Westwood Holdings Group Q1 2026 Earnings Call - AUM Surges to $18.3B as Energy and Private Capital Drive Growth

Conference Moderator, Conference Call Operator, Westwood Holdings Group: Welcome to the Q1 2026 Westwood Holdings Earnings Call. I would now like to hand the conference over to your first speaker today, Jill Meyer, Director of Fiduciary Services. Please go ahead.

Jill Meyer, Director of Fiduciary Services, Westwood Holdings Group: Thank you, and welcome to our 1st quarter 2026 earnings conference call. The following discussion will include forward-looking statements that are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause actual results to be materially different from those contemplated by the forward-looking statements. Additional information concerning the factors that could cause such a difference is included in our press release issued earlier today, as well as in our Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2026, that will be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. We undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements.

In addition, in accordance with SEC rules concerning non-GAAP financial measures, the reconciliation of our economic earnings and economic earnings per share to the most comparable GAAP measures is included at the end of our press release issued earlier today. On the call today, we have Brian Casey, our Chief Executive Officer, and Murray Forbes III, our Chief Financial Officer. I will now turn the call over to Brian Casey.

Brian Casey, Chief Executive Officer, Westwood Holdings Group: Good afternoon. Thank you for joining us for Westwood’s first quarter 2026 earnings call. I’m pleased to share our results and key developments from the quarter as well as our outlook for the remainder of the year. Before going into the details, I would like to highlight a few points from the first quarter. Our AUM grew to $18.3 billion, up from $17.4 billion at year-end 2025. Our ETF suite of products surpassed $315 million in combined AUM. West Two closed at over $300 million, and West Three fundraising is now underway. Combined institutional and intermediary gross sales were approximately $529 million. Finally, we completed the sale of Vista Bank, generating a net gain of approximately $2 million. I’ll start with a brief overview of our assets under management.

Firm-wide AUM increased from $17.4 billion at December 31, 2025 to $18.3 billion at March 31, 2026. This growth was driven primarily by our energy and real asset strategies, particularly private energy funds and energy-focused ETFs, which more than offset modest declines in U.S. value equity. Private fund AUM was the largest contributor, reflecting new commitments and capital deployment in our energy secondaries and co-investment vehicles. This growth was structural in nature rather than market dependent, which we see as a healthy and durable source of AUM diversification. The first quarter reflected the continuing evolution of our AUM mix. Client allocations are shifting toward income-oriented, real asset, and private market solutions driven by macroeconomic forces like energy security concerns, record global infrastructure investments, and persistent power demand growth from data centers and AI-linked infrastructure.

Traditional U.S. value equity strategies remain under pressure, although the pace of decline moderated during the quarter. Turning to the market environment, after reaching new all-time highs in late January, U.S. equities quickly faced a reversal. Military actions by the United States and Israel against Iran drove oil prices significantly higher in March, amplifying persistent market uncertainties. The S&P 500 fell 4.3% for the quarter, while small cap and mid cap stocks posted modestly positive returns. The standout story was energy. S&P 500 energy stocks gained more than 38% over the three-month period, and market leadership continued to broaden out from mega cap technology towards sectors like materials, utilities, consumer staples and industrials.

The Fed held the funds rate steady in the 3.5%-3.75% range as fourth quarter annualized GDP growth of 0.7% and lingering inflation kept policymakers on hold. Meanwhile, bond yields edged slightly higher, producing modestly negative returns for the quarter. With that market backdrop, let me turn to our long-term investment performance. Our results across strategy groups reflect a challenging near-term environment for value-oriented equities, along with several areas of genuine long-term strength that we find very encouraging. Within our U.S. value equity strategies, our SMidCap Value strategy continues to be a standout, ranking in the top quartile of both its investment and Morningstar peer groups over the trailing 3 years, a consistent and well-earned result. On a 10-year basis, our Large Cap Value Strategy has delivered competitive results relative to peers.

We recognize that parts of U.S. value strategies remain under pressure, but we are actively focused on delivering improved results and have seen some moderation in outflows. Turning to our multi-asset strategies, our results here are really encouraging. Our Multi-Asset Income Fund ranks in the top decile of its Morningstar peer category over both the trailing 3 and 5-year periods, a strong and consistent performance. Our Income Opportunity strategy ranks in the top third of Morningstar peers over the trailing 3-year period. Taken together, half or more of our multi-asset strategies are delivering top-tier results over meaningful time horizons. Our Salient energy and real asset strategies delivered solid performance amid a favorable environment for the sector.

Our MLP SMA strategy is in the top third of its investment master limited partnership peer group over trailing three years and is performing well relative to the Alerian MLP Index on a net-of-fee basis. MDST and WEEI, the Westwood Salient Enhanced Midstream Income ETF and the Westwood Salient Enhanced Energy Income ETF, continue to provide attractive yields to income-focused investors consistent with their stated objectives. Our tactical growth mutual fund also delivered positive results while providing capital preservation during the March correction. Looking ahead, we believe market conditions are evolving in a way that increasingly favors our investment philosophy. The broadening of sector leadership out from mega cap technology stocks toward energy, industrials, utilities, and other value-oriented segments is precisely the environment in which our active, quality-focused approach has historically excelled.

