Trinity Capital Inc (TRIN) 2022 Q4 法說會逐字稿

Good afternoon. My name is Chelsea, and I will be your conference operator today. At this time, I would like to welcome everyone to the Trinity Capital's Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2022 Earnings Conference Call.

下午好。我叫切爾西，今天我將擔任你們的會議運營商。在這個時候，我想歡迎大家參加 Trinity Capital 的第四季度和全年 2022 年收益電話會議。

Our hosts for today's call are Steve Brown, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer; Kyle Brown, President and Chief Investment Officer; David Lund, Chief Financial Officer; Michael Testa, Chief Accounting Officer; and Sarah Stanton, General Counsel. Gerry Harder, Chief Operating Officer; and Ron Kundich, Chief Credit Officer, are also present.

今天電話會議的主持人是董事長兼首席執行官 Steve Brown；總裁兼首席投資官 Kyle Brown； David Lund，首席財務官； Michael Testa，首席會計官；和總法律顧問莎拉·斯坦頓 (Sarah Stanton)。首席運營官 Gerry Harder；和首席信貸官 Ron Kundich 也出席了會議。

Today's call is being recorded and will be made available for replay at 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time. The replay dial number is 1 (800) 934-3336 and no conference ID is required for access. (Operator Instructions)

今天的通話正在錄製中，將在美國東部時間晚上 8:00 重播。東部時間。重撥號碼為1（800）934-3336，無需會議ID即可接入。 （操作員說明）

It is now my pleasure to turn the call over to Sarah Stanton. Please go ahead.

現在我很高興將電話轉給 Sarah Stanton。請繼續。

Thank you, Chelsea, and welcome, everyone, to Trinity Capital's Earnings Conference Call for the Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2022.

謝謝 Chelsea，歡迎大家參加 Trinity Capital 的 2022 年第四季度和全年收益電話會議。

Trinity's fourth quarter and full year 2022 financial results were released just after today's market close and can be accessed from Trinity's Investor Relations website at ir.trinitycap.com. A replay of the call is available on Trinity's website or by using the telephone number provided in today's earnings release.

Trinity 的第四季度和 2022 年全年財務業績在今天收盤後發布，可從 Trinity 的投資者關係網站 ir.trinitycap.com 獲取。可以在 Trinity 的網站上或使用今天的收益發布中提供的電話號碼重播電話。

Before we begin, I would like to remind everyone that certain statements that are not based on historical facts made during this call, including any statements relating to financial guidance, may be deemed forward-looking statements under federal securities laws. Because these forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties, there are important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. We encourage you to refer to our most recent SEC filings for information on some of these risk factors. Trinity Capital assumes no obligation or responsibility to update any forward-looking statements. Please note that the information reported on this call speaks only as of today, March 2, 2023. Therefore, you are advised that time-sensitive information may no longer be accurate at the time of any replay listening or transcript reading.

在我們開始之前，我想提醒大家，根據聯邦證券法，某些不基於歷史事實的陳述，包括與財務指導有關的任何陳述，可能被視為前瞻性陳述。由於這些前瞻性陳述涉及已知和未知的風險和不確定性，因此存在可能導致實際結果與這些前瞻性陳述明示或暗示的結果存在重大差異的重要因素。我們鼓勵您參考我們最近提交給美國證券交易委員會的文件，以獲取有關其中一些風險因素的信息。 Trinity Capital 不承擔更新任何前瞻性陳述的義務或責任。請注意，本次電話會議報告的信息僅截至今天，即 2023 年 3 月 2 日。因此，請注意，在收聽重播或閱讀抄本時，時間敏感的信息可能不再準確。

Now please allow me to introduce Trinity Capital's Chairman and CEO, Steve Brown.

現在請允許我介紹 Trinity Capital 的董事長兼首席執行官 Steve Brown。

Thank you, Sarah. Thank you to everyone joining us today.

謝謝你，莎拉。感謝今天加入我們的每一個人。

As you saw in our earnings release this afternoon, we generated strong fourth quarter results to finish an incredible year, exceeding expectations and breaking records on many financial metrics. Our talented team delivered an exceptional performance in 2022 for our shareholders, and I'd like to start by recapping just a few of our many achievements. First, our originations and fundings brought us to $1.1 billion in total assets, growing our total asset position by 20% as compared to the end of 2021. Second, our investment portfolio at cost grew by 45%, which generated $145.5 million in total investment income. Third, our net investment income came in at $21.6 million for the fourth quarter and $71.6 million for the year, representing increases of 104% and 83% over the prior year periods. This outstanding performance allowed us to deliver NII of $0.62 and $2.26 per share for the quarter and the year.

正如您在今天下午發布的財報中看到的那樣，我們第四季度取得了強勁的業績，結束了令人難以置信的一年，超出預期並打破了許多財務指標的記錄。我們才華橫溢的團隊在 2022 年為我們的股東帶來了非凡的業績，我想首先回顧一下我們眾多成就中的一小部分。首先，我們的發起和融資使我們的總資產達到 11 億美元，與 2021 年底相比，我們的總資產頭寸增長了 20%。其次，我們的投資組合成本增長了 45%，產生了 1.455 億美元的總投資收入。第三，我們第四季度的淨投資收益為 2160 萬美元，全年為 7160 萬美元，分別比去年同期增長 104% 和 83%。這一出色的表現使我們能夠在本季度和本年度交付每股 0.62 美元和 2.26 美元的 NII。

We just delivered our eighth straight quarter of dividend increases. For 2022, we declared combined regular and supplemental dividends totaling $2.33 per share for our shareholders, an 85% increase over the 2021 dividends. Our NII per share of $0.62 for Q4 represents a $0.06 increase from the prior quarter and 135% coverage on our core dividend. Our return on average equity based on NII increased to 17.9%. Fourth, in the fourth quarter, we realized gains from the sale of our investment positions in Lucid and Matterport that contributed to the $33 million or $0.94 per share of realized gains on the ending share basis. Lastly, we ended 2022 with approximately $60 million or $1.73 of undistributed income. As a reminder, the undistributed income from 2021 of approximately $19 million was distributed through the $0.60 supplemental dividends we declared and paid in 2022.

我們剛剛實現了連續第八個季度的股息增長。 2022 年，我們宣布向股東派發總計每股 2.33 美元的定期股息和補充股息，比 2021 年的股息增加 85%。我們第四季度每股 NII 為 0.62 美元，比上一季度增加 0.06 美元，覆蓋了我們核心股息的 135%。我們基於 NII 的平均股本回報率增加到 17.9%。第四，在第四季度，我們實現了出售我們在 Lucid 和 Matterport 的投資頭寸的收益，這些收益貢獻了 3300 萬美元或每股 0.94 美元的已實現收益（按期末股份計算）。最後，到 2022 年底，我們的未分配收入約為 6000 萬美元或 1.73 美元。提醒一下，2021 年的未分配收入約為 1900 萬美元，已通過我們在 2022 年宣布和支付的 0.60 美元補充股息進行分配。

Shifting to our capitalization and liquidity, we remained very active during the year despite a challenging market. We raised additional accretive capital, upsized our credit facility and reopened our 7% notes in order to maintain strong liquidity for our growing investment portfolio. The successful completion of 2 publicly underwritten offerings in 2022 and the use of our ATM program supported the continued long-term growth of Trinity. All of these capital-raising activities allowed us to deliver a record year for both commitments and deployments. We originated $976 million in new commitments and funded $631 million across 66 portfolio companies. Throughout the course of 2022, we continued to invest in the company's platform, infrastructure and people. To that end, we added talent to all levels of our organization and have grown the team by almost 40% this year to 57 employees. We also expanded our platform with the addition of an experienced life science team, adding originations in this important market vertical.

