FEDERATED HERMES, INC.(FHI)Q2 2026 法說會逐字稿

Thank you. Greetings. Welcome to the Federated Hermes Q2 Analyst Call and Webcast. At this time, all participants are in a listen-only mode. A Q&A session will follow the formal presentation. If anyone should require operator assistance during the conference, please note this conference is being recorded. I would now like to turn the conference over to your host, Raymond J. Hanley, President of Federated Investors Management Company. You may begin.

Thank you. Hello, and welcome. Thank you for joining us today. Leading our call today will be Chris Donahue, CEO and President of Federated Hermes, and Tom Donahue, Chief Financial Officer. Joining us for the Q&A are Saker Nusseibeh, the CEO of Federated Hermes Limited, and Debbie Cunningham, our Chief Investment Officer for Money Markets. During today's call, we will make forward-looking statements and want to note that our actual results may be materially different than the results implied by such statements. Please review the risk disclosures in our SEC filings. No assurance can be given as to future results and Federated Hermes assumes no duty to update any of these forward-looking statements. Chris?

Thank you, Raymond. Good morning, all. I will review Federated Hermes' business performance. Tom will comment on financial results. We ended the second quarter with record assets under management of $912 billion, led by growth in equity and private market assets. Equity assets closed the second quarter at a record high of $110 billion. During the second quarter, equity assets increased by $8.8 billion or 9% from the first quarter, reflecting solid market value gains. Gross equity sales were $9.1 billion in the second quarter, just about even with the first quarter's record level. Equity net redemptions in the second quarter were $1.1 billion, which included the expected global equity sub-advisory redemption of $3 billion that we discussed last quarter. Equity sales results were again led by our MDT fundamental quant strategies. MDT equity and market neutral strategies had a record $6 billion of gross sales and over $3.5 billion in net sales in the second quarter. Looking at fund performance rankings, at the end of the second quarter, 6 of 9 MDT fund strategies were in the top performance quartile of their Morningstar categories for the trailing three years. We had net sales in 35 equity fund and SMA strategies during the second quarter, including a variety of MDT offerings, which contributed $2.7 billion not including market neutral, which we will discuss later, and Strategic Value had $470 million. Looking at our equity fund performance at the end of the second quarter, and using Morningstar data for the trailing three years, 54% of our equity funds were beating peers and 30% were in the top quartile of their category. For Q3, through July 24, combined equity funds and SMAs had net sales of $61 million. Now turning to fixed income. Assets ended Q2 at just over $100 billion, up $689 million. Market appreciation added $1 billion and was partially offset by net redemptions and exchanges. We had 26 fixed-income funds and SMAs with net sales in Q2, led by Core Plus and Core Ag SMA, which combined for $190 million, with three ultra-short funds that were up a combined $134 million and the conservative Muni MicroShort Fund up almost $100 million. Regarding performance at the end of Q2, and using Morningstar data for the trailing three years, 39% of our fixed income funds were beating peers and 19% were in the top quartile of their category. Now for Q3, through July 24, combined fixed income and SMAs had net sales of $362 million. In the alternative private markets category, assets increased $2.6 billion in Q2 to reach $21.6 billion. The completion of the acquisition of an 80% interest in FCP Fund Manager LP in early April added $3.2 billion of U.S. multifamily real estate managed assets. The MDT Market Neutral fund and its ETF combined for $150 million in net sales. Now we are in the market with our global private equity co-invest fund, which is, of course, the sixth vintage of the PEC series. To date, we have closed on $300 million. PEC I to IV raised $400 million to $600 million in each fund, and PEC V raised $500 million. We are also in the market with the European real estate debt fund, which is a new pooled European debt offering. Across our long-term investment platform, we began Q3 with about $3.4 billion in net institutional wins yet to fund into both funds and separate accounts. Equity strategies are expected to have net sales of about $1.7 billion with MDT additions of $1.6 billion and global equity additions of about $150 million. Approximately $1.3 billion on a net basis is expected to come into private market strategies, including direct lending of about $700 million, private equity of $538 million, and trade finance of $100 million. Fixed income is expected to have net sales of about $300 million including total return bond, low duration, and high yield. Now moving on to money markets. Total money market assets decreased by $7.9 billion or about 1%. Money market funds decreased by $2.9 billion or 1% from Q1, yet we are up almost $32 billion or 7% year over year. After ending 2025 at a record high of $508 billion, money market fund assets have decreased slightly over the first half of the year to $500 billion at the end of Q2. Money market separate accounts decreased by about $5 billion or 3%, similar to last year's Q2 decrease of $5.8 billion. Still, these assets were up about $10 billion or 6.4% year over year at the end of Q2. Money market separate account asset levels are impacted by the liquidity levels of the large state pools that we manage and typically peak with tax collections at year end through mid-April before decreasing in Q2 and Q3. Our estimate of money market mutual fund market share, including sub-advised funds, was about 6.7% at the end of Q2, down from 6.9% at the end of Q1. Now looking back at the last 7.5 years or so of quarterly money market fund market share changes, we gained share in 14 quarters, lost share in 14 quarters, with two quarters of no change. The average share gain was 0.20. The average share loss was about 0.23. Our money market fund managed assets more than doubled from $208 billion to $500 billion over that period. This is certainly entrepreneurial delight from an owner-operator. And, of course, it is important to note that we remain in the top 10 in every category of money market fund managed asset levels and in the top 5 in prime and tax-free. Now let's talk about digital. Our digital initiatives include the recent launch of a money market management digital treasury fund, which is expected to support both traditional and on-chain distribution. The initial reserve shares class provides a non-tokenized, Genius-compliant structure geared to institutional investors and stablecoin issuers seeking investments aligned with stablecoin reserve requirements. We are also developing an on-chain share class intended to place official books and records of that share class on blockchain infrastructure as we implement a digital transfer agency model. This dual-track approach offers flexibility between traditional and on-chain record keeping models. We have selectively engaged with regulated digital asset intermediaries focusing on tokenized funds as regulated financial instruments. We have previously discussed our participation in a domestic initiative involving mirrored tokenization and an initiative to offer tokenized assets to a UCITS money market fund in the U.K. We are engaged in the digital asset development discussion with several other intermediaries. These are early-stage efforts. Our clients are currently looking more for digital asset information than transaction ability. We expect our engagements with intermediaries to grow as regulations clarify and as our digital assets platform and product development progress. Now let's look at the recent asset totals as of a few days ago. Managed assets were approximately $899 billion— we should have picked the day before— including $665 billion in money markets, $109 billion in equities, $100 billion in fixed income, $23 billion in alternative private markets, and $3 billion in multi-asset. Money Market Mutual Fund assets were $490 billion. Money market fund assets have ranged from $490 billion to $501 billion during July with average asset levels of $496 billion. Tom?

