Affiliated Managers Group NYSE: AMG reported what management called “record results” for the first quarter of 2026, driven by strong demand for alternative strategies, particularly in liquid alternatives and private markets, alongside an elevated pace of share repurchases.
On the earnings call, President and CEO Jay Horgen said AMG posted Adjusted EBITDA of about $317 million and economic earnings per share of $8.23, representing year-over-year growth of 39% and 58%, respectively. He also highlighted record quarterly net client cash flows of more than $22 billion, bringing the last 12 months’ net flows to $52 billion, which he described as 7% organic growth over the period.
Chief Financial Officer Dava Ritchea said assets under management (AUM) rose to $882 billion, “the highest level in our history,” supported by record inflows to alternative affiliates and AUM added through new investments. Management emphasized these results came despite “market headwinds” and volatility during the quarter.
Alternative flows set records; equities remain a headwind
AMG’s results were anchored by what Ritchea called the fourth consecutive quarter of “positive and increasing net flows.” In liquid alternatives, affiliates generated $25 billion of net inflows—another record quarter—with contributions from “most of our liquid alternative affiliates,” including AQR, Capula, Garda, Systematica, and Winton, according to Ritchea.
Ritchea broke out the liquid alternatives flows by channel and strategy:
- $15 billion of net inflows from wealth clients into long-short tax-aware strategies
- $6 billion of net inflows into absolute return strategies from institutional clients
- $4 billion of inflows into retail products across both beta-sensitive and absolute return strategies
In private markets, affiliates raised $4 billion in the quarter, “primarily driven by Pantheon and secondary strategies,” along with infrastructure fundraising at Ara, EIG, and Qualitas Energy, Ritchea said. She added that AMG’s private markets profile is “structurally diversified,” noting that nearly 90% of private markets AUM is institutional and largely in drawdown-style funds.
Outside alternatives, Ritchea said multi-asset and fixed income affiliates generated $3 billion of net inflows, “mainly driven by BBH Credit Partners,” with additional contributions from Baker Street, Artemis, Beutel Goodman, and GW&K.
Equities were the main offset, with net outflows of about $9 billion, which Ritchea attributed to “ongoing industry and performance headwinds.” Still, she pointed to “pockets of strength,” including “consistent positive net flows at Artemis based on its excellent long-term track record of investment performance.”
Four growth areas and a focus on diversification
Horgen framed AMG’s organic growth around four themes: infrastructure, secondary solutions, absolute return strategies, and tax-aware long-short strategies. He said infrastructure and real estate affiliates manage more than $60 billion, while secondary solutions account for about $50 billion of private markets AUM. In liquid alternatives, he said affiliates manage more than $261 billion, including about $180 billion in absolute return strategies.
In response to analyst questions about whether flows were overly concentrated in any one area, Horgen said alternative flows were “balanced across each of these four areas,” with “none accounting for a majority,” both in the quarter and over the past year. He said AMG generated $29 billion of alternative flows during the quarter and $90 billion into alternatives over the past year.
Ritchea also highlighted what she described as a “positive mix shift” over the past year, contributing to an increase in AMG’s management fee rate and margin expansion at some of its largest affiliates, which she said benefited EBITDA.
AQR discussion: tax-aware strategies described as a minority contributor
Analysts asked about headlines and platform dynamics around AQR’s tax-aware strategies. Horgen said AQR is “an incredibly innovative business,” and that AMG was “not aware of anything that changes our positive outlook for the firm or their strategies and underlying trends supporting its ongoing business momentum.” He added that tax-aware strategies represent “one aspect of AQR’s broad platform.”
Horgen emphasized that at the AMG level, “long-short strategy and wealth account for just 8% of our assets under management,” and later clarified the tax-aware component “has contributed to less than 8% of our EBITDA” in the prior year’s first quarter. He also argued that tax-loss harvesting is “a three-decade-old business,” saying it has been around “since 1993,” and framed advisor focus on after-tax returns as a broader market reality rather than a new development.
