It has been a landmark year for AMG, with record net inflows in alternative strategies and near-record levels of capital deployed in growth investments across both new and existing affiliates. Our third-quarter results reflect a building momentum in our business, with a 17% year-over-year increase in EBITDA and a 27% growth rate in economic earnings per share. Through the third quarter, across both organic growth and new affiliate investments, AMG has added approximately $76 billion in alternative assets under management, representing an increase of nearly 30% in our total alternative AUM. Today, our affiliates manage $353 billion in alternative AUM, contributing 55% of our EBITDA on a run-rate basis, and including sizable contributions from two of AMG's largest and longest-standing affiliates, Pantheon and AQR.

Both firms continue to capitalize on the tailwinds in their respective areas by leveraging their scale, innovative cultures, and differentiated expertise, which are collectively driving strong, ongoing organic growth for AMG. These elements are continuing to have a meaningful impact on our business profile and earnings. As you know, we expect each affiliate to be a double-digit contributor to AMG's earnings this year. Looking ahead, we have expanding opportunities to further invest in growth by investing in new and existing affiliates, and by investing in AMG's strategic capabilities to magnify our affiliate success.

Our new investment pipeline remains strong, with active ongoing dialogue with prospective affiliates operating in both private markets and liquid alternatives. Our strategic capabilities, particularly in capital formation, increasingly differentiate AMG in our dialogue with prospective affiliate partners. We recently announced a strategic collaboration which highlights the value of AMG's capital formation capabilities in the U.S. AMG invested in Comvest to provide a combination of growth capital and strategic capabilities that accelerated the growth of its credit franchise.

What went well
  • Adjusted EBITDA of $251 million grew 17% year-over-year and economic earnings per share of $6.10 grew 27% year-over-year
  • Record quarterly net inflows in liquid alternatives of $14 billion, the strongest in AMG's history, driven primarily by tax-aware solutions
  • $9 billion in firm-wide net inflows in the quarter ($18 billion into alternatives offsetting $9 billion of active-equity outflows), lifting YTD net inflows to $17 billion (3% annualized organic growth)
  • Committed more than $1 billion across five new growth investments in 2025 (NorthBridge, Verition, Montefiore, Qualitas Energy) plus a BBH Credit Partners strategic collaboration
  • Realized gains from stake sales in Peppertree (~$260M pre-tax proceeds) and Comvest (~$285M, nearly 3x purchase price), strengthening the capital position
  • Raised full-year share-repurchase guidance to at least $500 million after $77 million repurchased in Q3 ($350 million YTD)
What went wrong
  • Active/fundamental equity strategies saw about $9 billion in outflows in the quarter, a continuing industry-wide headwind
  • Fee-related earnings growth was partially offset by outflows from fundamental equity strategies
  • AMG tends to own more of the affiliates experiencing outflows, so the outflow mix works against ownership economics
  • Q4 guidance excludes any contribution from the announced Qualitas Energy and BBH Credit Partners investments, which had not yet closed

Guidance Changes

MetricPeriodCurrent guidance
Adjusted EBITDAQ4 2025$325M-$370M
Net performance feesQ4 2025$75M-$120M
Net performance fees (full year)FY 2025$110M-$155M
Economic earnings per shareQ4 2025$8.10-$9.26
Adjusted weighted average share countQ4 202528.9 million
Share repurchasesFY 2025at least $500 million
Adjusted EBITDA and economic EPSFY 2026meaningful increase expected, driven by organic growth and capital allocation

Performance Breakdown

MetricYoYNote
Adjusted EBITDA +17% Investment performance, organic growth in alternatives, full quarter of Verition and Peppertree's final contribution
Economic earnings per share +27% EBITDA growth plus the benefit of share repurchases reducing share count
Fee-related earnings (ex net performance fees) +15% Positive investment performance and organic growth in alternatives, partially offset by fundamental equity outflows
Total alternative AUM +~30% (~$76B added, incl. $51B net inflows) Organic growth in alternatives plus new affiliate investments; total now $353 billion
AQR AUM grew from ~$100B (start of 2024) to $166B at Sept 30 Mostly organic flows led by tax-aware wealth strategies and strong performance across liquid alts and 40-Act long-only