轉向我們的資本和流動性，儘管市場充滿挑戰，我們在這一年仍然非常活躍。我們籌集了額外的增值資本，擴大了我們的信貸額度並重新發行了 7% 的票據，以便為我們不斷增長的投資組合保持強勁的流動性。 2022 年成功完成 2 次公開承銷的產品以及我們 ATM 計劃的使用支持了 Trinity 的持續長期增長。所有這些籌資活動使我們在承諾和部署方面都創造了創紀錄的一年。我們發起了 9.76 億美元的新承諾，並為 66 家投資組合公司提供了 6.31 億美元的資金。在整個 2022 年，我們繼續投資於公司的平台、基礎設施和人員。為此，我們在組織的各個層面都增加了人才，今年團隊人數增加了近 40%，達到 57 名員工。我們還擴展了我們的平台，增加了經驗豐富的生命科學團隊，增加了這一重要垂直市場的起源。

Our results in Q4 and 2022 demonstrate the strength of our team, our ability to meaningfully grow our portfolio, generate significant yields, manage credits even in a volatile market.

我們在第四季度和 2022 年的業績證明了我們團隊的實力，我們有能力有意義地增加我們的投資組合，產生可觀的收益，即使在動蕩的市場中也能管理信貸。

I will now hand it over to Kyle Brown, our President and Chief Investment Officer, to provide updates on our portfolio composition and investment performance. Kyle?

我現在將其交給我們的總裁兼首席投資官 Kyle Brown，以提供有關我們的投資組合構成和投資業績的最新信息。凱爾？

Great. Thanks, Steve.

偉大的。謝謝，史蒂夫。

We are truly pleased with the performance of our originations and credit teams during 2022, having originated $976 million in commitments and $631 million in investments. Our portfolio grew to $1.1 billion on a fair value basis, an increase of 25% on a fair value basis. The investment activity led to the addition of 34 new portfolio companies during 2022. During the fourth quarter, we entered into commitments of $239.5 million and funded $121.4 million, including $71 million into plans to 7 new portfolio companies and $15.4 million in gross deployments to 9 existing portfolio companies. We finished the quarter with $393 million of unfunded commitments, which provides us with a strong pipeline for continued funding leading into 2023. And as a reminder, our unfunded commitments are subject to ongoing diligence and approval by our investment committee.

我們對我們的發起和信貸團隊在 2022 年的表現感到非常滿意，他們發起了 9.76 億美元的承諾和 6.31 億美元的投資。我們的投資組合按公允價值計算增長至 11 億美元，按公允價值計算增長了 25%。投資活動導致 2022 年新增 34 家投資組合公司。第四季度，我們承諾投資 2.395 億美元，資助 1.214 億美元，其中 7100 萬美元用於 7 家新投資組合公司的計劃，1540 萬美元用於 9 家公司的總部署現有的投資組合公司。本季度結束時，我們有 3.93 億美元的無資金承諾，這為我們提供了一個強大的渠道，可以在 2023 年之前繼續提供資金。提醒一下，我們的無資金承諾需要持續盡職調查並得到我們投資委員會的批准。

Our pipeline activity remains solid for Q1 despite narrowing our funnel and tightening our investment criteria. To meet this growing opportunity, we completed 2 transformative initiatives in 2022 with the close of our joint venture and SEC exemptive relief for our RIA. We are encouraged by the multiple growth levers we have in place, which are differentiating ourselves in the BDC industry. Our JV structure not only allows us to expand the portfolio, but also generate predictable fee income while keeping the balance sheet healthy and nimble. The RIA structure will allow us to raise funds off the balance sheet, providing outsized returns for investors in a complementary way. We can now raise co-investment-type vehicles to grow the platform with the ability to raise capital from multiple channels, all to the benefit of the BDC, which owns 100% of this RIA.

儘管我們縮小了漏斗並收緊了我們的投資標準，但我們第一季度的管道活動仍然穩健。為了迎接這個不斷增長的機會，我們在 2022 年完成了 2 項轉型舉措，關閉了我們的合資企業和 SEC 對我們的 RIA 的豁免。我們對現有的多種增長槓桿感到鼓舞，這些槓桿使我們在 BDC 行業脫穎而出。我們的合資結構不僅使我們能夠擴大投資組合，而且在保持資產負債表健康和靈活的同時產生可預測的費用收入。 RIA 結構將使我們能夠從資產負債表中籌集資金，以互補的方式為投資者提供超額回報。我們現在可以籌集共同投資類型的工具來發展具有從多種渠道籌集資金的能力的平台，所有這一切都有利於擁有該 RIA 100% 的 BDC。

At Trinity, we believe our internal management structure enhances our shareholder alignment and ability to think outside the box. This off-balance sheet growth is one example of that. As we enter 2023, we are proceeding with caution as we review our investment opportunities. The number of growth stage companies looking for structured debt has increased, while pressure persists on the revaluation of these companies. We believe this is a time for opportunity. But it must be navigated with sound judgment. Continuous diligent monitoring of our portfolio companies is an essential component to our successful credit management. We maintain a dedicated portfolio management staff whose sole function it is to monitor our credit risk, keep a watchful eye on the market impact and stay in constant communication with management teams and their equity stakeholders.

在 Trinity，我們相信我們的內部管理結構增強了我們的股東一致性和跳出框框思考的能力。這種資產負債表外的增長就是一個例子。進入 2023 年之際，我們在審查投資機會時謹慎行事。尋求結構性債務的成長期公司數量有所增加，而這些公司的重估壓力依然存在。我們相信這是一個充滿機遇的時刻。但必須以合理的判斷來駕馭它。對我們投資組合公司的持續勤勉監控是我們成功進行信用管理的重要組成部分。我們擁有專門的投資組合管理人員，其唯一職責是監控我們的信用風險、密切關注市場影響並與管理團隊及其股權利益相關者保持持續溝通。

Our focus is on building a trusted partnership supported by ongoing 2-way communication. This combination has proven to be successful as demonstrated by our solid investment track record and reputation of partnering with our portfolio companies. To that end, during 2022, we added to our credit team to ensure that we remain attentive to the performance of our portfolio of companies. The composition of our portfolio remains relatively consistent with prior quarters and represents diversification across 19 industries. This quarter, we revised our industry breakdown to further underscore the granularity and diversification of our portfolio.

