SEI Investments Co (SEIC) 2025 Q2 法說會逐字稿

Hello and welcome to SEI's second-quarter earnings conference call. (Operator Instructions)

您好，歡迎參加 SEI 第二季財報電話會議。（操作員指示）

I would now like to turn the conference over to Brad Burke, Head of Investor Relations. You may begin.

現在，我想將會議交給投資者關係主管布拉德伯克 (Brad Burke)。你可以開始了。

Thank you and welcome, everyone. We appreciate you joining us today for SEI's second-quarter 2025 earnings call.

謝謝大家，歡迎大家。感謝您今天參加 SEI 2025 年第二季財報電話會議。

On the call with me are Ryan Hicke, SEI's Chief Executive Officer; Sean Denham, Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer; and members of our executive management team, Jay Cipriano, Sandy Ewing, Paul Klauder, Michael Lane, Phil McCabe, Mike Peterson, Sneha Shah, and Sanjay Sharma.

與我一起參加電話會議的還有 SEI 執行長 Ryan Hicke、財務長兼營運長 Sean Denham；以及我們的執行管理團隊成員 Jay Cipriano、Sandy Ewing、Paul Klauder、Michael Lane、Phil McCabe、Mike Peterson、Sneha Shah 和 Sanjay Sharma。

Before we begin, I would like to point out that our earnings press release and the presentation accompanying today's call can be found under the Investor Relations section of our website at seic.com. This call is being webcast live, and a replay will be available on the events and webcast page of our website.

在開始之前，我想指出的是，我們的獲利新聞稿和今天電話會議的簡報可以在我們網站 seic.com 的「投資者關係」板塊找到。本次電話會議將進行網路直播，重播將在我們網站的「活動和網路直播」頁面上提供。

We would like to remind you that during today's presentation and in our responses to your questions, we have and will make certain forward-looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially. Please refer to our notices regarding forward-looking statements that appear in today's earnings press release and in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. We do not undertake to update any of our forward-looking statements.

我們想提醒您，在今天的演示和回答您的問題時，我們已經並將繼續做出某些前瞻性陳述，這些陳述受風險和不確定性的影響，可能導致實際結果大不相同。請參閱我們今天的收益新聞稿和我們向美國證券交易委員會提交的文件中關於前瞻性聲明的通知。我們不承諾更新任何前瞻性陳述。

With that, please turn to slide 3 as I turn the call over to our CEO, Ryan. Ryan?

接下來，請翻到投影片 3，我將把電話轉給我們的執行長 Ryan。瑞安？

Thank you, Brad, and good afternoon, everyone. We are thrilled to report another strong quarter for SEI. While Sean will dive into the financial details, I'll focus on our strategic momentum, key areas of progress, and where we're sharpening our execution to drive sustained performance.

謝謝你，布拉德，大家下午好。我們很高興地報告 SEI 又一個強勁的季度。肖恩將深入探討財務細節，而我將重點關注我們的策略動能、關鍵進展領域以及我們為推動持續績效而加強執行力的地方。

Transparency remains a cornerstone of our approach, and I'll be candid about where I think we're excelling and where we see opportunities for improvement. Let's start with what excites us most. Last week, we announced the transformative strategic investment with Stratos, a leader in the independent advisory space with a proven track record in organic growth, advisor recruitment, client experience, and M&A. Please refer to our Form 8-K for more information.

透明度仍然是我們方法的基石，我會坦誠地說出我認為我們在哪些方面表現出色以及在哪些方面有待改進。讓我們從最令我們興奮的事情開始。上週，我們宣布了對 Stratos 的變革性策略投資，Stratos 是獨立諮詢領域的領導者，在自然成長、顧問招募、客戶體驗和併購方面擁有良好的業績記錄。請參閱我們的 8-K 表格以了解更多資訊。

This partnership integrates the client-centric model of Stratos with SEI's modern technology, custody, and investment management capabilities, creating a powerful platform for advisors in a rapidly evolving wealth management landscape. This move is strategic and a strong cultural fit. Our deep relationship with Stratos' leadership enhances our ability to deliver unparalleled value across client segments while aligning with our disciplined capital allocation strategy. We believe that this positions SEI to capture long-term shareholder values through the growing demand for advice-driven solutions.

此次合作將 Stratos 以客戶為中心的模式與 SEI 的現代技術、託管和投資管理能力相結合，為快速發展的財富管理領域的顧問打造了一個強大的平台。此舉具有策略意義，並且與企業文化高度契合。我們與 Stratos 領導層的深厚關係增強了我們在符合我們嚴謹的資本配置策略的同時，為客戶群體提供無與倫比的價值的能力。我們相信，這將使 SEI 能夠透過日益增長的建議驅動解決方案需求來獲取長期股東價值。

Additionally, this investment strengthens our ability to innovate across our asset management and administration platforms, leveraging direct insights into end investor needs to benefit our adviser, private banking, and investment manager clients globally.

此外，這項投資增強了我們在資產管理和管理平台上的創新能力，利用對最終投資者需求的直接洞察，使我們全球的顧問、私人銀行和投資經理客戶受益。

As part of SEI's broader transformation, we've also been evolving our leadership, starting at the top. Yesterday we announced the appointments of Karin Risi and Tom Naratil to our Board of Directors. Karin led Vanguard's $2.5 trillion personal investor and wealth management businesses and was responsible for the design and launch of Vanguard's hybrid advisory platform. Tom led the global wealth management business at UBS, which oversees more than $2.8 trillion in assets.

作為 SEI 更廣泛轉型的一部分，我們也一直在從高層開始提升我們的領導。昨天，我們宣布任命 Karin Risi 和 Tom Naratil 為董事會成員。Karin 領導 Vanguard 2.5 兆美元的個人投資者和財富管理業務，並負責 Vanguard 混合諮詢平台的設計和推出。湯姆領導瑞銀的全球財富管理業務，管理超過 2.8 兆美元的資產。

Their recent relevant experience and strategic insight will make us stronger as a leadership team. This is another clear signal of our commitment to long-term growth, innovation, and accountability.

