韦斯特伍德控股 (WHG) 2026年第三季度业绩电话会：营收增长，ETF达4.6亿美元

Westwood Holdings（NYSE: WHG）公布2026年第三季度营收增长且盈利实现环比改善，主要得益于私募资本分配、ETF以及私募能源二级市场基金的推动。然而，受资金净流出与市场减值影响，其资产管理规模有所下滑。

核心要点

• 2026年第三季度营收达到2660万美元，高于2026年第二季度的2530万美元以及2025年第三季度的2430万美元。
• 净利润为310万美元，即每股0.34美元，而第二季度为150万美元（即每股0.17美元）。业绩中计入了170万美元的遣散相关薪酬费用。
• Non-GAAP经济收益环比增至440万美元，即每股0.48美元，但低于上年同期的570万美元（即每股0.64美元）。
• 全公司资产管理与咨询规模总计171亿美元。当季AUM录得3亿美元的净流出以及6亿美元的市场减值。
• Westwood旗下ETF平台的规模超过4.3亿美元（截至9月30日），并在业绩电话会召开前一日增至约4.6亿美元。
• 私募募资规模在第三季度达到约3000万美元，年内迄今累计近2亿美元。

关键财务数据

业务与运营表现

Westwood的机构渠道录得5.563亿美元总销售额以及300万美元净流出。一家《财富》50强企业的大型固定缴款计划为公司的SMidCap（中小盘）策略注资，而净流出则集中于SmallCap Value（小盘价值）策略，包括两家公共养老金计划客户。

共同基金与ETF录得1.42亿美元总销售额以及8700万美元净流出。能源和实物资产策略领跑总销售额与净销售额，而ETF则实现了正向净流入。

截至9月30日，ETF资产包括近2.85亿美元的MDST、逾1.05亿美元的WEEI以及超过4000万美元的YLDW。新推出的Westwood Salient增强型电力与基础设施ETF——PWRX，在电话会召开前一日已突破1700万美元。PWRX也是得克萨斯证券交易所挂牌上市的首只ETF。

该公司还同意重组与Webb's Investments的合作关系。在获得股东批准的前提下，DVQQ与DBSP预计将转移至Ultimus Managers平台，并由Westwood担任投资顾问。

在私募资本方面，Westwood推出了能源二级跟投基金VII，并锁定了约3000万美元的新增承诺出资（涵盖新设及现有能源二级市场基金）。该公司还录得255万美元的收益（得益于得克萨斯证券交易所以更高估值完成新一轮融资），以及未实现收益333,707美元（与Ridgeline的E轮融资相关）。

管理层展望

管理层对前景持审慎乐观态度。公司预计，与电力基础设施、人工智能（AI）、数据中心以及制造业回流相关的需求将为其能源策略带来机遇；同时，市场波动的加剧可能会激发市场对专注于风险防范的美国价值股策略和多资产策略的关注。

公司预计将获得更多面向固定缴款养老金计划的SMidCap策略投资委托，并期望随着资产规模扩大拓展ETF平台的准入覆盖。在获得基金股东批准的前提下，公司的目标是在2027年初完成DVQQ和DBSP的重组。

Westwood还预计将于明年完成其财富管理策略向联合家族办公室模式的转型。

风险与关注重点

该季度AUM同时受到资金净流出与市场减值的双重压力。机构渠道的流出主要集中在小盘价值股（SmallCap Value）策略；而尽管ETF录得净流入，共同基金与ETF合计仍录得8700万美元的净流出。

第三季度业绩中计入了170万美元的遣散相关薪酬费用。与2025年第三季度相比，净利润还受到专业服务费用增加和所得税上升的影响。

管理层表示，私募资本基金表现良好，但并未透露潜在附带权益（carried interest，业绩报酬）的具体时间表或金额。此外，拟议的ETF重组仍有待股东批准。

分析师问答环节精选

在谈及ETF分销时，首席执行官布莱恩·凯西（Brian Casey）表示，ETF总资产规模已增至约4.6亿美元，大约比季度末高出3000万美元。MDST已获得美国最大的综合经纪商（wirehouse）之一的准入批准，Westwood目前正为WEEI争取类似批准。

