Tiptree Inc.

Greetings and welcome to TipTree fourth quarter 2022 earnings conference call. At this time, all participants are in a listen-only mode. A brief question and answer session will follow the formal presentation. If anyone should require operator assistance during the conference, please press star zero on your telephone keypad. As a reminder, this conference is being recorded. It is now my pleasure to introduce your host, Scott McKinney, Deputy Chief Financial Officer. Thank you, sir. You may begin.

Good morning, and welcome to our fourth quarter 2022 earnings call. We are joined today by our Executive Chairman, Michael Barnes, and CFO, Sandra Bell. A copy of our earnings release, investor presentation, and annual report are on our website, tiftreeinc.com. Please note that some of our comments today will contain forward-looking statements based on our current view of our business, and actual future results may differ materially. Please see our most recent SEC filings, which identify the principal risks and uncertainties that could affect future performance. During the call this morning, we will discuss non-GAAP financial measures, which are described in more detail in our presentation. Reconciliations of non-GAAP financial measures and other associated disclosures are contained in our SEC filings, the appendix to our presentation, and posted on our website. With that, I will turn the call over to Michael.

Good morning, everyone. and welcome to our fourth quarter earnings call. Although 2022 presented a number of significant market challenges, we were pleased with our results for the year. Revenues for the year increased to a record $1.4 billion, up 16% from the prior year, while contributing adjusted net income of $63 million. Our specialty insurance business, Protegra, continued to build upon its exceptional multi-year performance. producing a record adjusted return on equity of 26%, while growing top-line premiums by 22% for the year. Protegra's growth was led by strength in its specialty insurance lines and services businesses. While the growth has been remarkable over the past few years, more importantly, profitability has been maintained as the combined ratio has remained consistently low, registering an impressive 90.7% for the year. Our outlook for Frategra remains bullish going forward. With a robust specialty pipeline, $2 billion of deferred revenues and unearned premiums sitting on the balance sheet, and a long history of consistent growth and profitable underwriting, we could not be more excited about the future of our insurance business. While the financial markets provided some challenges to the performance of the investment portfolio, it increased in size by 27% to $1.2 billion. We take a conservative approach with the portfolio, and we anticipate future investment performance to be positively impacted by our ability to invest and reinvest in a higher interest rate environment. Our other businesses in Tiptree Capital also performed well in 2022, with a combined return on average equity of 16.9%. Although interest rate movements negatively impacted residential mortgage origination volumes at Reliance, the mortgage servicing book, as well as proactive cost management by the team, kept the business profitable. As mortgage rates stabilize at these higher levels, we maintain a positive outlook for our mortgage business. Tiptree Marine delivered strong results in 2022, as both the dry bulk and product tanker shipping sectors continued to experience increases in asset valuation and shipping rates. We took advantage of the elevated valuations, and in the fourth quarter, we sold the remaining two product tankers, which combined with the sale of our dry bulk vessels earlier in the year, put total proceeds at $117 million for a net gain of $35 million for the year. In a tough year for many, We are pleased to announce we will increase our dividend by 25% to $0.05 per share as of March 2023, reflecting our view of the underlying strength in our operating businesses. We are always looking for new investment opportunities with the objective of generating all-weather long-term absolute returns. With no set holding period, we believe we have a distinct advantage. and we are able to take very long-term view with our outlook for returns. We are starting out 2023 well positioned financially and are confident in the outlook for the company. With that, I'll pass it to Sandra for the quarterly financial update.