他們最近的相關經驗和策略洞察力將使我們的領導團隊更加強大。這是我們致力於長期成長、創新和責任的又一明確訊號。

Now shifting to areas where we see progress, but also opportunity. In the second quarter, SEI realized nearly $30 million in net sales events led by strong momentum again in our investment manager segment. On a trailing 12-month basis, that's a new record for SEI. Absent some private banking delays caused by market volatility in April, we believe Q2 would have been even better. The timing is what it is.

現在我們轉向看到進步但也看到機會的領域。在第二季度，SEI 實現了近 3,000 萬美元的淨銷售額，這再次得益於我們投資經理部門的強勁發展勢頭。以過去 12 個月計算，這是 SEI 的新紀錄。我們相信，如果非四月市場波動導致私人銀行業務出現延誤，第二季的業績會更好。時機已到。

Our pipelines across all our businesses, including PB remains strong. We're actively addressing outflow headwinds to drive sales and asset management and that team is making tangible progress, as evidenced by two quarters of improving net asset flows.

我們所有業務（包括 PB）的通路依然強勁。我們正在積極應對資金流出逆風，以推動銷售和資產管理，而團隊正在取得實際進展，兩個季度淨資產流量的改善就是明證。

Two years ago, $30 million in net sales would have been exceptional. Today, it's a solid baseline, reflecting how far we've come in the scale of our ambition. We're not yet where we want to be, but we're moving faster and with greater focus. The competitive landscape is also shifting in our favor. Firms are rethinking their operating models, and we're leaning into that opportunity.

兩年前，3000萬美元的淨銷售額就已經很驚人了。今天，它是一個堅實的基準，反映了我們在實現目標方面已經取得了多大的進步。我們尚未達到我們想要的目標，但我們正在以更快的速度和更大的專注度前進。競爭格局也朝著有利於我們的方向轉變。公司正在重新考慮他們的營運模式，而我們正抓住這個機會。

We are seeing increased interest in outsourcing from banks, large RIAs, and alternative asset managers, many of whom have historically managed operations and technology in-house. Last week in New York, I met with global alternative asset managers that are exploring strategic outsourcing partnerships. SEI is uniquely positioned to support their business transformation.

我們看到銀行、大型 RIA 和另類資產管理公司對外包的興趣日益濃厚，其中許多公司歷來都在內部管理營運和技術。上週在紐約，我會見了正在探索策略性外包夥伴關係的全球另類資產管理公司。SEI 擁有獨特的優勢來支持他們的業務轉型。

Our focus remains on flawless execution. To ensure client satisfaction and reference ability, which is why we're proactively investing in talent, technology, and platforms.

我們的重點仍然是完美執行。為了確保客戶滿意度和參考能力，這就是我們積極投資人才、技術和平台的原因。

As mentioned earlier in our asset management businesses, we're seeing encouraging signs. The momentum is real. AUM net flows in the first half of 2025 were roughly flat against several billion of net outflows in the same period last year. And if you include growth across our broader platform, not just AUM, we're beginning to see early signs of modest net growth. That's meaningful progress.

正如我們之前在資產管理業務中提到的，我們看到了令人鼓舞的跡象。這種勢頭是真實的。2025年上半年AUM淨流入與去年同期數十億的淨流出大致持平。如果將我們更廣泛平台的成長（而不僅僅是 AUM）也考慮進去，我們就會開始看到適度淨成長的早期跡象。這是有意義的進步。

Much of this improvement is tied to our evolving strategy with focused client segmentation, pricing discipline, and a renewed sense of enthusiasm for our value proposition across the ecosystem. There's real energy in those businesses and it's beginning to translate into results.

這種改進很大程度上與我們不斷發展的策略息息相關，包括重點客戶細分、定價紀律以及對整個生態系統價值主張的全新熱情。這些企業擁有真正的活力，並且開始轉化為成果。

Now let me address margins, an area where we're always watching closely. Margins stepped down in Q2, reflecting the investments we've been discussing with you over the last few quarters. We continue to make the necessary investments to support future growth and add talent. That impacts the income statement in the short term, but these investments are targeted and intentional, and we're tightening our focus in a few areas.

現在讓我來談談利潤率，這是我們一直密切關注的領域。第二季利潤率下降，反映了我們在過去幾季與您討論的投資。我們將繼續進行必要的投資以支持未來的成長並增加人才。這會在短期內影響損益表，但這些投資是有針對性的和有意的，我們正在加強對幾個領域的關注。

We will remain surgical on hiring. We will reprioritize R&D discretionary spend, and we'll continue to streamline internal processes to ensure we're allocating resources where they'll have the greatest impact. With Sean's leadership, we're pairing these investments with increased accountability, measurement, and leverage. Everyone in this room is responsible for delivering on the return on these investments. We will be disciplined while staying committed to our long-term growth strategy.

我們將繼續嚴格進行招募。我們將重新確定研發可自由支配支出的優先順序，並將繼續簡化內部流程，以確保將資源分配到能夠發揮最大作用的地方。在肖恩的領導下，我們將這些投資與更強的責任感、衡量標準和槓桿作用結合起來。在座的每個人都有責任實現這些投資的回報。我們將嚴守紀律，同時致力於我們的長期成長策略。

Let me close with this. We are running the company to make sure SEI endures and thrives for the long term, not just quarter over quarter. With the adoption of Stratos and the addition, the growing strength of our foundation, the breadth and depth of our sales pipelines, the execution of our growth strategy, SEI has amazing potential over the next 12 months, the next decade, and beyond.

