What changed in this filing

/stocks — the workspaceLOADING

Item 1. Business

2025-02-27 compared with 2024-02-28 · 77 added, 79 removed, 78 unchanged (67% of the section changed)

We are a global, diversified asset management company with approximately $104 billion of assets under management as of December 31, 2023.

We provide investment management services globally, predominantly to institutional investors.

We operate our differentiated investment management business through our majority owned subsidiary, Acadian Asset Management LLC (“Acadian”), a leading systematic manager of active global, international equity and alternative strategies.

The ownership structure of Acadian provides incentives for growth and prudent business management across multiple generations of Acadian partners, who retain meaningful levels of equity in their own business to preserve strong alignment of interests between us, Acadian, their clients and our shareholders.

Acadian comprises our Quant & Solutions reportable segment.

We have generated strong, recurring free cash flow to our business that we can use for growth initiatives, return to shareholders through dividends and stock repurchases and to repay outstanding debt obligations.

Our revenue consists largely of recurring management fees on assets under management and is not heavily dependent upon performance fees.

Our profit-sharing model enables us to participate directly in margin expansion as Acadian grows.

Acadian, founded in 1986, is a leading systematic investment manager of active global, international equity, and alternative strategies with approximately $104 billion in AUM as of December 31, 2023.

Acadian pursues a fundamentally grounded, data-rich and highly structured approach to investing that seeks to identify and exploit systematic and structural inefficiencies in the markets.

Acadian applies a range of investment and risk considerations to a universe of 40,000-plus securities taken from over 150 global markets.

Acadian manages strategies in developed and emerging markets, including global, non-U.S.

and small-cap equities, as well as managed volatility, systematic macro, equity alternatives, and credit strategies.

Acadian invests on behalf of a wide range of institutional clients across the globe, including public and private funds, endowments and foundations, and retail clients through sub-advisory channels.

The firm’s clients were domiciled in approximately 20 countries across Asia, Australia, Europe and North America as of December 31, 2023.

The firm has over 100 investment and research professionals and manages approximately 70 distinct investment products and strategies.

We are a holding company that operates a systematic investment management business through our majority owned subsidiary, Acadian Asset Management LLC (“Acadian LLC”).

With approximately $117 billion of assets under management as of December 31, 2024, Acadian LLC offers institutional investors across the globe access to a diversified array of systematic investment strategies designed to meet a range of risk and return objectives.

The ownership structure of Acadian LLC provides incentives for growth and prudent business management across multiple generations of Acadian LLC partners, who retain meaningful levels of equity in their own business to preserve strong alignment of interests between us, Acadian LLC, their clients, and our stockholders.

Our profit-sharing model enables us to participate directly in margin expansion as Acadian LLC grows.

Acadian LLC comprises our Quant & Solutions reportable segment.

Acadian LLC, founded in 1986, is a leading systematic investment manager with approximately $117 billion in AUM as of December 31, 2024.

Acadian LLC pursues a fundamentally grounded, data-rich, and highly structured approach to investing that seeks to identify and exploit systematic and structural inefficiencies in the markets.

Acadian LLC applies a range of investment and risk considerations to a universe of 65,000-plus securities taken from over 150 global markets.

Acadian LLC manages strategies in developed and developing markets, including global, emerging market, international, and small cap equities, as well as credit and alternative strategies.

Acadian LLC predominantly invests on behalf of a wide range of institutional clients across the globe, including public and private funds, endowments and foundations.

The firm’s clients were domiciled in approximately 40 countries across the globe as of December 31, 2024.

The firm has over 120 investment and research professionals and manages numerous investment products and strategies.

Competitive Strengths

As a pioneer in systematic investing, Acadian has been managing systematic equity portfolios since the 1980s.

As a pioneer in systematic investing, we have been managing systematic equity portfolios since the 1980s.

This experience affords us a broad perspective and data history.

