Stifel Financial Corp (SF) 2025 Q1 法說會逐字稿

Good day, and welcome to the Stifel Financial first-quarter 2025 financial results conference call. Today's conference is being recorded. At this time, I would like to turn the conference over to Mr. Joel Jeffrey, Head of Investor Relations. Please go ahead.

大家好，歡迎參加 Stifel Financial 2025 年第一季財務業績電話會議。今天的會議正在錄製中。現在，我想將會議交給投資者關係主管喬爾·傑弗裡先生。請繼續。

Thanks, operator. I'd like to welcome everyone to Stifel Financial's first-quarter 2025 conference call. I'm joined on the call today by our Chairman and CEO, Ron Kruszewski; our Co-Presidents, Victor Nesi and James Zemlyak; and look at our CFO, Jim Marischen.

謝謝，接線生。歡迎大家參加 Stifel Financial 2025 年第一季電話會議。今天，我們的董事長兼執行長 Ron Kruszewski 也參加了電話會議；我們的聯合主席 Victor Nesi 和 James Zemlyak；請看看我們的財務長 Jim Marischen。

Earlier this morning, we issued an earnings release and posted a slide deck and financial supplement to our website. It can be found on the Investor Relations page at www.stifel.com. I would note that some of the numbers that we staged throughout our presentation are presented on a non-GAAP basis, and I refer you to our reconciliation of GAAP and non-GAAP as disclosed in our press release. I would also remind listeners to refer to our earnings release, financial supplement, and our slide presentation for information on forward-looking statements and other non-GAAP measures.

今天早些時候，我們發布了一份收益報告，並在我們的網站上發布了幻燈片和財務補充資料。您可以在 www.stifel.com 的投資者關係頁面上找到它。我要指出的是，我們在整個演示過程中提供的一些數字都是以非 GAAP 為基礎呈現的，請參閱我們在新聞稿中披露的 GAAP 和非 GAAP 的對帳表。我還要提醒聽眾參閱我們的收益報告、財務補充報告和幻燈片演示，以獲取有關前瞻性陳述和其他非公認會計準則指標的資訊。

This audiocast is copyrighted in material Stifel Financial and may not be duplicated, reproduced, or rebroadcast without the consent of Stifel Financial Corp. I'll now turn the call over to our Chairman and CEO, Ron Kruszewski.

本音訊廣播的版權歸 Stifel Financial 所有，未經 Stifel Financial Corp. 同意不得複製、影印或轉播。現在，我將電話轉交給我們的董事長兼執行長 Ron Kruszewski。

Thanks, Joe. Good morning and thanks, everyone, for taking the time to listen to our first quarter earnings conference call. Stifel Corp operating strength was evident in generating roughly $1.3 billion in net revenue during the first quarter despite the volatile market environment. This marks our highest first quarter revenue and third strongest quarter overall, driven by record asset management revenue in our Global Wealth Management segment and robust advisory and transaction revenue from Institutional equities.

謝謝，喬。早安，感謝大家抽出時間聆聽我們的第一季財報電話會議。儘管市場環境動盪，Stifel Corp 的營運實力依然強勁，第一季淨收入約 13 億美元。這是我們第一季最高的收入，也是整體第三強勁的季度，這得益於我們全球財富管理部門創紀錄的資產管理收入以及機構股票強勁的諮詢和交易收入。

For our bottom line was impacted by a significant legal charge, which I will discuss later. Excluding this charge, our operating EPS was $1.65 an [11%] increase over the same period a year ago. And it does represent a record first quarter earnings per share.

因為我們的底線受到了重大法律指控的影響，我稍後會討論。不計這項費用，我們的每股營業利潤為 1.65 美元，比去年同期成長 [11%]。這確實代表了第一季每股收益創下紀錄。

Our revenue performance is particularly noteworthy considering the market conditions throughout the quarter. Although we were optimistic about people's prospects in 2025, we will also we're conservative in our general market outlook.

考慮到整個季度的市場狀況，我們的收入表現尤其值得注意。儘管我們對2025年的前景持樂觀態度，但我們對整體市場前景也持保守態度。

Following two consecutive years of better than 20% gain from the S&P 500, we adopted a more conservative market outlook. As I previously stated, Stifel entered the year with the lowest S&P 500 forecast on the street at 5,500. Yesterday closed at 5,288, down roughly 10% on a year-to-date basis.

在標準普爾 500 指數連續兩年上漲超過 20% 之後，我們採取了更保守的市場預期。正如我之前所說，Stifel 今年對標準普爾 500 指數的預測是 5,500 點，是華爾街對它的最低預測。昨天收盤 5,288 點，年初至今下跌約 10%。

The combination of tariffs, uncertainty of over global capital flows, and disagreement between the administration of the Federal Reserve on monetary policy has contributed to increased market volatility. Meanwhile, counterweights that usually strengthen when stocks fall, such as government bonds and the US dollar, are also under pressure, leading investors with few havens to wait out the storm. In fact, stock market backdrop has clearly weighed on the investor confidence and slowed activity across certain segments of the market.

關稅、全球資本流動的不確定性以及聯準會管理層在貨幣政策上的分歧等因素加劇了市場波動。同時，政府債券和美元等通常在股市下跌時走強的平衡資產也面臨壓力，導致投資者幾乎沒有避風港可以等待風暴過去。事實上，股市背景顯然已經影響了投資人信心，並減緩了某些市場領域的活動。

Having served in this role for over 27 years, I've witnessed numerous market crisis fees, from the Russian debt crisis in the late '90s, the technology meltdown in 2000 and 2001, 2008 financial crisis, and the most recent global pandemic. Each time, US financial markets have demonstrated resilience, remained a global benchmark.

我擔任這個職位超過 27 年，見證了無數次市場危機，從 90 年代末的俄羅斯債務危機，到 2000 年和 2001 年的技術崩潰，再到 2008 年的金融危機以及最近的全球大流行。每次，美國金融市場都表現出韌性，並繼續保持全球基準地位。

Although the current environment has introduced volatility, we do not believe a recession is likely. In our view, the disruption surrounding tariffs is not the new normal, part of a high stakes policy negotiation strategy by the White House.

儘管當前環境帶來了波動，但我們認為不太可能出現經濟衰退。我們認為，圍繞關稅的混亂並不是新常態，而是白宮高風險政策談判策略的一部分。

Considering the underlying strength of the US economy and efforts to address trade in fiscal imbalances, we remain optimistic about long-term growth. In the near-term, our volatility presents challenges. We're cautiously optimistic.

考慮到美國經濟的潛在實力以及解決貿易和財政失衡的努力，我們對長期成長仍然持樂觀態度。短期內，波動性給我們帶來了挑戰。我們持謹慎樂觀的態度。

Indeed, periods of uncertainty highlight the value of our advice-centric business model. We are seeing high levels of engagement between our investment bankers and our clients.

事實上，不確定時期凸顯了我們以建議為中心的商業模式的價值。我們看到我們的投資銀行家和客戶之間的互動程度很高。

That said, the greater challenges lie in converting these pipelines into a realized revenue, particularly given ongoing market uncertainty. While there are pockets of strength within banking as illustrated by KBW, a strong quarter as we are seeing a growing appetite for bank M&A, and we continue to project a strong year for our financials vertical.

話雖如此，更大的挑戰在於將這些管道轉化為實際收入，特別是在市場持續不確定的情況下。正如 KBW 所示，銀行業內部也存在一些實力雄厚的領域，但由於我們看到銀行併購需求日益增長，因此本季表現強勁，我們繼續預測金融垂直行業今年將表現強勁。

In Wealth Management and our asset management revenues were up 11% versus last year, but this line item is closely tied to market levels. And if equity markets do not rebound, that could have a negative impact on these results in the future quarters for 2025. Overall, volatile market conditions have certainly slowed. We believe that Stifel's diversified business model is well positioned to navigate to short-term volatility and drive significant growth as the market normalizes.

在財富管理和資產管理方面，我們的收入比去年增長了 11%，但此項與市場水平密切相關。如果股市沒有反彈，這可能會對 2025 年未來幾季的業績產生負面影響。整體而言，市場波動狀況確實已經放緩。我們相信，Stifel 的多元化商業模式能夠很好地應對短期波動，並在市場正常化時推動顯著成長。

Moving on to slide 2, I'll review our first quarter operating results. The table on the left illustrates our performance, excluding the legal charge incurred during the quarter. Presenting our results this way offers a clearer view of our core business performance compared to prior quarters. I'll just address the impact of the legal charge separately.

轉到第 2 張投影片，我將回顧我們第一季的經營業績。左邊的表格顯示了我們的業績，不包括本季產生的法律費用。透過這種方式呈現我們的業績，我們可以更清楚地了解與前幾季相比我們的核心業務表現。我將單獨討論法律指控的影響。

We generate net revenue of $1.26 billion, marking the strongest first quarter in our history and an 8% increase year-over-year. This growth reflects strength in both Global Wealth and our Institutional Group. Notably, this is the first quarter since the end of 2021 where all categories in our revenue bridge have shown positive contributions.