讓我以此作為結束。我們經營公司是為了確保 SEI 能夠長期生存和發展，而不僅僅是逐季發展。隨著 Stratos 的採用和增加、我們基礎實力的不斷增強、銷售管道的廣度和深度、成長策略的實施，SEI 在未來 12 個月、未來十年乃至更遠的未來都具有驚人的潛力。

Thank you. And with that, I'll turn over to Sean.

謝謝。現在，我將把時間交給肖恩。

Thank you, Ryan. Please turn to slide 4.

謝謝你，瑞安。請翻到幻燈片 4。

Our EPS of $1.78 includes significant one-time items, notably a gain from the June 30 sale of our family office services business, and it gained from a long-standing vendor negotiation, totaling a $0.60 EPS impact. These were partially offset by $0.02 of choppier expenses hitting corporate overhead due to foreign currency losses and legal fees tied to the Stratos investment. Excluding these items, SEI would have realized EPS of $1.20, reflecting an increase from both the prior year and prior quarter.

我們的每股收益 1.78 美元，其中包括重大一次性項目，特別是 6 月 30 日出售家族辦公室服務業務的收益，以及長期供應商談判的收益，總計每股收益 0.60 美元。但這些費用被 0.02 美元的波動性支出部分抵消，這部分支出是由於與 Stratos 投資相關的外匯損失和法律費用而導致的公司管理費用增加。除去這些項目，SEI 的每股收益將達到 1.20 美元，較上年同期和上一季均有所成長。

Slide 5 summarizes our business unit performance. Private banking revenue increased both year over year and sequentially, supported by a handful of larger clients going live in the quarter. Investment managers revenue grew 8% year over year with double-digit growth in alternatives, offsetting a 1% decline in traditional revenue due to mark-to-market weakness. We expect this market-related drag to ease in the second half, subject to market conditions.

投影片 5 總結了我們業務部門的績效。私人銀行業務收入年增和環比增長，得益於本季少數大型客戶的加入。投資經理收入年增 8%，另類投資收入實現兩位數成長，抵消了因市價疲軟導致的傳統收入 1% 的下降。我們預計，根據市場情況，這種與市場相關的拖累將在下半年緩解。

Our advisory and institutional businesses realized flat sequential revenue growth as market appreciation in May and June offset significant declines in April. With the exception of our investment managers business, all SEI businesses sold positive operating leverage when compared to the prior year.

由於 5 月和 6 月的市場升值抵消了 4 月的大幅下滑，我們的諮詢和機構業務實現了環比持平的收入成長。除我們的投資經理業務外，所有 SEI 業務與前一年相比均實現了正營業槓桿。

However, margins did decline on a sequential basis, which we'll discuss on slide 6. Starting with investment managers, the decline in margins from the first quarters primarily attributable to hiring ahead of expected new business, ensuring that we can execute quickly as we win new business. Additionally, the margin comparison against the first quarter is challenged due to first-quarter delays in the hiring plans we had spoken about previously.

然而，利潤率確實環比下降，我們將在第 6 張投影片中討論。從投資經理開始，第一季利潤率的下降主要歸因於在預期的新業務之前進行招聘，以確保我們能夠在贏得新業務時迅速執行。此外，由於我們之前談到的招聘計劃在第一季出現延遲，與第一季相比的利潤率也受到了挑戰。

The hiring made in the second quarter, we now expect cost to layer on about as quickly as revenue, so we anticipate that margins will remain in this range as we staff for larger client conversions.

對於第二季的招聘，我們現在預計成本的成長速度與收入一樣快，因此我們預計利潤率將保持在這個範圍內，因為我們為更大的客戶轉換配備了員工。

Margins in our advisor business increased versus the prior year, driven by $21 million of revenue from our integrated cash program, up $11 million from Q2 of last year. The 2.2 percentage points decline from the first quarter was driven by a handful of choppier items. For instance, an increased accrual from our SEI LifeYield earnout driving nearly $1 million increase in expense against Q1. We had nearly $500,000 in expenses associated with the onboarding of a large RIA client, and the first quarter also benefited from just over $1 million of accrual reversal, which further impacts the comparison.

我們的顧問業務的利潤率較上年有所增加，這得益於我們綜合現金計畫的收入 2,100 萬美元，比去年第二季增加了 1,100 萬美元。與第一季相比，下降了 2.2 個百分點，這是由一些波動較大的項目造成的。例如，我們的 SEI LifeYield 收益增加導致支出較第一季增加近 100 萬美元。我們在引進一個大型 RIA 客戶方面花費了近 50 萬美元，而第一季也受益於略高於 100 萬美元的應計逆轉，這進一步影響了比較。

Private banking margins improved against last year. They declined sequentially as the growth-oriented investments Ryan mentioned began to ramp up in the second quarter. Institutional margins increased both year over year and sequentially, although the current order was aided by $1 million earnout reversal that won't repeat. Consolidated operating margins improved slightly year over year, but declined sequentially, impacted by the aforementioned one-time expense in corporate overhead.

私人銀行利潤率較去年同期提高。由於瑞安提到的成長型投資在第二季度開始增加，因此它們的數量連續下降。儘管目前的訂單受到 100 萬美元獲利逆轉的推動，但機構利潤率仍比去年同期和上一季度有所增加，而且這種情況不會再發生。綜合營業利潤率較去年同期略有提高，但較上季下降，受到上述公司管理費用一次性支出的影響。

Turning to our sales events activity on slide 7. Investment managers drove net sales events across SEI with a very balanced mix of winds across alternatives, traditional, and global. No one single client or investment manager sales events in the quarter. Our pipeline in this business is extremely strong, driven by several large alternative managers.

前往投影片 7 上的銷售活動。投資經理人透過另類投資、傳統投資和全球投資的均衡組合，推動了 SEI 的淨銷售活動。本季沒有單一客戶或投資經理的銷售活動。在幾家大型另類投資管理公司的推動下，我們在這個業務領域的儲備非常強大。

These managers are growing at a rapid pace, and they recognized they would benefit from a strategic partner continuing to empowering their growth. The timing of realizing these winds remains fluid, but we anticipate the pace of winds to accelerate in the back half of the year.