Guided by the economic intuition and insights of a talented, experienced, and diverse investment team, Acadian has been at the forefront of systematic research, signal development, and portfolio construction for 37 years.

Acadian uses a disciplined and objective process, underpinned by rich data and powerful technological tools.

Guided by the economic intuition and insights of a talented, experienced, and diverse investment team, we have been at the forefront of systematic research, signal development, and portfolio construction for nearly 40 years.

We use a disciplined and objective process, underpinned by rich data and powerful technological tools.

An extensive data repository, continually supplemented by an active alternative scouting effort, provides an extensive source for exploring new investment ideas.

Given the size, breadth, and complexity of global equity markets, we believe that such an empirical approach is essential to exploiting behaviorally based mispricings and deliver superior risk-adjusted returns for our clients.

Acadian is a research-focused firm.

Its scientific approach to innovation is driven by research across signal generation, portfolio construction, implementation, and risk management.

Research is data-dependent, and Acadian’s process benefits from its objectivity, breadth, and computational power.

Given the size, breadth, and complexity of global markets, we believe that such an empirical approach is essential to exploiting behaviorally based mispricings and delivering superior risk-adjusted returns for our clients.

We are a research-focused firm.

Our scientific approach to innovation is driven by research across signal generation, portfolio construction, implementation, and risk management.

Research is data-dependent, and our process benefits from its objectivity, breadth, and computational power.

We recognize that markets are dynamic and that a robust culture of investment research is essential to maintaining a competitive edge.

Capital Management

Our asset management business generates significant, recurring free cash flow that can be accessed to create value for our shareholders.

Our business generates significant, recurring free cash flow that can be used to return capital to stockholders through share repurchases and dividends, repay outstanding debt, and more broadly create value for our stockholders.

In particular, we believe we can generate strong returns on allocated capital by, among other things, (i) providing seed capital to fund new products and strategies;

(ii) providing investment capital to support strategic growth;

(ii) providing investment capital to support strategic growth initiatives;

and (iii) implementing opportunistic share repurchases.

1 unchanged sentence

For the period January 1, 2020 to December 31, 2024, we repurchased approximately 59% of our shares.

Distribution Model and Client Base

Our distribution is focused on the institutional and sub-advisory channels.

The institutional channel accounts for approximately 79% of our AUM.

Distribution and Client Base

Our distribution is focused on the institutional, sub-advisory, and other channels.

The institutional channel accounts for over 80% of our AUM.

Within this channel, we have strong relationships in the public/government pension market (43% of our AUM as of December 31, 2024) and the corporate plan market (13% of our AUM as of December 31, 2024), which comprise a substantial portion of the institutional investment market overall, particularly in the U.S.

Our institutional marketplace clients are highly diverse across industry segments and geographies and have various growth characteristics.

Our institutional distribution channel includes clients from across the globe, including, but not limited to, pension funds, state and local governments;

employee benefit plans and foundations and endowments.

Our institutional clients are from across the globe, including, but not limited to, pension funds, state and local governments;

sovereign wealth funds, employee benefit plans and foundations and endowments.

We offer our investment products to institutional clients directly and by marketing our services to the investment consultants and advisors that advise them.

1 unchanged sentence

While we market primarily to institutional investors, we participate in the individual investor market through the sub-advisory channel, which represented 9% of our AUM as of December 31, 2024.

We also manage assets for mutual funds, and other commingled products including UCITs and Collective Investment Trusts, which gives us exposure to a retail investor base and the defined contribution market.

We also manage mutual funds and other commingled products including UCITs and Collective Investment Trusts, which gives us exposure to a retail investor base and the defined contribution market.

Our clients can access our investment strategies through a range of investment vehicles:

3 unchanged sentences

The fees we charge on separate accounts vary by client, investment strategy and the size of the account.

• Commingled Vehicle :

We also offer access to a number of our strategies through Acadian-branded commingled vehicles both within and outside the U.S.

We also offer access to our strategies through commingled funds both within and outside the U.S.

