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CFO Jack Weingart identified the 401(k) market as a natural focus. He believes the best entry point for alternatives is through commingling in target-date funds. He confirmed TPG is in active discussions to partner with managers of these funds, positioning itself as a key source for alternative asset investments, especially private equity.

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CEO Jon Winkelried described a multi-pronged strategy that includes expanding asset management services to insurers. For a strategic transaction, he emphasized that key criteria are the partner's quality, organic growth capability, and market position. He noted TPG is mindful of structure and size, aiming to secure long-dated capital while remaining FRE-centric and being prudent with its balance sheet.

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CEO Harvey Schwartz addressed LP sentiment, stating that engagement is high due to Carlyle being an outlier in returning capital—at three times the industry average. He noted that while some fund IRRs need improvement, LPs appreciate the liquidity and performance momentum. He also characterized the current macro environment under the new administration as pro-growth, which is creating a friendly market.

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CEO Harvey Schwartz stated that LP engagement is high, driven by the firm's strong track record of returning capital—three times the industry average in corporate private equity. He acknowledged that while some net IRRs need improvement, the momentum is strong and feedback is positive. Schwartz also noted that the current administration's pro-growth policies are creating a friendly market backdrop, which supports the positive momentum across the entire platform, including the buyout side.

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CFO John Redett confirmed that the activation of CRP X on April 1 will lead to management fee growth in the second quarter, following a step-down from the prior fund in Q1. While he could not comment on the ultimate fund size as fundraising is ongoing, he reiterated the firm's expectation that it will be larger than its predecessor.

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CFO John Redett indicated that Carlyle anticipates launching its next U.S. buyout fund 'towards the back end of 2025.' He stated that a fee activation would likely occur at some point in 2026, serving as the catalyst for the corporate private equity segment to return to growth. He declined to comment on the potential fund size.

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CEO Christopher Concannon expressed excitement for the muni business, highlighting record ADV in Q2 and strong growth in the tax-exempt segment, which was up 34%. He attributed the growth to electronification, the rollout of portfolio trading, the all-to-all solution, and strong feedback on the new CP+ for munis data product. He also noted that fee per million in the segment was up in July.

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CEO Christopher Concannon and CFO Ilene Sazel Bieler clarified that the decline is primarily due to a strategic product mix shift. Growth in lower-fee-per-million protocols like portfolio trading and dealer-to-dealer pressures the overall average, but these are high-margin, incremental revenue opportunities. Bieler detailed that in April, positive impacts from high-yield mix and Open Trading were partially offset by the growth in portfolio trading, illustrating the mix-driven nature of the metric.

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CEO Christopher Concannon explained that the challenging macro environment of tight spreads and low volatility negatively impacted ETF arbitrage players, leading some to exit the market. However, he noted that systematic funds continue to invest for the long term, and traditional buy-side clients are still attracted by high yields. He pointed to growth in high-yield portfolio trading and expressed optimism that the new block trading solution will be particularly beneficial for this information-sensitive market.

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CEO Christopher Concannon identified several drivers for higher velocity: attractive yields boosting fund inflows, the efficiency of electronic tools like portfolio trading, and a robust new issue calendar. He noted that while rates volatility is high, an increase in credit spread volatility, which has not yet occurred, would provide a further tailwind. He described the overall macro environment as a 'wind at our back.'

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CEO Marc Rowan confirmed AAA is on track to exceed $25 billion by year-end. He expressed surprise at the strong institutional demand for what was initially conceived as a retail product. He noted that in response to institutional requests, Apollo created a levered share class for AAA, allowing clients to target private equity-like returns with the lower volatility of a diversified portfolio. This has attracted several large institutional commitments.

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CEO Michael Arougheti confirmed significant ongoing investment in products, a global team of roughly 175 people, and educational content. He highlighted accelerating momentum with record monthly inflows and noted that the firm is expanding partnerships globally, particularly in Asia, suggesting the international proportion of flows has room to grow.

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Michael Arougheti, Co-Founder, CEO & Director, confirmed significant ongoing investment in product, people, and educational content for the global wealth business. He highlighted accelerating momentum, with July being a record fundraising month and August projected to be even stronger. He sees substantial room for growth by deepening penetration on major platforms and expanding internationally, particularly in Asia, suggesting the international flow proportion can indeed increase.

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CFO Jarrod Phillips confirmed the initial fee-paying AUM variance was FX-driven and projected approximately $7 billion in GCP fundraising over the next few quarters, which would immediately contribute to fee-paying AUM. He stated that the financial targets are still in line. CEO Michael Arougheti added that GCP's non-U.S. product set could be a net beneficiary of the current investor shift away from U.S. markets, potentially strengthening its fundraising.