這些經理人正在快速成長，他們意識到，如果策略夥伴能夠繼續支持他們的成長，他們將受益匪淺。實現這些風的時機仍不確定，但我們預計風的速度將在今年下半年加速。

Private banking net sales events total just over $2 million with timing slipping for a number of deals due to April's market volatility. Reiterating Ryan's comments, our private banking pipeline remains strong and balanced among regional community and large banks, as well as professional services across both new and existing SEI clients.

私人銀行淨銷售額總額略高於 200 萬美元，由於 4 月份市場波動，許多交易的時間有所推遲。重申瑞安的評論，我們的私人銀行管道在區域社區銀行和大型銀行之間保持強勁和平衡，並為新舊 SEI 客戶提供專業服務。

The institutional and advisors businesses recorded a combined $1 million in net sales events in Q2, and $2 million year to date, a significant improvement from negative $11 million in the first half of 2024.

機構和顧問業務在第二季度共實現淨銷售額 100 萬美元，年初至今實現淨銷售額 200 萬美元，較 2024 年上半年的負 1,100 萬美元有顯著改善。

In summary, SEI's sales pipeline remains strong and consistent with our messaging over the last couple of quarters. We'll be investing in both talent and technology ahead of that growth to ensure outstanding execution for our clients.

總而言之，SEI 的銷售管道仍然強勁，與我們過去幾季傳達的訊息一致。我們將在成長之前對人才和技術進行投資，以確保為客戶提供卓越的服務。

Turning to slide 8. SEI's AUM and AUA grew on both these sequential and year-over-year basis. AUM growth reflects positive market conditions and improving asset flows for SEI's advisor and institutional businesses. AUM net flows for these two businesses were negligible year to date, significantly improving from the first half of '24.

翻到第 8 張投影片。SEI 的 AUM 和 AUA 均實現了連續和同比增長。AUM 的成長反映了積極的市場條件以及 SEI 顧問和機構業務資產流的改善。今年迄今為止，這兩家企業的 AUM 淨流量微不足道，與 2024 年上半年相比有顯著改善。

Traditional mutual fund outflows were largely offset with growth in models and custom portfolios. We expect this trend to continue, and we are shifting resources from traditional mutual funds and prioritizing the growing tax-sensitive ETF, SMA, and models business in conjunction with our evolved asset management strategy.

傳統共同基金的流出在很大程度上被模型和客製化投資組合的成長所抵消。我們預計這一趨勢將會持續下去，我們正在將資源從傳統的共同基金轉移，並結合我們不斷發展的資產管理策略，優先考慮不斷增長的稅收敏感 ETF、SMA 和模型業務。

We were in the early stages of our asset management journey of going upstream to work with larger advisors in growing the RIA business. The early progress is encouraging and happening at a faster pace than we had originally anticipated. Growth in AUA, both sequentially and year over year, reflects the continued demand for investor, investment manager services in addition to the benefit of market appreciation.

我們正處於資產管理之旅的早期階段，正向上游與更大的顧問合作，發展 RIA 業務。早期的進展令人鼓舞，而且進展速度比我們最初預期的還要快。AUA 的環比和同比增長，除了市場升值帶來的好處外，還反映了對投資者、投資經理服務的持續需求。

Outflows in our LSV investment were more than offset by market appreciation. Fund performance remains solid with LSV realizing $5 million of incentive fees in Q2 at SEI's share.

我們的 LSV 投資的流出量被市場升值所抵銷。基金表現保持穩健，LSV 在第二季以 SEI 的份額實現了 500 萬美元的激勵費。

Slide 9 summarizes our capital allocation. During the quarter, we continue to return significant capital to shareholders with buybacks now exceeding $700 million on a trailing 12-month basis. Our recently announced Stratos investment is not reflected in Q2 figures and it's expected to close later this year.

投影片 9 總結了我們的資本配置。在本季度，我們繼續向股東返還大量資本，過去 12 個月的回購金額已超過 7 億美元。我們最近宣布的 Stratos 投資並未反映在第二季的數據中，預計今年稍後完成。

We expect to find the majority of Stratos with low-cost balance sheet cash, while continuing to return free cash flow to shareholders with share repurchases and dividends. We will maintain significant capacity for incremental investment in a fortress balance sheet.

我們預計 Stratos 的大部分資產負債表現金將處於低成本狀態，同時繼續透過股票回購和股利向股東返還自由現金流。我們將在堡壘資產負債表中保持強大的增量投資能力。

Before concluding, I'd like to remind our audience about our Investor Day coming up in New York on September 18. You should have received an invite to sign up from Brad. Please send us a note if he missed you. There's a lot of work happening at SEI much more than we can unpack in any quarterly update. I think our analysts and investors will get a lot of value from hearing us dive deeper into our strategic priorities and anticipated outcomes.

最後，我想提醒各位觀眾，我們的投資者日將於 9 月 18 日在紐約舉行。您應該已經收到布拉德的註冊邀請。如果他想念你，請寄個便條給我們。SEI 正在進行大量工作，遠遠超出我們在任何季度更新中能夠闡述的範圍。我認為，我們的分析師和投資者將從我們深入探討策略重點和預期結果中獲得很大的價值。

With that, operator, please open the line for questions.

接線員，請打開熱線來回答問題。

(Operator Instructions) Crispin Love, Piper Sandler.

（操作員指示）克里斯賓·洛夫、派珀·桑德勒。

Thank you and good afternoon, everyone. First on investments and talent and technology. I know this is an area where you're always investing, but there were definitely multiple callouts in the release and the call. So first, can you discuss some of the key investments you're most focused on today and then are you able to size the incremental investment you expect in coming quarters in these areas?