我們的淨收入為 12.6 億美元，這是我們歷史上最強勁的第一季度，年增 8%。這一增長反映了全球財富和機構集團的實力。值得注意的是，這是自 2021 年底以來我們收入橋中的所有類別均顯示出積極貢獻的第一個季度。

Looking at the specific line of revenue lines, commissions and principal transactions increased 3% with both Wealth Management and the Institutional Group showing year-over-year growth. Investment banking revenues rose 11%, driven by increases in both capital raising and advisory.

從具體的收入線來看，佣金和本金交易增長了 3%，財富管理和機構集團均實現了同比增長。受融資和諮詢業務成長的推動，投資銀行收入成長了 11%。

Asset management revenue reached a record high, up 11%, reflecting organic growth and market appreciation. Net interest income increased 4% compared to the same period last year.

資產管理收入創歷史新高，成長11%，反映了有機成長和市場升值。淨利息收入較去年同期成長4%。

Our compensation ratio stood at 58%, aligning with the high end of our full year guidance as we maintain a conservative approach to compensation accruals earlier in the fiscal year. Operating pre-tax margin exceeded 20%, consistent with the fourth quarter and first quarters of 2024. Operating EPS, as I stated, was $1.65.

我們的薪酬比率為 58%，與全年指引的高端一致，因為我們在本財年早些時候對薪酬應計採取了保守的態度。營業稅前利潤率超過 20%，與 2024 年第四季和第一季一致。正如我所說，營業每股收益為 1.65 美元。

Our operating results improved year-over-year. Our bottom line on both a core and GAAP basis was negatively impacted by legal charge related to a recent center arbitration panel rolling, which we are currently appealing.

我們的經營績效較去年同期有所改善。我們的核心和 GAAP 基礎的底線都受到最近中心仲裁小組滾動相關的法律指控的負面影響，我們目前正在上訴。

As shown on the table on the right, the legal accruals totaled $180 million for the quarter, resulting in a $1.16 negative impact back on our EPS. Due to the ongoing nature of this matter, we are limited in our ability to discuss it further. However, we believe that we are appropriately accrued for the recent judgment as well as remaining outstanding cases.

如右表所示，本季法定應計費用總計 1.8 億美元，對我們的每股盈餘產生了 1.16 美元的負面影響。由於此事仍在持續進行中，我們進一步討論的能力有限。然而，我們認為，對於最近的判決以及剩餘的未決案件，我們已經做出了適當的累積。

Before I turn the call over to Jim, I want to highlight the critical role our Global Wealth Management business plays and Stifel's long-term growth strategy. Over the past decade, we've more than doubled our revenue in this segment, reaching a record $3.3 billion in 2024.

在我將電話轉給吉姆之前，我想強調我們的全球財富管理業務所發揮的關鍵作用以及 Stifel 的長期成長策略。在過去十年中，我們在該領域的收入成長了一倍多，到 2024 年達到了創紀錄的 33 億美元。

This growth is a testament to our unwavering commitment to providing exceptional service to our advisors and equipping them with the tools necessary to deliver tailored investment advice to their clients. Our advice-centric culture has been a significant driver of our recruiting success.

這一增長證明了我們堅定不移地致力於為我們的顧問提供卓越的服務，並為他們提供必要的工具，以便向他們的客戶提供量身定制的投資建議。我們以建議為中心的文化是我們招募成功的重要推動力。

Over the past five calendar years, we've added 464 experienced advisors with trailing 12-month production, exceeding [$355 million]. '24 alone, we recruited 100 financial advisors, including 34 experienced employee and 12 experienced independent advisors, contributing a total of trailing 12-month production of $37 million. As we focus our recruiting efforts on higher producing advisors, we've seen a continued increase in the percentage of our revenue coming from recurring sources, such as asset management, net interest income, contributing to greater stability in this segment.

在過去的五年裡，我們增加了 464 名經驗豐富的顧問，過去 12 個月的產出超過 [3.55 億美元]。僅在 2024 年，我們就招募了 100 名財務顧問，其中包括 34 名經驗豐富的員工和 12 名經驗豐富的獨立顧問，共貢獻了過去 12 個月的 3700 萬美元的收益。隨著我們將招募重點放在高產顧問上，我們看到來自資產管理、淨利息收入等經常性收入來源的收入百分比持續增加，這有助於提高該領域的穩定性。

The strong upward trend in markets over the last few years led many advisers to delay transitions hoping to maximize their trailing production for recruiting packages. Additionally, competition among our AI platforms has driven transition costs higher across the industry.

過去幾年市場強勁的上升趨勢導致許多顧問推遲了過渡，希望最大限度地提高招聘方案的後續產量。此外，我們的人工智慧平台之間的競爭也推高了整個產業的轉型成本。

That said, we are seeing real momentum build. The recent market globe act has prompted more advisors to act, and we've adjusted our approach to remain competitive while staying disciplined on our return on investment.

話雖如此，我們看到了真正的動力正在增強。最近的市場全球法案促使更多顧問採取行動，我們也調整了方法以保持競爭力，同時嚴格控制投資回報。

We are seeing early success in this initiative, and our second quarter is off to a strong start as we've added seven experienced advisors with trailing 12-month revenues of $14 million, more than $3 billion in client assets. To reiterate, our recruiting pipeline remains robust, and I'm confident as I've ever been in our ability to continue attracting highly productive advisors.

我們看到這項措施取得了早期的成功，我們的第二季開局強勁，因為我們增加了 7 名經驗豐富的顧問，過去 12 個月的收入為 1400 萬美元，客戶資產超過 30 億美元。重申一下，我們的招募管道依然強勁，我一如既往地相信我們有能力繼續吸引高效的顧問。

And with that, let me turn the call over to Jim.

現在，讓我把電話轉給吉姆。

Thanks, Ron, and good morning, everyone. Overall, operating results relatively in line with consensus expectations. This was the result of slightly lower net revenue, which is offset by lower expenses when excluding the legal charge.

謝謝，羅恩，大家早安。整體而言，經營業績比較符合市場普遍預期。這是由於淨收入略有下降，但扣除法律費用後支出減少所抵銷。

In terms of net revenue, we fell short of the Street estimate by 1% or approximately $14 million. A stronger investment banking and asset management revenue were more than offset by lower transactional revenue and net interest income.

就淨收入而言，我們比華爾街的預期低了 1%，約 1,400 萬美元。投資銀行和資產管理收入的增加被交易收入和淨利息收入的減少所抵銷。

Investment banking revenue was the largest upside contributor coming in $10 million above the Street estimate, driven primarily by higher advisory and equity capital markets revenue. I know that in our February operating metrics announcement, we anticipated investment banking revenue to be similar to the first quarter of 2024. The stronger result was due to a few additional transactions closing at the end of the quarter.

投資銀行收入是最大的成長貢獻者，比華爾街預期高出 1,000 萬美元，主要得益於諮詢和股權資本市場收入的增加。我知道，在我們 2 月的營運指標公告中，我們預期投資銀行收入將與 2024 年第一季相似。業績表現更佳是由於本季末完成的一些額外交易。

Asset management revenue was 1% higher than industry, primarily due to a higher fee capture rate. Transactional revenue was 5% below industry due to lower fixed income and Wealth Management revenue that more than offset higher than expected institutional equity revenue.

資產管理收入比產業高 1%，主要原因是費用獲取率較高。交易收入比行業低 5%，原因是固定收益和財富管理收入較低，抵消了高於預期的機構股權收入。

Net interest income was 3% below the Street estimate on lower NIM., which was driven by lower-than-expected loan growth. We also had some success fees we recognized last quarter, related to some venture clients. Those types of fees are episodic and hard to predict when they come in.

由於貸款成長低於預期，導致淨利息收入低於華爾街預期，淨利息收益率較低，因此淨利息收入比華爾街預期低 3%。上個季度我們也確認了一些與一些創投客戶相關的成功費用。這些類型的費用是偶爾發生的，很難預測何時收取。

On the expense side, our compensation ratio was 58%, which was slightly above the Street and in line with the high end of our annual guidance. Non-comp expenses were significantly impacted by the $180 million legal charge we incurred in the quarter. Excluding this, our non-comp expenses were $5 million below the Street estimates. The provision for income taxes came in below the consensus number as the tax rate was impacted by the excess tax benefit recognized due to stock-based compensation.

在費用方面，我們的薪酬比率為 58%，略高於華爾街的預期，與我們年度指引的高端一致。本季我們產生的 1.8 億美元法律費用對非薪資費用產生了重大影響。除此之外，我們的非經營性支出比華爾街預期低 500 萬美元。由於稅率受到股票薪酬確認的超額稅收優惠的影響，所得稅準備金低於普遍預期。

Moving on to our segment results. Global Wealth Management revenue was $851 million and pre-tax margins, excluding the impact of the legal charge, were 36% on record asset management revenue and our second highest first quarter transactional revenue.

