Cohen & Company Inc.

Your entry is confirmed. At any time during playback, you may press zero pound to go to the playback help menu.

Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to the Cohen & Company's first quarter 2023 earnings call. My name is Alicia, and I'll be your operator for today. Before we begin, Cohen & Company would like to remind everyone that some of the statements the company makes during this call may contain forward-looking statements under a clipable... security laws. These statements may involve risk and uncertainties that could cause the company's actual results to differ materially from the results discussed in such forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements made during this call are made only as of the date this call, and the company undertakes no obligation to update such statements to reflect subsequent events or circumstances. Cohen & Company advises you to read the cautionary note regarding forward-looking statements in its earnings release and its most recent annual report on Form 10-K filed with the SEC. I would like now to turn the call over to Mr. Lester Brafman, Chief Executive Officer of Cohen & Company.

Thank you, Alicia, and thank you, everyone, for joining us for our first quarter 2023 earnings call. With me on the call is Joe Pooler, our CFO. Our investment portfolio continues to impact our results as our combined negative principal transaction revenue and loss from equity method affiliates amounted to $3 million for the quarter. The prolonged slump in investment banking and origination resulted in less than expected new issue and advisory revenues during the quarter. We strongly believe in our team of bankers and originators as we continue to build our pipeline and look forward to more favorable capital markets. As we move forward, we remain focused on enhancing stockholder value. In the first quarter, we continue to pay our quarterly dividend. Now I will turn the call over to Joe to walk through the quarter's financial highlights in more detail.