Ryan Specialty Group (RYAN) The 44th Annual William Blair Growth Stock Conference summary

Strategic vision and market evolution

• Built a scalable infrastructure over 15 years to address increasing complexity in insurance risks and client needs.

• Anticipated industry trends like social and economic inflation, climate change, and retail broker consolidation.

• Focused on being an intermediary to both retail brokers and insurance carriers, providing specialty lines and delegated authority services.

• Established preferred relationships with 97 of the top 100 retail brokers and thousands of others.

• Achieved double-digit organic growth and strong margins, becoming a leading wholesale broker and managing underwriter.

Growth drivers and competitive advantages

• Four main growth pillars: retail broker M&A, panel consolidation, E&S market specialization, and innovation/talent.

• E&S market now represents almost 80% of the portfolio, growing at twice the rate of the admitted market.

• Expanded into wholesale employee benefits, alternative risk, and reinsurance underwriting.

• Culture attracts top-tier talent, creating a defensible competitive moat.

• Can sustain double-digit organic growth even if E&S market growth moderates.

Financial profile and capital allocation

• Asset-light model with high recurring revenue and low CapEx (<2% of revenue).

• Majority of costs are variable, with a pay-for-performance culture.

• M&A is the top capital allocation priority, with a robust pipeline and disciplined leverage (targeting 3-4x, currently under 2x).

• Finished last year with just over 30% margin; targeting 31.5% this year and 35% medium-term.