繼續討論我們的分部表現。全球財富管理收入為 8.51 億美元，稅前利潤率（不包括法律費用的影響）為 36%，創下資產管理收入的新高，也是我們第一季交易收入的第二高。

During the quarter, we added 52 total advisors to our platform. This included nine experienced advisors with trailing 12-month production of $12 million.

本季度，我們的平台共增加了 52 位顧問。其中包括 9 位經驗豐富的顧問，過去 12 個月的產值達 1,200 萬美元。

We ended the quarter with fee-based assets of $190 billion and total client assets of $486 billion. The sequential declines were due to weaker equity markets and modest asset outflows. While our net new assets growth for the quarter was modestly negative, I would note that asset flows turned positive in March, as net new assets for the month were in the low-single digits.

截至本季末，我們的費用資產為 1,900 億美元，客戶總資產為 4,860 億美元。連續下降是由於股市走弱和資產流出適度所致。雖然本季我們的淨新資產成長率略為負值，但我要指出的是，3 月份資產流量已轉為正值，因為當月淨新資產成長率處於低個位數。

On slide 6, I'll discuss our bank results. Net interest income of $262 million came within our guidance as firm-wide average interest earning asset levels increased by $350 million, and our bank net interest margin decreased by 14 basis points to 3.1%. In addition to what I said earlier, the decrease in NIM was also due to lower asset yields, given the repricing lag resulting from the most recent rate cut, as well as the lower day count in 1Q.

在第 6 張投影片上，我將討論我們的銀行表現。2.62 億美元的淨利息收入符合我們的預期，因為全公司平均生息資產水準增加了 3.5 億美元，而我們的銀行淨利差下降了 14 個基點至 3.1%。除了我之前提到的之外，淨利差的下降還因為資產收益率下降，這是由於最近一次降息導致的重新定價滯後，以及第一季天數較少。

Our bank balance sheet remains relatively rate neutral. As such, as we progress throughout the rest of 2025, we expect any changes in our quarterly NII and NIM to be dependent on loan growth. Ronald will touch on this in more detail in his concluding remarks.

我們的銀行資產負債表維持相對中立的利率。因此，隨著 2025 年剩餘時間的進展，我們預計季度 NII 和 NIM 的任何變化都將取決於貸款成長。羅納德將在總結發言中更詳細地談及這一點。

Client cash levels decreased during the quarter due to a $920 million decline in sweep deposits and a $690 million decrease in smart rate balances, which were primarily due to typical seasonality in the first quarter related to tax payments. These declines were slightly offset by the $600 million increase in venture and fund banking deposits.

本季客戶現金水準下降，原因是清算存款減少 9.2 億美元，智慧利率餘額減少 6.9 億美元，主要是由於第一季與納稅相關的典型季節性因素。創投和基金銀行存款增加了 6 億美元，稍微抵消了這些下降的影響。

As a result of these fluctuations, our total third-party deposits available to Stifel Bank Corp ended the quarter at more than $3.7 billion. Our credit metrics and reserve profile remains strong. The non-performing asset ratio stands at 50 basis points.

由於這些波動，本季末我們向 Stifel Bank Corp 提供的第三方存款總額超過 37 億美元。我們的信用指標和儲備狀況依然強勁。不良資產率為50個基點。

Our credit loss provision totaled $12 million for the quarter, was negatively impacted by the macroeconomic forecast and increase reserves on C&I and unfunded commitments. Our consolidated allowance to total loans ratio was 85 basis points.

本季我們的信用損失準備金總額為 1,200 萬美元，受到宏觀經濟預測以及商業與工業及未撥付承諾準備金增加的負面影響。我們的綜合準備撥備與貸款總額比率為85個基點。

Moving on to the Institutional Group. Total revenue for the segment was $385 million in the quarter, which was up 10% year-on-year. Firm-wide investment banking revenue totaled $238 million as we experienced year-on-year increases in advisory and capital raising revenue.

轉到機構組。該部門本季總營收為 3.85 億美元，年增 10%。由於諮詢和融資收入年增，公司整體投資銀行收入總計 2.38 億美元。

Advisory revenue was $137 million, an increase of 15% from last year. The growth in revenue was driven by a strong quarter in financials and solid contributions from our technology and industrial services verticals.

諮詢收入為1.37億美元，比去年增長15%。營收的成長得益於本季強勁的財務表現以及我們技術和工業服務垂直領域的堅實貢獻。

All discussions and pipelines continue to be strong. We've seen some deal activity be delayed given market volatility. Equity underwriting of $49 million was up 22% over the same period in 2024 as financials, healthcare, and industrials were our strongest contributors.

所有討論和管道都持續保持強勁。我們發現，由於市場波動，一些交易活動被推遲。股票承銷額為 4,900 萬美元，比 2024 年同期成長 22%，其中金融、醫療保健和工業是我們最大的貢獻者。

While our first quarter was strong, we did see activity levels slow towards the end of the quarter, and that continued into the first month of the second quarter. Fixed income underwriting revenue was $46 million in the first quarter and declined by 9% year-on-year. This was primarily due to lower issuance activity from our corporate credit clients as we had a particularly strong quarter in 1Q last year.

雖然我們的第一季表現強勁，但我們確實看到季度末的活動水平有所放緩，並且這種情況持續到第二季​​度的第一個月。第一季固定收益承銷收入為4,600萬美元，較去年同期下降9%。這主要是因為我們去年第一季表現特別強勁，導致企業信貸客戶的發行活動減少。

Our public finance revenue was relatively similar to that of 1Q, 2024. People continues to be ranked number one by the number of negotiated issues planned as sole or senior manager. Equity transactional revenue totaled $60 million, which was up 10% year-on-year, driven by increased market volatility.

我們的公共財政收入與2024年第一季比較相似。《人物》雜誌在作為唯一或高級經理計劃協商的問題數量方面繼續排名第一。受市場波動加劇的推動，股票交易收入總計 6,000 萬美元，較去年同期成長 10%。

Fixed income transactional revenue of $89 million was up 1% year-on-year, as our rates business continued to perform well as customer activity within our depository and credit union clients has been strong given the normalized yield curve. This more than offset the slower activity levels we saw from our high yield and municipals masks.

固定收益交易收入為 8,900 萬美元，年增 1%，因為我們的利率業務繼續表現良好，因為在收益率曲線標準化的情況下，我們的存款和信用合作社客戶的客戶活動一直很強勁。這足以抵消我們從高收益和市政口罩中看到的活動水平下降的影響。

On the next slide will go through expenses. As we noted earlier, our comp-to-revenue ratio in the first quarter was 58%. Our non-comp expenses totaled $451 million, were significantly impacted by the $180 million legal charge that Ron mentioned earlier.

下一張投影片將介紹費用。正如我們之前提到的，第一季我們的營業收入比率為 58%。我們的非補償費用總計 4.51 億美元，受到 Ron 先前提到的 1.8 億美元法律費用的嚴重影響。

Excluding legal, our non-comp expenses were $271 million, which was a 5% increase from the same period last year. And our non-comp operating ratio, when adjusted for the impact of the legal accrual, was 20%. Our tax rate for the quarter was 16.4%, which was due to the excess tax benefit mentioned earlier.

除法律費用外，我們的非經營性支出為 2.71 億美元，比去年同期成長 5%。經法定應計項目影響調整後，我們的非經常性營業比率為 20%。我們本季的稅率為 16.4%，這是由於前面提到的超額稅收優惠。

On slide 9, I'll review our capital position. Our balance sheet continues to be well capitalized. Tier 1 leverage capital decreased 60 basis points sequentially to 10.8%, and our Tier 1 risk-based capital ratio decreased by 60 basis points to 17.6%. Based on a 10% Tier 1 leverage ratio target, we have approximately $324 million of excess capital.

在第 9 張投影片上，我將回顧我們的資本狀況。我們的資產負債表繼續保持充足的資本。一級槓桿資本較上月下降 60 個基點至 10.8%，一級創投比率較上季下降 60 個基點至 17.6%。根據 10% 的一級槓桿率目標，我們有大約 3.24 億美元的超額資本。

In terms of capital deployment during the quarter, I note that we increased bank assets by $700 million to $32.1 billion. And we repurchased and net settled roughly 2 million shares with 9.2 million shares remaining on our current authorization. Finally, absent any assumption for additional share repurchases and assuming a stable stock price, we'd expect the second quarter fully diluted share count to be 108.2 million shares.

就本季的資本配置而言，我注意到我們的銀行資產增加了 7 億美元，達到 321 億美元。我們回購並淨結算了約 200 萬股，目前授權剩餘 920 萬股。最後，在沒有任何額外股票回購假設且假設股價穩定的情況下，我們預期第二季完全稀釋股數將為 1.082 億股。

And with that, let me turn the call back over to Ron.