謝謝大家，下午好。首先是投資、人才和技術。我知道這是您一直在投資的領域，但在發布和通話中肯定有多次呼籲。那麼首先，您能否討論一下您目前最關注的一些關鍵投資，然後您能否估算出您預計未來幾季在這些領域的增量投資規模？

Sure, thanks for the question. I can take that. I'll give you one or two examples of where some of the investments are being made. So I mentioned in my prepared remarks that we're making investments in talent and technology. For instance, in IMS, we understand really well what our pipeline is, what expected sales will be moving forward, and as a result of that, we need higher in advance of that to anticipate those sales. So that's on the people side and I think that's pretty consistent, really across the businesses, including PB to a certain extent.

當然，謝謝你的提問。我可以接受。我將向你們舉一兩個例子來說明一些投資的具體情況。因此我在準備好的發言中提到，我們正在對人才和技術進行投資。例如，在 IMS 中，我們非常了解我們的管道是什麼，預期的銷售情況會如何，因此，我們需要提前做好更高的準備來預測這些銷售情況。所以這是從人員方面來說的，我認為這在所有企業中都是相當一致的，在某種程度上也包括 PB。

From a technology standpoint, we're investing for IMS, for instance, we're investing in technology to streamline our IMS systems for better scalability and cost efficiency, so that's going to set us up for future growth. Those two examples are pretty consistent with how we think about technology and our people.

從技術角度來看，我們正在投資 IMS，例如，我們正在投資技術來簡化我們的 IMS 系統，以實現更好的可擴展性和成本效率，這將為我們未來的成長做好準備。這兩個例子與我們對科技和人民的看法非常一致。

So in my comments I mentioned that we are continuing to look at what that sales pipeline looks like, how we are going to scale our technology and our platforms for future growth. One more piece to that. So the expectation for future margins, I think you can expect kind of where we are in Q2 to be relatively consistent with what we're expecting in future quarters.

因此，我在評論中提到，我們將繼續關注銷售管道是什麼樣的，我們如何擴展我們的技術和平台以實現未來的成長。還有一點。因此，對於未來利潤率的預期，我認為您可以預期我們第二季的利潤率與我們對未來幾季的預期相對一致。

Perfect. Okay, that makes sense. And then just a second question for me on sales events, you called that temporary delays in private banking. Can you just give a little bit more detail there? What drove that and then just expectations going forward?

完美的。好的，這很有道理。然後我再問第二個問題，關於銷售活動，您稱之為私人銀行業務的暫時延遲。能否提供更多細節？是什麼推動了這項進程？以及對未來的期望是什麼？

Yeah, Crispin, it's Ryan. I hope you're doing well. This one was really, I think, we're blaming April, and I'm being serious. April just kind of froze everything in a couple segments for a little while, but similar to the commentary we had almost a year ago when we talked about some things kind of leaking through that July 4 weekend, the pipeline is exactly what the pipeline was, so what we really like to see is kind of the strength and depth of that pipeline.

是的，克里斯平，我是瑞安。我希望你一切都好。我覺得這次我們確實該怪 April，我是認真的。四月只是暫時凍結了幾個部分中的所有內容，但與我們大約一年前談論 7 月 4 日那個週末洩露的一些事情時的評論類似，管道就是管道，所以我們真正想看到的是管道的強度和深度。

Sanjay's sitting right next to me. Sanjay and I literally an hour ago went through the entire pipeline for the next 12 months, but it was just a product of things that we're moving along at a certain path that we would have had a kind of gate 3 that would have naturally matriculated to gate 4 and closing, just got pushed a bit to the right, and again, timing is what it is. So will that manifest itself in the next 90 days or the next 180 days?

桑傑就坐在我旁邊。就在一小時前，我和桑傑剛剛討論了未來 12 個月的整個流程，但這只是我們按照特定路徑前進的產物，我們會有一個類似第 3 號門的東西，它會自然地進入第 4 號門並關閉，只是被推到了右邊一點，再說一次，時機就是這樣。那麼這會在未來 90 天或 180 天內顯現出來嗎？

I wish I had more control over that, but the pipeline in banking is really strong. Sanjay, you want to provide a little color commentary to (inaudible)?

我希望我對此有更多的控制權，但銀行業的管道確實很強大。Sanjay，你想提供一些色彩評論（聽不清楚）？

Yes, certainly. The second quarter, I know that things have slowed down a bit, but we use that time to further strengthen our pipeline, and also building continuously investing in our existing client base, so I strongly believe that our pipeline is strong.

是的，當然。我知道第二季的情況有所放緩，但我們會利用這段時間進一步加強我們的管道，並持續投資於我們現有的客戶群，因此我堅信我們的管道是強大的。

The other part I would highlight is that over several quarters we have been talking about our focus and attention on regional and community space, but in parallel, we were also focusing on the small bank market as well as the large bank market. And I strongly believe that our pipeline is more balanced across those three segments now.

我想強調的另一部分是，幾個季度以來，我們一直在談論對區域和社區空間的關注和關注，但同時，我們也關注小型銀行市場和大型銀行市場。我堅信，我們現在在這三個領域的產品線更加平衡。

Great. Thank you, Ryan and Sanjay. I appreciate you all taking my questions.

偉大的。謝謝你，Ryan 和 Sanjay。感謝大家回答我的問題。

Ryan Kenny, Morgan Stanley.

摩根士丹利的瑞安·肯尼。

Hi, thanks for taking my question. So first question on the Stratos acquisition. Can you give us some color on what differentiates the strategy of Stratos versus some of the other RIA aggregator models that are out there?

你好，謝謝你回答我的問題。第一個問題是關於 Stratos 收購的。您能否向我們解釋一下 Stratos 的策略與其他一些 RIA 聚合器模型的差異？

Yeah, 100% Ryan, hope you're doing well. Michael Lane's in the room. Feel free to chime in, Michael, as well. I think there are three fundamental things that really attracted us to Stratos that we saw as differentiated. One was the breadth and experience of their executive team. So this isn't just Jeff Concepcion, who is a phenomenal entrepreneur and leader. We spent a lot of time with this group. They just had a very professional management team, Ryan.

