Federated Hermes, Inc. ($FHI)

Good afternoon, and welcome to the Federated Hermes Annual Shareholder Meeting. [Operator Instructions] It is now my pleasure to turn the floor over to your host, Chris Donahue, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Federated Hermes. Sir, the floor is yours.

Thank you, and good afternoon. I'm Chris Donahue, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Federated Hermes, Inc., and I would like to welcome you to our Annual Meeting of Shareholders. The program today will consist of a brief business meeting to be followed by some comments on the company, then a brief question-and-answer period for shareholders of the company. Before we begin the business portion of the meeting, I'd like to introduce certain individuals joining me. In the room are Joe Bartolacci, Director of Federated Hermes, Inc. and President, Chief Executive Officer of Matthews International Corporation; Karen Hanlon, Director of Federated Hermes, Inc. and President and Chief Operating Officer of Highmark Health; Marie Jones, Director, Federated Hermes, Inc. and Founding Partner, JonesPassodelis PLLC; and Thomas R. Donahue, Director, Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Federated Hermes, Inc; John B. Fisher, Director, Federated Hermes, Inc. and President and Chief Executive Officer of the Federated Advisory Companies. Before I continue, as has previously been announced, John Fisher will be transitioning to the role as Chairman of Federated Advisory Companies after today's meeting. On behalf of the company, its Board and its officers and employees and our shareholders, I would like to thank John for his 16 years of service as a Board member, 28 years of service as an executive officer and 47 years of service as an employee of the company. We look forward to working with John in his new role. Also joining me in the room today, Paul Uhlman, Vice President of Federated Hermes, Inc. As previously announced, Paul has been nominated by the Board for election as a Director of the company at today's meeting. And effective later today, Paul is transitioning from his role as President of Federated Securities Corp. to succeed John Fisher as President and Executive Officer of Federated Advisory Companies. Also, Peter Germain, Executive Vice President, Secretary, Chief Legal Officer of Federated Hermes. I'm looking. Joining me on the line are Steve Auth, Chief Investment Officer for Federated Hermes Equities; and Bryan Burke, formerly National Sales Director, Strategic Solutions and Executive Vice President of Federated Securities Corp. As previously announced, effective later today, Bryan will be replacing Paul Uhlman as President of Federated Securities Corp. I would also like to acknowledge Leah Oakes, Dan Quirk and Greg Staude, representatives from E&Y, the independent auditors of the company. Now in accordance with the amended bylaws of Federated Hermes, Inc., I act as Chairman of the meeting, and Mr. Germain acts as secretary of the meeting and inspector of elections. Mr. Secretary, is a quorum present?

Mr. Chairman, only the Voting Shares Irrevocable Trust, as the holder of Class A common stock of the company, is entitled to vote at this meeting. And the trustees of the Voting Shares Irrevocable Trust are represented and present on the line.

The secretary's report indicates that a quorum is present for the company. The meeting is now lawfully convened and ready to transact business. The items for business for today's meeting are the election of directors to serve until the next annual meeting of the shareholders and the election and qualification of their successors and the approval and amendment to the Federated Hermes, Inc. stock incentive plan to reserve an additional 5 million shares of Class B common stock for issuance under the stock incentive plan. Mr. Secretary, would you please report on the nominations for Director.

Mr. Chairman, the Board of Directors has nominated the following individuals for election as directors of the company to serve until the next annual meeting and the election and qualification of their successors: Joseph Bartolacci, J. Christopher Donahue, Karen L. Hanlon, Thomas R. Donahue, Marie Jones and Paul Uhlman.

Mr. Secretary, the Voting Shares Irrevocable Trust today hereby votes to elect each of the nominees for director. As inspector of election, will you please report on the votes cast for the election of the directors.

Mr. Chairman, in the matter of the election of directors, all of the shares of Class A common stock which constitute all shares entitled to vote have voted affirmatively for each of the nominees for director.

Thank you. As all the shares entitled to vote have voted in favor of the nominees standing for election as directors, the nominees are hereby elected.

Mr. Chairman, the Board of Directors has recommended the approval of an amendment to the stock incentive plan to reserve an additional 5 million shares of Class B common stock for issuance under the stock incentive plan.

Mr. Secretary, the Voting Shares Irrevocable Trust hereby votes to approve an amendment to the stock incentive plan to reserve an additional 5 million shares of Class B common stock for issuance under the stock incentive plan. So Mr. Secretary, as inspector of elections, will you please report on the votes cast with the approval of the amendment to the stock incentive plan to reserve an additional 5,000 shares -- 5 million shares of Class B common stock for issuance under the plan.