Thanks, Chris. For Q2 compared to the prior quarter, total revenues increased $23.8 million or 5%. The FCP acquisition added about $14 million, $9 million of it in the IAF category, and $5 million in other service fees. Equity asset growth added $7.6 million and an additional day added $5.1 million. In private markets, Rivington had a $2.9 million gain on sale of a renewable energy property recorded in other service fees. And the U.K. real estate business had a $2 million real estate development fee for a project that did not advance into construction, also recorded in other service fees. These increases were partially offset by lower Q2 money market average assets resulting in $8.4 million in lower revenues. Total carried interest and performance fees were $1.4 million compared to $388 thousand in the prior quarter. Approximately $682 thousand of the Q2 fees were offset by compensation expense. Q2 operating expenses increased by $17.3 million or 5% from the prior quarter due mainly to an increase of approximately $9.7 million in transaction costs from the FCP acquisition including $6.5 million of nonrecurring acquisition-related compensation and $3.2 million of higher professional service fees, including FCP lender consent fees and other professional service fees. Compensation and related expense, in addition, increased $6.9 million due to FCP's quarterly compensation expense, FHI's normal merit increases, and other factors. This was offset by seasonally lower stock-based compensation expense of $6 million. Higher advertising and promotional activities added $3.2 million as we had our spring advertising campaign. Intangible asset amortization increased $3 million primarily from the FCP acquisition. These expense increases were partially offset by lower distribution expense which decreased $4 million due mainly to lower money market fund average assets. In the other expense line item, the Q2 increase was due mainly to FCP property management expense of $2.8 million. The combined Q2 impact of the revenue from the Rivington gain on property sale, the U.K. real estate development revenue fee, the FCP acquisition-related comp expense, and professional service fees was about $4.7 million of lower net income or about $0.06 per share. The Q2 effective tax rate was 25.8%. We estimate the tax rate to be in the 25% to 28% range for 2026. At the end of Q2, cash investments were $481 million. Cash investments excluding the portion attributable to noncontrolling interest were $416 million. Holly, we would like to open the call up for questions now.

