Acadian Asset Management Inc.

Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for standing by. Welcome to the Acadian Asset Management Inc. Earnings Conference Call and Webcast for the first quarter 2026. During the call, all participants will be in a listen-only mode. After the presentation, we will conduct a question-and-answer session. To be added to the queue, please press the star followed by 1 at any time during the call. If you need to reach an operator, please press the star followed by 0. Please note that this call is being recorded today, Thursday, April 30, 2026, at 11 a.m. ET. I would now like to turn the meeting over to Melody Wong, SVP, Director of Finance and Investor Relations. Please go ahead, Melody.

Good morning, and welcome to Acadian Asset Management, Inc.' 's conference call to discuss our results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2026. Before we begin the presentation, please note that we may make forward-looking statements about our business and financial performance. Each forward-looking statement is subject to risk and certainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected. Additional information regarding this risk and uncertainties appears in our SEC filings, including the Form 8K filed today containing the earnings release and our 2025 Form 10K Any forward-looking statements that we make on this call are based on assumptions as of today, and we undertake no obligation to update them as a result of new information of future events. We may also reference certain non-GAAP financial measures. Information about any non-GAAP measures referenced, including a reconciliation of those measures to GAAP measures, can be found on our website. along with the slides that we will use as part of today's discussion. Finally, nothing here shall be deemed to be an offer or solicitation to buy any investment products. Kelly Yang, our President and Chief Executive Officer, will lead the call. And now, I'm pleased to turn the call over to Kelly.

Thanks, Melody. Good morning, everyone, and thanks for joining us today. I'm thrilled to share our exceptional Q1 2026 results with you. Our assets under management and profitability continue to reach new heights, with strong recent growth underscoring sustained momentum in our business and disciplined execution of our strategic plan. We started 2026 by delivering outstanding results across all metrics. Our US GAAP net income attributable to controlling interests was up 21%, and EPS was up 26% compared to the prior year, driven by increased management fees and partially offset by non-cash expenses, representing changes in the value of Acadian LLC equity and profit interest. ENI was up 85% to $37.6 million, driven by revenue growth, and our ENI diluted EPS of $1.05 was up 94%. Our adjusted EBITDA was up 76% driven by increase in management fees. We realized 21.4 billion of positive net flows in Q1 2026, 12% of beginning AUM and new quarterly record driven by enhanced extensions and global equity strategies. And finally, AUM grew 61% from Q1 of 25 to 195.7 billion as of March 31st, 2026, marking another record high for Acadian. Turning to slide three, Acadian's investment performance track record remains strong. Five major implementations comprise the majority of our assets. As of March 31st, 2026, global equity, emerging markets equity, non-US equity, small cap equity, and enhanced equity have 100% of assets outperforming benchmarks across three, five, and 10-year periods, with only one exception. Global equity markets experienced volatility amid a complex macroeconomic backdrop in Q1 of 26. U.S. equities declined more than non-U.S. equities while the dollar strengthened. Despite the market uncertainty, our disciplined, systematic approach stayed the course and generated consistent alpha for our clients. Acadian's short-term performance track record continued to improve in Q126 after a challenge 2025. We remain confident that we are well positioned given our 40 years of experience through various market cycles and macro forces. Slide four details how our investment process has generated meaningful long-term alpha for our clients. Our revenue weighted five-year annualized return and excessive benchmark was plus 4.1% as of the end of Q1, 2026, on a consolidated firm-wide basis. Our asset-weighted five-year annualized return and excessive benchmark was 3.4% as of the end of Q1. By revenue weight, 96% of Acadian strategies outperformed their respective benchmarks across three, five, and 10-year periods as of March 31st, 2026. And by asset weight, 92% of Acadian strategies outperformed their respective benchmarks across three, five, and 10-year periods. The next slide highlights our sustained momentum in net flows. We realized positive net flows of $21.4 billion in Q1 of 26, representing 12% of beginning AUM, achieving a new quarterly record high. Gross inflows included a significant enhanced mandate from a premier UK wealth manager. This mandate expanded our non-US domiciled client base as well as our presence in the wealth channel. Excluding this large enhanced mandate, the remainder of the net inflows were again diverse across products and client types, with extensions and global equity also generating strong NCCF. We've now generated nine consecutive quarters of positive net flows. We continue to focus on renewing our pipeline, which remains very healthy and active after the funding of a number of significant client wins in Q1 of 26. And I'm now going to turn it over to our CFO, Scott Hines, to provide you with more detail on our financial performance this quarter and an update on capital allocation.