是的，100% Ryan，希望你一切都好。麥可·萊恩在房間裡。邁克爾，也請隨意加入。我認為 Stratos 真正吸引我們的地方有三個根本因素，我們認為它們是與眾不同的。一是其管理團隊的廣度與經驗。所以這不僅是傑夫康塞普西翁，他還是一位傑出的企業家和領導者。我們花了很多時間與這個團體在一起。他們擁有一支非常專業的管理團隊，瑞安。

They had a COO, a CFO, a Head of Acquisitions, they are built for the scale that they have actually grown, and we were really excited and energized by that.

他們有首席營運長、財務長和收購主管，他們的組成是為了適應實際成長的規模，我們對此感到非常興奮和鼓舞。

I think the second thing that differentiated Stratos and attracted us to us is that they have not adopted the strategy of let's go buy a whole bunch of advisors and then try to harmonize it later. They have a centralized investment platform. They have discipline around their value proposition when they bring new advisors on. They see a tremendous amount of value in what SEI can bring to the table with our capabilities around asset management administration, but they really do deserve, I think, a lot of accolades for the discipline in their value proposition and operating models that they drive through the organization.

我認為 Stratos 的第二個不同之處以及吸引我們的原因是，他們沒有採取先購買一大批顧問，然後再嘗試協調的策略。他們有一個集中的投資平台。當他們引入新的顧問時，他們會嚴格遵守自己的價值主張。他們看到了 SEI 憑藉其在資產管理方面的能力所能帶來的巨大價值，但我認為，他們在整個組織中推行的價值主張和營運模式的紀律性確實值得很多讚譽。

And then I think the third is so important to SEI is cultural fit. The team just really resonates in terms of the values that they hold, the integrity with which they operate, it does feel like they are already part of SEI and SEI and Stratos kind of have a lot of shared values, but specifically around their business model, Ryan, I would say the first few things.

我認為第三個對 SEI 來說非常重要的因素是文化契合度。團隊在他們所持有的價值觀、他們經營的誠信方面確實產生了共鳴，感覺他們已經是 SEI 的一部分，而且 SEI 和 Stratos 有很多共同的價值觀，但具體到他們的商業模式，Ryan，我想說的是前幾件事。

One more kind of the qualitative side would just be the honesty, integrity, and client focus that they have really resonates. Michael, what would you --

另一種定性方面就是他們真正引起共鳴的誠實、正直和客戶關注。邁克爾，你會怎麼做--

Yeah, I mean, everything Ryan said, plus I would add that one of the criteria that we were interested in was a group that actually was a hybrid, where they had both capabilities available, they could have 1099 as well as W-2 because those 1099 advisors at some point are going to look for a succession plan in a W-2 environment provides that succession plan. And so that is another one of the things that was the key criteria for us that we we're searching for when we were first introduced to Stratos. That was another box that was checked.

是的，我的意思是，Ryan 所說的一切，另外我想補充一點，我們感興趣的標準之一是實際上是混合型的團體，他們同時具備這兩種能力，他們可以擁有 1099 和 W-2，因為那些 1099 顧問在某些時候會在 W-2 環境中尋找繼任計劃，從而提供繼任計劃。因此，這是我們第一次接觸 Stratos 時尋找的另一個關鍵標準。這是另一個被檢查的盒子。

All right, great, that's clear. And then you mentioned that Stratos was interested in some of the asset management and servicing capabilities that SEI offers. Should we expect that result in revenue synergies and any timing on when that could show up?

好的，太好了，很清楚。然後您提到 Stratos 對 SEI 提供的一些資產管理和服務功能感興趣。我們是否應該期待這會帶來收入協同效應以及它何時會出現？

So your question is that they have an interest in the asset management services. I don't believe that they have an interest necessarily as much in our IMS under Phil McCabe's business, but what they are very interested in, since they have a Stratos investment management group, which provides direct indexing and SMA capability, they would like to further scale that and provide additional opportunities to grow that beyond their current mix, and that's where the combination of our scaled asset management and investment management arm plus their investment management services arm, I think we'll be able to bring a tremendous amount of value to scaling that.

所以你的問題是他們對資產管理服務感興趣。我不認為他們對 Phil McCabe 旗下的 IMS 業務有那麼大的興趣，但他們非常感興趣的是，由於他們擁有一個 Stratos 投資管理集團，該集團提供直接索引和 SMA 功能，他們希望進一步擴大規模並提供額外的機會，使其超越目前的組合，這就是我們規模化的資產管理和投資管理部門加上他們的價值管理服務部門的結合，我認為我們將能夠擴大我們的價值管理服務部門的價值。

And there could be opportunities in direct indexing or SMA servicing that we could do at some point in the future, but the primary will be adding additional services and capabilities to their existing Stratos investment management business.

我們未來某個時候可能會有機會進行直接索引或 SMA 服務，但主要工作是為其現有的 Stratos 投資管理業務添加額外的服務和功能。

Yeah, and I would add to that. I would actually say, Mike and I were having this conversation yesterday. In these scenarios, a lot of time and synergy gets interpreted as to what cost are we going to rip out? That's absolutely not the focus. This is a long-term strategic investment by SEI. It's a footprint that we want to occupy in the ecosystem.

是的，我想補充一點。我實際上要說的是，麥克和我昨天正在進行這次談話。在這些情況下，大量的時間和協同作用被解釋為我們要消除哪些成本？這絕對不是重點。這是SEI的長期策略投資。這是我們想要在生態系統中佔據的足跡。

They have a really great advisor experience and then client experience. Our capabilities, Ryan, will absolutely add value and augment that, but there is no rush or urgency to try to accelerate that potentially at the expense of the client experience until we run and really understand how we could deploy things that actually improve and augment their platform.

