Affiliated Managers Group, Inc. (AMG) Business Profile

What it does

Affiliated Managers Group, or AMG, invests in independent investment firms that manage money for clients. It calls these firms Affiliates. AMG holds equity interests in them, while their management teams typically retain significant ownership and run their businesses day to day. Each partnership has its own operating agreement.

The Affiliates serve institutional and individual investors around the world. They manage investments in private markets, liquid alternative strategies, equities, and multi-asset and fixed income strategies. Some also provide investment counseling and fiduciary services to wealthy individuals, families and institutions.

AMG supports the firms it invests in with growth capital, product development and distribution, succession planning and strategic advice. Its distribution resources help Affiliates reach institutional and wealth clients alongside their own sales efforts. AMG also works with some Affiliates to develop, seed and distribute new investment products.

As of December 31, 2025, the Affiliates managed approximately $813 billion. That included approximately $146 billion in private market assets, approximately $227 billion in liquid alternatives, approximately $312 billion in equities and approximately $128 billion in multi-asset and fixed income strategies. Their products include funds and separately managed accounts, as well as exchange-traded funds.

AMG and its Affiliates had approximately 5,600 employees as of December 31, 2025; the substantial majority worked for the Affiliates rather than AMG.

How it makes money

AMG earns economic interests in its Affiliates through individually negotiated partnership agreements. The Affiliates earn asset-based fees on the capital they manage, and some strategies also earn performance-based fees when their investments meet applicable performance conditions. Asset-based fees depend on the amount and type of assets managed; performance fees can vary substantially between periods.

For Affiliates contributing a majority of consolidated revenue, AMG has agreements that give it a specified share of revenue without regard to expenses. In these arrangements, AMG participates in increases and decreases in revenue, while Affiliate management bears changes in operating expenses. AMG’s contractual share generally has priority over distributions to Affiliate management.

Other agreements give AMG a share of revenue after agreed expenses. Under those arrangements, AMG benefits when revenue rises or agreed expenses fall, but is exposed when revenue falls or those expenses rise. Its expense exposure varies by Affiliate, and at several Affiliates it shares fully in business expenses.

The accounting depends on ownership and influence. AMG consolidates an Affiliate when it owns a controlling equity interest. When AMG has significant influence without control, it generally records its share of the Affiliate’s earnings or losses as equity method income, rather than consolidating that firm’s revenue and expenses. Aggregate fees include fees earned by both consolidated and equity method Affiliates and are not a substitute for consolidated revenue.

The underlying strategies span private markets, liquid alternatives and long-only investments. Fee rates differ by strategy and client type. Some performance-fee arrangements use a high-watermark provision: after underperformance, a product must recover that shortfall before the Affiliate earns another performance fee. Affiliates may also reduce or waive fees for particular products or periods.

Customers and how it sells

AMG’s Affiliates manage assets for institutional and individual clients globally. Certain firms also offer customized investment counseling and fiduciary services to high-net-worth individuals, families and institutions. Their offerings include mutual funds, exchange-traded funds, separately managed accounts and other fund structures in the United States and international markets.

Affiliates use their own business development resources, supplemented by AMG’s distribution capabilities. AMG’s sales and marketing staff and strategic relationships provide access to institutional and wealth clients in the United States, Europe, the United Kingdom, the Middle East and Asia. Its U.S. wealth platform includes product development, operations and distribution teams. AMG also has an institutional distribution subsidiary in the United Kingdom and an institutional distribution branch regulated in Dubai.

For FY2025, United States revenue was $1.5 billion, representing 71.7% of revenue. United Kingdom revenue was $527.0 million, or 25.4%, and other revenue was $60.5 million, or 2.92%.

Client needs differ across the portfolio. Affiliates’ return-oriented strategies can be used in client portfolios, while some wealth management Affiliates manage multi-asset portfolios. Multi-asset and fixed income offerings include customized products oriented toward wealth preservation, estate planning, and liability and tax management.

Suppliers and costs

AMG’s operating model relies on Affiliate management teams to run their firms, including their investment and staffing functions. AMG and its Affiliates had approximately 5,600 employees as of December 31, 2025, of whom approximately 250 were in AMG’s own workforce. Each Affiliate controls its day-to-day human capital decisions.