我們的重點是建立由持續的雙向溝通支持的可信賴的合作夥伴關係。這種結合已被證明是成功的，正如我們可靠的投資記錄和與我們的投資組合公司合作的聲譽所證明的那樣。為此，在 2022 年期間，我們增加了信貸團隊，以確保我們繼續關注公司組合的業績。我們投資組合的構成與前幾個季度保持相對一致，代表了 19 個行業的多元化。本季度，我們修改了行業細分，以進一步強調我們投資組合的粒度和多元化。

Our debt investments are primarily split between venture debt and equipment financings. At fair value, 73% of our debt portfolio or $802.9 million is comprised of secured loans, while 23% or $246 million is invested in equipment financings. The remainder of our portfolio of $45.5 million of fair value is comprised of equity and warrants. Our credit quality in the portfolio remains stable with 95% of our debt investments at cost performing. I'd like to address one investment in the industry in particular that has been an area of concern for our investors, that being digital asset technologies. We continue to reduce our exposure to these investments. These are fully amortizing payments on 36-month schedules, which is resulting in a decrease in balance of 3% per month.

我們的債務投資主要分為風險債務和設備融資。按公允價值計算，我們債務組合的 73% 或 8.029 億美元由擔保貸款組成，而 23% 或 2.46 億美元投資於設備融資。我們 4550 萬美元公允價值投資組合的其餘部分由股權和認股權證組成。我們投資組合中的信用質量保持穩定，95% 的債務投資符合成本效益。我想特別談談該行業的一項投資，這一直是我們投資者關注的領域，即數字資產技術。我們繼續減少對這些投資的敞口。這些是按 36 個月的時間表完全攤銷的付款，這導致每月餘額減少 3%。

2 of our 3 investments in the space are in the performing category as of year end. Our investment with Core Scientific remains in default, but the loan is collateralized by critical computing equipment with a cost basis of $23 million and a fair value of $8.2 million, which is approximately 36% of cost. The fair value of the note at year end was based on the estimated value of terahash pricing for the underlying equipment, which fluctuates with the value of Bitcoin. We believe the recent recovery of Bitcoin prices, up 40% since this mark should benefit Core's operating performance and liquidity position. We remain in close communication with the company and are exploring all available options to obtain the best possible outcomes for the benefit of our shareholders.

截至年底，我們對該領域的 3 項投資中有 2 項屬於表演類別。我們對 Core Scientific 的投資仍處於違約狀態，但貸款以關鍵計算設備為抵押，成本基礎為 2300 萬美元，公允價值為 820 萬美元，約為成本的 36%。年末票據的公允價值是基於基礎設備的 terahash 定價的估計價值，該價值隨比特幣的價值而波動。我們認為，比特幣價格近期回升，自此以來上漲了 40%，應該有利於 Core 的經營業績和流動性狀況。我們與公司保持密切溝通，並正在探索所有可用的選擇，以獲得最好的結果，以造福我們的股東。

Subsequent to the end of the fourth quarter, another of our publicly traded digital asset portfolio companies, Hut 8 Mining, announced a merger with US Bitcoin Corp. According to the companies, that transaction is expected to close in the second quarter of 2023, that would trigger a payoff events and further reduce our investments in digital asset technologies. We continue to monitor the progress of the closing and expect to have more to share over the next couple of quarters. In Q4, the number of loans on nonaccrual remains the same with 4 debt investments with a cumulative investment cost and fair value of approximately 49.2 and $17.8 million, respectively, or 4.3% and 1.6% as a percentage of the company's total investment portfolio at cost and value, respectively.

第四季度末，我們的另一家上市數字資產投資組合公司 Hut 8 Mining 宣布與美國比特幣公司合併。據兩家公司稱，該交易預計將於 2023 年第二季度完成，即將觸發回報事件並進一步減少我們對數字資產技術的投資。我們將繼續監控關閉的進度，並希望在接下來的幾個季度中分享更多信息。第四季度，非應計貸款數量保持不變，有 4 項債務投資，累計投資成本和公允價值分別約為 49.2 和 1780 萬美元，占公司總投資組合成本的 4.3% 和 1.6%和價值，分別。

Lastly, as of December 31, 2022, NAV per share decreased to $13.15 compared to $13.74. The decrease in NAV per share was primarily the result of net investment income that exceeded the company's declared dividend by $0.01 per share, offset by the unrealized appreciation and realized losses recognized during the fourth quarter. Approximately 75% of the unrealized depreciation was related to 2 portfolio companies, FemTec Health and Core Scientific previously identified as troubled credits in prior quarters.

最後，截至 2022 年 12 月 31 日，每股資產淨值從 13.74 美元降至 13.15 美元。每股資產淨值的下降主要是由於淨投資收益超過公司宣布的每股股息 0.01 美元，被第四季度確認的未實現增值和已實現虧損所抵消。大約 75% 的未實現折舊與 2 家投資組合公司有關，FemTec Health 和 Core Scientific 此前在前幾個季度被確定為問題信貸。

I'm going to pass the call to Dave to discuss our operating performance in more detail. Dave?

我將把電話轉給戴夫，更詳細地討論我們的經營業績。戴夫？

Thank you, Kyle.

謝謝你，凱爾。

As Steve and Kyle mentioned, this was an outstanding quarter and year for Trinity across multiple performance fronts. Turning specifically to our fourth quarter financial performance, our portfolio growth of 45% during 2022 and the increase in benchmark rates contributed to our total investment income of $41.5 million, a 75.8% increase over the same period in 2021 and a 7.3% increase over the third quarter of 2022. Fee income decreased to $909,000 as our early loan repayments totaled only $14.8 million in the quarter. Our effective yield on the portfolio for Q4 was 15.5%, an increase from 15.2% in the third quarter. Our core yield, which excludes nonrecurring fee income, increased to 14.2% from 13.5% in the prior quarter. Both our effective yield and core yield primarily increased due to the rise in benchmark rates.

正如 Steve 和 Kyle 所提到的，對於 Trinity 在多個性能方面來說，這是一個出色的季度和年度。具體到我們第四季度的財務業績，我們的投資組合在 2022 年增長了 45%，基準利率的提高為我們的總投資收益貢獻了 4150 萬美元，比 2021 年同期增長 75.8%，比 2021 年同期增長 7.3%。 2022 年第三季度。費用收入下降至 909,000 美元，因為本季度我們的提前還款總額僅為 1,480 萬美元。我們第四季度投資組合的有效收益率為 15.5%，高於第三季度的 15.2%。我們的核心收益率（不包括非經常性費用收入）從上一季度的 13.5% 上升至 14.2%。由於基準利率上升，我們的有效收益率和核心收益率均有所上升。

Year-over-year, total investment income increased by 77% to a record $145.5 million in 2022 from $82.2 million in 2021. Our consistent originations helped drive this increase while we maintain a consistently high effective yield across the portfolio. Our debt portfolio continues to be well positioned ahead of anticipated future rate hikes with 68% of our debt investments at floating rates, while on the borrowing side, only 30% of our outstanding debt at the end of the fourth quarter, but is a variable rate at SOFR. We incurred a total of $10.3 million in interest expense and amortization and deferred financing costs on various debt facilities as compared to $9.3 million in Q3. The increase in interest expense was primarily due to the full quarter of expense incurred under the $57.5 million of additional notes issued in Q3 and an increase in the interest rate and weighted average borrowings outstanding during the quarter under our key bank credit facility.