他們擁有非常出色的顧問經驗和客戶經驗。瑞安，我們的能力絕對會增加價值並增強這一點，但在我們運行並真正了解如何部署能夠真正改善和增強其平台的東西之前，我們不必急於或迫切地試圖以犧牲客戶體驗為代價來加速這一進程。

Particularly a business that has a 10% organic growth rate, the last thing you want to do is disrupt the organic growth. So our goal is to be at least disruptive and as most accretive to them as possible.

特別是對於有機成長率為 10% 的企業，你最不想做的事情就是破壞有機成長。因此，我們的目標是至少對他們造成顛覆性的影響，並盡可能為他們帶來增值。

Thank you, that's clear.

謝謝，很清楚。

(Operator Instructions) Owen Lau, Oppenheimer.

（操作員指示）Owen Lau，Oppenheimer。

Hi, good afternoon and thank you for taking my question. So going back to the net sales environment other than private banking, how would you characterize the sales cycle for other segments? You also called out IMS sales were quite strong. Could you please unpack a bit more on the driver of that strength? Thanks.

大家好，下午好，感謝您回答我的問題。那麼回到私人銀行以外的淨銷售環境，您如何描述其他細分市場的銷售週期？您也提到 IMS 的銷售相當強勁。能否進一步解釋一下這種力量的驅動因素？謝謝。

Let's take that a couple stages. So let's raise it up and go back to strategic themes for a second. We've been talking a lot the last couple of years around macro trends that we believe we were positioned well, and we want to continue to exploit.

讓我們分幾個階段來看一下。因此，讓我們提出這個問題並暫時回到戰略主題。過去幾年，我們一直在談論宏觀趨勢，我們相信我們已經處於有利地位，並且我們希望繼續利用這些趨勢。

So if you think about the appetite for outsourcing from alternative investment managers, the demand for better technology and operations for regional community banks that want to compete in wealth and what the larger enterprise scale RIAs really need to operate as an institution that future, we feel really strongly positioned there, and I think it harkens back a little bit to Crispin's question to Sean around investments in technology and talent.

因此，如果您考慮另類投資經理對外包的興趣、想要在財富領域競爭的區域社區銀行對更好的技術和運營的需求，以及更大規模的企業級 RIA 真正需要在未來作為一個機構運營，我們就會感到自己在這方面處於非常有利的地位，我認為這有點回到了 Crispin 向 Sean 提出的關於技術和人才投資的問題。

We are also making some more investments in front office talent revenue generating talent, service talent, because there's just opportunity there. So the places that we have made bets over the last 24 to 36 months, we feel really well positioned and those teams continue to resonate. I think it's always more effective when we talk about specific pipelines and segments to let the unit leads provide some of their color commentary.

我們也對前台人才、創收人才和服務人才進行了更多投資，因為那裡有機會。因此，我們在過去 24 到 36 個月內下注的地方，我們感覺自己處於非常有利的位置，而這些團隊繼續產生共鳴。我認為，當我們談論特定的管道和部分時，讓部門負責人提供一些彩色評論總是更有效。

I mean, Phil, I mean, it's another great quarter for investment managers to Owen's question there, you and I were just in New York last week. What are you seeing? What do you kind of see coming up the next few quarters?

我的意思是，菲爾，對於投資經理來說，這又是一個偉大的季度，對於歐文的問題，你和我上週剛在紐約。你看到了什麼？您認為未來幾季會發生什麼事？

Okay, thanks, Ryan. So normally, I would say the pipeline is robust or I would say it's very strong, but to get a little bit more color, at the end of the day, we're very strong in every single product in every single jurisdiction. So anything from retail alternatives to collective investment trust to private assets in general, and especially on the alternative side of the business.

好的，謝謝，瑞安。因此，通常情況下，我會說我們的產品線很強大，或者說非常強勁，但更具體一點說，最終，我們的產品在各個司法管轄區內都非常強勁。因此，從零售替代品到集合投資信託到一般的私人資產，尤其是業務的替代方面，無所不包。

As Ryan said in his opening remarks, some of the largest alternative managers are in market today, looking for a strategic outsourcing partner, so we're in the middle of a lot of those conversations right now, we think a lot of those clients are first time outsourcers, and we have a pretty large opportunity.

正如瑞安在開場白中所說，目前市場上一些最大的另類管理者正在尋找戰略外包合作夥伴，因此我們現在正處於許多此類對話之中，我們認為許多客戶都是首次外包，我們有一個相當大的機會。

We do really well in the high end of the market, and we expect to win more than our fair share of those deals over the coming quarters.

我們在高端市場表現非常出色，我們預計在未來幾季內將贏得超過我們應得份額的交易。

And the other thing -- and then maybe Michael Lane, you want to comment on kind of the sales environment? The other thing coming back to why we are calling out investments in technology and talent, when Phil gives that example, when we're in these situations, those organizations call other organizations and ask them about the experience.

還有一件事——也許邁克爾·萊恩，您想評論一下銷售環境嗎？另一件事是關於為什麼我們呼籲對技術和人才進行投資，正如菲爾舉的例子所示，當我們處於這些情況時，那些組織會打電話給其他組織並詢問他們的經驗。

And those calls are usually extremely positive when they call for SEI references and we are going to make sure we protect that experience and reference ability at all costs over the next 9 to 12 months because of what we see happening in the competitive environment. And that's important because if we do a flawless conversion and we execute properly, we will get more and more, lots and lots of business from those clients over a longer period of time. So if we don't do it well in the beginning, it'll cost us, but we always do it well.

