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Group CEO Ian Lowitt expressed confidence in continued momentum, citing a strong July and noting that growth initiatives can offset modest headwinds from potential rate cuts. Group CFO Rob Irvin explained that the change in net interest allocation was a conscious decision to deploy excess liquidity raised from debt issuance to support growth in trading businesses, notably in Capital Markets and Prime services.

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CFO Michael Policarpo specified the fee event related to the accounting recognition of certain annual fees, not performance fees, with a muted margin impact due to the variable cost structure. CEO David Brown described flow momentum as a continued ramp-up as sales teams integrate, expressing long-term optimism while declining to provide specific intra-quarter or Q3 guidance.

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CEO Brian Armstrong confirmed that while growing on-platform USDC balances is a benefit, payments will also be monetized directly. He outlined two primary methods: charging businesses fees that are substantially lower than traditional rails and earning sequencer fees for transactions that occur on the Base layer-2 network.

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CEO Brian Armstrong confirmed that while payments growth supports the stablecoin business, payments will also be monetized directly. He explained that Coinbase can charge businesses fees that are significantly lower than traditional options and still maintain a strong business model. Additionally, transactions on the Base layer generate sequencer fees, contributing another revenue stream. He stressed that the overall cost of payments is expected to decrease by orders of magnitude.

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Amanda Coussens, EVP & CFO, responded to both questions. She reiterated that despite some delayed expenses moving to the back half of the year, the company still expects peer-leading FRE margins in the mid-40s for the full year, including the impact of Qualitas. For AUM step-downs, she confirmed that P10 still expects to be at the upper end of the previously guided 5% to 7% range for the year.

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Chairman and CEO Luke A. Sarsfield addressed the product strategy, stating that under Sarita Jairath's leadership, the company is exploring various wrappers like SMAs and rated feeder funds for different client channels. On M&A, Sarsfield and Arjay Jensen, EVP, Head of Strategy and M&A, confirmed a disciplined, programmatic approach is in place with an active pipeline. Jensen highlighted private credit, direct lending, and asset-backed strategies as key focus areas, particularly in Europe.

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CFO John Redett confirmed the business is evolving from historical "step function" growth to more consistent expansion, driven by CAPM, larger successor funds, and strategic partnerships like the one with UBS. He noted the current secondary fund is 65% committed, which will smooth the fundraising cycle. While not forecasting another doubling of FRE, he expects a continued attractive growth rate.

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CFO John Redett stated that Alpinvest's growth has evolved from a 'step function' to a more consistent trajectory, driven by vehicles like CAPM, larger successor funds, and the UBS partnership. While not committing to the recent exceptional growth rate of over 40%, he expressed confidence that the business has 'tremendous growth attributes' and would continue to grow at a 'very attractive' rate going forward, noting the current secondary fund will be followed by another in the near term.

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CEO Christopher Concannon detailed that Spencer Lee is leading U.S. Credit product, leveraging his EMS and buy-side experience to enhance portfolio and block trading solutions. Dean Barry, joining in September, will bring broad expertise in markets, data, and M&A. Their impact is expected to accelerate product innovation, particularly for larger trade sizes and dealer solutions.

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CFO Martin Kelly explained that the runoff is expected to continue through the next year. This will cause reported net spreads to decline slightly through the remainder of the current year before stabilizing. He emphasized that this dynamic is predictable and is being actively managed alongside top-line growth to achieve the firm's overall ambitions for the business.

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CFO Jarrod Phillips described the guidance as 'all-weather' and confirmed that strong deployment would be a positive driver for margins. He also noted that the mix of fundraising, such as international flows that lack distribution fees, is a factor. He expressed confidence that GCP synergies and fundraising strength would help absorb the initial margin drag from the acquisition.

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Jarrod Phillips, Partner & CFO, explained that the guidance is based on a normalized market environment. He identified strong deployment as a primary positive driver for margins. He also noted that the fundraising mix is a key factor, with international flows that lack distribution fees being accretive to margins. Phillips expressed confidence that fundraising strength and GCP synergies will offset the initial margin drag from the acquisition.

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Head of Global Investments & CIO Eric Veiel responded that the firm believes active management will be important in digital assets over time. He stated that T. Rowe Price would prefer to see a broader investable universe beyond just Bitcoin and Ethereum before launching retail products. Veiel emphasized the firm's commitment to a research-led approach and will continue to monitor the space for opportunities consistent with its core culture.