Geopolitical uncertainty, inflationary pressures from elevated oil prices, and potentially slower economic growth all create volatility, but they also create opportunity for disciplined investors like us who prioritize companies with strong cash flow, sound balance sheets, and reasonable valuations. Over the long term and across market cycles, we have consistently demonstrated that quality and value are durable sources of outperformance, and we are well-positioned to capitalize on that dynamic as the environment continues to evolve. Turning to distribution, our institutional channel reported gross sales of $322 million for the first quarter, with net inflows of $32 million. One major highlight was successfully onboarding our first institutional Managed Investment Solutions client, accounting for over $200 million in gross sales, an important validation of the MIS capability we’ve been building. Our pipeline remains robust across both value and energy strategies, with many new opportunities added during the quarter.

We are also initiating SMidCap due diligence with two of the largest national consultants, which reflects the attraction of SMidCap’s quality and competitiveness. We expect to see continued momentum in SMidCap Value for defined contribution plans. We anticipate that our private capital platform will attract increasing institutional interest following significant enhancements we have made to our personnel and organizational structure. In our intermediary channel, gross sales reached $207 million, led by energy and real assets, with net outflows of $34 million. MDST gained approval from its first major wirehouse, a very important distribution milestone. It continues to receive approvals from major national platforms. YLDW, our Enhanced Income Opportunity ETF, is approaching the $25 million threshold typically required for platform onboarding. Our broad market strategies are gaining traction as investor demand for risk mitigation has increased in the current elevated market volatility environment.

Finally, momentum from our West II capital raise is underpinning West III as it attracts early interest from RIAs, family offices, and independent advisors. Moving to our wealth management business, we entered 2026 with solid momentum as we continue to strengthen our multifamily office platform. Client engagement remained elevated throughout the quarter, reflecting ongoing market uncertainty and continued demand for proactive planning and thoughtful portfolio oversight. Our advisors maintained a disciplined long-term approach to asset allocation, which helped reinforce client confidence during periods of volatility. Client conversations are increasingly focused on holistic planning, particularly around tax positioning, liquidity management, and coordination with trust structures, areas where our integrated model is optimal. From an operational standpoint, we continue to make progress on process standardization and cross-functional alignment across our advisory, client service, and trustee. Our efforts are improving scalability while enhancing the overall client experience.

Business activity remained steady during the quarter, including several notable large inflows from our multifamily office approach. We continue to prioritize high-quality client relationships with significant long-term potential. Looking ahead, our focus remains on refining internal processes, enhancing reporting and communication, and strengthening collaboration across the platform to support sustainable growth. Beyond core business results, I’d like to highlight significant events and milestones achieved during the quarter. Our Enhanced Income Series ETFs achieved an important milestone as MDST, our Enhanced Midstream Income ETF, crossed the $200 million AUM threshold in February, a landmark for a fund that has been in the market for less than 2 years. Together with WEEI and YLDW, our 3 Enhanced Income Series ETFs have now surpassed $320 million in combined assets.

YLDW, the Westwood Enhanced Income ETF we launched last December, represents an important extension of our income ETF platform, being the first of our multi-asset strategies to be marketed as an ETF. YLDW combines a disciplined multi-asset allocation approach with a strategic covered call overlay, providing investors with a consistent and diversified source of current income plus potential capital appreciation. It is approaching $25 million in assets. MDST continues to maintain an annualized distribution rate of approximately 10%. Consistent with its income generation objective and its recent wirehouse approval is a truly meaningful step in expanding our distribution reach. We will continue to look for opportunities to expand our ETF lineup with innovative strategies that address investor demands.

Our energy secondaries business reached an important milestone as Westwood Energy Secondaries Fund II closed with over $300 million in capital commitments, more than double our initial $150 million target. Since launching our first energy secondaries fund in 2023, we have raised nearly $350 million and deployed over $250 million across two flagship funds and three co-investment vehicles. During the first quarter, we also received commitments for a new co-investment fund focused on an operated upstream platform. We have commenced fundraising for Westwood Energy Secondaries Fund III and its related co-investment fund, which we expect to market through early 2027, and it’s generating substantial early interest. To support this growing platform, we have added team members to our private capital operations team and implemented a new AI-driven technology tool to streamline key operational processes.

