that I think is truly differentiating is when you look at kind of the disposition and makeup of our private equity business. I think for many of the folks you're referring to, they're really investing in what I would call a direct private equity business, and as a result, they're obviously seeing a tremendous or some volatility that goes with that.

第二個我想指出、我認為真正具差異化的，是當你看我們私募股權業務的配置與組成時。對於你提到的許多公司而言，他們主要投資於我所稱的直接私募股權業務，因此自然會承受相當程度或一定程度的波動。

Remember, we are selecting A, best-of-breed managers that we're investing behind, and so I think our opportunity to be more selective and targeted is differentiated. And the second thing is, when you look at the disposition of our portfolio, the direct investments we're making are in places like co-investments, like secondaries.

請記住，我們是在挑選 A）同業中最優秀的管理人並在其背後投資，因此我們能更具選擇性與針對性，這點具有差異化。第二點是，當你看我們投資組合的配置時，我們進行的直接投資多在共同投資（co-investments）、次級（secondaries）等領域。

And that, I think, provides some real insulation and protection, given the skew of our portfolio in private equity relative to some others. And then, obviously, we have a great GP Stakes business focused in the middle and lower middle market.

我認為，鑑於我們私募股權投資組合相較於其他人的偏重結構，這能提供實質的緩衝與保護。此外，我們還有一個很強的 GP Stakes 業務，聚焦於中型與中小型市場。

And the opportunity in that space, I would say, is very attractive and emerging quickly. And so we really like our portfolio. And when you look at the performance results, and you can see them, we proudly publish them every quarter.

我會說，該領域的機會非常具吸引力，且正在快速浮現。因此我們非常喜歡我們的投資組合。而當你看績效結果——你也可以看到——我們每季都自豪地公布。

The performance continues to be very resilient and very strong, and we're very opportunistic in the environment that we see and continue to see on the forward. So that's what I would say in your question, Alex.

績效仍然非常有韌性且非常強勁；面對我們所看到、並預期未來仍將持續的環境，我們也非常把握機會。因此，Alex，這就是我對你問題的回應。

Thank you. I would now like to turn the call over to Luke Sarsfield for closing remarks. Sir.

謝謝。現在我想把電話交給 Luke Sarsfield 作結語。先生。

Well, thank you so much. Thank you for the thoughtful questions and for your continued support. We look very much forward to updating you on our second-quarter results in August. Thanks for joining us, and have a great day.

非常感謝。感謝各位深思熟慮的提問，以及持續的支持。我們非常期待在 8 月向各位更新第二季業績。感謝參與，祝各位有美好的一天。

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

今天的電話會議到此結束。感謝各位參與。您現在可以掛線。