Mike Cyprys

Shoukry noted no major behavioral differences. New advisers sometimes appreciate technology even more having seen alternatives. Counterintuitively, newer advisers often more impressed by culture and technology than 25-30 year veterans who haven't experienced other platforms.

Shoukry described holistic approach: treat advisers as clients with ultimate accessibility including direct CEO access. $1.1B technology investment covering adviser tools, client tools, AI. Competitive products from vanilla investments to alternatives. Bank lending (SBL, mortgages) and insurance for both sides of balance sheet. AI releases viewed as enablers for more bespoke adviser advice to larger client bases.

Shoukry acknowledged early innings with significant unknown upside. Over 10,000 associates using AI regularly. Over 3 million lines of code written monthly using AI. Penetration significant but expansion opportunities remain as tools improve. Deferred specifics on ROI timeline.

Shoukry described deliberate approach: focus on critical mass per product rather than breadth. Won't use alternatives as friction tool to prevent adviser departures or as profit driver. Balanced approach prioritizing client liquidity needs and suitability. Heavy education investment.

Shoukry confirmed AI investment increasing substantially as a proportion of total IT spend. Still early innings. Digital asset access limited by account types and percentage of investable assets, will revisit as adviser demand and regulatory framework mature.

Shoukry noted digital assets becoming part of long-term planning conversation but interest not as widespread as at day-trading firms. Opened Bitcoin ETFs on limited basis. New administration creating regulatory guardrails. Will evolve access as demand and regulation mature.

Shoukry described deliberate approach waiting for regulatory framework to catch up to demand. Trade associations actively engaged on Capitol Hill. Teams monitoring competitors and available products. Client protection prioritized over being first-mover.

Shoukry framed improving IB outlook through receding tariff shock, pent-up demand from 2 years of lackluster activity, and motivated PE sponsors (60% of M&A activity) with companies beyond original sale timelines. Certainty around tax reform and rates key to pipeline conversion.

Shoukry described the role as a lookout function monitoring AI developments, competitor strategies, and use cases. Key distinction: RJF aims to empower advisers with AI rather than disintermediate them, unlike competitors going direct-to-client.

Shoukry deferred specific AI use case count and lessons learned to upcoming Analyst Investor Day in June. Already using AI in back office and recently rolled out proprietary AI search tool.

Shoukry deferred detailed technology discussion to Analyst Day. Investing in advisor tools, process automation, and technology infrastructure across all businesses. Noted it's an underappreciated strength.

Shoukry confirmed active AI investment and setting up dedicated team. High conviction that AI will drive substantial changes sooner than expected but uncertainty on how changes will manifest.

Canada PCG performing well with strong recruiting and similar profit margins to US. UK still in post-acquisition integration phase with flat growth. Canada approaching size of smallest large banks.

Reilly noted RCS has higher P&L margins but lower basis point revenue per asset. Different service model with less supervision and compliance cost. Deferred detailed disclosure to future Analyst Day.

Lynne gave event-contract volume and account metrics, noting the product set is intentionally narrow and market-data monetization is still early.

Terry argued vertical integration risks conflict-of-interest concerns and noted CME's own FCM leaves it prepared to compete if needed.

Suzanne noted Bank of Montreal publicly announced working on tokenization with CME and Google. Cash tokenization targeting end-of-year go-live. Stablecoin license pursuit advancing with regulatory engagement.

Terry expressed strong conviction that cloud is the future of markets, starting with less latency-sensitive agricultural products. He envisions every single product eventually in the cloud, contingent on Google's technology exceeding CME's current capabilities.

Suzanne said 22 clearing members signed House program agreements, with 1 already signed for the customer program launching April 30. House side max savings about $1.5 billion, daily average just over $1 billion.

Terry emphasized token acceptance depends on issuing institution quality and risk assessment. CME developing tokenized cash with Google plus potentially its own coin on a decentralized network.