說完這些，讓我把電話轉回給羅恩。

Thanks, Jim. So despite the market volatility, our operating business started the year with a solid quarter with continued recruiting success and a strong contributions from KBW in our public finance business. Basically Stifel remains well positioned as the year progresses.

謝謝，吉姆。因此，儘管市場波動，我們的營運業務在今年第一季仍表現穩健，招聘工作持續成功，KBW 也為我們的公共財政業務做出了巨大貢獻。基本上，隨著時間的推移，Stifel 仍將保持有利地位。

While we had a solid start to the year, the implementation of new administration policies for 2025 has started slower than we had anticipated just a few months ago. However, market conditions can shift quickly.

雖然今年開局良好，但 2025 年新政府政策的實施速度比我們幾個月前預期的要慢。然而，市場狀況可能瞬息萬變。

The uncertainty around policy direction and difficult market conditions have, in our view, merely delayed what we believe to be significant business growth in the near future. If we can establish greater stability and trade policy and advanced meaningful tax legislation, both of which we at Stifel believe are achievable, we expect to see positive momentum in the broader economy and capital markets.

我們認為，政策方向的不確定性和艱難的市場條件只是推遲了我們認為近期業務的顯著成長。如果我們能夠建立更穩定的貿易政策並推動有意義的稅收立法（Stifel 相信這兩者都是可以實現的），我們預計將看到更廣泛的經濟和資本市場的積極勢頭。

But at this time, we are not revising our 2025 financial guidance, and we remain confident in our positioning and long-term growth strategy. However, while we remain cautiously optimistic, we are prepared to revisit our full year forecast if current conditions persist. We also have the flexibility to reallocate capital as needed.

但目前，我們不會修改 2025 年的財務指導，我們對我們的定位和長期成長策略仍然充滿信心。然而，儘管我們保持謹慎樂觀，但如果當前情況持續下去，我們準備重新審視全年預測。我們也可以根據需要靈活地重新分配資本。

Given current market conditions in our recent share price levels, we may moderate loan growth and instead prioritize share repurchases. Our first quarter buyback activity reflects this approach, and we will continue to evaluate the most strategic uses of capital as the year progresses.

鑑於我們近期股價水準的當前市場狀況，我們可能會減緩貸款成長，並優先考慮股票回購。我們第一季的回購活動體現了這種方法，隨著時間的推移，我們將繼續評估資本的最具策略性的用途。

In conclusion, Stifel's advice-centric model proved invaluable during periods of market volatility. Our Stifel advisers across both private client and institutional sectors have consistently guided clients in turbulent times. As markets stabilize, we are poised to continue our long-standing tradition of growth.

總之，Stifel 以建議為中心的模型在市場波動期間被證明是無價的。我們的 Stifel 顧問遍佈私人客戶和機構領域，在動盪時期始終為客戶提供指導。隨著市場穩定，我們準備繼續我們長期以來的成長傳統。

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

接線員，請打開熱線來回答問題。

(Operator Instructions) Devin Ryan, Citizens.

（操作員指示）Devin Ryan，公民。

More so on the question on advisor recruiting. I've heard some commentary, Ron. But obviously, there's been a number of acquisitions in this space over the past year. On the flip side, your market's been volatile, which aren't always the best time for people to think about moving.

關於顧問招募的問題更是如此。我聽到了一些評論，羅恩。但顯然，過去一年該領域已經發生了多起收購案。另一方面，你的市場一直處於波動狀態，這對人們考慮搬家來說並不總是最好的時機。

So you're just -- with some of those cost curves, would love to maybe get a sense of what it looks like in terms of advisors and motion right now. And how -- if you could just, maybe drilling a little bit more on the recruiting pipeline and your expectations for 2025?

因此，您只是 — — 通過一些成本曲線，也許想了解目前顧問和動議的情況。那麼——如果您可以的話，也許可以更深入地了解招募管道以及您對 2025 年的期望？

Obviously last year, advisor headcount declined a little bit for reasons that you guys spoke about. I think that was more of an aberration. But just your expectation for growth this year, just given some of those cross currents?

顯然，由於你們談到的原因，去年顧問人數略有下降。我認為那更像是一種反常現象。但考慮到一些不利因素，您對今年的成長有何預期？

Well, we have been active with both, the recent deal on the employee space with private equity and then the independent transaction. I guess I don't need to name the names. I know who they are. But yeah, those have been interesting transactions that I've noted.

嗯，我們一直積極參與這兩件事，最近與私募股權公司就員工空間進行了交易，然後是獨立交易。我想我不需要說出名字。我知道他們是誰。但是的，我注意到這些都是有趣的交易。

As it relates, recruiting, look, I am pleased with recruiting. I am pleased with some very three high-quality teams this quarter that are highly productive with client and assets, and across the spectrum of businesses that is positioning us as a destination for advisors that really are highly productive, and we see that continuing.

至於招聘，看，我對招聘感到滿意。我很高興看到本季有三支高品質的團隊，他們在客戶和資產方面都非常高效，並且在各個業務領域，我們成為真正高效顧問的目的地，我們看到這種情況將繼續下去。

My calendar in terms of recruiting and dinners, and yesterday, we had a virtual open house. It was highly attended. I'm encouraged. And markets like this, when you get through this volatility with some decline in the markets, generally pickup recruiting activity.

我的日程安排包括招募和晚宴，昨天我們舉辦了一次虛擬開放日。出席人數眾多。我深受鼓舞。像這樣的市場，當你度過波動期並經歷一些下跌時，招募活動通常會回升。

So look, I'm pleased. Advisor, I don't look at advisor headcount as much as I look at productivity. And what we're doing is really increasing the productivity, the scale, the breadth, the depth, and just our reach into the Wealth Management space.

所以你看，我很高興。顧問，我關注的不是顧問人數，而是生產力。我們所做的實際上是提高生產力、規模、廣度、深度以及我們在財富管理領域的影響力。

So look, Devin, I'm pleased. We can always do better. We're driven by that darn thing called return on investment, all right? And so that's the governor on this. But I'm encouraged. Jim (multiple speakers) --

所以，德文，我很高興。我們總是可以做得更好。我們被投資報酬率這個該死的東西所驅動，好嗎？這就是州長對此的看法。但我很受鼓舞。吉姆（多位發言者）——

In addition to recruiting, I also remind everyone that we closed the B. Riley transaction in early April, which added 36 financial advisors and approximately $4 billion of AUM. So that's another area of growth that will contribute (multiple speakers) --

除了招募之外，我還提醒大家，我們在 4 月初完成了 B.Riley 交易，增加了 36 名財務顧問和約 40 億美元的 AUM。這是另一個有助於（多位發言者）——

And in on our platform I think those advisors are going to be much more productive. I want to say that. We will be -- in the productivity of those advisors, you'll see the strength of our platform. Go ahead, Jim, I didn't mean to interrupt.

我認為，在我們的平台上，這些顧問的工作效率將會更高。我想這麼說。我們將—從這些顧問的生產力中，您將看到我們平台的實力。繼續吧，吉姆，我不是故意打斷你的。

So yes, Devin, I think it's a great question. It's always the question. And every quarter, we're focused on continuing to build both the firm to our goals.

是的，德文，我認為這是一個很好的問題。這始終是個問題。每個季度，我們都致力於繼續建立公司，實現我們的目標。

Yeah. That was great project. Appreciate it. Good to hear so well. And then the -- just quick follow up for Jim, I guess. On the wealth commissions, those were a bit softer than we modeled.

是的。那是一個偉大的項目。非常感謝。很高興聽到這麼好的聲音。然後 — — 我想這只是對 Jim 的快速跟進。對於財富佣金，其要求比我們模擬的要寬鬆一些。

Was that just trailing commissions declining or some hesitancy with the volatility? I'm just trying to get a little bit of a sense of what happened in the first quarter and then that trajectory as we look at over the course of the year.

這僅僅是佣金的下降還是對波動性的猶豫？我只是想稍微了解一下第一季發生的事情，然後看看全年的發展軌跡。

I think it was a little bit of both. I think some of it was certainly commit or the trail as well as just limited activity or in the quarter. You remember the volatility that occurred happen after the end of margins.

我認為兩者都有一點。我認為其中一些肯定是承諾或嘗試，以及有限的活動或本季的活動。您記得保證金結束後所發生的波動。

So we've seen somewhat of a pickup there in some of the client engagement and client repositioning of portfolios. But again, that happened after the end of the quarter.

因此，我們看到一些客戶參與度和客戶投資組合重新定位有所回升。但同樣，這發生在季度結束後。

Got it. Okay. All right, I'll leave it there. Thank you both.

