Trinity Capital Inc.

Please stand by, we're about to begin. Good afternoon. My name is Jamie and I will be your conference operator today. At this time, I would like to welcome everyone to Trinity Capital's first quarter 2024 earnings conference call. This call is being recorded and will be available for replay beginning at approximately 3 p.m. Eastern Time. The replay dial number is 1-800-839-7000. and no conference ID is required for access. At this time, all participants have been placed in a listen-only mode and the floor will be open for your questions following the presentation. If you would like to ask a question at that time, please press star 1 on your telephone keypad. If at any point your question has been answered, you may remove yourself from the queue by pressing star 2. We also, when posing your question, please pick up your handset to allow optimal sound quality. Lastly, if you should require operator assistance, you may press star zero. It is now my pleasure to turn the call over to Ben Malkinson, head of investor relations for Trinity Capital. Please go ahead.

Thank you, Jamie, and welcome to Trinity Capital's earnings conference call for the first quarter 2024. Today, we are joined by Kyle Brown, Chief Executive Officer, Michael Testa, Chief Financial Officer, and Jerry Harder, Chief Operating Officer. Also joining us for the Q&A portion of the call are Ron Kundich, Chief Credit Officer, and Sarah Stanton, Chief Compliance Officer and General Counsel. Trinity's financial results were released earlier today and can be accessed from our investor relations website at ir.trinitycap.com. A replay of the call will be available on our website or by using the telephone number provided in today's earnings release. 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, May 1st, 2024. Therefore, you are advised that time-sensitive information may no longer be accurate at the time of any replay listening or transcript reading. Now, please allow me to turn the call over to Trinity Capital's CEO, Kyle Brown. Thank you, Ben. Thanks, everyone, for joining us today.

First quarter was a strong start to the year for Trinity. We remain opportunistic in the current market by investing in our platform as we continue to scale and deliver value to our shareholders. Notable highlights during the quarter include $243 million of gross fundings across eight new portfolio companies and 12 existing portfolio companies. Platform AUM growth of 38% year-over-year, pushing our assets under management to $1.6 billion. Record net investment income of $25.2 million, 30% increase versus Q1 of last year. And return of equity of 16.1%. Our performance allowed us to increase our quarterly dividend to 51 cents per share in the first quarter, making this the 13th consecutive quarter we've increased our dividend. Credit underwriting and portfolio management continue to remain fundamental to our success. We maintain regular standards and original diligence in portfolio management to position us to effectively navigate a dynamic market. Our team of nearly 80 professionals is the cornerstone of Trinity's track record and is the key to our trajectory going forward. We're committed to creating a unique culture here of excellence that is built around six pillars, humility, integrity, trust, uncommon care, continuous learning, and an entrepreneurial spirit, all of which create the differentiated lending platform that we've built here at Trinity. We strive to provide value above and beyond expectations to every part of the Trinity platform, whether that's employees, clients, or investors. And as an internally managed BDC, our employees and management own the same shares as our investors. Shareholders own a pool of assets, as well as a management company, which maximizes returns and maintains strong alignment of interest with our shareholders. Our commitment to expanding the platform is highlighted by our investments in strategic growth initiatives across the platform. In the first quarter, Trinity solidified its position as a diversified lender by further growing our four distinct business verticals, equipment financing, life sciences, warehouse lending, and tech lending. each with their own originations, credit, and portfolio management teams. Our exceptional relationships with portfolio companies and industry partners have also been pivotal in achieving our strong performance. In the first quarter, an aggregate of $1.2 billion of equity was raised by 21 of our portfolio companies, demonstrating that our portfolio companies are able to secure the funding they seek. We ended the quarter with a strong investment pipeline, including $405 million of unfunded commitments, leaving us well-positioned for continued growth in 2024. As a reminder, all of Trinity's unfunded commitments are subject to ongoing diligence and approval by our investment committee. Turning to the macro environment, activity is picking up in the venture capital and private equity worlds. Exceptional levels of dry powder remain in BDCs, and non-bank lenders continue to be vehicles of choice for sponsor-backed companies. With this high demand for capital, we maintain our selective approach with new opportunities. As a direct lender, we own our pipeline and have originators strategically located in major markets around the country to further build deep relationships with sponsors, banks, and operators. We pride ourselves on three core principles here at Trinity, exhibiting uncommon care for our employees and our partners, serving our clients by being partners rather than just money, and providing outsized returns for our shareholders. We're bullish about the future. We plan to continue to invest in our teams and systems, diversifying our investments to mold a best-in-class direct lending platform. We're just getting started. We look forward to extending this momentum in the quarters to come as we continue to grow and maximize value for our shareholders. And with that, I'll turn the call over to Michael Testa, our CFO, to discuss financial results in more detail. Mike. Thank you, Kyle.