與去年同期相比，總投資收益從 2021 年的 8220 萬美元增加到 2022 年的創紀錄的 1.455 億美元。我們始終如一的發起有助於推動這一增長，同時我們在整個投資組合中保持始終如一的高有效收益率。我們的債務投資組合在預期的未來加息之前繼續處於有利地位，我們 68% 的債務投資為浮動利率，而在藉款方面，截至第四季度末，我們未償還債務中只有 30%，但這是一個變量在 SOFR 率。與第三季度的 930 萬美元相比，我們在各種債務融資方面的利息支出和攤銷以及遞延融資成本共計 1030 萬美元。利息支出的增加主要是由於第三季度發行的 5750 萬美元額外票據產生的整個季度的費用，以及我們主要銀行信貸額度下本季度未償還的利率和加權平均借款的增加。

Our other operating expenses were approximately $9.6 million during Q4 as compared to approximately $10.8 million during Q3. The decrease of approximately 11% was primarily driven by a decrease in variable compensation expense and lower excise tax expense. As a result of this operating activity, net investment income for the fourth quarter was $21.6 million or $0.62 per basic share, an increase of 16% compared to $18.6 million or $0.56 per basic share in Q3. For the full year of 2022, net investment income increased to $71.5 million as compared with $39 million in 2021, an increase of 83% year-over-year.

我們的其他運營費用在第四季度約為 960 萬美元，而在第三季度約為 1080 萬美元。減少約 11% 的主要原因是可變補償費用減少和消費稅費用減少。由於這項經營活動，第四季度的淨投資收益為 2160 萬美元或每股基本股 0.62 美元，與第三季度的 1860 萬美元或每股基本股 0.56 美元相比增長了 16%。 2022 年全年，淨投資收益從 2021 年的 3900 萬美元增至 7150 萬美元，同比增長 83%。

We recovered net unrealized depreciation -- we recorded net unrealized depreciation of $13.6 million during the quarter. We recognized unrealized depreciation of $23.2 million in our debt portfolio and $885,000 in our equity and warrant portfolio, offset by the flip of $10.5 million to realize losses on portfolio investments previously depreciated on an unrealized basis. Approximately $18.2 million of the unrealized depreciation in the debt portfolio was related to the performance issues with the 2 portfolio companies that Kyle previously reviewed. The remainder of the unrealized depreciation was primarily attributed to mark-to-market adjustments due to general market volatility and interest rate changes. Our operating activities generated strong returns for our shareholders with our ROAE based on NII over average equity of 17.9% and our ROAA based on NII over average total assets of 7.7%.

我們收回了未實現的淨折舊——本季度我們記錄了 1360 萬美元的未實現淨折舊。我們確認債務組合中的 2320 萬美元未實現折舊和股票和認股權證組合中的 885,000 美元，被 1050 萬美元的翻轉所抵消，以實現先前未實現折舊的投資組合投資的損失。債務組合中約 1820 萬美元的未實現折舊與 Kyle 先前審查的 2 家投資組合公司的業績問題有關。剩餘的未實現折舊主要歸因於一般市場波動和利率變化導致的按市值計價調整。我們的經營活動為我們的股東帶來了豐厚的回報，我們基於 NII 的 ROAE 超過平均權益 17.9%，我們的 ROAA 基於 NII 超過平均總資產 7.7%。

I will now hand the call over to Mike Testa, our Chief Accounting Officer, who will discuss our credit performance, liquidity and capital allocation. Mike?

我現在將電話轉交給我們的首席會計官 Mike Testa，他將討論我們的信用表現、流動性和資本配置。麥克風？

Thanks, Dave.

謝謝，戴夫。

Starting with credit quality. Our portfolio companies continued to perform well in the fourth quarter of 2022, with approximately 95% of our portfolio performing at cost. As Kyle mentioned, at the end of the quarter, we had 4 investments on nonaccrual, representing just 1.7% of the fair value of the investment portfolio. Our average credit rating for the fourth quarter stood at 2.8 based on our 1 to 5 rating system with 5 in attaining very strong performance. This rating is just slightly lower than our average credit rating at 2.9 in Q3. While our overall credit quality has remained solid, we have taken a practical approach to all loans in our portfolio. We continue to diligently monitor our portfolio company's performance, being mindful of the macro environment that could impact our operations.

從信用質量開始。我們的投資組合公司在 2022 年第四季度繼續表現良好，約 95% 的投資組合以成本價計價。正如 Kyle 提到的那樣，在本季度末，我們有 4 項非應計投資，僅佔投資組合公允價值的 1.7%。根據我們的 1 至 5 評級系統，我們第四季度的平均信用評級為 2.8，其中 5 表示表現非常強勁。該評級僅略低於我們在第三季度的平均信用評級 2.9。雖然我們的整體信貸質量保持穩健，但我們對投資組合中的所有貸款都採取了務實的做法。我們繼續努力監控我們的投資組合公司的業績，注意可能影響我們運營的宏觀環境。

Moving to equity. As of December 31, 2022, we had total liquidity of approximately $173 million, comprised of approximately $162 million of undrawn capacity under our credit facility and $11 million in unrestricted cash and cash equivalents. Our net leverage ratio, which represents debt outstanding less cash on hand increased to 1.33x this quarter as a result of our borrowings on our credit facility, which contributed to our portfolio growth. As of December 31, total debt principal outstanding was $620 million and had a weighted average cost of debt of 6.8%, up from 6.3% at September 30 due to the higher base rates under credit facility. Unsecured debt represented 70% of the total debt at quarter end, down slightly from the prior quarter as we borrowed under our credit facility. With the majority of our investment portfolio and floating reinvestments compared to the majority of our outstanding borrowings at fixed rates, we expect to have further increases in the base rates in 2023 would positively impact our net interest margin and NII margin.

轉向股權。截至 2022 年 12 月 31 日，我們的流動資金總額約為 1.73 億美元，其中包括信貸額度下約 1.62 億美元的未動用能力和 1100 萬美元的無限制現金和現金等價物。我們的淨槓桿率（代表未償債務減去手頭現金）在本季度增加到 1.33 倍，這是由於我們的信貸額度借款，這促進了我們的投資組合增長。截至 12 月 31 日，未償債務本金總額為 6.2 億美元，加權平均債務成本為 6.8%，高於 9 月 30 日的 6.3%，原因是信貸安排下的基準利率較高。無擔保債務佔季度末總債務的 70%，比上一季度略有下降，因為我們根據信貸安排借款。與我們的大部分固定利率未償還借款相比，我們的大部分投資組合和浮動再投資，我們預計 2023 年基準利率進一步提高將對我們的淨息差和 NII 利差產生積極影響。

Our leverage position, liquidity strength and access to the capital continue to be at the forefront of our strategy. We continue to explore all capital options that will be accretive to our shareholders. This includes funding investments under our recent announced JV and the RIA that we are looking to launch in 2023, which will allow for complementary off-balance sheet growth and additional fee income to Trinity.

