Vinci Compass Investments Ltd.

Good evening and welcome to Vinci Compas' fourth quarter and full year 2024 conference call. At this time, all participants are in a listen-only mode. Later, we will conduct a question and answer session and instructions will follow at that time. As a reminder, this call will be recorded. I would now like to turn the conference over to Ana Castro, Investor Relations Manager. Please, go ahead, Ana.

Thank you and good evening, everyone. Joining us today are Alessandro Horta, Chief Executive Officer, Bruno Zaremba, President of Finance and Operations, and Sergio Passos, Chief Financial Officer. Earlier today, we issued a press release slide presentation on our financial statements for the quarter, which are available on our website at ir.vincipartners.com. I'd like to remind you that today's call may include forelooking statements which are uncertain and outside of the firm's control and may differ from actual results materially. We do not undertake any duty to update these statements. For discussion of some of the risks that could affect results, please see the risk factor section over 20F. We will also refer to certain non-GAAP measures and you'll find reconciliations in the release. Also note that nothing on this call constitutes an offer to sell or solicitation of an offer to purchase an interest in any Venture Compass fund. On results, Venture Compass generated fee-related earnings of R$ 79 million or R$ 1.23 per share and adjusted distributable earnings of R$ 73.9 million or R$ 1.15 per share for the fourth quarter 2024. For full year numbers, Venture Compass posted fee-related earnings of 248.4 million reais or 4 reais and 42 cents per share and adjusted distributable earnings of 239.1 million reais or 4 reais and 26 cents per share. We declare a quarterly dividend of 15 cents on the dollar per common share payable on March 27th to shareholders of record as of March 13th. With that, I'll turn the call over to Alessandro.