知道了。好的。好的，我就把它留在那裡。謝謝你們兩位。

Mike Brown, Wells Fargo Securities.

富國證券的麥克布朗。

Ron, just to maybe follow up on the organic growth question from Devin. You alluded to a change and a shift in approach to recruitment, and it does seem like it's been supporting success with big teams and from the wire houses.

羅恩，也許只是想跟進一下德文關於有機增長的問題。您提到了招募方式的改變和轉變，而且看起來它確實支持了大型團隊和電信公司的成功。

So maybe some light on this, can you just expand on what that shift has meant and do you expect to see continued success from some of those bigger teams? Thank you.

所以也許可以對此進行一些闡述，您能否詳細說明一下這種轉變意味著什麼，以及您是否期望看到一些更大的團隊繼續取得成功？謝謝。

Well, I think that if you look at -- I think our view on it of that, if you look at our margins in Wealth Management, look our footprint and scalability of that model and where we have a capacity and because these are all factors that went into our thought process and various cities.

嗯，我認為如果你看一下——我認為我們對此的看法，如果你看看我們在財富管理方面的利潤率，看看我們的足跡和該模型的可擴展性以及我們的能力，因為這些都是我們思考過程和各個城市時考慮的因素。

We just went back to our model and just, look, with this profitability and scale, we can be more competitive on our transition package and yet still easily clear our return requirements. So we've been pretty disciplined as the markets moved away from us and we've set out some of these deals are crazy.

我們只是回到了我們的模式，看看，憑藉這種盈利能力和規模，我們可以在過渡方案上更具競爭力，同時仍然可以輕鬆清除我們的回報要求。因此，當市場遠離我們並且我們發現其中一些交易很瘋狂時，我們一直非常自律。

But then we went back and looked at our advantage, which in many ways it's classic business, right? If you have a pricing advantage, which we do in terms of our margins and it gets really competitive, well then let's just compete a little bit more because we have the ability to do that.

但後來我們回過頭來審視我們的優勢，從很多方面來說，這都是典型的商業行為，對吧？如果你有定價優勢，就像我們在利潤率方面一樣，而且競爭真的很激烈，那麼我們就多競爭一點，因為我們有能力做到這一點。

And you couple that the nearly 400 offices and some empty desks that are sitting there underutilized, you put all that together and we've set up. Let's just be a little more competitive. And that we can see that that's going to pay -- that will help in recruiting.

再加上近 400 個辦公室和一些未充分利用的空置辦公桌，把所有這些放在一起，我們就建立了。讓我們更有競爭力一點。我們可以看到，這會帶來回報——這將有助於招募。

And still, I can still say to all of you, look, we're not mortgaging the future to show short-term growth. And that's always my concern. If these deals get amortized over a long time and if you consistently do bad deals, it won't show up immediately but it'll show up in a few years. And we're cognizant of that. I like where we are.

不過，我還是可以告訴大家，我們不會為了短期成長而抵押未來。這始終是我所關心的。如果這些交易在很長一段時間內攤銷，並且如果你持續做不好的交易，它不會立即顯現出來，但會在幾年內顯現出來。我們意識到了這一點。我喜歡我們現在的處境。

Okay. Great. Makes sense. And then you can just maybe change gears and unpack your comments on the M&A activity in the bank space. That's an area where the deregulation is happening. The Capital One Discover deal has gotten approval. That seems to remove our regulatory overhang, but we are seeing lower share prices, shifting interest rate backdrop, those present headwinds.

好的。偉大的。有道理。然後你或許可以換個話題，談談你對銀行領域併購活動的評論。這是一個正在放鬆管制的領域。Capital One Discover 交易已獲得批准。這似乎消除了我們的監管壓力，但我們看到股價下跌、利率背景變化，這些都是當前的阻力。

So what's the view there in terms of that consolidation trend? Is it perhaps a strong -- is it as strong as it was coming into the year? And do you think we can see those announcements coming through in '25? And then, just given that deregulation tailwind, are you expecting a shorter time frame between announced and closed on those deals?

那麼對於這種整合趨勢，您有何看法？它是否強勁——是否和今年初一樣強勁？您認為我們可以在 25 年看到這些公告嗎？那麼，考慮到放鬆管制的順風，您是否預期這些交易從宣佈到完成的時間會更短？

Your second question first and the answer is yes, we believe that Discover Capital. And we believe that even deals that could be announced now could close this year, okay. If you'd asked me that two years ago, I would've said no, there will be no more closings on deals that get announced April.

先回答您的第二個問題，答案是肯定的，我們相信 Discover Capital。我們相信，即使是現在可以宣布的交易也有可能在今年完成。如果你兩年前問我這個問題，我會說不會，四月宣布的交易將不會再完成。

But yes, we believe that the -- from announcement to close has shortened even to the point where I would say but it would not be unreasonable to announce a deal until closed this year. At least, that's what my bankers are telling me and I'm listening to them, okay. And the ones that have gone through the process. So that's the second question first.

但是的，我們相信——從宣佈到結束的時間已經縮短，甚至到了我想說的地步，但在今年結束之前宣布交易並不是不合理的。至少，這是我的銀行家告訴我的，而且我正在聽取他們的意見，好吧。以及那些已經經歷過這個過程的人。這是第二個問題。

As it relates to overall activity, it's a great question and it will be driven in many ways. It's a, I don't know if I'd say a self-fulfilling prophecy, but there's a lot of reasons that consolidation needs to occur. And there, you know, there were a number of headwinds in terms of accounting and mark to market, and in a number of things.

由於它與整體活動相關，所以這是一個很好的問題，它將以多種方式受到推動。我不知道我是否會說這是一個自我實現的預言，但有很多理由表明需要整合。你知道，在會計和市價方面以及很多事情上都存在著許多阻力。

And what you'll see, I think, all right, and this area's going to be take me in this. I'm not going to point to anything, but I think though you'll get a couple of transactions when they do or if they do get announced or whatever.

而你會看到，我想，好吧，這個區域將會帶我進入這個區域。我不會指出任何事情，但我認為，當他們這樣做或他們確實宣布或其他什麼的時候，你會得到一些交易。

That will begin to drive the what happens when some months ago, that was how that we've done and how are we going to look at this deal? And so banking M&A is often a crowd for, if you will. One does it and another one does it. Then the other one reacts to the competitive things and follows it. That's what happens and that I can see that happening, all right?

這將開始推動幾個月前發生的事情，這就是我們所做的，我們將如何看待這筆交易？因此，如果你願意的話，銀行併購通常都是人群密集的。一個人做，一個人也做。然後另一個人對競爭的事情做出反應並效仿。這就是發生的事情，我可以看到它正在發生，好嗎？

Now, we'll see, okay, but that's what I would say. I would say if I overall looked at our segments, I would still think that our fixed segmented, at least on the advisory side, will be one of our better segments and would be, if I sit here today, will be stronger than last year.

現在，我們會看到，好的，但這就是我想說的。我想說，如果我全面審視我們的部門，我仍然會認為我們的固定部門，至少在諮詢方面，將是我們更好的部門之一，如果我今天坐在這裡，它將比去年更強大。

Other segments, I think, are more tariff, tax policy, number of uncertainties that need to be cleared up to allow that even there's more debt financing and some other segments. But I feel that that's a little softer. But financials, I think will be a little stronger.

我認為，其他領域包括更多的關稅、稅收政策、需要澄清的不確定因素，以便有更多的債務融資和其他一些領域。但我覺得這樣稍微柔和一點。但我認為財務狀況會稍微強勁一些。

We've seen bank deals approved in as little as four months. And so there's obviously some positive feedback we're getting from the regulators and their receptivity to approving transactions. And that's very positive given the rationale that Ron laid out mainly for bank (multiple speakers) --

我們看到銀行交易在短短四個月內就獲得批准。因此，我們顯然從監管機構那裡得到了一些正面的回饋，並且他們也願意批准交易。鑑於羅恩主要針對銀行提出的理由，這是非常積極的（多位發言者）——

Yeah, and I think a lot of the regulators understand that there's risk, there's a lot of risk between announcement and closing that regulators recognize now and they're trying to minimize. That is a risky timeframe for shareholders.

是的，我認為許多監管機構都明白存在風險，監管機構現在已經意識到公告和結束之間存在著許多風險，他們正在努力將其降至最低。對股東來說，這是一個充滿風險的時期。

Great. Thank you so much for all the color there.

偉大的。非常感謝那裡的所有色彩。

Alexander Blostein, Goldman Sachs.

高盛的亞歷山大·布洛斯坦。

Another one on recruiting. Just again related to the adjustments you made to your approach to stay more competitive. Is there any particular section in the market that's more receptive to the changes you made and the changes you're seeing in your recruiting pipeline?

另一個是關於招募的。這再次與您為保持更強的競爭力而對方法所做的調整有關。市場上是否有哪個特定領域對您所做的改變以及您在招募管道中看到的變化更容易接受？

And I know you talked about building out the independent channel in the past. I'm not sure if that center part of the changes you're making or you're still largely focused on the employee channel?