凯西表示，Westwood旗下的四只ETF旨在提供差异化的收益策略。例如，WEEI将广泛的能源敞口与旨在产生额外收益的备兑看涨期权（covered-call）策略相结合。

在谈及私募资本业务模式时，管理层表示，管理费率通常在1%左右，附带权益通常为超过8%回报率部分的15%，不过各基金的具体条款并不完全一致。Westwood表示，其一直以约每1美元0.65至0.70美元的价格收购资产，但拒绝预测何时能确认附带权益或可能产生多少收益。

财报电话会议实录全文

完整财报电话会议逐字稿

管理层陈述

Operator

[Operator Instructions] Be advised that today's conference is being recorded. I would now like to hand the conference over to your first speaker today, Jonathan Nahhat, Director, Senior Legal Counsel. Please go ahead.

Unknown Speaker

Thank you and welcome to our third 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 September 30, 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 measure 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 Terry Forbes, our Chief Financial Officer. I will now turn the call over to Brian Casey.

Brian Casey

Good afternoon and thank you for joining us for Westwood's third quarter 2026 earnings call. I'm pleased to share the quarter's results and key developments as well as our outlook for the remainder of the year. Before we dive into the details, I'd like to highlight several key points from the quarter. Our Enhanced Power and Infrastructure ETF, PWRX, PowerX, just launched in September as the very first ETF on the Texas Stock Exchange. Westwood's ETF platform now exceeds $430 million in assets. We closed approximately $30 million in new private capital commitments. And finally, a large defined contribution plan of a Fortune 50 company funded our SMidCap strategy.

The third quarter delivered a mixed bag across markets. Many major indices posted positive performance. However, underlying results varied with large-cap stocks advancing while small- and mid-cap stocks declined. Energy was the clear standout as the energy sector posted strong double-digit gains. MLPs also advanced, even as the broader midstream index moved lower. In the fixed income area, core bond indices and preferred securities declined, which weighed on balanced and income-oriented portfolios, while short-term treasury bills delivered steady, positive returns. Looking at our long-term performance, which we define as periods of 3 years or longer, our investment teams continue to deliver competitive results across a broad range of strategies and asset classes. Every 1 of our U.S. Value strategies has outperformed its benchmark since inception, and our multi-asset strategies continue to deliver compelling results.

4 of our 5 multi-asset strategies outperformed their benchmarks over the trailing 3-year period on a gross of fees basis. All 5 strategies have outperformed since inception, and 2 of the 5 strategies rank in the top 40% of their peers over 3 years. Our 5-star Multi-Asset Income Fund, WHGHX, is top quartile in its Morningstar category over trailing 3- and 5-year periods. Our 4-star Income Opportunity Fund, WHGIX, ranks in the top 40% of its Morningstar category over 3-, 7-, and 10-year periods and is in the top decile since inception. And our Alternative Income Fund, WMNIX, has outperformed its benchmark across every long-term period. Within our energy and real asset strategies, 4 out of 6 strategies with track records of 3 years or longer have outperformed their benchmarks over at least 1 long-term period, and half have outperformed over trailing 3 years. Our MLP SMA strategy ranks #1 in its peer universe since inception, and is a top 40% performer over trailing 3-, 5-, and 7-year periods. Our Real Estate Income strategy has outperformed its benchmark across long-term periods, both gross and net of fees.

And our MLP High Conviction strategy has outperformed the Alerian MLP Index over the trailing 3 years and since inception. Within our wealth team strategies, half of them have outperformed their benchmarks over multiple long-term periods while ranking in the top 40% of their peers. Thematic Innovation and Growth strategy has outperformed over the trailing 3- and 5-year periods and since inception, roundly outperforming, and top quartile over 3 years, and scores a top decile slot since inception. Enhanced Balance has outperformed over trailing 5- and 7-year periods and since inception, ranking in the top 40% of its peers over 7 and 10 years and is top quartile since inception. Looking ahead, we remain cautiously optimistic. After nearly 2 decades of flat electricity demand, the United States is entering a new era of accelerating power needs driven by AI, data centers, and industrial reshoring. We firmly believe that our veteran Houston-based energy team is well positioned to help investors navigate this opportunity.