我們的槓桿地位、流動性實力和獲得資本的渠道繼續處於我們戰略的最前沿。我們將繼續探索所有能夠增加股東收益的資本選擇。這包括我們最近宣布的合資企業和我們希望在 2023 年啟動的 RIA 下的資金投資，這將允許補充性的資產負債表外增長和 Trinity 的額外費用收入。

In Q4, we announced our stock repurchase program that will allow us to repurchase up to $25 million of our common stock. We believe that stock buybacks are an accretive use of shareholder capital when the stock is trading at a meaningful discount to NAV. To that end, we repurchased approximately 186,000 shares at an average price of $10.77 per share for an aggregate repurchase price of $2 million. The program demonstrates our commitment to creating value for our shareholders as a repurchase had accretive impact of $0.02 per share on NAV.

在第四季度，我們宣布了我們的股票回購計劃，這將使我們能夠回購高達 2500 萬美元的普通股。我們認為，當股票的交易價格低於資產淨值時，股票回購是對股東資本的增值使用。為此，我們以每股 10.77 美元的平均價格回購了約 186,000 股股票，總回購價格為 200 萬美元。該計劃表明我們致力於為股東創造價值，因為回購對每股資產淨值產生了 0.02 美元的增值影響。

In conclusion, on December 15, 2022, our Board declared a cash dividend of $0.46 per share for the fourth quarter of 2022, representing a 2% increase from Q3 2022. This is the eighth quarter in a row that we have increased our core dividend. Our GAAP NNI generated coverage of approximately 135% of our regular dividend for the quarter. Additionally, the Board approved a $0.15 per share supplemental dividend. Both dividends were paid on January 13, 2023. Our Board of Directors generally makes a determination of our dividend distributions on a quarterly basis, and we anticipate making an announcement of our Q1 2023 dividend in the second half of March.

總之，在 2022 年 12 月 15 日，我們的董事會宣布 2022 年第四季度的現金股息為每股 0.46 美元，比 2022 年第三季度增加 2%。這是我們連續第八個季度增加核心股息.我們的 GAAP NNI 覆蓋了本季度常規股息的約 135%。此外，董事會批准了每股 0.15 美元的補充股息。兩次股息均於 2023 年 1 月 13 日支付。我們的董事會通常每季度決定一次股息分配，我們預計將在 3 月下半月公佈 2023 年第一季度的股息。

With that, I'll now open the line up for questions. Operator?

有了這個，我現在將打開問題隊列。操作員？

(Operator Instructions) And our first question will come from Finian O'Shea with Wells Fargo.

（操作員說明）我們的第一個問題將來自富國銀行的 Finian O'Shea。

Our first question, are you able to provide us any color on the portfolio company level liquidity, cash runway and so forth and maybe a higher level fundraising backdrop?

我們的第一個問題，您能否為我們提供有關投資組合公司層面的流動性、現金跑道等方面的任何顏色，以及更高層面的籌款背景？

Yes. This is Ron. In terms of portfolio cash runway, we're obviously actively monitoring our portfolio on a monthly, if not more often basis. We track those numbers on a company-by-company basis. We do not have an aggregate, we don't keep track of the aggregate, but we take each of those into account as we grade and value the portfolio regularly.

是的。這是羅恩。就投資組合現金跑道而言，我們顯然每月甚至更頻繁地積極監控我們的投資組合。我們逐家跟踪這些數字。我們沒有總計，我們不跟踪總計，但我們會在定期對投資組合進行評級和估值時考慮到每一個因素。

For all new investments, then we do track. And I'd say the one maybe adjustment to underwriting that we're considering is we really want to see 18 to 24 months or more runway for any new investment coming in the portfolio and something that we continue to focus on.

對於所有新投資，我們都會進行跟踪。我想說的是，我們正在考慮的承保調整可能是我們真的希望看到 18 到 24 個月或更長時間的跑道，用於投資組合中的任何新投資以及我們繼續關注的事情。

Okay. That's helpful. And then just a follow-up on the RIA. Any sort of type of vehicle in mind? And is this something that you would potentially or likely commit Trinity equity to get vehicles started?

好的。這很有幫助。然後只是RIA 的跟進。有什麼類型的車輛嗎？這是您可能或可能承諾 Trinity 股權以啟動車輛的東西嗎？

That's a good question. I think part of the purpose of the RIA is to manage show the people's money. And so the goal will be to generate new fee income and carried interest in a fund structure, utilizing someone else's capital primarily. We are in process. Currently, we have begun those discussions with investors and potential investors. And we believe that funds managed by the RA have the potential to generate a significant amount of income to the BDC in the future.

這是個好問題。我認為 RIA 的部分目的是管理顯示人民的錢。因此，目標將是在基金結構中產生新的費用收入和附帶權益，主要利用其他人的資本。我們正在進行中。目前，我們已經開始與投資者和潛在投資者進行這些討論。我們相信 RA 管理的基金有可能在未來為 BDC 帶來可觀的收入。

And the structure of it would also be -- I think primarily, at least initially, a co-investment vehicle, which would be complementary and help us continue to make new investments, generate new income and not -- and give us -- again, just like the JV, the ability to be nimble at the BDC level, maximize our capital there. And then for investments that don't fit the BDC, whether it's bad income or there's a variety of reasons we could come up with. But we have a significant portfolio and pipeline opportunities, not everything fits inside of a BDC. So we want our shareholders to be able to capitalize on those investments as well. And so we see a future where we have funds that can take advantage of those opportunities as well.

它的結構也將是——我認為至少在最初階段，它主要是一個共同投資工具，它將是互補的，幫助我們繼續進行新的投資，產生新的收入，而不是——給我們——再次，就像合資企業一樣，在 BDC 層面保持靈活的能力，可以最大限度地發揮我們在那裡的資本。然後對於不符合 BDC 的投資，無論是收入不佳還是我們可以提出的各種原因。但我們有重要的投資組合和管道機會，並不是所有東西都適合 BDC。因此，我們希望我們的股東也能夠利用這些投資。因此，我們看到未來我們擁有的資金也可以利用這些機會。

(Operator Instructions) Our next question will come from Christopher Nolan with Ladenburg Thalmann.

（操作員說明）我們的下一個問題將來自 Christopher Nolan 和 Ladenburg Thalmann。

Steve, what is the leverage level that you guys are looking for at the range?

史蒂夫，你們在該範圍內尋找的槓桿水平是多少？

Yes. The range is sort of the $115 million to $135 million range. We're at the upper end of that right now. We do plan to keep within the upper end of that range going forward. That's been our policy for some time and still is.

是的。範圍在 1.15 億美元到 1.35 億美元之間。我們現在正處於高端。我們確實計劃在未來保持在該範圍的上限。這是我們的政策已有一段時間了，現在仍然如此。

Okay. And your stock is just slightly above book value, but it's -- I mean, if you get -- Dave, any thoughts of derisking the portfolio at all taking -- I mean, I know any thoughts of equity raises given that your stock is slightly above book?

