Franklin Resources, Inc.

Good morning and welcome to Franklin Resources Earnings Conference Call for the quarter ended December 31, 2019. Statements made in this conference call regarding Franklin Resources, Inc., which are not historical facts, are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements involve a number of known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from any future results expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. These and other risks, uncertainties, and other important factors are described in more detail in Franklin's recent filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including in the risk factors and MD&A sections of Franklin's most recent Form 10-K and 10-Q filings.

Good morning. My name is Kevin, and I'll be your call operator today. At this time, all participants are in a listen-only mode. If you'd like to ask a question at this time, please press star one on your telephone keypad. The confirmation tone will indicate your line is in the question queue. 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. At this time, I'd like to turn the call over to Franklin Resources Chairman and CEO, Mr. Greg Johnson. Mr. Johnson, you may begin.

Hello, and thank you for joining us today to discuss first quarter results. With me is President and Chief Operating Officer Jenny Johnson, who will be assuming the role of CEO next month, and Matthew Nichols, our CFO. Financial results improved this quarter, reflecting strong financial markets and our ongoing commitment to effective expense management, which drove improved profitability. We continue to experience outflows this quarter for reasons discussed in the commentary we released earlier this morning. but we are encouraged to see traction in several important initiatives, including our efforts to expand our multi-asset solutions and ETF businesses. We also believe that our balance sheet is one of our most underappreciated assets as we evaluate opportunities to accelerate growth. Earlier this month, we announced plans to acquire two companies that will expand fiduciary trust assets under management by 50% and expand their physical presence in two important markets. We also returned approximately $260 million to shareholders through share repurchases in our regular dividend this quarter, which the board increased to $0.27 per share in December. After more than 15 years, my role as CEO of the firm will come to an end after our annual meeting next month. I'm very confident in Jenny's leadership and vision for the future of Franklin Templeton, and together we are genuinely excited about the opportunities that lie ahead. While this will be my last call with you as CEO, I will remain executive chairman of the board and will continue to participate on our earnings calls going forward. I'd now like to open the line for your questions.