Investors that do not meet our minimum account size for a separate account, or who otherwise prefer to invest through a fund, can invest in our pooled funds.

The goal of our marketing, distribution and client service efforts is to grow and maintain a client base that is diversified by investment strategy, investment vehicle, distribution channel, and geographic region.

The goal of our marketing, distribution and client service efforts is to grow and maintain a diversified client base.

We focus our distribution and marketing efforts on sophisticated investors and asset allocators.

2 unchanged sentences

As of December 31, 2024, our top five client relationships represented approximately 13% of total run rate gross management fee revenue, and our top 25 clients represented approximately 35% of run rate gross management fee revenue.

The below graphic shows the breakdown of our assets under management as of December 31, 2023 by client type and location.

The below graphic shows the breakdown of our assets under management as of December 31, 2024 by client type and client location.

Data as of December 31, 2024

Products and Investment Performance

We offer leading strategies in global, international, U.S.

and emerging markets equities, in addition to credit, and alternative investments.

We offer leading strategies in developed and developing markets, including global, emerging market, international, and small cap equities, as well as credit and alternative strategies.

The chart below presents our wide range of offerings.

These areas have the potential to provide a balanced earnings stream to our business.

These offerings are designed to provide a balanced earnings stream to our business.

We believe our offerings are well-positioned in areas of investor demand and the diversity of investment style and asset class can enable us to participate in growing segments of the industry, through a range of investing environments.

Our product initiatives to drive growth include enhanced equity, equity extensions, systematic credit, and equity alternatives.

Enhanced strategies offer attractive risk-adjusted returns with comparatively lower active risk relative to standard active offerings.

Extension portfolios are a form of high conviction investing which leverage both long and short positions to increase active views, such as 130/30 products.

Investment Performance

Our mission is to produce risk-adjusted performance, or alpha, for our clients.

We have competitive near- and long-term alpha performance records and are well-positioned for continued growth.

Our mission is to produce strong risk-adjusted returns for our clients.

We have competitive near- and long-term track records and are well-positioned for continued growth.

In addition to analyzing our performance on a revenue-weighted basis, which gives us a perspective on product performance with respect to our existing client base, we also consider the number of our at-scale product strategies (defined as strategies with greater than $100 million of AUM) beating benchmarks.

This latter measure, labeled as “equal-weighted,” indicates the opportunity we have to generate sales in a variety of market environments.

For instance, strong performance in a newer, smaller product such as small-cap emerging markets may not affect revenue-weighted performance, but it can have a meaningful effect on revenue growth given client demand for this higher fee product.

The charts below indicate that performance on a revenue-weighted basis relative to benchmark over the last five years have performed ahead of their respective benchmarks on a three-, five- and ten-year basis.

For instance, strong performance in a newer, smaller product may not affect revenue-weighted performance, but it can have a meaningful effect on revenue growth given client demand for this higher fee product.

We also present our performance by showing the percentage of our assets beating their benchmarks over the same time periods.

The charts below reflect performance versus benchmark on a revenue-weighted basis on a trailing three-, five-, and ten-year basis over each of the last five years.

Our long-term performance has been strong and has improved since 2020, which was negatively impacted by the global equity market environment during the pandemic.

Data as of December 31 for the years 2020 to 2024

* Acadian assets representing 11%, 47%, 89%, 88% and 80% of revenue were outperforming benchmarks on a 1- year basis as of December 31, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023, respectively.

The chart below indicates performance on a revenue-weighted and equal-weighted basis relative to benchmark, as at December 31, 2023.

In addition, we have indicated the percentage of our assets beating their benchmarks over the same time periods.

While we believe the first two methodologies provide better insight into our performance trends, we have also included AUM-weighted performance, as this is a more standard industry performance metric.

Quant & Solutions Investment Performance*

* Assets representing 11%, 47%, 89%, 88% and 91% of revenue were outperforming benchmarks on a 1- year basis as of December 31, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024, respectively.

