Markel Corporation (NYSE:MKL) Q1 2024 Earnings Call Transcript

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So in the first quarter is a low earnings period within the funds because we’re less on risk. That increases in the second quarter, the third quarter is the highest earnings. And that is largely correlated with wind season and exposure within the portfolios. And then the last point to build off Tom’s comment is that idea of the performance management fees are just that. They come in as fees once we’ve performed by and large, that is going to be measured in the most meaningful way to the extent that it’s earned and available kind of at the stroke of midnight at the end of the year. So we don’t make any provisions or accruals or assumptions around that until we were to get to the end of the year. We’ll be back I guess in three quarters’ time, and we’ll tell you how that went.

Charlie Lederer: Got it. That’s very helpful. So that’s a 4Q or 4Q dynamic with performance?

Jeremy Noble: That would be most significantly a fourth quarter, a full year dynamic. And that’s not absolutely the case for all investors across all funds. But by and large, that’s what it would be.

Charlie Lederer: Okay. And if I could just ask one more. So Tom started the call, I think by complementing the management team for turning the insurance business around and the results are much improved. Just curious, given some of the headlines we’ve seen with certain teams maybe defecting or just some of the changes within the last 6-plus months. Do you feel like you have the pieces in place now to accelerate growth as you lap some of the top line headwinds? Or do you think you need to — or should we expect you to kind of keep adding?

Tom Gayner: I think we have a wonderful team on the field. It’s a dynamic business. People come and people go, but we have a wonderful roster of long-term committed veterans, they’ve signed up to be part of the Markel Style and The Markel Group, and I feel very good about our people. Again, we’re not focused on top line growth. We’re focused on profitability and creating value for the Markel Group shareholders over time. So we might judge ourselves by a slightly different metric than you would look at or can be easily quantified, but I love our team that’s on the field.

Charlie Lederer: Thank you.

Operator: This concludes our question-and-answer session. I would like to turn the conference back over to Tom Gayner for any closing remarks.

Tom Gayner: Thank you so much. And again, I’d just reiterate the invitation for you all to join us on May 22 at the Robin Center at the University of Richmond at 2:00 in the afternoon. It’s a wonderful time. We would expect more than 2,000 people there. So — it’s an event that you don’t want to miss, and I hope to see so many of you there. Thank you all for calling. Bye-bye.

Operator: The conference call has now concluded. Thank you for attending today’s presentation. You may now disconnect.

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