As we have previously noted, our quality-oriented equity strategies have delivered strong long-term performance across cycles and have previously been our largest drivers of growth when in favor. For ETFs, we launched three new actively managed funds in the quarter, including a growth opportunities ETF from Silvant and US and international dividend strategies from our systematic team. Within retail separate accounts, while for the month we have seen an increase in sales, there was a large redemption from a client that rebalanced a lower fee, model-only mandate to a passive strategy. Turning now to our financial results, earnings in the operating margin declined modestly, reflecting lower average AUM, partially offset by lower operating expenses.
Earnings per share, as adjusted of $6.50, compared with $6.69 in the third quarter. In terms of our balance sheet and capital, we continue to have financial flexibility to balance our capital priorities of investing in the business, returning capital to shareholders, and appropriate leverage. The full year, we used $60 million to repurchase over 347,000 shares, representing 5% of beginning shares. We see significant growth opportunities for Keystone across both retail and institutional channels.
With regard to Crescent Cove, a private investment firm that focuses on providing flexible capital solutions to high-growth, middle-market technology companies, we completed a 35% minority investment. Crescent Cove has built a strong track record, growing to over $1 billion in AUM across multiple private funds with a diversified client base. We see long-term growth potential for Crescent Cove, including extensions into other products for broader client usage, and we're excited to be partnering with their team. Reviewing by product, institutional net outflows of $3 billion were primarily due to redemptions of quality domestic and global large cap growth strategies.