BOSTON–(BUSINESS WIRE)–BrightSphere Investment Group Inc. (NYSE: BSIG), or the “Company,” today announced that it is taking the logical next step in transitioning from its multi-boutique legacy structure to an efficient, streamlined and singularly focused asset manager. As part of this transition, which included the successful divestiture of six (6) of the company’s seven (7) affiliates, the Board of Directors has appointed Kelly Young, Chief Executive Officer of the Company’s sole remaining affiliate, Acadian Asset Management, as the Company’s President and Chief Executive Officer. Additionally, Ms. Young has been appointed to the Board of Directors of the Company. Ms. Young will continue to run the day-to-day operations of the Acadian Asset Management business. All changes are effective January 1, 2025.
Acadian, with $113 billion of assets under management and over 35 years of data-driven insights, is one of the top performing systematic investment managers in the world with unique capabilities in active equities, credit, and alternatives. Acadian uses rigorous portfolio construction, risk controls, and trading models to achieve outstanding investment performance, with 93%, 86%, 92% and 93% of strategies by revenue outperforming benchmarks over 1-, 3-, 5-, and 10-year periods.
As part of the transition, BSIG plans to change its name to Acadian Asset Management Inc., and the Company’s New York Stock Exchange symbol for its common stock will change to AAMI from BSIG. The Company’s New York Stock Exchange symbol for its 4.800% notes due 2026 will change to AAMI 26 from BSIG 26. Trading under the new name and symbol will begin on or about January 2, 2025.
“This repositioning of the public company allows for continued, sustained success and organic growth,” said Ms. Young. “I’m excited to continue working alongside the experienced team at Acadian and the Board to deliver best-in-class investment performance, diversified systematic strategies, and top-tier service to our investors.” Ms. Young will lead the more streamlined enterprise with a continued focus on generating alpha across its systematic investment platform. She added, “client-centered engagement is at the foundation of our business and will remain at the core of everything we do.”
In connection with the appointment of Ms. Young as President and Chief Executive Officer of the Company, Suren Rana will step down as President and Chief Executive Officer, effective December 31, 2024. There are no additional changes in personnel at Acadian or BrightSphere expected in connection with this transition.
“When I acquired our stake in BrightSphere, we had seven different affiliates. Over time we sold six of the affiliates to strategic acquirors and kept our crown jewel Acadian. This simplification of our business also allowed us to return $1.3 billion of capital to shareholders via share buybacks and strengthen our balance sheet by reducing debt. We also reduced our corporate overhead by approximately 70% over time, while making meaningful investments in expanding Acadian’s business into new areas including credit and equity alternatives which we expect will help generate sustained organic growth for the Company over time. Collectively, these efforts have produced strong returns for our shareholders. I thank Suren for his leadership and execution of this business transformation and wish him continued success in his future endeavors.
“This evolution to a single asset management company presents an exciting opportunity to focus exclusively on this exceptional business. At $113bn of AUM, Acadian has the scale, expertise, and track record to prosper as an independent public company. Kelly has years of hands-on experience building trusted relationships with Acadian’s clients from around the globe and is best positioned to lead the Company going forward. I look forward to continuing our work to build future value for Acadian’s clients and our shareholders,” said John Paulson, Chairman of the Board of Directors.
About BrightSphere and Acadian
BrightSphere is a global asset management holding company with one operating subsidiary, Acadian Asset Management, with approximately $113 billion of assets under management as of June 30, 2024. Acadian offers institutional investors across the globe access to a wide array of leading systematic strategies designed to meet a range of risk and return objectives. For more information, please visit BrightSphere’s website at www.bsig.com or Acadian’s website at www.acadian-asset.com. Information that may be important to investors will be routinely posted on the BSIG website.
