Inquiring about the reasons for the variable compensation expense being lower than expected in the quarter.

Scott Hynes explained that the lower variable compensation ratio was primarily driven by the disproportionately faster growth in management fees and management fee profits compared to performance fees, which positively impacted the profit before variable compensation. “If management fees are growing proportionately more quickly, larger than the performance fees, that would typically put that variable compensation ratio down.”

Asking for an update on the private wealth strategy, product wrapper, and distribution approach, specifically for the tax-aware dynamic extension strategy.

Kelly Young highlighted that 20-25% of current assets are in the wealth channel. They launched two tax-aware funds (global and U.S.) in Q2 '26, managing GBP 100 million, mostly external capital. She emphasized the suitability of their process for after-tax outcomes and the strength of their experienced distribution team. “we were very excited in the second quarter to launch our tax aware capabilities. And we actually launched two funds during the quarter, global tax aware and a U.S. tax aware. And we now manage total assets in those two strategies of GBP 100 million, and the vast majority of that is external capital.”

Inquiring about the proportion of cross-selling in the sales pipeline versus new customers, and actions to expand penetration within existing clients, including hurdles and plans to overcome them.

Kelly Young stated that cross-selling is a meaningful part of their pipeline due to deep client relationships and multiple mandates. She noted that client issues often reflect broader market demand, and their long-standing client service team has been very successful in this area, requiring no change in approach. “Cross-sell is always a meaningful part of our pipeline. I think that will continue to be the case going forward as we continue to develop strategies that we think are solving problems for our clients across the globe.”

AAMI

Acadian Asset Management (AAMI) Q2 FY26 earnings call: guidance and Q&A

Earnings call· Jun 2026 (Q2 FY26)· Financials· Jul 30, 2026

Source: earnings call transcript

Executive summary

Acadian Asset Management Q2 FY26 — Record AUM and Strong Profitability

Acadian Asset Management delivered exceptional Q2 FY26 results, achieving record assets under management and significant profitability growth, driven by strong net client cash flows and market appreciation. The firm continues to strengthen its balance sheet and return capital to shareholders, while strategically investing in talent and technology to maintain its competitive edge in systematic investing.

Highlights

GAAP net income attributable to controlling interests was up 170% compared to the prior year.
ENI diluted EPS was up 108% to $1.33.
Adjusted EBITDA was up 79%.
Realized $4.3 billion of positive net client cash flows, representing a 9% annualized organic growth rate.
Assets Under Management (AUM) grew 54% from Q2 '25 to $232.7 billion, marking a new record high.
ENI operating margin expanded nearly 10 percentage points to 40.3% from 30.7% in Q2 '25.
Achieved 10 consecutive quarters of positive net flows.

Concerns

Challenging geopolitical and macroeconomic backdrop

Guidance & targets

Category	Target	Timeline	Confidence
Full-year 2026 variable compensation ratio	approximately 38% to 42% medium materiality	FY26	High

Product announcements

Product	Type	Timeline	Details
Global Tax Aware and U.S. Tax Aware funds	launch	during the quarter

Deals & partnerships

TC43 Acquisition of talent and capabilities from former TC43 team.

Acadian welcomed Jonathan Briggs and other members of the former TC43 team to its investment organization. Their research, data engineering, and modeling capabilities are highly complementary to Acadian's systematic investment platform and are expected to accelerate work across its research and innovation agenda.

Risks & headwinds

Challenging geopolitical and macroeconomic backdrop Q2 '26

unquantified

Mitigation:navigated successfully, strong investment performance.

What to watch in Q3 FY26

Systematic fixed income AUM growth

Next quarter and 2027

Current Pipeline deepening, conversations maturing from early-stage to later-stage.

Target Increased asset raising and funding of near-term opportunities.

Why it matters

Indicates successful diversification into new product areas and future revenue growth.

I'd say when I look at the pipeline, we're continuing to see that deepen, and we're seeing it start to mature from early-stage opportunities... I think we're completely on track with where we'd like to be with credit. So the nature of those conversations are changing and moving to more later stage versus kind of early-stage discovery type meetings.

Find out whether AAMI delivers this. Inve re-checks your case every morning.

Q&A highlights

Seeking details on the institutional pipeline, including themes, strategies, and client domiciles.

Kelly Young stated the pipeline is healthy and global, with strong demand for enhanced equity and increasing momentum in extension strategies. Long-only strategies also continue to see interest, with broad global client engagement.

“Demand for our enhanced equity strategies remains very strong... And the other area of real interest that we're seeing is within our extension strategies.”

asked by Kenneth Lee · answered by Kelly Ann Young

2 min read 5 chapters

Detailed narrative

Leadership Transition and Talent Investment

Alex Voitenok, Deputy CIO, will become Co-CIO alongside Brendan Bradley, effective January 1, 2027, enhancing oversight in portfolio construction, data, and risk. Acadian also welcomed Jonathan Briggs and other former TC43 team members, whose research, data engineering, and modeling capabilities are highly complementary to the systematic investment platform.

These strategic moves reflect Acadian's commitment to talent, technology, and organizational continuity, supporting its research and innovation agenda.

Strong Investment Performance

Acadian's investment performance track record remains robust, with 100% of assets in five major implementations (global equity, emerging markets equity, non-U.S. equity, small-cap equity, and enhanced equity) outperforming benchmarks across 3-, 5-, and 10-year periods, with only one exception. Over the trailing one-year period, 77% of assets outperformed.

This broad-based outperformance reinforces the consistency and resilience of Acadian's disciplined systematic investment process, refined over its 40-year history.

Institutional Pipeline Strength

The institutional pipeline continues to be healthy and active globally, even after significant client wins in Q2 2026. Demand for enhanced equity strategies remains very strong, now observed as a global trend, and momentum is increasing in extension strategies, which were previously considered a medium-term opportunity.

Long-only strategies, particularly broader and more diversified allocations like global, non-U.S., and EM, also continue to attract interest from clients worldwide.

Private Wealth Expansion

Acadian launched two tax-aware funds, global and U.S. tax-aware, in Q2 FY26, which now manage a total of GBP 100 million in assets, predominantly external capital. This initiative leverages Acadian's long-term alpha generation and extension strategies to meet client demands for after-tax outcomes.

The firm's experienced distribution team and existing deep relationships in the wealth channel, including a recent large U.K. wealth manager win, position it well for continued growth in this segment.

Systematic Fixed Income Progress

The systematic fixed income segment is progressing as planned, with the U.S. high-yield product on track to achieve its three-year track record by the end of 2026. The credit team's performance in U.S. investment grade and global high yield has led to deepening client pipelines, with conversations shifting from early-stage discovery to more advanced opportunities.

While significant asset raising was anticipated in 2027, near-term opportunities are also emerging, indicating positive momentum.

Summary of the company's earnings call; see how call summaries are prepared. Not investment advice.