The partnership agreements determine how operating costs affect AMG. In arrangements based on a share of revenue without regard to expenses, Affiliate management bears changes in expenses. In other arrangements, AMG shares in agreed expenses, with the extent of that exposure varying by firm. Several Affiliates have agreements under which AMG fully shares in business expenses.

AMG also spends on its distribution and other strategic capabilities, and it provides capital to develop and seed products. Both AMG and its Affiliates devote time and expense to legal and regulatory compliance. AMG’s cash uses in 2025 included investments in new Affiliates, debt repayment, distributions to Affiliate equity holders and share repurchases.

Competitive position

AMG’s Affiliates compete for clients with investment managers worldwide and subsidiaries of larger financial organizations. Some competitors have greater financial, technological or marketing resources, captive distribution, or more assets under management. Affiliates can also compete with one another for the same types of clients. No individual competitors are named.

AMG also competes to invest in independent firms. Other potential acquirers and investors include investment management companies, private equity firms, sovereign wealth funds and larger financial organizations. AMG identifies purchase price, partnership terms, access to capital formation and strategic advice, relationships and reputation as factors in winning those investments.

For client business, AMG identifies investment performance, the reputation and continuity of management teams, differentiated strategies, client relationships and distribution as important competitive factors. Passive products, including some exchange-traded funds, typically carry lower fee rates than products offered by some Affiliates. AMG also notes relatively few barriers to entry for new investment managers serving institutional and high-net-worth investors.

Our reading: AMG’s partnership structure offers a potential advantage in attracting firms that want capital while retaining independence, but competing investors can also offer capital and purchase price matters. Our reading: Distribution and established client relationships can support Affiliates’ competitive position, but their strength depends on continued performance and does not remove pressure from lower-fee products.

Growth opportunities

AMG’s growth strategy has three parts: invest in new Affiliate partnerships, invest in and alongside existing Affiliates, and develop AMG’s own capabilities for supporting them. Investments in existing firms can include additional equity purchases, seed capital for new products and other growth capital. AMG also uses cash flow to return capital to shareholders, primarily through share repurchases.

The company has directed investment toward alternative strategies, including private markets and liquid alternatives. It expects its business mix to continue evolving toward those areas as it invests in Affiliates and its strategic capabilities. Its U.S. wealth platform develops and distributes products for wealth clients, complementing Affiliates’ own distribution.

In 2025, AMG entered four new partnerships with independent firms collectively managing approximately $23 billion in alternative strategies. These included minority investments in NorthBridge Partners, Verition Fund Management, Montefiore Investment and Qualitas Energy. AMG also announced a partnership with Brown Brothers Harriman to acquire a minority interest in BBH Credit Partners; the transaction was completed in January 2026.

For the year ended December 31, 2025, assets under management increased $105.4 billion or 15%. The increase reflected investment performance, net client inflows and assets from new partnerships. Inflows into liquid alternatives and private markets fundraising more than offset equity-strategy outflows and the removal of assets associated with certain sales of Affiliate interests.

Structural risks

• Fees and performance: AMG’s results depend on asset- and performance-based fees earned by Affiliates. Performance fees can vary substantially between periods, and some products must recover prior underperformance before earning another performance fee.
• Assets under management: Market declines, volatility, currency and interest-rate movements, and changes in investor preferences can reduce managed assets. Lower assets can reduce the asset- and performance-based fees Affiliates earn.
• Fee and product mix: Different strategies and client types produce different asset-based fee ratios. A shift in the mix can reduce aggregate fees even if total managed assets remain unchanged or increase. Demand for lower-fee passive products can also pressure fee levels.
• Affiliate exposure: Partnership terms vary, and some Affiliates contribute more to results than others. Changes in their performance, assets, fees or operations can have a disproportionate adverse effect on AMG.
• Regulation: Affiliates and distribution businesses operate under extensive rules across jurisdictions. Their ability to conduct business and cross-border activities depends on continuing regulatory authorizations and exemptions, while compliance requires ongoing time and expense.

Bottom line

Our reading

Our reading: AMG is a portfolio of interests in independent asset managers rather than a single investment house; its partnership terms determine how much of each firm’s revenue or earnings reaches AMG. (item1) Its exposure is tied to managed assets, investment performance and fee mix, with individual Affiliates able to have disproportionate effects even as the portfolio spans several strategies. (item1; item1a)