我知道您過去曾談到建立獨立管道。我不確定這是您正在進行的變革的核心部分嗎，還是您仍然主要關注員工管道？

We're largely focused on employee channel, first of all. Second of all, yeah, I think we're focused is on the higher productivity, more holistic teams that do work with family offices, work on both sides of the balance sheet, not only managing money, but utilizing our bank to provide banking and holistic services.

首先，我們主要關注員工管道。其次，是的，我認為我們專注於更高的生產力，更全面的團隊與家族辦公室合作，在資產負債表的兩邊工作，不僅管理資金，還利用我們的銀行提供銀行和整體服務。

So I would say, the advisors team, so not just single advisors, but attracting teams that are approach the business on the employee side, albeit, but approach the business from a holistic advice and planning model.

所以我想說，顧問團隊不僅僅是單一顧問，而是吸引從員工角度來處理業務的團隊，但要從整體建議和規劃模型來處理業務。

And look, we have a lot of advisors do very well just advising clients, but the various -- there's a segment of our employee channel that we've adjusted to be more attractive to because that same segment is probably also being more heavily quartered by the IRA. And so we're adjusting to both our inherent pricing advantage and the competitive nature that comes from the IRAs.

而且，我們有很多顧問在為客戶提供建議方面做得很好，但是，我們對員工管道的一部分進行了調整，使其更具吸引力，因為同一部分可能也更受 IRA 的影響。因此，我們正在適應我們固有的定價優勢和來自 IRA 的競爭性質。

Got it. Okay. Understood. And then in terms of the outlook. Obviously, appreciate the challenges with trying to predict the next several months given all the uncertainty. So maybe key banking out of it.

知道了。好的。明白了。然後就前景而言。顯然，考慮到所有的不確定性，預測未來幾個月的情況將面臨挑戰。因此也許關鍵銀行業務就從中脫離了。

But when it comes to NII, maybe give us your updated thoughts on near-term outlook for Q2 and for the full year. And as part of that, I was hoping you could hit on where cash balances stand in April. Obviously, lots of volatility, but there's also taxes and so. Maybe some of the core buckets, you know, sweep deposits as well as start point bank sweeps that are where that stands so far in April.

但當談到 NII 時，也許您可以向我們介紹您對第二季和全年近期前景的最新看法。作為其中的一部分，我希望您能了解四月的現金餘額狀況。顯然，波動性很大，但也有稅收等等。也許一些核心儲存桶，你知道，清掃存款以及起點銀行清掃，這些都是 4 月份迄今為止的情況。

You know, Alex, this is a great time for me to say, Jim. (laughter)

你知道，亞歷克斯，這對我來說是一個很好的時機，吉姆。（笑聲）

So I mean I think we gave a range for NII for the second quarter of $260 million to $270 million. And I think given the fact we've talked about our balance sheet being rate neutral, the outlook is really going to be dependent on the mix in volume of loan growth.

所以我的意思是，我認為我們給出的第二季 NII 範圍是 2.6 億美元到 2.7 億美元。我認為，鑑於我們已經討論過我們的資產負債表是利率中立的，前景實際上將取決於貸款成長量的組合。

Ron gave some commentary of continue to evaluate the trade-off between purchases and loan growth, and we're going to look at that every day based upon the best risk-adjusted return. So more to come there based upon how the market continues to evolve. But that's going to be the primary driver.

羅恩發表了一些評論，繼續評估購買和貸款成長之間的權衡，我們將根據最佳風險調整回報每天觀察這一點。因此，根據市場如何持續發展，還會有更多消息傳出。但這將成為主要驅動力。

In terms of cash sweeps, we've still seen some continued outflows since the end of March. Sweeps probably down another $100 million, $150 million, and we've seen a couple of hundred million plus in terms of smart rate.

就現金流而言，自 3 月底以來我們仍然看到一些持續的資金流出。也可能會再帶來 1 億美元、1.5 億美元，而且我們已經看到智慧利率超過幾億美元。

Again, I would say the vast majority of that is typical seasonality related to tax payments. I think the key with the inflection point in the sweetest smart rate balances is what happens now that we're after tax season and where balances go from here.

再次強調，我想說，其中絕大多數是與納稅相關的典型季節性因素。我認為最甜蜜的智慧利率餘額的轉折點的關鍵在於現在稅收季節過後會發生什麼，以及餘額接下來會走向何方。

Yeah, I mean, there is I can say when I look at it, the relative size of tax payments and following two years of really strong market gains and some profit taking that was occurring is hot, okay, relatively high. There's a lot. Government coffers are getting some cash flow, at least from this part of the economy that I see.

是的，我的意思是，我可以說，當我看到它時，稅收的相對規模以及兩年來市場真正強勁的增長和一些獲利回吐的發生是相當熱的，好吧，相對較高。有很多。政府金庫正在獲得一些現金流，至少從我看到的這個經濟部分來看是如此。

So and you know, I think just to go on what Jim just said, I want to reiterate, it should be obvious to everyone on this call that in the environment that we're in, especially with the drawdown in share valuation, especially in financials and then at Stifel, that the math changes on the return on investment needs to be allocating capital to billing balance sheet growth via loans for repurchasing shares at these levels. The math changes.

所以你知道，我想繼續吉姆剛才說的話，我想重申一下，在這次電話會議上，每個人都應該清楚，在我們所處的環境中，特別是在股票估值下降的情況下，特別是在金融領域，然後在 Stifel，投資回報率的數學變化需要通過貸款來分配資本，以實現資產負債表的增長，以便在這些水平上回購股票。數學發生了變化。

But also the loan demand in this environment is also somewhat muted relative to what we were expecting. And we don't necessarily like trying to grow loans and without a lot of loan demand because that sometimes lead to adverse selection.

但與我們的預期相比，這種環境下的貸款需求也有些低迷。我們不一定喜歡在沒有大量貸款需求的情況下嘗試增加貸款，因為這有時會導致逆向選擇。

So the combination of all that just have us trying to say to you, look today, as we sit here today, we can see, instead of saying we're going to grow our assets by $3 billion to $5 billion, we could say that will be lower, but blow up our share repurchases. We're still generating a lot of capital. So that's maybe the shift in tone a little bit, Alex.

所以，綜合考慮所有這些，我們只想告訴你們，看看今天，當我們坐在這裡時，我們可以看到，我們不可以說我們的資產將增加 30 億美元到 50 億美元，我們可以說這個數字會更低，但會大幅增加我們的股票回購。我們仍在創造大量資本。所以這可能就是語氣上的一點轉變，亞歷克斯。

In one other follow-up comment on cash. I should also mention we've continued to see nice increases across the venture and fund banking deposit. The last two quarters has been well above that $300 million run rate of net additions and we're continuing to see that nice level of increase in the first, you know, what we've seen so far in April.

在另一個關於現金的後續評論中。我還應該提到，我們繼續看到創投和基金銀行存款的良好成長。過去兩個季度的淨增額遠高於 3 億美元的運行率，而且我們在第一季繼續看到良好的成長水平，就像我們在 4 月迄今為止所看到的那樣。

Yeah, it's balanced. Totally get it. Thanks, guys.

是的，它是平衡的。完全明白。謝謝大家。

Steven Chubak, Wolfe Research.

史蒂文‧丘巴克，沃爾夫研究中心。

So wanted to ask a follow up on some of the trends that we saw at the bank, specifically around the NIM. The contraction was admittedly probably the highest among the banks that we track. It looks like the primary culprit was securities yields.

因此，我想詢問一下我們在銀行看到的一些趨勢，特別是有關 NIM 的趨勢。無可否認，此次收縮可能是我們所追蹤的銀行中收縮幅度最大的。看起來，罪魁禍首是證券收益率。

I was hoping you could unpack the timing related impacts that you are alluding to earlier. Just wanted to get a sense as to how big of a drag that was on the NIM in the quarter and how you're thinking about just managing duration, bigger picture, just given some of the expectations for increased steepening of the curve.

我希望您能夠解釋您之前提到的與時間相關的影響。只是想了解這對本季的 NIM 造成了多大的拖累，以及您如何考慮管理持續時間和更大的前景，考慮到對曲線陡峭程度增加的一些預期。

So obviously, within the bond portfolio, the CLO book is by far the largest piece. Those reprice over 90 days. So you're still getting the lag effect baking in on the asset side there in terms of the last two rate cuts in the fourth quarter.

因此顯然，在債券投資組合中，CLO 帳簿是迄今為止最大的部分。這些在 90 天內重新定價。因此，就第四季最後兩次降息而言，資產方面仍存在滯後效應。

You also saw a pretty sizeable drawdown if you look on the yields chart on C&I loans. I think it was down 75-ish, somewhere around 75 basis points. Again, and I mentioned on the call, both this quarter and last quarter, the impact of some of the success fees that we had related to venture clients, that was a couple of million dollars in the fourth quarter.

