Welltower Inc.

Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for standing by, and welcome to the Welltower Fourth Quarter 2019 Earnings Conference Call. At this time, all participant lines are in listen-only mode. After the speaker's presentation, there will be a question and answer session. To ask a question during the session, you will need to press star, then 1 on your telephone keypad. Please be advised that today's conference may be recorded. If you require any further assistance, please press star, then 0 to reach an operator. I'd now like to hand the conference over to your speaker today, Mr. Matt McQueen, Senior Vice President, General Counsel. Please go ahead, sir.

Thank you, Liz, and good morning. As a reminder, certain statements made during this call may be deemed forward-looking statements in the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act. Although Welltire believes any forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, the company can give no assurances that its projected results will be attained. Factors that could cause results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements are detailed in the company's filings with the SEC. And with that, I'll hand the call over to Tom for his remarks. Tom.

Thanks, Matt. And good morning. I'm pleased to announce our Q4 and annual results to you today as they reflect the strategic path to growth that we outlined in our investor day in December 2018. Simply put, in 2019, we did what we told you we would do. As the clear market leader and dominant provider of real estate capital to the health and wellness care delivery sector, Welltower has redefined this asset class in terms of quality, operating models, technologically advanced building design, data insight, deal structure, and transparency. This has placed us on a sustainable growth path that has generated $4.16 in FFO per share in in 2019, a 3.2% increase over 2018, and fueled the optimistic outlook for 2020 we report to you today. The $5 billion we deployed into new investments between January 1st, 2019 and today was not generated by playing the old game of overpaying for real estate through auctions, or being the passive takeout for old school senior housing operators more focused on their personal development profits than running an operating business. For Welltower, that game's over. We are the partner of choice for a next generation of residential senior care operators who enter into aligned structures that reward strong performance, yet don't leave REIT shareholders holding the bag when things don't go according to plan, and In business, as in life, things don't always go according to plan. We have also become the partner of choice for health systems. I'm sure you saw Jefferson Health's recent announcement of a broad partnership with Welltower. Jefferson, one of the nation's largest urban academic health systems, has elected to work with Welltower to advance its strategy of healthcare with no address. This partnership will help recapitalize Jefferson's existing ambulatory assets, build and capitalize their next generation of ambulatory assets, connect Jefferson Health's delivery capabilities into our existing Greater Philadelphia senior population of over 20,000 lives, and together conceive new models of housing and wellness care that can drive better outcomes for an aging and at-risk urban population. We are honored to be working with Dr. Steve Clasco, his team, and the Board of Jefferson. They are truly redefining the future of health care delivery. Our platform approach is demonstrating that there is value that can be captured in our real estate beyond collecting rent checks. Our CareMore Anthem collaboration is a great example of this and illustrates that third parties can bring clinical care models into assisted living communities and, with modern Medicare Advantage products, reduce out-of-pocket costs for our residents, enhance resident experience, improve outcomes, and increase occupancy and length of stay. What was a California pilot last year is now being rolled out into other markets. Stay tuned for other innovative models like this one. For an example of how Welltower is driving the next generation of residential care design, I point you to our building on East 56th Street and Lexington Avenue opening in late spring. When this building opens, it will be the most technologically advanced residential care facility in the world for seniors suffering with conditions of frailty to memory care. Not only is this purpose-built building designed to meet the needs of this population, but it will incorporate state-of-the-art Philips technology that will enable more effective and efficient care as well as enhance the experience for our residents and their families. Welltower conceived this project and has driven the development process from day one. This will be followed by our next Manhattan project on Broadway at 85th Street, new urban models we will deliver in Hudson Yards and San Francisco as part of our related Atria joint venture, and in Boston with Balfour. These are just a few examples. of how we have positioned Well Tower to redefine and reimagine the built environment that can deliver better health outcomes and lower costs, particularly in view of the aging of the population. We have largely moved beyond the issues that would have slowed our growth, and that enables the optimism you hear from me this morning. It is our job to deliver a path of sustainable growth. And our 2020 outlook of $4.20 to $4.30 in FFO per share illustrates that. And I will remind you, this does not include any new net acquisitions or investments that have not been announced. Now, Shank Mitro will give you a closer look at our Q4 operating performance as well as discuss new investments. Shank.