The charts below indicate performance as of December 31, 2024 on a revenue-weighted, equal-weighted, and asset-weighted basis relative to benchmark on a trailing three-, five-, and ten-year basis.

Investment Performance*

Data as of December 31, 2024 *

* As of December 31, 2023, Acadian assets representing 80% of revenue were outperforming benchmarks on a 1- year basis.

We face competition from many segments in the asset management industry.

We compete with other investment management firms, including investment management holding companies, insurance companies, and banks.

* As of December 31, 2024, assets representing 91% of revenue were outperforming benchmarks on a 1- year basis.

Figures calculated using gross of fee strategy composite returns.

Past performance is no guarantee of

future results.

This is not investment advice and may not be construed as sales or marketing material for any financial product or service sponsored or provided by Acadian LLC.

The industry in which we operate is highly competitive.

In order to be successful and grow our business, we must be able to compete effectively for AUM.

We compete globally with international and domestic investment management firms, hedge funds, and other subsidiaries of financial institutions for institutional assets.

Many of the organizations we compete with offer investment strategies similar to those offered by Acadian, and these organizations may have greater financial resources and distribution capabilities than we offer.

Many of the organizations we compete with offer investment strategies similar to those offered by us, and these organizations may have greater financial resources and distribution capabilities than we offer.

Some of these firms offer other products and services—in particular investment strategies such as passively managed products, including exchange traded funds, that typically carry lower fee rates.

1 unchanged sentence

We compete with these organizations to attract and retain institutional clients and their assets based on the following primary factors:

• the investment performance records of Acadian’s strategies;

• the breadth of active investment strategies and vehicle options offered by Acadian;

• the alignment of Acadian’s investment strategies to the current market conditions and investment preferences and needs of potential clients;

• the quality, depth, and reputation of the investment teams that executes Acadian’s strategies;

• the investment performance records of our strategies;

• the breadth of active investment strategies and vehicle options that we offer;

• the alignment of our investment strategies to the current market conditions and investment preferences and needs of potential clients;

• the quality, depth, and reputation of the investment teams that executes our strategies;

• the continuity of our investment and distribution teams;

• the caliber of service we provide our clients;

• Acadian brand recognition and reputation within the investment community

• our brand recognition and reputation within the investment community

Our History and Organizational Structure

The predecessor of BSIG was formed in 1980.

We were incorporated on May 29, 2014 as a private limited company under the laws of England and Wales.

At the time of our initial public offering of our ordinary shares in 2014, we changed our name to OM Asset Management plc.

On March 2, 2018, we announced the change of our name to BrightSphere Investment Group plc and on March 26, 2018, our ticker symbol changed to “BSIG.” On July 12, 2019, we completed a redomestication process to change from a company incorporated under the laws of England and Wales to a Delaware corporation.

The common stock of BrightSphere Investment Group Inc.

began trading on July 15, 2019, and our trading symbol on the NYSE remained unchanged as “BSIG.”

The predecessor of AAMI was formed in 1980.

We were incorporated on May 29, 2014 as a private limited company under the laws of England and Wales and completed a redomestication process to become a Delaware corporation on July 15, 2019.

Effective as of January 1, 2025, we changed our name from BrightSphere Investment Group Inc.

to Acadian Asset Management Inc.

We are subject to U.S.

1 unchanged sentence

regulatory and self-regulatory organizations.

Acadian is also subject to regulation in the U.S.

Acadian LLC (including its subsidiaries) is also subject to regulation in the U.S.

through its primary regulator, the SEC, under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as amended.

To the extent Acadian acts as investment adviser or sub-adviser to registered investment companies, it must also comply with the terms of the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended and the rules thereunder.

To the extent Acadian LLC acts as investment adviser or sub-adviser to registered investment companies, it must also comply with the terms of the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended and the rules thereunder.

The Advisers Act of 1940 imposes numerous obligations on registered investment advisers, including fiduciary, record keeping, advertising and operational requirements, disclosure obligations, and prohibitions on fraudulent activities.