如果你查看商業和工業貸款的收益率圖表，你還會看到相當大的下降。我認為它下降了 75 左右，大約 75 個基點。再次，我在電話會議上提到，無論是本季還是上個季度，我們與創投客戶相關的一些成功費用的影響，在第四季度達到了幾百萬美元。

And obviously, those are episodic, kind of one-time in nature, and hard to predict. But when you think about that impact on NIM, that's annualized under the NIM calculation and has a bit of an outsized impact.

顯然，這些都是偶發性的，本質上是一次性的，很難預測。但是，當您考慮對 NIM 的影響時，這是根據 NIM 計算年化的，影響有點過大。

So you combine the day count, you combine the repricing lag, you look at loan growth being lower than we originally anticipated, and then you layer on top the success fees, that's really what's driving it. And so while the decline may have been more than you've seen in some other places, we're still very happy with the [3:10] bank and NIM in this environment.

因此，你結合天數、結合重新定價滯後，你會發現貸款成長低於我們最初的預期，然後再加上成功費用，這才是真正的推動因素。因此，儘管下降幅度可能比其他一些地方更大，但我們對這種環境下的 [3:10] 銀行和 NIM 仍然非常滿意。

I think that return is very strong. Might also say, if you look at our results, they were all still within our forecasted range of $260 million to $270 million, although at the lower end of that range. So I think this is not unexpected from where we were trying to guide to last quarter on our call.

我認為回報非常強勁。還可以說，如果你看一下我們的結果，它們仍然在我們預測的 2.6 億美元到 2.7 億美元的範圍內，儘管處於該範圍的低端。因此，我認為這並不出乎意料，因為我們在電話會議上試圖預測上個季度的情況。

I think, look, it's a great question and looking at the raw numbers, I agree with what you're saying. But when we unpack that, we're very comfortable, primary, these success fees and the impact that that has. Steven, I hear you, but I would caution you to not think that's some permanent compression.

我認為，這是一個很好的問題，並且從原始數據來看，我同意你的說法。但當我們解開這個問題時，我們感到非常舒服，首先，這些成功費用及其產生的影響。史蒂文，我聽到了你的聲音，但我要提醒你不要認為這是一種永久性的壓縮。

Yeah, I mean, we're more asset sensitive than most banks, right? And so we also have the ability to adjust that on the liability side in terms of rate cuts. And so that gives us the ability to be relatively rate neutral outside of these timing effects, whether it be the fees with a lag on certain IMs on a quarter-to-quarter basis.

是的，我的意思是，我們比大多數銀行對資產更敏感，對嗎？因此，我們也有能力透過降息來調整負債方面的情況。因此，這使我們能夠在這些時間效應之外保持相對中性的利率，無論是按季度計算的某些IM的滯後費用。

No, it's a fair point and then certainly did see that in the liability side. You guys did a nice job of managing deposit pricing. Just for my follow up, I did want to drill down into public finance. It may be fixed income more holistically.

不，這是一個公平的觀點，而且確實在責任方面看到了這一點。你們在管理存款定價方面做得很好。為了後續行動，我確實想深入探討公共財政。從更全面的角度來說，它可能是固定收益。

So the public finance outlook, just given the murky policy picture, how much of the strength in activity do you believe is durable versus temporary? And then on fixed income brokerage, just given the strength in volumes and volatility, the revenues there were a little bit lighter than we had anticipated and was hoping you could unpack that as well.

那麼，就公共財政前景而言，鑑於政策前景不明朗，您認為經濟活動的強勁程度有多少是持久的，有多少是暫時的？然後在固定收益經紀方面，考慮到交易量和波動性，那裡的收入比我們預期的要少一些，希望您也能解決這個問題。

On public finance, yes, it's murky. There are a lot of things that are murky with respect to the tax bill and what's on the table. You can actually see a big, big, big, big spike in activity, depending on what happens, if you say, private activity bonds or stadium bonds or things like that. College, taxing us out of certain large colleges.

關於公共財政，是的，情況很模糊。關於稅收法案和目前討論的內容，有很多事情尚不明確。實際上，你可以看到活動出現大幅飆升，這取決於發生的情況，例如私人活動債券或體育場債券或類似的東西。大學，向我們徵收某些大型學院的稅。

There's a lot of things on the table here and so I think that that coupled with just the murkiness has left that out to be a little choppy. That said, I heard a lot of infrastructure that needs to be done.

這裡有很多事情要討論，所以我認為，再加上模糊性，事情就會變得有點不穩定。話雖如此，我聽說有很多基礎設施需要建造。

We see it, especially at the community level where we are highly active in terms of just normal infrastructure, whether it's schools or development housing. So we see that business remaining healthy.

我們看到了這一點，特別是在社區層面，我們在正常的基礎設施建設方面非常活躍，無論是學校還是開發住房。因此，我們看到業務依然保持健康。

But anytime you're floating around tax bills, that's going to create some uncertainty. That's what I would say on public finance.

但任何時候稅單都在浮動，這會產生一些不確定性。這就是我對公共財政的看法。

We certainly hear -- and things are ground to a halt and in public finance in March. Certainly, hidden in their pocket but I'd say our calendar right now, our underwriting calendar's as busy as it's ever been and the outlook there is very strong.

我們當然聽說了──三月公共財政陷入停滯。當然，藏在他們的口袋裡，但我想說我們現在的日程表，我們的承保日程表和以前一樣繁忙，而且前景非常強勁。

Not just Stifel's, on the Street. I mean, look at the volume.

不只是 Stifel 公司，整個華爾街都是如此。我的意思是，看看音量。

Yeah, certainly. And then in regards to rates. In regards to fixed income trading, the thing I'd point out is we had a decent quarter in our rates business. Once you've -- typically, our seasonally slow period for our rates business.

是的，當然。然後是關於利率。關於固定收益交易，我想指出的是，我們的利率業務本季表現不錯。一旦你——通常，我們的利率業務就會進入季節性淡季。

And then you add on to the fact that in a comparable period last year, pretty good with our credit book. We had a lot of trading in the vis-a-vis shares. That is somewhat episodic as well and didn't repeat itself to anywhere near the level we saw in the prior years.

然後你再補充一個事實，那就是與去年同期相比，我們的信用記錄相當不錯。我們進行了大量股票交易。這也只是偶然現象，並沒有重複出現到前幾年我們所看到的程度。

So you combine those things that had an impact on the first quarter. But I think from here forward, when you think about fixed income trading, I think the second quarter to be relatively flat to up from here with a relatively optimistic outlook.

因此，你可以將那些對第一季產生影響的因素結合起來。但我認為從現在開始，當你考慮固定收益交易時，我認為第二季將相對平穩，前景相對樂觀。

That's great color. Thanks so much for taking my questions.

顏色真棒。非常感謝您回答我的問題。

Bill Katz, TD Cowen.

比爾·卡茨（Bill Katz），TD Cowen。

So I'm just trying to come back to some of the math, if that's okay. If I simply annualize your first quarter revenues, I get below the low end of your initial guide, your current guide, which you are not changing at the moment so I appreciate all the moving parts.

因此，如果可以的話，我只是想回顧一些數學問題。如果我簡單地將您的第一季收入按年化，我得到的結果將低於您最初指南的低端，也就是您當前的指南，而您目前不會改變這個指南，因此我很欣賞所有變動的部分。

But as I think about your commentary into the second quarter and what's been going on the macro perspective, it seems like revenues may tip down potentially just given the different business component pieces, if you will. So just trying to understand what's your macro framework as you get to the second half of the year, particularly if you still think the S&P is going to hover at current levels here. I'm just trying to figure out where the incremental drivers of opportunity might be. Thank you.

但是，當我思考您對第二季度的評論以及宏觀角度上發生的事情時，似乎由於不同的業務組成部分，收入可能會下降。因此，只是想了解一下進入下半年後你的宏觀框架是什麼樣的，特別是如果你仍然認為標準普爾指數將徘徊在當前水平。我只是想弄清楚機會的增量驅動因素可能在哪裡。謝謝。

Well, first of all, I don't know this exactly so I should be careful, but I think if you go back like almost every year and annualize our first quarter, you would end up less than what we end up with. I mean that's just the seasonality in our businesses.

嗯，首先，我並不完全清楚這一點，所以我應該小心，但我認為，如果你像幾乎每年一樣回顧並將我們的第一季度年度化，你最終得到的會比我們最終得到的要少。我的意思是這只是我們業務的季節性。

The fourth quarter is always strong. Revenue gets pulled into the fourth quarter. The first quarter tends to be relatively slower, as does the third quarter usually, okay?