Thanks. Certainly. At this time, we will be conducting a Q&A session. If you would like to ask a question, please press 1 on your telephone keypad. A confirmation tone will indicate your line is in the question queue. You may press 2 if you would like to remove your question from the queue. For participants using speaker equipment, it may be necessary to pick up your handset before pressing the star keys. One moment, please, while we poll for questions. Your first question for today is from Bill Katz with TD Cowen.

Thanks. This is Robin Holby on for Bill Katz and thank you for taking the question. We wanted to ask on fixed income. Gross sales were up nicely quarter over quarter and year over year, while net flows seem to have somewhat stabilized. Has investor interest changed at all with the prospects of higher rates? And do you think the strategy can get back to positive net flows in the foreseeable future?

Thanks. Well, the reason we mentioned the flows right now is that they have gotten exactly there. If you talk about the attitude of our intermediary client base, one of the things I would mention is that the end clients have become kind of numb to all the negative geopolitical news and issues. But with interest rates under the current regime staying the same, what we are seeing is a little more interest in things like, as I mentioned, the conservative MicroShort and, of course, the ultra-short funds. And that bumps a little bit into the money market fund thing as well. So there are no definitive answers. There is no macro answer to that. That is going to take us through the next quarter. We think our products, including our payer ETF, which gives a little higher yield, and the FAs and the clients like that, has had good response as well. So we think the variety of products out the yield curve, the strength of the team, and the investment management will entitle us to positive flows here in the foreseeable future in fixed income.

Thanks, that is helpful. And then wanted to follow up on Strategic Value. You mentioned it in the prepared remarks, the fund has solid year-to-date performance. Just maybe how are your conversations with investors tracking there?

Thanks. The investors like the performance. But we do not like being in the category because we are either in the top of it or the bottom of it. And this always attracts the attention of the portfolio manager who just likes doing what he is doing, which is increasing dividend growth and a dividend. On the other hand, when you look at the ETF also doing well, these are people who come in who have not had the experience of the fund and who understand exactly what the fund is doing. So this is a very, very positive thing on both sides. I would say that the biggest challenge we have is that when the prices of those securities go up, the portfolio managers have to make some maneuvers and change them in order to keep the dividends going. That is a good problem. Thank you very much.

Thanks. Your next question is from Kenneth Lee with RBC Capital Markets.

Thanks. Hey, good morning, and thanks for taking my question. Just one on money market fund assets there. Just given the rate outlook and the environment there, any updated outlook in terms of potential asset growth for this year? Thanks.

Thanks. Well, let me comment first and then I know Debbie is chomping at the bit to get at this one. But in terms of the money market fund overall, we have been at this for 50 years. And there are all sorts of things that come together like rivers in a big confluence month to month. That is why I went through all those percentages of changes in market share. But because of the seasonality, I think that says for itself that we do expect that seasonality to come back just like it has. Over all these years we have had these pools. Some other interesting things have happened in the marketplace. One of the big firms offered a sort of a bonus yield program that moved some assets. We had some big clients move. That always happens. As I mentioned in the previous question, we had some ultra short and people moving out the curve a little bit. But with the Fed situation, if it is really higher for longer, i.e., they do not do anything, that is fine with us. Remember, 3.5% or so yield on a money fund is a great thing. Debbie?

Thanks, Chris. Yes. I agree. A lot of volatility in the first half of the year. There were some very large market deals that occurred from an issuance standpoint and a long-term debt standpoint—Amazon, Alphabet, Dropbox, SpaceX—they issued large amounts in the marketplace, which then subsequently, for a period of time, came into the money market universe and has subsequently gone out. Still some of it is left in there. So a lot of volatility and noise around the first half of the year. But ultimately, what Chris mentioned with regards to a Fed that at this point is showing no signs of being in the mode of lowering rates—keeping rates higher for longer where they are now—the market is actually predicting that the rate environment is increased at the September meeting, which I do not particularly think will be the likely scenario. But nonetheless, with rates on the short end somewhere between 3.5% and 4.5% on a yield curve basis over the first half of the year, money market funds look very attractive. Most of the industry, including ourselves, has lowered their weighted average maturity to have some fuel available to light the fire even further as rates and the yield curve steepen to some degree. Floaters are a really good use of investments in these funds during a rising rate environment, and those have been plentiful in the marketplace. Sometimes we like to spread in the floaters, sometimes we do not. But all of this really leads us to a conclusion that with rates where they are—marginally higher and with a steeper yield curve—the attractiveness of cash and the attractiveness of money market funds as well as the pools that we manage will continue to gather assets as does the industry.