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CEO Michael Arougheti stated that the bar for M&A is now higher, with the near-term focus on organic growth. He noted that while Q4 saw strong deployment, the overall environment is gradually improving, and Ares' deployment growth has outpaced the broader M&A market due to its diverse strategies and incumbent relationships.

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President & CFO Matt Audette attributed the quarterly cash decline primarily to typical seasonality, including tax payments in April, and the denominator effect of strong AUM growth. He reported that July cash balances also saw a seasonal decline of about $1.8 billion due to advisory fees. He projected July's organic growth to be around 4%, reflecting a slowdown in advisor movement but in line with expectations for the first month of a quarter.

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Executive Matthew Audette explained that the realization of the $150 million EBITDA run-rate synergy is not a gradual build but is instead centered around the advisor onboarding event, which is expected around mid-year 2025. He did not provide a specific breakdown of revenue versus cost synergies but noted that more clarity would be given as the onboarding occurs.

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Co-CEO Marc Lipschultz clarified that while the specific comment was on secondaries, the firm's broader M&A strategy remains active but highly selective, focusing on culture fit and durable, protected strategies. On secondaries specifically, he highlighted Blue Owl's organic success in the GP-led space with its 'Bose' strategy, which he sees as a massive growth area. He affirmed they will evaluate all paths—organic, bolt-on, or large acquisitions—to enter attractive markets.

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CFO Robert Lewin noted that while the 18% growth was strong, a significant product like Americas XIV only contributed a relatively small $30 million to the quarterly total, indicating broad-based strength. He declined to give specific guidance for the back half of the year but expressed confidence in continued solid results due to fundraising momentum across the entire platform. Craig Larson, Partner & Head of IR, added that the diversification of management fees across PE, credit, and real assets provides multiple ways to win.

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CFO Rob Lewin advised that while the insurance segment's operating earnings are important, management's holistic view focuses on the 'all-in ROE,' which includes significant asset management economics. Regarding Capital Markets fees, he noted strong momentum, with ~$20 million generated in Q1 2025 versus $50 million for all of 2024. He reiterated that achieving hundreds of millions in annual revenue is 'well within achievability' over the long term.

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Chief Financial Officer Rob Lewin affirmed that 14-15% remains the correct long-term ROE target but declined to give a specific timeline. He explained that near-term ROE is impacted by growth activities, like large block insurance deals that require a 12-18 month redeployment period, creating a temporary drag on operating earnings despite being underwritten to attractive long-term IRRs.

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CFO Warren Gardiner and President of Fixed Income & Data Services Christopher Edmonds clarified the drivers. They pointed to strength in consolidated feeds and desktops. Gardiner noted the fixed income data and analytics business exited Q2 at a 5% ASV run-rate, with strong trends heading into the second half, positioning it well for future growth.

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President of Fixed Income & Data Services, Christopher Edmonds, attributed network growth to the consolidated feeds and desktop offerings. CFO Warren Gardiner added that the fixed income data and analytics business exited Q2 at a 5% Annual Subscription Value (ASV) run-rate, despite reported 4% growth being muted by market effects on the index business. He expressed confidence in the business's trajectory for the second half of the year.

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Chair and CEO Jeffrey Sprecher emphasized a focus on deleveraging to a target of 3x EBITDA or less to free up cash for share repurchases. He stated that with all three business segments performing well, the company is leaning into buybacks. While ICE always evaluates M&A, opportunities are judged against the high-return alternative of repurchasing its own shares, noting the major pieces of the mortgage platform are now in place.

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President Benjamin Jackson emphasized that ICE's global commodity business is built to handle evolving supply chains, noting that TTF's open interest remained strong even when the Ukraine war began, which supported its subsequent growth. Chair and CEO Jeffrey Sprecher added that the increasing trend of trading global gas contracts as spreads between geographies, with TTF as a key benchmark, would likely sustain robust volumes even if physical flows change.

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CEO Vlad Tenev affirmed that the corp dev team is continuously and disciplinedly looking at opportunities that offer at least an 18-month acceleration over building in-house. While the increased market cap opens more opportunities, they will stick to their playbook. CFO Jason Warnick reiterated the disciplined approach, favoring smaller, efficient businesses they can scale, as part of a broader capital allocation strategy that also prioritizes organic growth.