好的。你的股票略高於賬面價值，但它是——我的意思是，如果你得到——戴夫，任何降低投資組合風險的想法——我的意思是，我知道任何關於股權融資的想法，因為你的股票是略高於書？

I think we're going to look at equity raises cautiously. We have proven the ability with our existing portfolio as it sits today to generate meaningful numbers relative to income that investment income and distributions. And so we can certainly continue, we believe, to perform like that if we don't grow the portfolio, which means if we don't raise money. But obviously, if our stock price reacts positively, and we have the ability to raise some capital and do it judiciously, we'll certainly do that. As Kyle mentioned, with the off-balance sheet activity now, we can raise capital there, and we can continue to be active in the marketplace on a co-investment basis and that gives us effectively liquidity as a platform to go do what we do in the marketplace with the benefit all coming back to the BDC shareholders.

我認為我們將謹慎看待股權融資。我們已經證明，我們現有的投資組合有能力產生與投資收入和分配相關的有意義的數字。因此，我們相信，如果我們不增加投資組合，這意味著如果我們不籌集資金，我們當然可以繼續這樣的表現。但顯然，如果我們的股價反應積極，並且我們有能力籌集一些資金並明智地進行，我們肯定會這樣做。正如 Kyle 所提到的，通過現在的表外活動，我們可以在那裡籌集資金，我們可以在共同投資的基礎上繼續活躍在市場上，這為我們提供了有效的流動性，作為一個平台去做我們做的事情在市場上，所有收益都返回給 BDC 股東。

And then on the dividends, did you guys indicate that there'll be a supplemental dividend in the first quarter? Or did I miss something more?

然後在分紅上，你們有沒有說一季度會追加分紅？還是我錯過了更多東西？

So we have not determined that. We're going to be visiting with the Board here later this month. I think as Mike said in his prepared remarks, and we do have spillover income. As you know, we've continued to grow our core dividend. And for the eighth straight quarter we increased it. So we'll sit down with the board and look at all of those factors and make a decision later this month.

所以我們還沒有確定。我們將在本月晚些時候訪問這裡的董事會。我認為正如邁克在他準備好的發言中所說的那樣，我們確實有溢出收入。如您所知，我們一直在增加核心股息。對於連續第八個季度，我們增加了它。因此，我們將與董事會坐下來研究所有這些因素，並在本月晚些時候做出決定。

(Operator Instructions) And our next question comes from Ryan Lynch with KBW.

（操作員說明）我們的下一個問題來自 KBW 的 Ryan Lynch。

First question I have, following up on the question regarding the RIA. I'm just curious, I know there's a lot of variables and a lot of uncertainty all the timing of things. But as we sit here today, do you guys have any sort of expectation of when you would hope to get the first fund up and running and some capital deployed and when potentially that could actually get to the size where it could start contributing the income to the BDC?

我的第一個問題是跟進有關 RIA 的問題。我只是好奇，我知道事情發生的所有時間都有很多變數和很多不確定性。但當我們今天坐在這裡時，你們是否有任何期望，你們希望何時啟動和運行第一隻基金並部署一些資本，以及何時可能真正達到可以開始貢獻收入的規模商業發展中心？

So timing is not 100% certain. I think you can expect sometime in the next 6 months that we'll have that ramped up and we'll be deploying capital out of it. We mentioned the JV, we've begun deploying out of that. Steve didn't mention this before, that also provides us with the liquidity at the BDC level because we're doing a look back and we're able to provide an advance against fundings we've already done. So that income, that off-balance sheet income, it's already begun. And it will continue, and our intention is for that to grow.

所以時間並不是 100% 確定的。我想你可以期待在未來 6 個月的某個時候，我們會增加它，我們將從中部署資本。我們提到了 JV，我們已經開始部署它。史蒂夫之前沒有提到這一點，這也為我們提供了 BDC 級別的流動性，因為我們正在回顧並且我們能夠為我們已經完成的資金提供預付款。所以收入，資產負債表外的收入，已經開始了。它將繼續，我們的意圖是讓它增長。

Okay. My other question was what's just your guys' perspective on what is the pulse of venture capital investors in this environment, their willingness and ability to support portfolio companies that aren't cratering, but may be performing slightly below expectations in this environment? At one point, there was kind of free money and it felt like everybody was getting capital. Certainly, the strong companies who are outperforming expectations, I think we'd still be able to get capital, the ones who are severely underperformed probably aren't. But I'm curious about those companies that are maybe just slightly underperforming expectations and venture capital participants' willingness and ability to continue to help support those companies.

好的。我的另一個問題是你們對風險資本投資者在這種環境下的脈搏有什麼看法，他們支持那些沒有崩潰但在這種環境下表現可能略低於預期的投資組合公司的意願和能力？有一段時間，有一種免費的錢，感覺每個人都在獲得資本。當然，表現超出預期的強大公司，我認為我們仍然能夠獲得資金，而那些表現嚴重不佳的公司可能無法獲得資金。但我很好奇那些可能只是略低於預期的公司以及風險資本參與者繼續幫助支持這些公司的意願和能力。

Yes. Ryan, this is Kyle. So a couple of things. One, I don't think a venture capital private equity generally are supporting companies that are cratering anyway in good markets or bad markets. We have -- we believe the way we've underwritten that our companies have a real true moat around the technology, they're growing in the face of headwinds. We've seen this over and over again with our -- the investments we've made over the last couple of years. And when they need more capital, they get it. And -- but I would say what companies are having to come to grips with is that, that money is not free, like you said, it's not cheap, maybe like it was in 2021, 2022. They're in our own portfolio and the new investments we make, founders and CEOs are having to come to grips with the fact that, that company is just not worth the multiple that existed for them a year or 2 ago.

是的。瑞安，這是凱爾。所以有幾件事。第一，我不認為風險投資私募股權通常會支持在好市場或壞市場中都陷入困境的公司。我們有 - 我們相信我們已經保證我們的公司在技術周圍擁有真正的護城河的方式，他們在逆風中成長。我們在過去幾年的投資中一遍又一遍地看到了這一點。當他們需要更多資金時，他們就會得到。而且——但我想說的是，公司必須要面對的是，錢不是免費的，就像你說的，它並不便宜，也許就像 2021 年、2022 年那樣。它們在我們自己的投資組合中，並且在我們進行的新投資中，創始人和首席執行官不得不面對這樣一個事實，即該公司不值一兩年前的市盈率。

And so what we continue to see are our companies get funded, we see it quite regularly in our portfolio, and they're getting the capital they need to get a couple of years down the road and continue to grow in the face of headwinds. But the valuation is decreasing. As a secured lender, I'll be cautious how I say this. It's not that we don't care. We do care, but the majority of our returns are fee income, rate and fee income, current income. And so the valuation, whether it's high with the free money or it's low with more prudent capital, that doesn't affect our returns. It doesn't inhibit our ability to collect from our borrowers. So it doesn't necessarily hurt our position. So we monitor it. We track it. We want to see our companies continue to receive capital and they are getting it. Most of those companies are getting it at a revaluation, a lower amount.