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CFO Alan Kirshenbaum addressed the questions by reiterating the full-year FRE margin guidance of 57% to 58%, stating they feel good about the 57% achieved in Q2. Regarding transaction fees, which are tied to gross originations, he suggested that the current quarter's level serves as a reasonable 'leaping off point' for modeling the rest of the year.

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CFO Robert Lewin clarified that the outperformance was driven by some variable investment income and that the prior guidance of around $250 million per quarter remains the correct number to model going forward. He outlined a multi-year strategy to elongate liabilities through various channels, not just FABNs, and methodically increase the allocation to alternatives from the current 1% toward the industry average of 5%.

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CFO Warren Gardiner confirmed reaching the leverage target ahead of schedule and stated that share repurchases would likely increase in the second half of the year. He reiterated that the primary focus remains on investing in the business and declined to comment on specific M&A rumors, emphasizing that the company is always evaluating opportunities.

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CFO Warren Gardiner confirmed that ICE reached its leverage target ahead of schedule. He stated that share repurchases are expected to increase in the second half of the year, while the company continues to prioritize organic investment. Gardiner declined to comment on specific M&A rumors but affirmed that the company is always evaluating opportunities.

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CEO Vlad Tenev stated that the number one piece of feedback from European customers is their love for the competitive prices on stock tokens. He clarified that the only fee is a very competitive 10 basis point foreign transaction fee, with no other spread that Robinhood benefits from, as the aim is to pass back the full value to the customer.

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CFO Sara Furber explained that the dip in ICD balances was an episodic event where large-cap clients drew down cash to fund share buybacks and accelerate capital expenditures ahead of potential tariffs. She noted client retention remains high and balances are rebuilding. On cross-selling, Furber confirmed the T-Bills integration is complete, with the focus now shifting to driving client adoption. The next phase involves expanding into longer-dated U.S. Treasuries and leveraging Tradeweb's international sales network.

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EVP & CFO Michael Angerthal stated the $30 million in Q2 share repurchases were opportunistic due to a compelling valuation and that capital allocation remains balanced. President & CEO George Aylward added that the M&A pipeline is at its highest level, with a focus on private markets where Virtus sees an opportunity for differentiated, boutique-style capabilities to diversify investor exposure away from large-scale players.

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Vice Chairman & CFO Michael Chae specified that the Blackstone Infrastructure Partners (BIP) strategy contributed nearly $100 million in FRPR in Q2. He provided forward guidance, expecting about half that amount in Q3 from a scheduled crystallization in the institutional funds, with nothing expected in Q4 from that source. However, he noted that the private wealth infrastructure product (BXIN) is expected to have its first modest crystallization in Q4, which will then become quarterly.

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Chair & CEO Adena Friedman described the expansion into the insurance annuity space as being in its early stages, with a dedicated sales team established only in the last couple of years. The strategy is to increase the currently low institutional exposure to the Nasdaq-100 by creating specific annuity vehicles for insurance clients, with seven such products launched in the quarter.

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Mike Dennis, Senior MD & Global Head - Fixed Income, countered that BrokerTec had an exceptional Q2 with ADV up 24%. He argued that when comparing to like-for-like central limit order books for on-the-run Treasuries, market share is flat. He also highlighted the upcoming launch of BrokerTec Chicago, a new matching engine, as a key initiative to attract new clients and enhance competitiveness.

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Senior MD & Global Head - Fixed Income Mike Dennis clarified that while BrokerTec had an exceptional Q2 with ADV up 24%, market share comparisons can be misleading. He stated that when comparing to like-for-like central limit order books for on-the-run Treasuries, CME's market share is flat. He also highlighted the upcoming launch of BrokerTec Chicago, a second matching engine, which is expected to attract new client acquisition.

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CEO Milan Galik attributed strong overnight trading growth to demand from European and Asian clients trading during their daytime hours, a trend increasingly adopted by introducing brokers. CFO Paul Brody explained that the lower dollar sensitivity to rate changes is due to some non-USD currency rates approaching the zero-bound, which creates non-linear effects and compresses the impact of rate movements.

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CEO Milan Galik explained that overnight trading growth is driven by demand from European and Asian clients who can trade US markets during their daytime. CFO Paul Brody clarified that the lower interest rate sensitivity is due to some non-USD currencies approaching or crossing the zero-rate threshold, which creates non-linear effects on interest income calculations.

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Global President David Howson reported that the Robinhood rollout exceeded expectations in both speed and volume uptake, which he described as largely additive. He noted that customers are using the full suite of volatility products (SPX, VIX, XSP) and that future plans include more joint marketing and education to capitalize on the significant growth runway.

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