Lazard LTD.

Good morning and welcome to Lazard's first quarter 2020 earnings conference call. This call is being recorded. Currently, all participants are in a listen-only mode. Following the remarks, we will conduct a question and answer session. Instructions will be provided at that time. If anyone should require assistance during the call, please press the star key followed by the zero on your touchstone phone. At this time, I will turn the call over to Alexandra Degnan, Lazard's Head of Investor Relations. Please go ahead.

Good morning, and welcome to Lazard's earnings call for the first quarter of 2020. I'm Alexandra Dagnon, the company's Head of Investor Relations. In addition to today's audio comments, we've posted our earnings release and an investor presentation, which you can access on our website. A replay of this call will also be available on our website later today. Before we begin, let me remind you that we may make forward-looking statements about our business and performance. There are important factors that could cause our actual results, level of activity, performance, or achievements to differ materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to, those factors discussed in the company's SEC filings, which you can access on our website. The result assumes no responsibility for the accuracy or completeness of these forward-looking statements and assumes no duty to update these forward-looking statements. Today's discussion also includes certain non-GAAP financial measures that we believe are meaningful when evaluating a company's performance. A reconciliation of these non-GAAP financial measures to the comparable GAAP measure is provided in our earnings release and investor presentation. Hosting our call today are Kenneth Jacobs, Lazard's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, and Evan Russo, Chief Financial Officer. They will provide opening remarks and then we will open the call to questions. I'll now turn the call over to Ken.

Thank you. Good morning and thank you for joining today's call. Before we begin, I'd like to acknowledge the extraordinary nature of the period we are living through. On a human level, the suffering is immense. We are only a couple of months into this pandemic And there probably isn't a person on this call who hasn't been touched personally, directly or indirectly by this illness. The economic consequences are just beginning to be felt. The massive rise in unemployment, particularly in the United States, is likely to lead to even more suffering. Unless those who have lost their jobs are quickly reintegrated into the workforce, we may see strains on our society that we haven't experienced in generations. The bravery and dedication of healthcare professionals, first responders, and frontline workers under oftentimes the most horrifying conditions is heroic to say the least. We all owe them enormous gratitude for their efforts and their sacrifice. Lazard is blessed with great people. They are great at their jobs, but they are also especially great human beings. Their efforts to support each other have been extraordinary, but that is only the beginning. The outpouring of support for their local communities through charitable works is inspiring at every level. I'm humbled to lead this firm and this group of colleagues at this time. From the start of the COVID-19 outbreak, our top concern has been the health and safety of our employees, and we imposed social distancing measures swiftly. Our people in Beijing and Hong Kong were the first to begin working from home. By mid-March, virtually all of our employees around the world had done the same. Aided by investments in technology over the past several years, as well as our robust business continuity plans, the dedication of our people, and the resilience of our culture, Lazard's transition to remote working was seamless. Using secure cloud-based systems and integrated video conferencing, we are in heightened communication with each other and with clients. As a firm, we're reinventing our workplace. In financial advisory, our teams around the world are helping clients manage the effects of the pandemic's economic shock. We are serving clients with deep expertise in capital structure, capital raising, debt negotiations, and restructuring and exchange offers, supported by our global platform and industry sector teams. For many companies, the current environment is first and foremost a liquidity crisis. We are helping them find and assess innovative financing options and advising on strategy and capital structure moving forward. Our preeminent restructuring franchise is experiencing a surge of activity. It is ranked number one in announced restructuring mandates for the first quarter of this year. We are currently working on more than 75 companies or creditors on restructuring matters worldwide. We are pivoting additional bankers onto restructuring teams as we have done in previous cycles. Our sovereign advisory practice has also seen an increase in activity as we continue to advise countries on debt restructuring including new assignments in Argentina and Lebanon, among others. In addition, we are advising governments and developed economies on programs to support the private sector. In asset management, we are serving clients with investment platforms that are broadly diversified across asset classes, styles, and regions. Our focus on fundamental research can help investors navigate volatile markets. Our global orientation provides a broad base of opportunities Our worldwide network of local research and portfolio teams are expert in the markets they cover across developed and emerging economies. They also have the regional perspective and insights to identify opportunities in older sold sectors. And our longstanding focus on ESG and sustainability has become increasingly important. We are launching global and U.S. sustainability funds to meet strong and growing client demand. With Lazard's solid financial footing, our deep relationship with clients and unrivaled expertise in strategic advisory, restructuring, and asset management solutions, we expect to emerge from this period in a position of strength. Now, Evan, we'll discuss our financial results for the first quarter, and then I will return with some comments on the outlook.