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CEO Paul Shoukry described the recruiting environment as persistently competitive, especially from PE-backed firms, but noted a potential 'inflection point' as some question high valuations. He suggested the acceleration is partly driven by industry M&A catalysts but emphasized that Raymond James's success is broad-based and not tied to a single event.

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CEO Paul Shoukry characterized the recruiting environment as persistently competitive, especially from PE-backed firms, though he senses a potential inflection point in their valuation multiples. He suggested that while industry M&A has been a catalyst for movement, Raymond James's success is broad-based and not tied to a single event.

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An executive, likely CFO Jonathan Oorlog, stated that non-comp expenses typically ramp in the second half of the year, especially in IT, and it was too early to revise the $2.1 billion guidance. Regarding PCG admin comp, he advised looking at the 5% year-to-date increase, which is consistent with growth, rather than a single quarter's fluctuation.

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An executive, likely CFO Jonathan Oorlog, explained that a second-half expense ramp is typical, particularly in IT, and it was too early to revise the full-year guide. Regarding PCG admin comp, he advised looking at the 5% year-to-date growth, which is consistent with expectations, rather than focusing on a single quarter's fluctuation.

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President Paul Shoukry advised against calling the 74% comp ratio a new run rate based on just two quarters, pointing to the full-year 2024 figure of around 74.5% as a better reference. He noted that while mix shifts have an impact, there is also a scale advantage as production grows relative to transition assistance. On NNA growth, Chair and CEO Paul Reilly explained that recruiting can be lumpy and that the firm is coming off a record year. He stated the pipeline remains very healthy and expressed confidence in the long-term trend, despite industry-wide slowness.

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Chair & CEO Adena Friedman stated that Nasdaq is looking forward to engaging with the SEC on the topic. She expressed confidence in Nasdaq's ability to compete successfully in any environment, noting their successful operations in markets like Europe and Canada which do not have an identical rule. She added that other parts of Reg NMS might need adjustment if the rule changes.

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CEO Adena Friedman described the AWS partnership as a long-term strategic move to offer market infrastructure clients a modern, hybrid cloud solution. This offering will enhance scalability, security, and data capabilities while respecting data sovereignty. The model shifts from deployed software to a managed service, which will take time to implement. Friedman announced that the Johannesburg Exchange and BMV are early adopters and that Nasdaq's own Nordic markets will migrate to this new infrastructure, signaling a collaborative financial model where 'everyone wins'.

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CEO Adena Friedman explained that Nasdaq's existing relationships are helping AxiomSL expand into new geographies. She highlighted recent wins in India and the Philippines as key upsells for domestic reporting, which could open up significant new markets. She framed the strategy as a 'land and expand' opportunity within countries where Nasdaq has a strong presence.

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Senior Managing Director Tim McCourt reported that the rollout has gone "exceedingly well," reaching a single-day volume of $2.7 billion. He noted that nearly 50 entities have traded on the new marketplace, including dozens of banks that had not previously used CME's FX futures. McCourt stated the offering is improving market quality and is seen as significantly additive to the FX complex by attracting new participants.

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Tim McCourt, Senior Managing Director, reported that the rollout has gone "exceedingly well," reaching a single-day volume of $2.7 billion. He noted that nearly 50 entities have traded, including dozens of banks new to CME's FX futures markets. The offering is seen as significantly additive to volume and is improving market quality in certain currency pairs by combining spot and futures liquidity pools.

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Derek Sammann, Senior Managing Director of Global Head of Commodities, Metals, & Options, explained that in agricultural products, a pullback in futures open interest was more than offset by record options open interest, indicating a risk-on environment. Terrence Duffy, Chairman and CEO, added that the lack of broad deleveraging is due to unprecedented uncertainty from factors like tariffs and national debt, making it too risky for participants not to hedge.

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CEO Terrence Duffy stated that pricing is evaluated throughout the year and is tied to value-add, not a set pattern. CFO Lynne Fitzpatrick clarified the 2024 pricing impact was 2.5-3% on total revenue, not just the 1.5-2% on transaction fees. On expenses, she confirmed the cloud migration spend is on track and that incremental costs are expected next year (year 4 of the project), which are already factored into the overall expense guidance.

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CFO Paul Brody attributed the June cash balance growth to a combination of strong new cash inflows and a risk-off sentiment in April that generated cash from sales. CEO Milan Galik noted that zero DTE trends were stable and pointed to strong engagement with their similar ForecastX products. He explained that rolling out zero DTE for single stocks is complex due to physical settlement and potential post-market exercise volatility.

