Acadian Asset Management (NYSE:AAMI) reported record assets under management, higher management fees and sharply improved earnings for the second quarter of 2026, supported by positive client flows, market appreciation and operating leverage.
President and Chief Executive Officer Kelly Young said the firm’s assets under management reached a record $232.7 billion as of June 30, up 54% from a year earlier. The company generated $4.3 billion in positive net client cash flows during the quarter, representing a 9% annualized organic growth rate, driven by its Enhanced and Extension strategies.
Revenue and Earnings Growth
Total ENI revenue, a non-GAAP measure Acadian uses to assess underlying operating performance, rose 47% year over year to $183 million. Management fees increased 44% to a record $177 million, reflecting a 66% increase in average assets under management to $220 billion.
ENI, or economic net income, climbed 107% to $47.5 million, while ENI diluted earnings per share increased 108% to $1.33. Adjusted EBITDA rose 79% from the prior-year period, according to Young. U.S. GAAP net income attributable to controlling interests increased 170%, and GAAP earnings per share rose 171% year over year.
Chief Financial Officer Scott Hynes said operating expenses increased 19%, primarily due to higher general and administrative costs, technology and infrastructure investments, asset-based servicing costs, sales compensation, and higher fixed compensation and benefits. Still, revenue growth enabled substantial operating leverage.
Acadian’s ENI operating margin expanded to 40.3% from 30.7% in the second quarter of 2025, while its operating expense ratio declined to 36.8% from 44.8%.
Variable compensation increased 39% year over year, but the variable compensation ratio declined to 37.5% from 45.4%. Hynes said the lower ratio reflected the faster relative growth of recurring management fee profit compared with performance fees. Assuming revenue mix and levels comparable to the second quarter, contractual allocations imply a full-year 2026 variable compensation ratio of approximately 38% to 42%.
Investment Performance and Product Demand
Young said Acadian delivered broad-based investment outperformance amid strong global equity-market gains and substantial volatility tied to geopolitical and macroeconomic conditions. Emerging markets posted their strongest quarterly gain since 2009, providing a tailwind for portfolio returns, he said.
Across the firm’s five major implementations—Global Equity, Emerging Markets Equity, non-U.S. Equity, Small-Cap Equity and Enhanced Equity—100% of assets outperformed their benchmarks over three-, five- and 10-year periods, except for one measure. On a shorter-term basis, 77% of assets outperformed over the trailing one-year period.
Acadian reported a revenue-weighted five-year annualized excess return over benchmark of 4.3% and an asset-weighted excess return of 3.6%. By revenue weight, 96% of strategies outperformed their benchmarks over the three-, five- and 10-year periods; by asset weight, 94% outperformed.
Young said demand for Enhanced Equity strategies remained strong and had broadened from primarily non-U.S. client interest into a global trend. He also cited growing interest in the company’s Extension strategies, which management had previously viewed as a more medium-term growth opportunity.
In the wealth channel, where Acadian said it has approximately 20% to 25% of assets, the company launched Global Tax-Aware and U.S. Tax-Aware funds during the quarter. The two strategies had $100 million in total assets under management, with the vast majority coming from external capital, Young said.
He added that cross-selling remains a meaningful part of the company’s pipeline, including clients shifting from long-only mandates to Extension strategies. Acadian said 27 of its top 50 clients were invested across multiple company strategies at the time of its recent investor event.
Credit Strategy and Fee-Rate Outlook
Young said Acadian’s systematic credit business was seeing increased investor engagement. Its U.S. High Yield strategy is expected to reach a three-year track record later in 2026, while the company also cited progress in U.S. Investment Grade and Global High Yield.
Management expects credit asset raising to accelerate more meaningfully in 2027 as three-year track records become available. However, Young said recent discussions with prospective investors had progressed toward later-stage opportunities and that meetings with investors had increased significantly during 2026.
Hynes said the company’s blended fee rate moved meaningfully lower year over year, from the upper 30s to the lower 30s, largely due to the impact of a large Enhanced strategy installation late in the first quarter. He said the company expects the fee rate to be relatively stable near second-quarter levels going forward, although it can fluctuate with client demand and market conditions.
Capital Position and Shareholder Returns
As of June 30, Acadian held $65 million in cash and $110 million in seed investments. It had a $200 million balance on its term loan credit facility and no outstanding borrowings on its revolving credit facility after repaying seasonal revolver borrowings during the quarter.
Gross debt to adjusted EBITDA was 0.8 times and net debt to adjusted EBITDA was 0.5 times. Hynes said the gross leverage level was below the company’s through-the-cycle target of 1.5 times.
During the quarter, Acadian repurchased 0.2 million shares for $10.6 million at a volume-weighted average price of $69.92. The company’s board also declared an interim dividend of $0.10 per share, payable Sept. 25 to shareholders of record as of Sept. 11.
Young said Acadian plans to prioritize organic growth and balance-sheet flexibility before returning excess capital through dividends and share repurchases.
About Acadian Asset Management (NYSE:AAMI)
Acadian Asset Management is a global investment management firm specializing in quantitative research and systematic strategies. Since its founding in 1986, the firm has developed data-driven models designed to identify and capture investment opportunities across equity and fixed income markets. By integrating advanced analytics, proprietary risk management tools and a disciplined investment process, Acadian seeks to deliver consistent performance for institutional clients.
The firm’s core offerings include institutional equity portfolios, fixed income strategies and multi-asset solutions.