Thanks, great. Very helpful color there. And just one follow-up, if I may, just on the expense side there. I realized that there were some noise in the quarter in Q2 due to the acquisition there. But just going forward, any updated outlook in terms of expenses? Thanks.

Sure, Kenneth. Well, on the compensation-related line, I expect in the next quarter we will not have the one-time comp expense from FCP. We will have their ongoing. So that number could be down around $5 million. Of course, I do not know what is going to happen to our bonus accrual as things come out. The distribution line will relate to the money market assets primarily, so which way those go, that line will go. Systems and communications we would expect to go up a couple million for the next quarter. And the professional service fees related to FCP, we would expect that to go down by about $6 million. Of course, we might have some other smaller additions come through there. And no comments on the intangible; that will continue with FCP. There is some FCP line expense I pointed out that will continue. And then what happens with FX always makes that line move around.

Thanks, great. Very helpful there. Thanks again.

Thanks. Your next question is from Michael Cho with JPMorgan.

Hi, good morning. Thanks for taking my question. Just wanted to peel in a little bit on the money market share discussion you had in your prepared comments and just now as well. I appreciate all the color on the history of the share shifts over the last seven years. But as you looked at that and you analyze that, are there any particular reasons why these share shifts occur from time to time? Is it really firms running promotion programs? Or anything that you are seeing as a key takeaway perspective as these share shifts occur from time to time?

Michael, that is why I tried to list a whole bunch of confluence factors that all jump around every single quarter. Debbie talked about all these big issuances that came out with cash that came in and then that goes out—who has more of it than the other guy—then that changes the market share. The movement of some of the clients into ultra short and conservative MicroShort products does it. And you already commented on the big retail programs. Then there is just the ebb and flow of cash, and it is volatile. And there is nothing that you can do about it. So we look for the seasonality, the steady-eddy of the program. And as I tried to hit in my remarks, we would trade every time to go from $200 billion to $500 billion and have the market share. If it goes down a little bit, it does not matter. Owner-operators love revenues. And if you really want to know about it, I think if we could calculate the market share on revenues, we would have a better stat than on the assets. Thanks.

Thanks, appreciate that color. Let me just switch gears to active ETFs. It is a key priority here for you as well. I think you launched a couple more during the quarter. Can you update us on the pace of launches from here, maybe over the next 12 to 18 months, priorities in terms of products, and maybe any opportunities that you might see through deeper distribution partnerships to maybe step up scale in that business? I know you also had mentioned non-U.S. in the past as well, but just curious for an update there. Thanks.

So we like putting out a couple or so ETFs every year in order to get the marketplace focused on it, to enable the basket handlers to have their minds right on the whole thing. And that is about where we are. And then there are some special deals with some of our distribution firms where I am not going to tell you the name of the firm or the nature of the deal, but where if you play ball with them, each ETF does a lot better or your family of ETFs does better. So we are doing some of that. But basically, it is a long-term growth strategy.

We cannot tell you the names. They call that gun-jumping. Correct. But if you look at what we have done, we have launched in the areas where we have had the most success in our traditional mutual funds, and so that provides a bit of a roadmap to how we are thinking about the next wave. And you mentioned offshore—we have had a lot of success porting the MDT strategy over there in a UCITS form. We are very much looking at active ETFs outside of the U.S. as well. The focus initially has been domestic, but that is certainly something that we are looking at. I would make one other comment on the product development side of it: we are able to do a good job when we have an existing product and it is doing well, and then you come up with an ETF that is similar, then that can do well.

But if the product development people would look at where the most sales are occurring in the industry, that is another pointer as to where we would go, which is sort of how payer got burped out onto the field. Great. Thanks, guys.

We have reached the end of the Q&A session, and I will now turn the call over to Raymond J. Hanley for closing remarks.

Thank you, Holly. That concludes our call, and we appreciate you joining us today.

This concludes today's conference, and you may disconnect your lines at this time. Thank you for your participation.