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CFO Paul Brody attributed the growth in client cash to a combination of strong new deposits and risk-off selling from earlier in the quarter. CEO Milan Galik stated that while 0DTE volumes were stable, their new ForecastX products are seeing significant engagement. He noted that single-stock 0DTE options are complicated by physical settlement issues, which could create post-market volatility not seen in cash-settled index products.

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Chairman Thomas Peterffy stated that the company targets a dividend yield between 0.5% and 1% of the stock price. CEO Milan Galik explained that risk exposure fees, which are based on client options and futures positions, are inherently more volatile than margin balances and fluctuate as nimble clients adjust their exposures in response to market movements.

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CEO Milan Galik stated he would not expect expense growth to accelerate, assuming stable inflation. CFO Paul Brody noted advertising spend could be a driver. Chairman Thomas Peterffy confirmed he would consider selling stock to increase float, that it would be done in blocks, and would occur when the price reaches what he believes is the 'right price'.

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Executive Ian Lowitt attributed the clearing commission performance to a tough comparison with an unusually strong Q1 2024 in agricultural commodities like cocoa, and noted some clients are currently on the sidelines due to tariff uncertainty. Executive Crispin Robert Irvin clarified that the quarterly volume growth of 17% shown on Slide 6 was in line with revenue growth. Regarding funding, Ian Lowitt stated that the company feels very comfortable with its current liquidity, viewing the recent debt issuance as valuable insurance in an uncertain environment and fuel for future growth. He added that while there are no immediate plans for more issuance, they would consider it for the right growth opportunities.

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CEO Ian Lowitt projected 'slow margin expansion' going forward, noting that while scale provides leverage, diversified growth requires ongoing investment in support and control infrastructure. He identified the Agency and Execution segment as a key area for continued margin improvement. CFO Crispin Robert Irvin explained that the capital requirement is re-evaluated annually and the step-up reflects the firm's growth. Management added that the prime services business is low capital intensity, having a limited impact on this requirement.

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CEO Ian Lowitt clarified that the debt issuance was a prudent measure to diversify funding sources and enhance flexibility, not due to any concerns with structured notes. He stated that Marex sees significant opportunities to deploy liquidity in clearing and prime brokerage and does not expect the new debt to 'crowd out' the structured notes business, which is still expected to grow.

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CFO Jill Griebenow attributed the light buybacks to being in a blackout period for part of the quarter and the stock hitting all-time highs, reflecting an opportunistic strategy. She confirmed that with a low 1.0x leverage ratio and attractive debt rates, Cboe would prioritize share repurchases over further deleveraging.

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Global President David Howson stated that product development is customer-driven, and there is currently no compelling demand for intraday expirations. He explained that clients are seeking more precision in risk management, which is being addressed by new products like Variance Futures. While noting that cash settlement would make intraday expirations operationally easier than for physically-settled products, it is not a current priority.

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CEO Frederic Tomczyk confirmed that building cash provides valuable flexibility. He reiterated that while M&A has been de-emphasized, it is not off the table. He clarified that future M&A would be 'more selective' and 'more significant,' avoiding smaller deals that create significant technology integration work. Any potential deal would need to be larger, more targeted, and strategically aligned.

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President and COO Jonathan Gray suggested that a large-scale 401(k) opportunity will likely require regulatory changes but called it a logical and significant future development. He asserted that Blackstone is 'extremely well positioned' due to its strong brand, high standards, and suite of perpetual products at scale, which are essential for the 401(k) market. The new alliance with liquid asset leaders further strengthens this position.

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Jonathan Gray, President & COO, explained that growth is fundamentally driven by investment performance, where BXPE had a strong first year. He confirmed they are steadily expanding distribution partnerships, following the successful model of BREIT and BCRED. Gray expressed confidence in their ability to deploy more capital at scale if demand continues, underscoring the power of the Blackstone brand, which sees significant crossover investment from advisors across its perpetual products.

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CEO William Hult emphasized that the primary focus remains on strong organic growth but noted that successfully executing deals like r8fin and ICD builds credibility for future opportunities. He outlined the evaluation criteria as culture, network, and technology. CFO Sara Furber added that the company's ambition is not limited to bolt-ons but that they remain extremely disciplined financially, seeking acquisitions that are accretive and strategically amplifying.

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CEO Billy Hult and CFO Sara Furber reiterated that M&A remains the preferred use of cash after organic investment. They highlighted a strong track record of efficient integration with recent acquisitions like YieldBroker and r8fin. Furber confirmed they are actively exploring deals and have the bandwidth to pursue new opportunities alongside integration. The capital allocation philosophy remains unchanged: organic growth, M&A, followed by buybacks and dividends.

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