The Investment Company Act of 1940 regulates the structure and operations of registered investment companies and imposes additional obligations on advisers to registered investment companies, including detailed disclosure and regulatory requirements applicable to the registered investment companies and additional compliance responsibilities which must strictly be adhered to by the funds and their advisers.

Acadian is also subject to the rules and regulations adopted by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, under the Commodity Exchange Act;

Acadian LLC is also subject to the rules and regulations adopted by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, under the Commodity Exchange Act;

and may also be subject to the rules and regulations adopted by the Department of Labor, under ERISA;

1 unchanged sentence

and state regulators.

Acadian may also be registered from time to time in jurisdictions outside of the U.S.

Acadian LLC and its subsidiaries may also be registered from time to time in jurisdictions outside of the U.S.

and will be subject to applicable regulation in those jurisdictions.

Acadian is also subject to regulation relating to the offer and sale of financial products in each of the European Union countries in which Acadian operates.

As Acadian expands distribution efforts into non-U.S.

jurisdictions, including other member countries of the European Union, Latin America, the Middle East and Asian countries, Acadian may be required to register with additional foreign regulatory authorities or otherwise comply with non-U.S.

Acadian LLC is also subject to regulation relating to the offer and sale of financial products in each of the European Union countries in which Acadian LLC and its subsidiaries operate.

As we expand distribution efforts into non-U.S.

jurisdictions, including other member countries of the European Union, Latin America, the Middle East and Asian countries, we may be required to register with additional foreign regulatory authorities or otherwise comply with non-U.S.

rules and regulations that currently are not applicable to our business.

Through wholly owned affiliates, Acadian is also subject to the regulatory environments of the non-U.S.

jurisdictions in which Acadian operates.

Acadian’s U.K.

affiliate is subject to regulation by the Financial Conduct Authority, or FCA.

Acadian’s Singapore affiliate is subject to regulation by the Monetary Authority of Singapore, or MAS.

Acadian Australia is subject to regulation by the Australian Securities and Investment Commission, or ASIC.

Through wholly owned subsidiaries, Acadian LLC is also subject to the regulatory environments of the non-U.S.

jurisdictions in which Acadian LLC operates.

Acadian LLC’s U.K.

subsidiary is subject to regulation by the Financial Conduct Authority, or FCA.

Acadian LLC’s Singapore subsidiary is subject to regulation by the Monetary Authority of Singapore.

Acadian LLC Australia is subject to regulation by the Australian Securities and Investment Commission.

Each regulatory body imposes a comprehensive system of regulation on investment advisers and the manner in which we conduct our business in that country.

6 unchanged sentences

We are committed to pay equity for employees doing similar work, regardless of gender, race or ethnicity and comply with applicable local regulations.

As of December 31, 2023, we had 387 full-time equivalent employees, of which 21 were employees of BrightSphere Investment Group Inc.

and 366 were employees of Acadian.

As of December 31, 2024, we had 383 full-time equivalent employees, of which 20 are at Hold Co.

None of these employees are represented by any collective bargaining agreements.

10 unchanged sentences

Available Information

Our web site is www.bsig.com.

Our web site is www.acadian-inc.com.

Our web site provides information about us, and from time to time we may use it as a distribution channel of material company information.

4 unchanged sentences

The information contained or incorporated on our web site is not a part of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

In addition, the SEC maintains a website that contains reports, proxy statement and other information about issuers, such as BSIG, who file electronically with the SEC.

In addition, the SEC maintains a website that contains reports, proxy statement and other information about issuers, such as AAMI, who file electronically with the SEC.

The address of the website is www.sec.gov.

Compared sentence by sentence after normalising whitespace, quotation marks, case and digits, so re-formatting and restated figures do not read as changed language. Wording changes appear as one removal and one addition. The current filing and the prior one are authoritative.

What changed 10-K

Item 1. Business