So I think what WisdomTree is doing is going to be a big catalyst for the space. I think the continued growth of distribution and evolving regulation is going to be a catalyst for the space. So I think 2024 is going to be a very big year.
Michael Cyprys: Great. And just a follow-up question on capital management. I was hoping you could update us on your priorities around the use of cash generation, how you’re thinking about that from here? And more broadly on strategic M&A, where that could be most additive to WisdomTree at this point? I think you may have sold down your stake in currency. Maybe you could just update us on that relationship there? Thank you.
Jonathan Steinberg: Bryan, why don’t you start with capital management, please?
Bryan Edmiston: Yes. So Mike, we’ve been very active over the past few years. You’re well aware we retired a gold royalty obligation. That was a $90 million cash outlay. We have another $44 million payable over the next three years. We paid down our debt, $45 million this past June. Over the last four years, putting aside the repurchase of the Gold Council stock, we’ve bought back 15 million shares, spent $70 million just on stock repurchase generally. I think going forward, our dividend is our primary commitment buybacks or something that’s always on the table. The buyback is something that we weigh against our desire to ultimately reduce our debt further, keeping in mind that we have another $150 million that’s maturing in 2026.
If there’s a question as to whether or not we would early retire debt, it’s something we’d be weighing the return that we could instead earn by simply investing our cash. USFR is at 5.5% today. We’re paying three in the quarter and the debt that’s maturing in two years. So going forward, it’s really about debt and leverage optimization and potentially some further stock buybacks.
Jonathan Steinberg: And let me add about strategic M&A. It’s been a secondary strategy for WisdomTree, though, it’s been a strategy that we have implemented a number of times. So when we do it, we have very high hurdles in the past, everything has been accretive in our M&A. So I think we would have very high hurdles if it’s within the ETF business. And with respect to some investments that we’ve made or how we might use capital in light of – you mentioned Securrency. Securrency was a strong investment, and we spoke about tokenization and how people have tokenized things like office buildings and paintings and a lot of it hasn’t really generated any traction. Not all tokens are created equal. And before Securrency, we couldn’t really envision how the tokens became better than ETFs. And with that, an interoptibility, we really have had a vision that has served us incredibly well over the last four years in how we think blockchain-enabled financial services will roll out and because of our investment in Securrency, we’ve got to speak to many, many participants about how they view tokenization.
What I think is interesting and may be undercovered, it was DTCC, which acquired to Securrency. So the leading infrastructure company in the United States acquired our lead investment in blockchain infrastructure. I believe that the future of blockchain infrastructure is going to be coming out of DTCC, and they’ll be following on the path that WisdomTree has begun. So we don’t have to make a left turn or a pivot. The market is moving in our direction. I think that’s very, very bullish. If we see opportunities to enhance our digital efforts. We might look to make other strategic investments. But again, these are secondary opportunities to advance the strategic priorities of the firm to have very high hurdles if we do anything.
Michael Cyprys: Great. Thanks so much.
Operator: Thank you. We reach end of our question-and-answer session. I’d like to turn the floor back over to management for any further or closing comments.
Jonathan Steinberg: I just wanted to thank everybody for their attention today, and we’ll speak to you shortly. Have a great day.
Operator: Thank you. That does conclude today’s teleconference webcast. You may disconnect your line at this time, and have a wonderful day. We thank you for your participation today.