Mike Dennis cited record credit futures OI in September with 300 sales opportunities in pipeline. Tim McCourt noted FX Spot+ hit $5.6B single-day record with 70+ entities including 40 banks.

Suzanne confirmed Google Cloud Universal Ledger tokenization on track for 2026 go-live. Sunil noted Google Cloud investment enables maintenance during live trading. Terry expects crypto to lead 24/7.

Terry cited firm staffing costs and regulatory concerns from central banks as key hurdles. Expects crypto to lead given cash crypto already trades 24/7. Other asset classes face more regulatory friction.

Derek Sammann detailed how weather drives ags, nat gas, and battery metals growth. Weather market at 90,000 contracts OI with 70% options. Also launched physical ethanol contract.

Johnson cited a mature Microsoft-built sales tool driving a 25% increase in client visits and over 11% uplift in sales, more than 1,000 agents, and three AI research strategies. Direct.

Johnson framed wallets as another distribution channel, focusing on exchanges with existing wallet infrastructure such as MoonPay and Kraken/Payward, and BENJI yield. Direct.

Jenny: AI organized into growth (distribution, investments) and efficiency (operations, technology). Intelligence Hub with Microsoft shows wholesalers seeing 10% more clients. Distribution admin efficiency gains visible, sales uplift signs but too early to quantify. Investment teams use custom agents and hackathons. Virtual research analyst created for one team. Reviewing outsource contract lengths. Matt: fully staffed centralized AI team tracking dollars spent vs saved.

Jenny quantified: 50,000 transactions on traditional TA cost $1.50 each vs $1.13 total on Stellar blockchain. Minimum investment $20 vs $500 traditional. Single source of truth eliminates reconciliation costs. Wyoming first state stablecoin uses Franklin-managed reserves. By March, stablecoin-to-Benji conversion live on Binance, OKX, Kraken. Daily yield paid to account. Convergence between TradFi and DeFi accelerating post-Genius Act.

Jenny noted multiple AI partnerships (Microsoft, AWS, Writer AI, Wand). Wand working on ESG agent with Franklin Equity team. Partners provide free resources for co-development in exchange for domain learnings. Wand enables connecting multiple agents across investment groups and customizing across teams. Backed by Thiel Capital, Fusion Fund. Majority of employees now using approved AI tools.

Adam noted shift is investment opportunity driven, not political. Growth in EM equity, international and global equity, and value strategies. Fixed income seeing flows into short-term, global bond, EM, high yield, multi-sector. Outside US, equity attractive especially in domestic European and Asian markets. Weaker dollar thesis supporting non-US allocation.

Adam noted $470B sourced outside US. Positive flows in EMEA and Americas. APAC bumpiest due to institutional derisking. Regional specializations: Australia alternatives, Asia income, Canada retail. Core sales doing well across markets.

Putnam exceeded targets: ~$15B net flows, $175-180M OI (vs $150M target). 89% outperforming 1-year. Great-West partnership expanding with co-developed products, retirement target-date ~$18B, stable value ~$17B.

Matt targeted low single-digit organic growth once scaled in ETFs, Canvas, alternatives, and distribution. Jenny noted ex-Western organic growth runs ~1.3%. Still digesting acquisitions and scaling newer platforms.

Larry Fink framed structurally higher rates from record deficits and private capital demand but did not say whether AI project pace or economics had changed.

Rob Kapito said fixed income demand is in the early innings with the 10-year Treasury above 5%, citing $78 billion of third-quarter fixed income inflows.

Martin laid out three tracked workstreams (bridging TradFi/DeFi, stablecoin reserve management, tokenizing long-term products) with specific milestones and SEC filings.

Martin gave a comprehensive update covering $1T+ wealth AUM, record $13B Aperio inflows, $1B Spider Rock flows, nine consecutive quarters of retail net inflows, and plans to expand evergreen lineup.

Larry highlighted Japan as exceptional growth platform via NISA accounts and insurance. JioBlackRock managing 12 funds with 1M+ retail investors. Double-digit base fee growth in both Asia and Latin America. Middle East developing Pillar 2 retirement systems.