Mr. Chairman, in the matter of the approval of an amendment to the stock incentive plan to reserve an additional 5 million shares of Class B common stock for issuance under the stock incentive plan, all the shares of Class A common stock which constitute all the shares entitled to vote have voted affirmatively for the approval of the amendment to the stock incentive plan.

Thank you. As all the shares have voted their approval of the amendment to the stock incentive plan, the amendment is duly approved.

Mr. Chairman, I move that the meeting be adjourned.

There's no objection. I declare the meeting duly adjourned. However, at this point, I'd like to comment on our business results, after which I'll be happy to entertain questions from shareholders during our brief question-and-answer session. First, it's my pleasure to announce that the Board at the meeting immediately prior to this meeting declared a dividend of $0.38 a share, up from $0.34 a share last quarter. This dividend is payable on May 15 to shareholders of record on May 8, 2026. If you would like information on our financial results for the quarter ended March 31 of '26, they are being announced in a press release this afternoon and will be available on the SEC website at www.sec.gov as well as on our website, www.federatedhermes.com/us. You are also welcome to listen to our quarterly earnings call tomorrow morning at 9 a.m. Eastern Time. Shareholders interested in listening to the conference should dial (888) 506-0062 in the U.S. or (973) 528-0011 outside of the U.S. or visit federatedhermes.com for real-time Internet access. I'll begin with some comments about our Q1 '26 results before moving to discuss our full year '25 results, '26 highlights. So for the first quarter, Federated's total managed assets reached $907 billion. The record assets were driven by increases in money market assets, which also reached $685 billion and flows into equity offerings. Equity assets also had a record $101 billion. Fixed income assets had $100 billion. We also reached record total separate account assets of $288 billion. Our diversified business mix once again supports our franchise for all seasons. On April 9, 2026, we acquired a majority interest in FCP Fund Manager LP, a privately held U.S. real estate investment manager with client assets of over $3 billion. FCP will operate as Federated Hermes FCP Manager, LLC. This acquisition extends our real estate footprint in the major U.S. markets and strengthens our commitment to expanding our private markets alternatives capabilities. Our alternative private market asset class includes private equity, private credit, real estate, infrastructure and long short offerings. Now let's talk a little bit about 2025. During that year, Federated Hermes marked 70 years of growth and innovation by posting strong gains in earnings, solid sales, enhancing our position as a global leader in active investment management. We maintain our long-standing focus on offering high-quality investment solutions for a range of goals in a variety of market conditions, supported by exceptional customer service. Earnings per share grew 59% to $5.13 on net income of $403 million for '25. Our performance enabled us to maintain our commitment to delivering shareholder value. In 2025, 4 quarterly dividends totaled $1.33 per share, and we reached 112 consecutive quarterly dividend payments at year-end. Some other highlights for the company from 2025. We grew revenue by 10%. We realized positive net equity sales, which approached $5 billion. We reached over $100 billion in fixed income assets at year-end. We increased separate account assets to a record at year-end. We acquired a majority interest in Rivington Energy Management Limited, a U.K.-based renewable energy project development business. We expanded our product offerings with the launch of 2 ETFs and 2 collective investment trusts. We began managing the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania's treasury pool for local government entities and nonprofit organizations. We had several successful fundraising ventures in private markets and ended 2025 with $19 billion in alternative and private market assets. Looking ahead, we'll continue to embrace digital innovation and money market funds. We'll invest in areas for growth in a competitive environment, committing through a series of projects that will deliver a business built for our global customer base. None of our accomplishments would be possible without the hard work and dedication of over 2,000 employees. I thank them for their tireless efforts. And I thank our shareholders for your trust and confidence. I am confident that we are in a strong position in 2026 to continue opportunities for growth. Now prior to taking questions, I ask Mr. Germain to explain the guidelines.

We will conduct a brief question-and-answer period for only shareholders of the company. To allow for an orderly shareholder question-and-answer period and to allow time to ask questions within the time allotted, we have established the following guidelines. Questions will only be taken from shareholders of the company. Please indicate to the operator that you are a shareholder of Federated Hermes and let the operator know what your question is. Shareholders' questions should not ask for more information or information that has already been discussed. Questions related to the company and its business, results of operations, financial condition or business plans are appropriate. Questions regarding personnel matters, including those relating to employment, are not pertinent to the annual meeting and therefore, will not be answered. Unfortunately, not all questions may be answered.

Operator, we'll now take questions from shareholders.

[Operator Instructions] And there are no shareholders in queue to ask a question at this time. I would now like to pass the floor back to Chris Donahue.

Thank you very much, Tom. That concludes our question-and-answer period. Thank you. The teleconference will now end.

Thank you. You may disconnect at this time, and have a wonderful day. Thank you once again for your participation.