Victory Capital NASDAQ: VCTR Chairman and CEO David Brown told UBS that the firm’s priorities over the next 12 to 24 months include finishing the integration of its Amundi Pioneer acquisition, expanding distribution—particularly internationally—and remaining active in M&A.
Brown said Victory ended 2025 with $317 billion in assets under management (AUM) and characterized the year as “a big step forward” following the Pioneer transaction.
Integration progress and synergy outlook
Brown said Victory is “well into” integrating the Amundi Pioneer acquisition and highlighted progress against cost-savings targets. He noted the company has completed $97 million of its planned $110 million of net expense synergies, which he described as “around 90% complete.” He added that the remaining $13 million is expected to be completed through calendar year 2026.
When asked how Victory measures success for the Pioneer deal over the next 12 to 18 months, Brown cited several internal KPIs, including:
- Investment performance, which Brown said has not been disrupted by Victory’s acquisitions historically and is “as good, if not better” under Victory’s ownership versus under Amundi’s ownership, depending on product and time period.
- Synergy realization, with the goal of reaching the full $110 million target.
- Gross and net flows for the Pioneer business; Brown said Pioneer has been net flow positive each quarter since the acquisition and he does not expect that to change.
- International channel performance, where he said the firm has also been net flow positive since the transaction.
- Product development tied to Pioneer, including ETF launches; he said the company has launched one ETF already and expects more over time.
Distribution expansion and international “white space”
Brown said Victory has worked to build out its distribution platform by integrating and training sales teams and expanding intermediary partnerships. He emphasized that international distribution remains in the early stages, describing it as “white space” for the firm.
He said Victory has 22 UCITS products being sold throughout Europe and globally, primarily legacy Pioneer strategies across equities, fixed income, and multi-asset. The company has also begun introducing legacy Victory products into those channels, including launching five UCITS at the end of 2025—three of which are legacy Victory strategies. Brown said these will take time to be educated, added to platforms, and established, with benefits expected “through the end of 2026.”
Brown also said Victory has started selling its U.S.-listed ETFs through the international channel in 2026. Unlike new UCITS launches, he said the U.S.-listed ETFs already have track records and scale, making growth more dependent on educating the sales force and getting to market.
On geographic priorities, Brown said Victory’s biggest international opportunity is in Asia, including Japan and the rest of Asia. He also pointed to Europe, largely due to Amundi’s distribution strength there, and the Middle East, where he said a U.S.-listed investment manager is attractive to some investors.
M&A focus and industry consolidation
Brown said M&A will be a key driver for Victory over the next two years and that the current environment is conducive to acquisitions. He said Victory’s leverage is at a level where it can pursue deals, describing leverage as “around 1x” and “the lowest it’s been as a public company.”
In discussing potential targets, Brown referenced a $50 billion to $200 billion AUM range as a “sweet spot,” while noting the company could consider smaller or larger transactions. He said Victory would lean toward buying “a sizable and scaled platform,” similar in concept to the Pioneer deal.
Brown said sentiment among mid-sized asset managers has been evolving, with increasing challenges around distribution relevance, depth of product set, and the required investments in operations, technology, AI, and product structures such as ETFs. He said many firms are now thinking about either doing acquisitions or being acquired—conversations he suggested were less common five years ago.
Looking longer term, Brown reiterated Victory’s public goal of reaching $1 trillion in AUM and said that path would be “primarily” driven by M&A rather than organic growth alone. He described the company’s historical cadence as averaging a transaction “every year and a half” since its 2013 management buyout from KeyCorp.
Brown also argued that the industry will increasingly favor either small specialist firms or large “trillion-dollar type” managers with broad product sets, multiple vehicles (including ETFs, collective trust funds, and UCITS), and the operational scale to invest in technology and AI. He said he expects consolidation to accelerate.
Organic growth drivers: ETFs, fixed income, partnerships
Brown said Victory’s objective is to achieve organic growth and that net flows are the “last KPI” that needs to turn fully positive. He pointed to several areas he believes can drive improvement, including VictoryShares ETFs, international distribution, fixed income, global products, and multi-asset strategies.
On ETFs, Brown said Victory is focused on differentiated active offerings rather than “me-too” products or competing in beta strategies where there is a “race to zero.” He said Victory’s ETF platform is integrated across sales, marketing, and client service and highlighted that the average fee rate for its ETFs is about 34 basis points.
Brown also cited two fixed income franchises—the Pioneer portion and Victory Income Investors—and said the firm offers fixed income exposure through active ETFs, mutual funds, collective trust funds, and institutional separate accounts.
On distribution investment, Brown said Victory entered into about six new intermediary partnerships in late 2025 and into 2026, including arrangements such as premier partner status and added marketing and conference support. He added that the Pioneer acquisition effectively doubled the size of Victory’s intermediary sales force in 2025, and that cross-training sales teams across Pioneer and Victory products is ongoing.
Capital allocation: buybacks, dividend, and balance sheet
Brown said Victory’s first capital allocation priority is maintaining a balance sheet that supports acquisitions. With leverage currently around 1x, he said the firm is in a strong position.
He said the company is leaning more into share repurchases, stating Victory plans to buy back stock “aggressively” when it is not deploying capital into acquisitions. Brown also said Victory does not plan to abandon its dividend, noting the dividend has increased over time.
About Victory Capital NASDAQ: VCTR
Victory Capital NASDAQ: VCTR is a global investment management firm that provides a broad range of strategies across equities, fixed income, multi-asset and alternative investments. Serving institutional, intermediary and retail clients, the company delivers tailored solutions through active, research-driven portfolio management. Its product lineup includes traditional mutual funds, separately managed accounts, sub-advisory services and specialized strategies such as ESG-focused and municipal bond portfolios.
Founded in 1988, Victory Capital has expanded its capabilities via both organic growth and strategic acquisitions, integrating experienced investment teams to enhance its offerings in areas like smart beta, global equity and fixed income.
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