He also said AMG’s “long-only outflows seem to be getting better,” adding that the company’s overall “flow story…is positive relative to what it’s been in the past.”
Wealth channel: Pantheon evergreen products and credit secondaries
When asked about demand for wealth-channel products, Ritchea said AMG remains constructive on the secular trend toward expanding portfolios beyond traditional allocations, describing evergreen structures as “an increasingly important way to access institutional quality alternatives in a more flexible wrapper.” She said AMG sees “the most compelling opportunities today in differentiated strategies led by credit secondaries,” citing liquidity needs, duration management, and “slower exits” as drivers of secondary activity.
Ritchea discussed three Pantheon-related products:
- P-BUILD (AMG Pantheon Infrastructure Fund), launched last year and still in its seed phase
- P-SECC (AMG Pantheon Credit Solutions Fund), launched within the last two years and focused on private credit secondaries; Ritchea said it has been “among the top performers in its peer set” since inception
- P-PEXX (AMG Pantheon Fund), launched in 2014; Ritchea highlighted its fee structure, noting a “lower management fee” and that it “does not charge performance fees”
Ritchea said these products are “a small but growing proportion of Pantheon,” and “represent less than 1% of AUM today” for AMG. She added that AMG has “several products” in development, including a “newly registered AMG BBH Fund,” which she said is expected to launch into a “compelling credit market environment” given its “opportunistic structure and alternative credit approach.”
Horgen said volatility may create an opportunity for differentiated offerings, stressing the importance of education and suitability in semi-liquid structures. He referenced the “newly registered BBH Opportunity Credit Fund,” saying, “It’s got it in its name.”
Guidance, performance fees, and capital allocation
Ritchea said fee-related earnings (excluding net performance fees) rose 29% year-over-year, driven by organic growth, investment performance, and margin expansion. Net performance fee earnings were $49 million, up $29 million from the prior year, with contributions from Capula, Winton, AQR, and ValueAct.
For the second quarter, Ritchea guided to Adjusted EBITDA of $290 million to $305 million, based on current AUM levels, including “seasonably lower Net Performance Fees of up to $10 million.” Assuming an adjusted weighted average share count of 26.7 million, she guided to second-quarter economic earnings per share of $7.60 to $8.01, with the midpoint representing about 45% growth versus Q2 2025.
On capital allocation, Horgen said AMG repurchased about $186 million of shares in the quarter, and that share buybacks over the last 12 months exceeded $700 million, reducing shares outstanding by 10%. Ritchea said the company expects to repurchase about $500 million of stock in 2026, “subject to market conditions and capital allocation activity.”
Ritchea also said conversions related to AMG’s 2037 junior convertible trust preferred securities were fully settled in cash in January, and that the $174 million conversion premium “effectively represented the repurchase of 600,000 adjusted diluted shares,” removing dilution from the capital structure.
Both executives described the balance sheet as strong, with long-dated debt and low leverage, supported by recurring after-tax cash flows “at record levels,” which Ritchea said are delivering about $1 billion annually. Horgen added that the company’s capital flexibility is a key strategic lever, describing capital allocation—across growth investments and repurchases—as “the most impactful element” of AMG’s strategy.
Looking at the pipeline for new investments, Horgen said AMG has been active over the last 18 months and suggested that lower public market valuations for alternatives could eventually affect M&A pricing, potentially improving the competitive backdrop for AMG. “We are open for business,” he said.
About Affiliated Managers Group NYSE: AMG
Affiliated Managers Group, Inc NYSE: AMG is a global asset management holding company that partners with boutique investment firms. Founded in 1993 and headquartered in West Palm Beach, Florida, AMG invests in and collaborates with independent investment managers to foster growth while preserving their entrepreneurial culture. Through equity stakes and strategic support, the company aims to enhance its affiliates' distribution capabilities, operational infrastructure and access to capital.
The company's core business activities include providing capital solutions, distribution services and operational support to affiliated investment firms.
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