Thank you, Ana. Good evening and thank you all for joining our call. We are delighted to be with you today as we announce results for the fourth quarter and full year 2024. As you all know, 2024 was a transformational year for our firm, marking the beginning of a new chapter with the successful completion of our combination with Compass, alongside two other strategic acquisitions. MAVE and LACAN. These milestones have significantly expanded our platform, positioning Vinci Compass as the premier alternative investment and global solutions provider in Latin America. We are already seeing tangible benefits reflected in our financial performance, with strong AUM growth, FRE and PRE, as well as the immediate scalability of our distribution capabilities and extension of our product offerings. Let's start with a brief overview of our results. Vinci Compass ended the year with R$ 327 billion in total assets under management and advisory, driven by the combination with Compass our acquisitions in the forestry and agribusiness sectors, but also with continued strong organic growth. Our fundraising momentum remained robust across private equity, credit and real assets segments, contributing R$ 3.4 billion in capital subscriptions over the year, including R$ 1.4 billion in the fourth quarter alone. These results represent exceptional accomplishments in the current fundraising environment. We achieved a strong first closing for SPS IV, our latest opportunistic credit solutions vintage. The fund secured close to 900 million reais in commitments, almost matching in this initial closing the total capital commitment of its previous vintage. Driven mostly by re-ups from SPS pre-existing LP relationships across previous vintages, showcasing the appetite investors have to increase exposure in this strategy in Brazil. We will continue to fundraise for SPS4 in 2025, now targeting other investor channels such as institutional investors in Brazil, Latin America and globally. Another highlight was the final closing of VCP4, a remarkable achievement. and a challenging scenario for private equity globally. The final closing of VCP4 was led by foreign institutional investors, which, as we anticipated, would come in stronger at the end of the fundraising process. With this final closing, VCP4 reached 3.1 billion reais in total commitments, making it the largest private equity vintage in our history. One key aspect of this fundraising process was the increase of our investor base across the local institutional community in Brazil. Approximately 50% of the investor base for VCP4 is now composed of domestic capital providers in comparison to a historical average of 30%. We have been consistently since our IPO thriving from the gradual shift to alternatives within the local institutional community in Brazil, and we still have plenty room to grow. We are able to differentiate ourselves and still be able to raise capital in an environment with high interest rates by demonstrating our ability to generate value in investment companies uncorrelated to the local market's performance. On top of this, the current macro scenario has created very attractive deployment opportunities that will likely position VCP4 in an advantageous position as the Brazilian economy continues to grow. Another major achievement in 2024 was the exceptional performance observed across multiple segments. Both Vinci's pre-existing funds and COMPAS strategies have delivered significant results in the fourth quarter. Our strongest contribution to PRE came from a dedicated Special Opportunities Fund to invest in Argentina in our global IPNS segment, launched last year to capitalize on Argentina's economic resurgence. The country has undergone a dramatic economic turnaround, driven by a bold fiscal adjustment, a sharp reduction in country risk, and an improving macroeconomic outlook. The Argentine peso, previously under heavy pressure, has now stabilized and even appreciated due to a controlled devaluation strategy and declining inflation, reinforcing investor confidence. With growing optimism about structural reforms and strengthening economic fundamentals, we benefited from strong asset repricing and capital inflows, significantly boosting our performance revenues in this strategy. Turning to deployment activity, we had an active quarter for the private equity segment, deploying significant capital across our different strategies and funds. In November, we announced the acquisition of a control stake in Outback Steakhouse Operations in Brazil through VCP4. Outback currently possesses the most recognized casual dining brand in Brazil, and we are very excited to be partnering with Lumine Brands and continue to develop the brand in the country. This investment builds on our proven track record in the sector, following our successful investments in Burger King, Dominos Brazil and Camarada Camarão. Additionally, our Impact and Return Fund, VRR4, secured minority stakes in two high potential Brazilian companies, Ovarejão and DRS. With these latest additions, VRR4 has now invested in nine companies spanning critical sectors such as water and sanitation, healthcare and financial services, bringing the fund's total allocation to approximately 90% of its capital commitments. As we build on this momentum, we are excited to start the fundraising for VRR5 in 2025, further expanding our impact investment strategy and unlocking new opportunities for innovation, growth and sustainable value creation in Latin America's dynamic market. 2024 was a landmark year for our company, marking one of the most significant milestones since our inception with the successful combination with Compass. Since the signing of our combination in March of 2024, we have been diligently working on the integration process ensuring a seamless transition that strengthens our operations and capabilities and reinforce our commitment to delivering value to investors and shareholders. With the integration well underway, the teams from Vinci and Compass are now working together as a unified Latin American company, leveraging our combined strengths to capitalize on market opportunities. Our focus remains on identifying and seizing growth avenues that will drive long-term value while deepening our understanding of product demand from investors so we can provide them with the best solutions always. As we move forward, it's essential to analyze the broader economic landscape, which continues to shape the dynamics of our industry and influence our strategic decisions. In 2024, macroeconomic conditions underwent significant adjustments, both globally and regionally. The US economy has shown remarkable resilience, leading the Federal Reserve to pause interest rate cuts. The current scenario for strong growth bodes well for emerging markets in general. Commodities prices have been on an uptrend recently. Meanwhile, in Chile, market sentiment has improved significantly driven by a combination of factors, the implementation of a wide pension reform, the prospect of electing a more pro-market presidential candidate, and a decline in local interest rates. These developments have created a more favorable environment for alternative investments. In many ways, Chile's current momentum could serve as a reference for Brazil in 2026, as Brazil moves closer to presidential elections and we anticipate a monetary easing cycle starting in late 2025. For Vinci Compass, these dynamics translated into higher demand for alternative investments and global solutions, further reinforcing our strong market positions. We have reached a stage where the strength of our brand and the attractiveness of our platform have set us apart from other local and regional players. This evolution mirrors trends observed in the US and European alternative asset markets, where the industry has increasingly concentrated around leading firms. We are now seeing this same pattern emerge in Latin America, position Vinci Compass as a key beneficiary of this shift. As we enter the new year, we are stepping in an environment full of opportunities to further expand our presence across Latin America, and strengthen our fundraising efforts, both cross-border and our local-to-local basis. Our extensive footprint allows us to effectively drive cross-selling opportunities across the region while leveraging the unique advantages of global markets. This geographical diversity enables us to offer tailored solutions to our clients, addressing their investment needs on a local, regional and global scale. Bruno will provide more insights into our exciting fundraising initiatives for 2025. To conclude, the strength and scalability of Vinci Compass platform will continue to propel us forward in 2025. We are very excited about the platform, our market position and the opportunities we see to continue providing solutions to our clients that address their financial allocation, and investment needs, be it locally, regionally, or on a global basis. Thank you again for joining our call. With that, I'll turn it over to Bruno.