Larry described deep conversations with major platforms about tokenizing traditional assets for digital wallets. Sees opportunity to introduce young digital-native investors to traditional assets. Also exploring tokenization of real estate to reduce intermediary costs.

Larry reported extremely positive client feedback across Asia. GIP V closed above $25.2B target, AIP partnership targeting $30B equity. Insurance relationships growing with $700B AUM. Wealth channel opportunities accelerating.

Larry reported no client capitulation in equities, elevated April cash inflows of $20 billion, and growing interest in fixed income and private credit as yield curve steepens. Clients asking when to add equity exposure, not reducing.

Larry highlighted extraordinarily positive client feedback on HPS across all channels, with insurance as primary growth area. Noted HPS has $20B in wealth channels and BlackRock connectivity can dramatically expand that.

Hocking said daily-movement demand for options would persist and event contracts would hedge less-frequent earnings; Jill said issuer sentiment suggests quarterly reporting likely stays. Partial/speculative.

Craig framed U.S. clearing as nascent with tokenization/atomic settlement upside but declined to comment on pricing economics yet.

Chris confirmed: already 23.5x5 in futures/index/FX. US equities targeting 23x5 via EDGX in late November 2026. Multi-list GTH extension to 7:30-9:25 and 4:00-4:15 with 25 names in Q3. Planning 24x7 clearing capabilities for prediction/crypto. Expanding deliberately to not burden liquidity providers.

Chris said AI products still to come but unique data from proprietary products (e.g., Open-Close for SPX) points the way. Rob added AI accelerating research/product development cycle to get in front of clients faster.

Prashant said prediction markets start with financial/economic then explore digital. Organic build with retail platform partnerships. Rob detailed Bitcoin/Ether Continuous Futures, 20 ETFs using CBTX/MBTX. Government shutdown slowing launches.

Chris noted tokenization gaining traction, particularly around US equities and 24/7 access. Key challenges: counterparty restrictions, KYC/AML, securities classification. Main unlock is greater global access.

Dave said intraday not actively pursued given existing runway. Most excited about disciplined retail using full toolkit. Highlighted crypto ecosystem (CBTX, MBTX, Bitcoin futures). Prediction markets nascent, monitoring.

Dave and Chris gave thorough answer: already operate 24/5 in derivatives, EDGX has 35%+ pre-market share, customer-driven demand from APAC. Timing depends on SEC approvals and SIP infrastructure - likely end 2025/early 2026.

Mike said AI deployment across portfolio companies and Ares itself is broad-based (workforce automation, RFPs, KYC/AML, legal), driving capacity and margin gains, with proprietary-data use next.

Mike disclosed software is 12% of direct lending versus 8.7% of broader private credit. Overall yes rate across all investments ranges 3-5%, meaning Ares says no 95-97% of the time. ARR exposure less than 1% of global direct lending despite industry ramp-up in that category.

Mike emphasized leadership in non-rated ABF market with close to 100 people. Sourcing includes direct origination, bank flow agreements, and selective platform acquisitions. Q3 deployment nearly doubled from Q2 in ABF, year-over-year well in excess of 30%. Next vintage fund launching early 2026.

Mike detailed 80+ person team across 40 asset types. Business split roughly 50% non-rated (2-and-20 fees) and 50% rated high-grade (lower fees). Both growing proportionally with focus on FRE, not AUM.

Mike highlighted 80+ person alternative credit team as competitive moat. Bank partnerships include portfolio purchases, forward flow agreements, and SRTs. Cited $1.3B ABN AMRO portfolio purchase as example.

Mike noted market structure differences require bank and wealth partnerships rather than wirehouse model. European direct lending product was highlighted as a successful code-cracking example.

Mike argued AI efficiency improvements historically drive increased demand. Core thesis of cloud computing plus AI optionality remains intact. Near-term pipeline is entitled, powered, and under LOI. Cited $4-7 trillion annual opportunity.