Dynex Capital, Inc.

Good morning. My name is Rob and I will be your conference operator today. At this time, I would like to welcome everyone to the Dynex Capital, Inc. fourth quarter 2021 earnings results and conference call. All lines have been placed on mute to prevent any background noise. After the speaker's remarks, there will be a question and answer session. If you would like to ask a question during this time, simply press star followed by the number one on your telephone keypad. If you'd like to withdraw your question, again, press the star one. Thank you. Alison Griffin, Vice President of Investor Relations. You may begin your conference.

Thank you, Operator. Good morning, and thank you all for joining us today for the Dynex Capital fourth quarter and full year 2021 earnings conference call. The press release associated with today's call was issued and filed with the SEC this morning, February 3rd, 2022. You may view the press release on the homepage of the Dynex website at dynexcapital.com, as well as on the SEC's website at sec.gov. Before we begin, we wish to remind you that this conference call may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The words believe, expect, forecast, assume, anticipate, estimate, project, plan, continue, will, and similar expressions identify forward-looking statements. These statements reflect our current beliefs, assumptions, and expectations based on information currently available to us and are applicable only as of the date of this presentation. These statements are inherently subject to risks and uncertainties, some of which cannot be predicted or quantified. The company's actual results and timing of certain events would differ considerably from those projected and or contemplated by those forward-looking statements as a result of unforeseen external factors or risks. For additional information on these factors or risks, please refer to our disclosures filed with the SEC, which may be found on the Dynex website under Investor Center, as well as on the SEC's website. This conference call is being broadcast live over the internet with a streaming slide presentation, which can be found through a webcast link on the homepage of our website. The slide presentation may also be referenced under quarterly reports on the Investor Center page. Joining me on the call is Byron Boston, Chief Executive Officer and Co-Chief Investment Officer, Smriti Papano, President and Co-Chief Investment Officer, and Steve Benedetti, Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer. And with that, it is my pleasure to turn the call over to Byron Boston.

Thank you, Alison. And thank you, everyone, for joining our fourth quarter earnings call. Sitting here at the beginning of 2022, I am incredibly excited about the opportunities we see before us to generate strong future long-term returns. Over the past three years, the world has seen some of the most unique market events in history. From the beginning, we have always structured our portfolio to withstand and anticipate unforeseen market events. Over the past three years, we have done just that, maintaining our year-end book values at or around $18 per share through periods of spread volatility. We also generated solid returns over the same period with a three-year total economic return of 28%. We entered 2021 with the same disciplined portfolio strategy and mindset. The market environment was highly uncertain and experienced dips and starts throughout the year, primarily driven by the pandemic. In that environment, we were able to grow our common equity capital base by over $200 million, protect book value, and maintain a $1.56 dividend. For the past year, we have believed that better opportunities to invest our capital would evolve. So we have been patient and disciplined in preparing for those opportunities, especially by keeping our leverage low and holding on to dry powder. Now we are seeing the beginning of a more favorable environment, As the largest non-economic buyer of fixed income assets, the U.S. Federal Reserve Bank is about to exit the market. Our strategy has continued to enable us to protect book value while maintaining our low leverage profile during the month of January. We're confident in our ability to navigate the complex environment before us and to continue to deliver an attractive dividend and long-term returns, even if the Fed raises short-term interest rates four to five times this year. At Dynex, we have the unique and enviable combination of a highly experienced management team with a flexible mindset and a very liquid balance sheet. These factors position us extremely well to take advantage of the opportunities we see ahead in this market. As I stated at the beginning, we manage for the long term, and as such, we're making the necessary investments in our people, processes, and technology to scale and grow our business and to ensure we have the ability to generate solid returns for our shareholders well into the future. It is our belief that technology will significantly impact the world of asset management, and we are growing our relationships with the right technology partners to keep a competitive edge as the world continues to change and evolve. And with that, I will now turn the call over to Steve to give you more specifics regarding our performance.