We completed the sale of our interest in Vista Bank during the quarter, receiving both cash and a stock consideration that enabled us to recognize a gain of approximately $2 million. In March, we celebrated the 25th anniversary of the Westwood Real Estate Income Fund, marking a quarter-century of disciplined investing, durable income generation, and a successful active management of publicly traded real estate securities. Since inception in 2001, the fund has navigated real estate and economic cycles while maintaining a philosophy grounded in fundamental analysis, valuation discipline, and rigorous risk management. We’re proud of the team that has delivered consistent results for our clients over such a long investment horizon. On April 1st, 2026, Westwood celebrated its 43rd year in business, a testament to our commitment to clients, our culture of continuous innovation, and the dedication of our entire team.

We are proud to be one of the very few asset management firms with this depth of history, and we remain committed as always to the principles that have guided us since our founding. Looking back on the first quarter of 2026, we are encouraged by the strategic progress we have made across our business. Our ETF platform has scaled meaningfully. Our private capital strategy is gaining significant institutional and intermediary traction, and our distribution channels continue to build a healthy pipeline. The evolving market environment, characterized by broader sector leadership, elevated energy prices, and a renewed interest in quality and value, is one in which we believe Westwood is well-positioned to deliver for our clients and shareholders. With 43 years of experience, a diversified and growing product platform, and demonstrated long-term performance in our core strategies, we are confident in our ability to capitalize on the opportunities ahead.

Thank you for your continued support and confidence in Westwood. I will now turn the call over to our CFO, Murray Forbes III.

Murray Forbes III, Chief Financial Officer, Westwood Holdings Group: Thanks, Brian, and good afternoon, everyone. Today, we reported total revenues of $25 million for the first quarter of 2026 compared to $27.1 million in the fourth quarter and $23.3 million in the prior year’s first quarter. First quarter revenues were lower than the fourth quarter due to lower average AUM as well as fourth quarter recognition of performance fees for the prior year. First quarter revenues were higher than last year’s first quarter due to the solid growth in our business reflected in higher average AUM and growth from our ETFs and private energy secondaries funds.

Our first quarter income of $0.8 million or $0.09 per share compared with $1.9 million or $0.21 per share in the fourth quarter on lower revenues and higher compensation expenses, offset by a gain from the sale of our investment in a private bank and lower income taxes. Non-GAAP economic earnings were $2.8 million or $0.31 per share in the current quarter versus $3.3 million or $0.36 per share in the fourth quarter. Our first quarter income of $0.8 million or $0.09 per share compared favorably to last year’s first quarter income of $0.5 million due to 2026’s higher revenues and gains from our investment in a private bank offset by higher compensation expenses.

Economic earnings for the quarter were $2.8 million or $0.31 per share compared with $2.5 million or $0.29 per share in the first quarter of 2025. Firm-wide assets under management and advisement totaled $18.3 billion at quarter end, consisting of assets under management of $17.3 billion and assets under advisement of $0.9 billion. Assets under management consisted of institutional assets of $9 billion or 52% of the total, wealth management assets of $4.2 billion or 24% of the total, and mutual fund and ETF assets of $4.1 billion or 24% of the total. Over the quarter, our assets under management experienced net outflows of $50 million and market appreciation of $0.8 billion. Our assets under advisement experienced market appreciation of $48 million and net outflows of $50 million.

Our financial position continues to be solid with cash and liquid investments at quarter end totaling $34.2 million and a debt-free balance sheet. I’m happy to announce that our board of directors approved a regular cash dividend of $0.15 per common share payable on July 1, 2026 to stockholders of record on June 1, 2026. That brings our prepared comments to a close. We encourage you to review our investor presentation we have posted on our website reflecting quarterly highlights as well as discussion of our business, product development

Longer term trends and revenues. We thank you for your interest in our company, and we’ll open the line to questions.

Conference Moderator, Conference Call Operator, Westwood Holdings Group: Thank you. At this time, we’ll conduct a question-and-answer session. As a reminder, to ask a question, you will need to press star one one on your telephone and wait for your name to be announced. To withdraw your question, please press star one one again. Please stand by while I compile the Q&A roster. As a reminder, to ask a question, please press star one one on your telephone and wait for your name to be announced. I am showing no questions at this time. I will now turn it over to Brian Casey for closing remarks.

Brian Casey, Chief Executive Officer, Westwood Holdings Group: Great. Well, thank you. I first want to thank our long-term and our new shareholders for approving our entire slate of directors today and all the other items we had on the agenda. Just in closing, our mid-cap performance has remained strong and our pipeline of opportunities has grown to over $1 billion. Our Managed Investment Solutions pipeline’s improving every week, we’re optimistic that we will land our next institutional client in the coming months. We continue to build out our private capital platform, we’re anxious to kick off fundraising for our next fund. Finally, our ETF platform is seeing strong demand with higher trading volumes and growing AUM, we’re excited to see MDST go fully live tomorrow across 1 of the major wires. That should be exciting. Thanks so much for your time. We appreciate it.

Visit westwoodgroup.com or call Murray Forbes or I if you have questions. Thanks so much.

Conference Moderator, Conference Call Operator, Westwood Holdings Group: Thank you for your participation in today’s conference. This does conclude the program. You may now disconnect.