Dynex Capital, Inc.

Ladies and gentlemen, good morning and thank you for standing by. My name is Abby and I will be your conference operator today. At this time, I would like to welcome everyone to the Dynex Capital third quarter 2024 earnings 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 that time, simply press the star key followed by the number one on your telephone keypad. If you would like to withdraw your question, press star 1 a second time. Thank you. And I would now like to turn the conference over to Allison Griffin, Vice President of Investor Relations. You may begin.

Good morning, and thank you for joining us for Dynex Capital's third quarter 2024 earnings call. The press release associated with today's call was issued and filed with the SEC this morning, October 21, 2024. 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, anticipate, estimate, project, plan, and similar expressions identify forward-looking statements that 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 could differ considerably from those projected and are 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 Dynix 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 today are Byron Boston, Chairman and Co-Chief Executive Officer, Smriti Pappano, Co-Chief Executive Officer, President and Chief Investment Officer, Rob Colligan, Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer, and T.J. Connolly, Senior Vice President, Strategy and Research. It is now my pleasure to turn the call over to Byron.

Thank you, Allison. Good morning and thank you for joining us today. Our economic return of 7% for the quarter continues to highlight the skills and experience necessary to navigate the current environment. We firmly believe that we can deliver value to our shareholders across multiple market scenarios. As a sign of our confidence, the board has voted to increase the common dividend by 2 cents per share per month. This represents a 15% dividend increase from 13 to 15 cents per share. This decade, we have been strategically focused on our investment strategy and capital allocation, simplifying and enhancing our capital structure. We embarked on a strategy to grow the company to drive operating leverage and to improve our common stock's liquidity while balancing our equity capital. Our highest priorities are to be reliable stewards of capital, transparent in our actions, and good corporate citizens. Dynex is a strong, diverse organization building on a 30-year vision to create a multi-generational organization that can stand the test of time. As Smriti will elaborate in her comments, this remains a very favorable return environment with funding costs declining and the curve steeper. She and the team are prepared with flexibility and liquidity. Both are essential for today's global environment. I'll now turn it over to Smriti.