當他們要求 SEI 參考時，這些電話通常都非常積極，而且由於我們看到競爭環境中正在發生的事情，我們將確保在未來 9 到 12 個月內不惜一切代價保護這種經驗和參考能力。這很重要，因為如果我們進行完美的轉換並且正確執行，我們將在更長的時間內從這些客戶那裡獲得越來越多的業務。因此，如果我們一開始做得不好，我們就會付出代價，但我們總是會做得很好。

If you look at the asset management business, you look at what was mentioned during the earlier comments about the change in sales events from the first half of '24 to first half of '25. You look at the flow, which is also an important story of first six months of '24 and our institutional business was negative $1.3 billion and then it was positive close to $1 billion in the first half of '25, so flows have improved.

如果你看一下資產管理業務，你會看到先前評論中提到的 24 年上半年到 25 年上半年銷售事件的變化。你看一下流量，這也是 24 年上半年的一個重要故事，我們的機構業務為負 13 億美元，而 25 年上半年則為正，接近 10 億美元，因此流量有所改善。

We've had less losses in the institutional business. In the advisor business, our flows in the first half of 2024 we're about $1 billion in the second -- in the first half of 2025, we're looking closer to $3 billion of flows, so the flows have improved, but there's also a process to those flows.

我們在機構業務上的損失較少。在顧問業務中，我們在 2024 年上半年的流量約為 10 億美元，而在 2025 年上半年，我們預計流量將接近 30 億美元，因此流量有所改善，但這些流量也需要一個流程。

When you think about the story you were told about, we're going upmarket, we're going to the larger RIA. Well, the process of how that money will hit will start with custody. It'll move into models, it'll move into (inaudible) over time. So there's a process of how that flow hits and so we'll be sharing more information as we go with platform only versus moneys moving into models and other types of investments from the RIAs.

當你想到你所聽到的故事時，我們會走向高端市場，走向更大的 RIA。那麼，這筆錢的到帳流程將從託管開始。隨著時間的推移，它將進入模型，它將進入（聽不清楚）。因此，資金流動有一個過程，因此，隨著我們僅使用平台，而不是將資金轉移到模型和來自 RIA 的其他類型的投資，我們將分享更多資訊。

Got it, super helpful. And maybe another longer-term question for capital return and leverage. Would SEI consider deploying capital to Stratos after closing the deal and use that as a vehicle to make RIA acquisition? And then maybe like after closing of the partnership, do you have any target leverage or SEI plans to delever back to zero debt afterwards? Thanks.

明白了，非常有幫助。也許還有另一個關於資本回報和槓桿的長期問題。SEI 是否會考慮在完成交易後向 Stratos 部署資本並將其作為收購 RIA 的工具？那麼也許在合作關係結束後，您是否有任何目標槓桿或 SEI 計劃來將槓桿率降至零債務？謝謝。

Hey, Owen, it's Sean speaking with you. So I think your first question was, is there going to be a capital need with the Stratos partnership for funding future M&A activity? And I think that's your question. And so the answer to that is yes.

嘿，歐文，我是肖恩，正在跟你說話。所以我認為你的第一個問題是，與 Stratos 合作是否需要資金來資助未來的併購活動？我想這就是你的問題。答案是肯定的。

We see that as tens of millions, not hundreds of millions. So there will be funding that will be needed and by the way, we want that to continue M&A activity, that's the big reason why we did this deal and partnership with Stratos. So that's number one. What was your second question, Owen?

我們認為這是數千萬，而不是數億。因此，我們需要資金，順便說一句，我們希望繼續進行併購活動，這也是我們與 Stratos 達成交易和合作的主要原因。這是第一點。歐文，你的第二個問題是什麼？

The second one was -- (multiple speakers)

第二個是——（多位發言者）

Yeah, so right now, we're about at negative 1 time and so the expectation would be to improve that or go from negative 1 to less than that, so I think where we're looking right now to eventually target is to bring some of those cash levels much lower, maybe a run rate of $300 million or so of staying there using our free cash flow to continue to stop stock buyback, that's been obviously, as a big part of what we've returned to our shareholders and then dividends.

是的，現在我們的現金流大約是負 1 倍，因此我們期望能夠改善這一狀況，或者從負 1 降至低於負 1 倍，所以我認為我們現在最終的目標是將部分現金水平降低很多，這是 3 億美元左右的運行率，使用我們的自由現金流保持在那裡，繼續停止股票回購，這是 3 億美元左右的運行率，使用我們的自由現金流保持在那裡，繼續停止股票回購，這是我們回饋給股東和股息的重要組成部分。

So if you want to think free cash flow of $500 million to $600 million, that's probably a good indicator, and we will unpack that further at Investor Day.

因此，如果您認為自由現金流為 5 億至 6 億美元，這可能是一個很好的指標，我們將在投資者日進一步闡述這一點。

Sounds great. Thanks a lot.

聽起來很棒。多謝。

(Operator Instructions) I'm showing no further questions in the queue. I would now like to turn the call back over to Ryan Hicke for closing remarks.

（操作員指示）隊列中沒有其他問題。現在我想將電話轉回給 Ryan Hicke 做最後發言。

It must be summer with that few amount of questions. Thank you so much for joining us today and actually for the questions and the continued engagement and energy that we get from everybody. We're really excited about the progress we're making and we're confident in the path ahead. As always, we appreciate your continued interest in SEI.

有這麼少的問題，那一定是夏天了。非常感謝大家今天加入我們，也感謝大家提出的問題以及大家的持續參與和積極參與。我們對所取得的進展感到非常興奮，並對未來的道路充滿信心。像往常一樣，我們感謝您對 SEI 的持續關注。

As Sean said, we look forward to sharing more of our details in the investor Day in September. Hope everybody has a great evening and enjoys the rest of the summer.

正如肖恩所說，我們期待在九月的投資者日分享更多細節。希望大家度過一個愉快的夜晚並享受剩下的夏天。

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

女士們、先生們，今天的電話會議到此結束。感謝您的參與。您現在可以斷開連線。