Janus Henderson Group plc (JHG) Earnings Call Transcript & Summary

Welcome to the Janus Henderson Group 2020 Annual General Meeting. I'm Michelle Rosenberg, General Counsel and Company Secretary of Janus Henderson Group plc. Given the extenuating circumstances surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic, today, I will chair the Annual General Meeting. Certain matters discussed at today's meeting may constitute forward-looking statements. Actual results could differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements due to a number of factors, including, but not limited to, those described in the forward-looking statements and Risk Factors sections of the company's most recent Form 10-K, Form 10-Q and other filings made with the SEC. Janus Henderson assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements made during today's call. Joining me by teleconference today are the members of your Board of Directors. A quorum is present, so we can open the annual General meeting. We will start with a brief address by Richard Gillingwater, Chairman of the Board of Directors, and then move to the formal items of business that are listed in the Notice of Annual General Meeting. I will turn the call over to Richard now.

Thank you, Michelle. And hello, everyone, and thank you for joining the call. Most importantly, I hope that everyone listening, along with their loved ones, is healthy and safe. The COVID-19 pandemic has created unprecedented challenges and changes within society and economies, transforming the world as we know it. During these extraordinary times, our #1 priority is to ensure we maintain business resilience, providing a safe work environment for our employees and continuing to deliver for our clients. Currently, more than 95% of our employees are working remotely, with every one of our 28 offices invoking a business continuity plan. Our technology teams are working closely with regulators, vendors and third parties driving for seamless and consistent execution. Our infrastructure has held up extremely well, allowing employees to remain focused on the business at hand. Our client-facing teams have collaborated across the company to create focused content to address client questions and concerns, allowing clients to make better informed decisions. Our investment teams are talking to management teams of the companies we invest in, revisiting their financial models and stress testing come visibilities to withstand the disruption this event is presenting. Despite significant market declines around the world, Janus Henderson is generating positive cash flow and has a strong balance sheet. Management and the Board continue to take an active, disciplined approach to capital management, and we will continue to balance the capital needs and investment opportunities of the business with shareholder interest. I would like to touch briefly on the firm's performance over the past year. Global markets were strong in 2019, and the firm finished the year with $375 billion of assets under management, an increase of 14% from the prior year-end driven by strong markets and investment performance. The firm generated adjusted EPS of $2.47 per share in 2019. Earlier today, we reported our first quarter results. While AUM declined 21% to $294 billion due to the COVID-19 pandemic's effect on both global markets and investor sentiment, we remain solidly profitable, generating $164.5 million in adjusted operating income and $0.60 in adjusted EPS for the quarter. The Board has also declared a first quarter dividend of $0.36 per share. Although we're disappointed by the decline in AUM, current AUM is up more than 5% from the end of March. We remain encouraged given the significant progress made towards our strategic objectives in 2019 and our solid business fundamentals, including the strength of our investment teams, the ability to attract and retain top talent and our strong financial foundation. In conclusion, it is impossible to predict how long this crisis will last and what the future holds. However, the Board believes that we have the right leadership in place to navigate these headwinds, and we remain encouraged about future prospects for the company. In addition, and especially during these extraordinary times, I would like to thank our leadership and our employees for their tireless dedication and hard work and our client shareholders, including our strategic partners at Dai-ichi Life, for their ongoing support.

Thank you, Richard. Now to the formal items of business. A Notice of Annual General Meeting was sent or made available to all Janus Henderson Group shareholders, and I hope you are content that I will not read out the notice in full. I remind you of the votes needed to pass the resolutions as required by our articles. Resolutions 1 to 12, as ordinary resolutions, require votes in favor of more than 50% of the votes cast. Resolutions 13 and 14, as special resolutions, require votes in favor of at least 2/3. I will proceed and now begin with the first resolution. Resolution 1 is to receive the director's report and accounts. Resolution 2 is to approve the reappointment of Ms. Desai as a director. Resolution 3 approves the reappointment of Mr. Diermeier. Resolution 4 approves the reappointment of Mr. Dolan. Resolution 5 approves the reappointment of Mr. Flood Jr. Resolution 6 approves the reappointment of Mr. Gillingwater. Resolution 7 approves the reappointment of Mr. Kochard. Resolution 8 approves the reappointment of Mr. Schafer. Resolution 9 approves the reappointment of Ms. Seymour-Jackson. Resolution 10 approves the reappointment of Mr. Weil. And Resolution 11 approves the reappointment of Mr. Yamamoto. Resolution 12 approves the reappointment of PwC as auditors of the company and renews the Audit Committee's authority to agree to their remuneration. And finally, the last 2 resolutions. Resolution 13 authorizes the company to purchase its own shares to a limited extent, and Resolution 14 authorizes the company to purchase its own CDIs to a limited extent. That completes the summary of the resolutions. We will now conduct the polls for the resolutions in the Notice of Annual General Meeting. I appoint Emily Curcio of Computershare as the Inspector of Election, also known as the returning officer for the conduct of the polls. If there are shareholders present in Denver who have not submitted their voting cards yet, I ask you to please do that now. I now direct the Inspector of Election to count the votes and to report the results to me. [Voting]

The Inspector of Election has provided me with her preliminary report on the voting. All resolutions have received sufficient votes to pass and are therefore adopted. Final voting results will be announced to the NYSE and the ASX and will also be published on our website. That concludes the formal business of the AGM, and I declare the meeting closed. I thank you for being loyal shareholders of Janus Henderson, and we look forward to welcoming you to the AGM of Janus Henderson next year.