Earnings Call Themes & Trends

TopicPrevious mentionCurrent periodTrend
Shift of business mix toward alternativesalternatives a growing share; historically shrinking ~10% organicallyalternatives are 55% of EBITDA on a run-rate basis, targeting more than two-thirds within a few years
Tax-aware / after-tax investing in U.S. wealthemerging paradigm shift led by AQRrecord liquid-alt inflows driven by tax-aware solutions; AMG sees it as still in early innings
U.S. wealth alternatives platformalternatives AUM on the wealth platform ~$1 billiongrown to more than $7 billion; BBH collaboration to bring structured credit to the wealth channel
New investment pipeline and capital deploymentsteady new-affiliate activitynear-record deployment; five new growth investments and a strategic collaboration in 2025, targeting mid-to-high-teens returns
2026 earnings outlooknot previously framedmeaningful increase anticipated from full-year contribution of new investments, organic growth, margin expansion at AQR/Pantheon, and buybacks

Q&A Summary

How did the BBH Credit Partners collaboration come about, and did they seek AMG out?
Management said the two firms effectively found each other: BBH had an excellent structured credit franchise it was considering, and AMG had a strong view on structured credit as a U.S. wealth opportunity. AMG won on complementary strengths (BBH's underwriting/pricing/risk management and AMG's product development, capital formation and seed capital), the permanent nature of AMG's model, and strong cultural fit.
How should we think about the new-investment activity level going into next year after a strong 2025?
The pipeline remains strong with near-record deployment, focused on secular-growth areas across private markets and liquid alternatives, and on firms that value AMG's strategic capabilities. AMG will stay disciplined, targeting mid-to-high-teens returns, and will return capital via buybacks (share count already down 40% over six years) when it cannot find attractive investments.
It's early to guide to 2026 - can you frame the growth expectations, including AQR and Pantheon margin expansion?
Management said new investments contribute only a partial year in the year they close, so 2026 gets their full-year benefit, layered on top of mid-year organic-growth momentum in businesses that also have margin-expansion potential. A specific 2026 number was deferred, but the combination of new investments, buybacks and alternative net inflows is expected to be impactful to 2026 EPS.
What is driving the divergence between reported organic growth and the larger EBITDA contribution from flows?
The CFO explained the business has turned from shrinking ~10% annually to +3% YTD and +5% annualized this quarter. Alternative inflows go into higher-fee, longer-lock strategies with future performance-fee/carry potential, while outflows are concentrated in lower-fee open-ended equity funds, so the higher fee rates more than offset the outflows and lift the aggregate fee rate.
Can you break down the flow picture across the different asset classes?
Flows are driven by affiliate-strategy alignment with demand, evolving business mix, and AMG-level product/distribution lift. In Q3 private markets raised $4 billion (Pantheon, EIG, Abacus), liquid alternatives set a record at $14 billion (fifth straight positive quarter, ~$38 billion cumulative), while equities saw ~$9 billion of outflows in line with the industry, though Beta and pockets like Artemis and River Road remained bright spots.
Can you give more color on AQR specifically?
AQR is a top-three global liquid-alts business with a large tax-aware wealth franchise and a 40-Act long-only business, all seeing inflows on strong performance. Its tax-aware approach using long-short techniques delivers superior after-tax outcomes; with a two-plus-year first-mover head start onboarding the largest wealth platforms, AMG expects continued momentum. AQR's assets grew from about $100 billion at the start of 2024 to $166 billion at September 30, mostly from organic flows.
How is the mix between fee-related earnings and performance-related earnings evolving?
The CFO noted the year-over-year aggregate fee rate rose and fee-related earnings grew about 15% year-over-year, with the business mix shifting toward a higher contribution from fee-related earnings and products of longer expected duration.

More on Affiliated Managers Group, Inc.

Reported 2025-11-03 · figures from the Affiliated Managers Group, Inc. Q3 2025 earnings call.

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