WisdomTree, Inc. (NYSE:WT) Q4 2022 Earnings Call Transcript

Jonathan Steinberg: Thank you, Dan. So I’ll take it. This is Jono. Entirety of our fee rate decline last year really came from just a mix in shift. We haven’t been cutting fees. So the growth in floating-rate treasuries, which went from $2 billion in AUM to $13 billion of AUM at 15 basis points had an effect on our revenue capture. But that’s still a big win for growth and revenue, although it is a drag on the fee rate. So I just would say that the way it’s been going €“ it’s just really a very successful outlook. And we’re not undercutting with USFR. It’s in line with the other participants. So market sentiment will shift. So more equities, higher fee rates. We have other things that would have higher fee rates as well. We’ll just have to see how it is.

We don’t really predict for you how it will €“ the fee rates will play out or what market segments will, how they’ll be affected. What we do, do, though, on a daily basis is to update our AUM and give you our daily revenue capture, so you can track us in real time. But really, we consider fees to be some €“ one of our strengths actually at WisdomTree.

Jarrett Lilien: And if I could just add a couple of things. This is Jarrett. USFR, as Jono said, because it was such a great flowing fund, it did drag down the average capture rate, but what a success. And you really have to look at USFR. For some clients, it was the best fixed income holding in their portfolios. For others, it was the best cash holding you could have in your portfolio. And what’s great about it for us is not only did it bring us revenue and great flows but it puts us right there for great conversations with our clients as the environment changes to possibly other fixed income products or as JR said earlier, there’s income back not only in fixed income, but we’ve got our dividend paying funds with fantastic yields.

So there can also be pivots as the environment changes to our other equity products. And also as people put cash to work, it puts us in line for great discussions. So USFR was a great success for 2022, and we expect it to lead to greater successes in 2023 as well.

Daniel Fannon: Great. Thank you.

Operator: The next question is from the line of Michael Cyprys with Morgan Stanley. Please proceed with your question.

Michael Cyprys: Hey, good morning. Thanks for taking the question. I wanted to circle back on WisdomTree Prime. It sounds like the launch may have been pushed out maybe a month or two. Just curious where in second quarter, you guys are looking for that to launch, kind of what’s led to a little bit of an extension. I think previously, you guys were thinking about March. And then just on the WisdomTree product itself on the Prime side, when you launch that, can you maybe you can expand upon what the product set and functionality will have at the time of launch? And how you see that extending, expanding over the next 12 months?

Jonathan Steinberg: Will, why don’t you take a first shot at that?