因此，我們繼續看到我們的公司獲得資金，我們在我們的投資組合中經常看到它，他們正在獲得他們需要的資金，以便在未來幾年內獲得資金，並在逆風中繼續增長。但估值正在下降。作為有擔保的貸方，我會謹慎地說這句話。這並不是說我們不在乎。我們確實關心，但我們的大部分回報是費用收入、利率和費用收入、當前收入。因此估值，無論是自由資金的高估值還是更謹慎的資本的低估值，都不會影響我們的回報。它不會抑制我們向借款人收取款項的能力。所以它不一定會損害我們的立場。所以我們監控它。我們跟踪它。我們希望看到我們的公司繼續獲得資金，而且他們正在獲得資金。這些公司中的大多數都以較低的重估價獲得它。

Yes. Probably the only thing I'd add to that, Ryan, is the expectation on the founders is no longer unfettered growth, but pivoting to profitability, right. Let's make this capital last, let's make the cash lives last. That's why the cash life question is a difficult one, right, because you get a much different answer on a trailing 12-month basis than you do on a forward 12 basis across virtually any company within the portfolio, right, because they're all tightening their belts, pivoting to profitability. And there's real enterprise value in the company's we underwrite. So they're getting the equity. It just may not be the valuations that the Congress will vouch.

是的。可能我唯一要補充的是，Ryan，對創始人的期望不再是不受約束的增長，而是轉向盈利，對吧。讓我們讓這個資本持續下去，讓我們讓現金持續下去。這就是為什麼現金壽命問題是一個困難的問題，對吧，因為在投資組合中的幾乎任何公司中，你在過去 12 個月的基礎上得到的答案與你在遠期 12 個月基礎上得到的答案大不相同，對吧，因為它們都是勒緊褲腰帶，轉向盈利。我們承保的公司具有真正的企業價值。所以他們得到了股權。這可能不是國會將擔保的估值。

(Operator Instructions) And our next question comes from Bryce Rowe with B. Riley.

（操作員說明）我們的下一個問題來自 Bryce Rowe 和 B. Riley。

I wanted to maybe start with the comp line and thoughts about operating expenses. Obviously, you've grown the headcount quite a bit to ramp up. You noted your 57 employees now. How should we think about the growth of the employee base as we look out over the next couple of years?

我可能想從薪酬線和關於運營費用的想法開始。顯然，你已經增加了相當多的員工人數以增加產量。您現在註意到您的 57 名員工。展望未來幾年，我們應該如何考慮員工基礎的增長？

Yes, I can tell you, Bryce, in our annual plan for this year, there's very modest headcount growth. Some of it is within the finance and operations team as we do add the off-balance sheet entities, right, there's a bit of complexity in Mike's team on the back end. But we're growing judiciously. We mentioned in our prepared remarks, we've added a life sciences practice in 2022. We will be expanding that per our plans, but the headcount growth is going to be very moderated in 2023 compared to last year.

是的，布萊斯，我可以告訴你，在我們今年的年度計劃中，員工人數增長非常緩慢。其中一些是在財務和運營團隊內部，因為我們確實添加了資產負債表外實體，對，邁克的後端團隊有點複雜。但我們正在明智地成長。我們在準備好的發言中提到，我們在 2022 年增加了生命科學業務。我們將根據我們的計劃擴大這一業務，但與去年相比，2023 年的員工人數增長將非常緩和。

Okay. That's helpful. And maybe shifting gears here, just thinking about the comment you made around Core Scientific and where it's marked as of December 31 and relative to maybe the performance of Bitcoin here in 2023. When was that mark kind of determined? And was there any ability to kind of go back and reflect what the mark might look like today with some of the better information you have to work with?

好的。這很有幫助。也許在這裡換檔，想想你圍繞 Core Scientific 發表的評論，以及它在 12 月 31 日的標記位置，以及相對於 2023 年比特幣在這裡的表現。這個標記是什麼時候確定的？是否有任何能力可以回過頭來反映商標今天的樣子，並提供一些您必須使用的更好的信息？

Yes. Bryce, you're going to see us be real consistent with our marks and our valuations. On 12/31, that was the value of that equipment, and we have to look at it that way. The way we look at it is what could we sell this for right now right today. And listen, we can argue about it all day long about what it's worth today. It doesn't matter as of 12/31, that's what it was worth. Is Bitcoin up 40% since then? Yes. We are working with the company. We're going to do our best to collect every dollar of that, and we'll see what happens here. But as of 12/31, that was the valuation. That's what we're reporting, and you're going to see us be really consistent on the valuations.

是的。布萊斯，你會看到我們與我們的標記和估值真正一致。在 12/31，那是該設備的價值，我們必須這樣看待它。我們看待它的方式是我們現在可以賣多少錢。聽著，我們可以整天就它今天的價值爭論不休。截至 12/31 沒關係，這就是它的價值。從那以後比特幣上漲了 40% 嗎？是的。我們正在與公司合作。我們將盡最大努力收集其中的每一美元，我們將看看這裡會發生什麼。但截至 12 月 31 日，這就是估值。這就是我們正在報告的內容，你會看到我們在估值上非常一致。

Excellent. Okay. That's helpful. And then maybe last one for me. You've got a chart in the K and in the presentation about kind of internal risk ratings. Can you walk through kind of the -- some of the migration we saw quarter-over-quarter? Is it kind of more a reflection of the, I guess, the environment than anything else?

出色的。好的。這很有幫助。然後也許是我的最後一個。您在 K 和有關內部風險評級的演示文稿中有一張圖表。您能否介紹一下我們看到的每季度的一些遷移？我想，它是否更多地反映了環境而不是其他任何東西？

Yes. I mean happy to. Where we saw migration within the portfolio was -- as you know, we have 5 wins, 3 of which are different levels of performance. And so we saw more companies in that center performance been versus one of the higher. And so these are still performing loans that doesn't indicate distress. When you look at our risk rating performance to plan is a very big aspect to that, right. And so our portfolio companies faced quite an inflection within 2022, where we just spoke about it earlier, the growth plans that they might have laid in early in the year needed to be tempered quite a bit, right. So -- but the portfolio is robust. On the lower 2 categories, we've been stable. We've got 2 credits that we've talked about in the past, so we don't see great danger there in that migration, but it reflects the reality as of year end.

是的。我的意思是很高興。我們在投資組合中看到的遷移是——如您所知，我們有 5 次勝利，其中 3 次是不同級別的績效。因此，我們看到該中心的更多公司表現優於其中一家。因此，這些仍在執行的貸款並不表明有困難。當您查看我們的風險評級績效時，計劃是一個非常重要的方面，對吧。因此，我們的投資組合公司在 2022 年面臨相當大的轉折，我們剛才談到了這一點，他們可能在年初制定的增長計劃需要稍微調整一下，對吧。所以 - 但投資組合很強大。在較低的 2 個類別中，我們一直很穩定。我們有過去討論過的 2 個學分，所以我們沒有看到遷移中存在很大的危險，但它反映了截至年底的現實。

(Operator Instructions) And at this time, we have no further questions in the queue. We do have one last question from Vilas Abraham with UBS.

（操作員說明）此時，我們沒有其他問題在隊列中。我們確實有來自瑞銀的 Vilas Abraham 的最後一個問題。

Just on loan spreads. What are you guys seeing there now? And are you trying to push those at all with new borrowers and new investments?