第四季的表現總是很強勁。收入被拉入第四季。第一季通常相對較慢，第三季通常也是如此，好嗎？

But we have adjusted our internal forecast to account for lower equity markets. We've adjusted it for our pipeline. We've adjusted it for lifting the deals are. Also, when I say that we're not revising our guidance, it's not on the hope of some miraculous turnaround. It is on the belief that the equity markets may hover around here.

但我們已調整內部預測以適應較低的股票市場。我們已經根據我們的管道對其進行了調整。我們已經對其進行了調整，以解除交易。此外，當我說我們不會修改我們的指導方針時，並不是希望出現某種奇蹟般的轉變。人們相信股市可能會徘徊在此水準。

But we do think that on the Institution side of the business and in the advisory side, which is probably the biggest fluctuation always. We believe that this short-term low and activity, and the effect of all of the things, we believe is not for the rest of the year.

但我們確實認為，在機構業務方面和諮詢方面，這可能是最大的波動。我們相信，這種短期低迷和活動以及所有因素的影響不會持續到今年剩餘時間。

Now, as I said in my remarks, if it turns out that we're going to take tariffs from China to 250%, and do some other things that have been talked about, then we'll revisit it. But right now, as we sit here today, I'm comfortable with what we have said, and I believe from here that market conditions will improve.

現在，正如我在演講中所說，如果我們最終要將對中國的關稅提高到 250%，並採取一些已經討論過的其他措施，那麼我們將重新考慮這個問題。但現在，當我們今天坐在這裡時，我對我們所說的話感到滿意，我相信從現在開始市場狀況將會改善。

But you're -- that's looking into a crystal ball. And I would want to say that our need to get within our guidance range though, does not require some recovery in the market share of any magnitude. It would help, it would definitely help on the Institutional side to get -- take some of the volatility out of this market.

但你——那是在看水晶球。我想說的是，我們需要達到我們的指導範圍，但並不需要市場佔有率有任何幅度的恢復。這會有所幫助，它肯定會幫助機構方面消除這個市場的一些波動。

I would add, it's really hard to annualize investment banking results in any quarter in any economic environment that's really lumpy and, particularly, on the underwriting side, that can change very quickly if the market gives some stability to it. On the advisory side, we talked about the strength and KBW at length here already, but we've also we've seen a strong outlook within our tech practice, with our industrial services practice. There are pockets of strength there that we see things improving over the back half of the year.

我想補充一點，在任何不穩定的經濟環境下，任何季度的投資銀行業績都很難實現年度化，特別是在承銷方面，如果市場出現一定程度的穩定性，這種情況可能會迅速改變。在諮詢方面，我們已經詳細討論了實力和 KBW，但我們也看到了我們的技術實踐和工業服務實踐的強勁前景。我們看到那裡存在一些優勢，下半年情況將有所改善。

That's very helpful. And maybe just on capital measure, I appreciate the interplay between the decision to repurchase stock versus grow the bank balance sheets. How do you think about M&A more broadly for the firm at large, just given a lot of volatility and some deals around you? Any areas of particular focus that might be of interest as you think about inorganic opportunities? Thank you.

這非常有幫助。也許僅從資本衡量標準來看，我欣賞回購股票與擴大銀行資產負債表之間的相互作用。考慮到目前存在的許多波動以及一些交易，您如何看待整個公司在更廣泛的範圍內進行併購？當您考慮無機機會時，有哪些特別關注的領域可能引起您的興趣？謝謝。

Yeah, back to the first part, I also want to say this that on the Street, and I would echo this, activity, especially buying, is usually back half-weighted, okay? And that's true in almost every year.

是的，回到第一部分，我也想說，在華爾街，我會重複這一點，活動，特別是購買，通常是半加權的，好嗎？幾乎每年都是如此。

But when I look in the commentary and what people say, and as I said in my remarks, a lot of things have been delayed, I think, have not been canceled. So there is increasing demand for services, assuming we don't drive the US economy off the cliff, okay? And I don't think we're going to.

但當我看到評論和人們的言論時，正如我在評論中所說，很多事情都被推遲了，但我認為並沒有被取消。因此，如果我們不讓美國經濟陷入困境，那麼對服務的需求就會不斷增加，好嗎？我不認為我們會這麼做。

Now, to as it relates to M&A, we're always looking at things and we will continue to do so. I feel that a lot of the pricing, which is primarily driven by firms that don't have the capital levels that we have, the regulated institution that fund deals with debt and don't really need tangible equity, has really made pricing of these deals difficult for us in the last few years.

現在，就併購而言，我們一直在關注相關情況，我們將繼續這樣做。我覺得，很多定價主要是由那些資本水準不如我們的公司、為債務交易提供資金且不需要有形股權的受監管機構所推動的，這確實使得我們在過去幾年中很難對這些交易進行定價。

But we're always looking ways, again, B. Riley with a nice bolt-on. And I'm always open, okay? And get a lot the calls. So I don't feel like we're missing anything. But as I said in my opening remarks, I do rely on that calculator on return on investment, and that's always going to be a governing factor.

但我們總是在尋找方法，再次，B. Riley 有一個漂亮的附加功能。我總是敞開心扉，好嗎？並接到很多電話。所以我不覺得我們遺漏了什麼。但正如我在開場白中所說，我確實依賴投資回報計算器，而且這始終是一個決定性因素。

Okay. Thank you for taking both questions.

好的。感謝您回答這兩個問題。

(Operator Instructions) Chris Allen, Citi.

（操作員指示）花旗銀行的克里斯艾倫 (Chris Allen)。

One thing I wanted to ask on is just the fix broker channels to 2Q flat to up. And just if you could remind us what level of, as I said, brokerage is tied to offset underwriting and what is the separate buckets there?

我想問的一件事是，修復經紀管道至第二季持平或上漲的情況。而您能否提醒我們，正如我所說，經紀業務與抵銷承保有何關聯，以及它們之間的獨立部分是什麼？

[Muni's], I think is the key driver of trading, but I think rates is most important. And just to try think about the different outlooks and what is tied to underwriting under recovery, and what can continue to perform without underwriting [combat] near-term.

我認為市政債券是交易的關鍵驅動因素，但我認為利率是最重要的。試著思考不同的觀點，什麼與復甦下的承保有關，什麼可以在沒有短期承保[戰鬥]的情況下繼續表現。

So from a fixed underwriting perspective, obviously, the vast majority of that's going to be public finance. But outside of public finance, a lot of we will see is investment grade type activity.

因此，從固定承保的角度來看，顯然其中絕大部分將來自公共財政。但在公共財政之外，我們會看到很多投資等級類型的活動。

We had a reasonable year last year. There has been a little bit slower activity earlier in this year. I think we referenced that in some of our comments here earlier.

去年我們過得還不錯。今年早些時候的活動稍微放緩了一點。我想我們之前在一些評論中提到過這一點。

And so those are really the main drivers there. But we touched on the other fix transactional drivers with 1Q being generally the softer quarter in the year (inaudible)

所以這些確實是主要的驅動因素。但我們談到了其他固定交易驅動因素，其中第一季通常是今年表現較弱的季度（聽不清楚）

Thanks, guys. Appreciate it.

謝謝大家。非常感謝。

Thank you. And it appears that we have no further questions at this time. Mr. Kruszewski, I will turn the call back to you for any additional or closing remarks.

謝謝。目前看來我們沒有其他問題了。克魯舍夫斯基先生，如果您還有什麼補充或結束語，我會把電話轉給您。

Thank you, operator. So I'll just close by saying these are volatile times and uncertain times. Stifel is well positioned from a balance sheet, from a liquidity, from a diversification of business to not only perform well in markets like this, but we're well positioned with respect to the rebound in markets.

謝謝您，接線生。最後，我想說，現在是動盪和不確定的時期。從資產負債表、流動性和業務多角化來看，Stifel 處於有利地位，不僅在這樣的市場中表現良好，而且在市場反彈方面也處於有利地位。

And I'll end maybe an optimistic note that I believe the recent volatility and all the uncertainty is short term. It's unique negotiating styles. But the economy remains strong and when we get a little more certainty on some of these very disruptive policies, we are well positioned, and I think the industry is well positioned to take and monetize some of the deals that have, frankly, been delayed.

最後，我以樂觀的態度結束本文，我相信最近的波動和所有不確定性都是短期的。這是獨特的談判風格。但經濟依然強勁，當我們對這些極具破壞性的政策有了更多的確定性時，我們就處於有利地位，而且我認為該行業已經處於有利地位，可以接受一些坦率地說被推遲的交易並將其貨幣化。

But we'll see. Hope springs eternal here and we're well positioned to continue our historical growth. I look forward to talking to everyone on the second quarter call and to everyone, have a great day. Thank you.

但我們會看到。這裡充滿著永恆的希望，我們已準備好繼續我們的歷史性增長。我期待在第二季電話會議上與大家交談，並祝大家有個愉快的一天。謝謝。

This concludes today's 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。