只是貸款利差。你們現在在那裡看到什麼？你是否試圖通過新的借款人和新的投資來推動這些？

This is Kyle. We do continue to push on pricing. We continue to push on warrants, and we have seen that trend up. We will continue to be aggressive on transactions that make to the finish line from a pricing perspective. So on a percentage basis, it's not a significant increase, but it is an increase nonetheless.

這是凱爾。我們確實會繼續推動定價。我們繼續推動認股權證，我們已經看到了這種趨勢。從定價的角度來看，我們將繼續積極參與達到終點的交易。因此，按百分比計算，這不是一個顯著的增長，但它仍然是一個增長。

This is Dave. We keep a relatively constant spread over prime. So you'll see it anywhere from 6.5% to 7.5% over prime on most of our underwriting. So it's going to move more with the prime than necessarily we're moving the spread.

這是戴夫。我們在 prime 上保持相對恆定的價差。因此，在我們的大部分承銷業務中，您會發現它比優質產品高出 6.5% 到 7.5%。因此，與我們移動價差相比，它會隨著價格的上漲而移動更多。

Got it. That makes sense. And then just maybe just a broader question on M&A. When do you think that picks up again, particularly since it seems like the sentiment is that valuations are pretty reasonable or close to the bottom here? What are your just general thoughts around there? And I guess how that plays into new investments and the conversations around how it could look like at some point?

知道了。這就說得通了。然後可能只是一個關於併購的更廣泛的問題。你認為什麼時候會再次回升，特別是因為市場情緒似乎是估值相當合理或接近底部？你在那裡的一般想法是什麼？我想這會如何影響新的投資以及圍繞它在某個時候看起來如何的對話？

Yes, we can think on those guys a little bit here, but I'll start. This is Kyle. I think we have seen a lot of PE interest. I think that will continue to be in M&A. We'll see M&A increase in that category. I think the IPO and kind of traditional exit markets -- public markets are probably less interesting for the time being. And -- but I think private equity is absolutely flip around, and you might see more of that here throughout 2023.

是的，我們可以在這裡考慮一下那些人，但我會開始。這是凱爾。我認為我們已經看到了很多 PE 的興趣。我認為這將繼續存在於併購中。我們將看到該類別的併購有所增加。我認為 IPO 和某種傳統的退出市場——公開市場目前可能不太有趣。而且 - 但我認為私募股權絕對是翻轉的，你可能會在整個 2023 年在這裡看到更多。

Yes. If you look at our Q4, right, the early repayments was pretty much a low watermark, I think, sat at $14 million, Dave?

是的。如果你看看我們的第四季度，對吧，我認為提前還款幾乎是一個低水位線，為 1400 萬美元，戴夫？

$14.8 million.

1480 萬美元。

$14.8 million. So -- which makes the $0.62 even more impressive rate because it wasn't built on early repayment fees. We don't see that materially picking up in Q1, but maybe second half of the year, I think we'll see a little bit more activity. That's what the crystal ball says, but we don't really know.

1480 萬美元。所以——這使得 0.62 美元的利率更加令人印象深刻，因為它不是建立在提前還款費用的基礎上的。我們沒有看到第一季度有實質性的回升，但也許下半年，我認為我們會看到更多的活動。這就是水晶球所說的，但我們真的不知道。

Our next question will come from Casey Alexander with Compass Point.

我們的下一個問題將來自 Compass Point 的 Casey Alexander。

One is a technical question and then one is more of a broader picture question. First, the technical question. In relation to Hut 8, normally, if an equipment finance loan prepays, my understanding is that they have to prepay the principal and all contractual interest payments that would have been due to the end of the loan. In the case of a merger, where you're calling for a payoff, is it the same? Or do they just have to pay off the principal?

一個是技術問題，另一個是更廣泛的問題。首先，技術問題。關於 Hut 8，通常情況下，如果設備融資貸款提前償還，我的理解是他們必須提前償還本應在貸款結束時到期的本金和所有合同利息。在合併的情況下，你要求的回報是一樣的嗎？還是他們只需要還清本金？

Casey, it's Kyle. We can't force to pay off, and they are on the hook for all future payments.

凱西，是凱爾。我們不能強迫還清，他們將承擔所有未來付款的責任。

Okay. That's great. Secondly, from a bigger picture, it's obviously a volatile time in venture capital and venture debt. I mean we're seeing that with most of the earnings reports, and we've seen that with yours also. So I mean, do you -- from a strategic sort of sense, do you think it's the right time to be intentionally running at the top end of the leverage range? And do you think by doing so, is it your opinion that credit is going to improve over the next 2 or 3 quarters?

好的。那太棒了。其次，從更大的角度來看，這顯然是風險投資和風險債務的動盪時期。我的意思是我們在大多數收益報告中都看到了這一點，我們也看到了你的收益報告。所以我的意思是，從戰略的角度來看，你認為現在是有意運行在槓桿範圍頂端的合適時機嗎？您是否認為通過這樣做，您認為信用將在接下來的 2 或 3 個季度內改善？

So a couple of things. I think, a, the JV provides us with liquidity, right. We believe we're also going to be able to recycle capital in the BDC, the portfolio as it is right now, even with these nonaccruals, is generating a significant amount of income, and we believe that will continue. And then the additional off-balance sheet activity that we are in the process of raising right now is really going to fill a nice void or just help to continue to help us provide incremental deployment. So that leverage ratio is going to swing between the ranges Steve gave you, utilizing that capital.

所以有幾件事。我認為，合資企業為我們提供了流動性，對吧。我們相信我們也將能夠在 BDC 中回收資本，目前的投資組合，即使有這些非應計項目，也會產生大量收入，我們相信這將繼續下去。然後我們現在正在籌集的額外資產負債表外活動真的會填補一個很好的空白，或者只是幫助繼續幫助我們提供增量部署。因此，利用該資本，槓桿率將在史蒂夫給你的範圍之間擺動。

And also, we're going to start seeing some of the loans come off of interest only, and so we're going to be able to recycle some of that capital back into the marketplace to support our companies to continue investing. So it's a time for good opportunity, Casey.

而且，我們將開始看到一些貸款只還本付息，因此我們將能夠將部分資金回收回市場，以支持我們的公司繼續投資。所以這是個好機會，凱西。

At this time, there are no further questions in the queue. So I would like to turn the call back over to Steve Brown, Chairman and CEO, for closing remarks.

目前，隊列中沒有其他問題。因此，我想將電話轉回給董事長兼首席執行官史蒂夫布朗，以作結束語。

Thank you. And again, thanks to everybody that dialed in today. We appreciate your support, and we're excited about the results for 2022 in the fourth quarter, and we look forward to getting back with you at the end of Q1 to talk about how we've done. Thanks, guys.

謝謝。再次感謝今天撥通電話的每一個人。感謝您的支持，我們對 2022 年第四季度的業績感到興奮，我們期待在第一季度末與您一起討論我們的工作成果。多謝你們。

Thank you, ladies and gentlemen. This does conclude today's teleconference, and we appreciate your participation. You may disconnect at any time.

謝謝你們，女士們，先生們。今天的電話會議到此結束，感謝您的參與。您可以隨時斷開連接。