Increased market volatility means that risk mitigation is back in focus, which should favor our benchmark U.S. Value and multi-asset strategies. Taken together with the breadth of our multi-asset energy and private capital capabilities, we are convinced that Westwood is well-positioned to deliver for clients as these themes unfold. Turning to distribution, our institutional channel, which includes our private capital business, generated $556.3 million in gross sales and net outflows of $3 million in the third quarter. One of the third quarter's highlights was the funding in July of a large defined contribution plan mandate in our SMidCap strategy. Outflows were concentrated in SmallCap Value led by 2 public plan relationships. Our pipeline remains robust across value, Managed Investment Solutions, and energy strategies, and we added 6 new potential clients during the quarter. We continue to build momentum with the consultant community.

Our MIS Real Asset strategy is being reviewed for an approved, managed list with potential inclusion by year-end. And our energy secondaries conversations are progressing well with several key consultant relationships. Our team also participated in key industry events with Markets Group, TEXPERS, and MAPERS. Looking ahead, we believe our private capital platform is poised to attract institutional investors, following significant enhancements to our personnel and organizational structure. We anticipate receiving more SMidCap mandates for defined contribution plans, driven by the largest national consultants, and constructive conversations are being held for MIS with consultants and potential investors. Our mutual fund and ETF flows for the quarter included $142 million in gross sales and net outflows of $87 million. Our private fundraising efforts continue to be successful, raising approximately $30 million for the quarter and almost $200 million year-to-date.

Energy and real assets led in gross and net sales, and our ETFs generated positive net flows in the channel. In September, we launched PWRX, PowerX, the very first new ETF listed on the Texas Stock Exchange, celebrating this exciting milestone with opening and closing bell ceremonies at our Dallas headquarters. We are seeing positive adoption and growth of our ETFs in the National Broker-Dealer Channel, demonstrated by a rapidly increasing number of active producers each month, the vast majority of whom are new to Westwood. Looking ahead, building on the development of the Westwood brand in private markets and our successful asset raise for West II last year, West III is attracting substantial early interest across RIAs, family offices, and independent advisors. Our ETF suite continues to gain momentum, and we expect to increase platform availability as assets grow. Our broad market strategies are also gaining momentum as the need for risk mitigation comes back into focus amid increased market volatility. Within wealth management, solid progress continues to be made on our transformation initiatives to enhance the client experience and improve the scalability of our business.

We've advanced our fee alignment plans. We've strengthened investment governance by creating a dedicated wealth investment committee, along with the onboarding of an outsourced investment consulting partner. And finally, we have selected Black Diamond as our next-generation wealth platform. We have also added talented new team members in key growth markets, and improved coordination among our client service, operations, technology, and investment teams. Together, these efforts are creating a stronger foundation for growth, driving greater consistency in how we serve clients, and positioning our wealth business for long-term success for years to come. Beyond our core business results, this quarter we accomplished several milestones that clearly demonstrate our commitment to innovation and strategic growth. Our ETF platform continues to scale.

As of September 30, MDST has grown to nearly $285 million. WEEI hit over $105 million. YLDW crossed the $40 million mark. Our newest fund, PowerX, [1.2.2] is off to a great start with assets exceeding $17 million as of yesterday. Combined, these ETFs represent over $430 million in assets put in place since our first ETF launched in April 2024. We believe this business has significant room to grow over the next few years, supported by meaningful tailwinds in energy. In September, we launched the Westwood Salient Enhanced Power & Infrastructure ETF, [1.2.2] PowerX, the newest addition to our Enhanced Income Series ETFs and the first ETF to launch on the Texas Stock Exchange. PowerX pairs an income strategy with exposure to the high-growth elements of the energy market across the power ecosystem from traditional energy and utilities to grid infrastructure, data center infrastructure, and next-generation energy technologies.

Managed by our Houston-based energy team, the strategy combines a high-conviction equity portfolio with a systematic covered call overlay and seeks to generate attractive monthly income. Westwood has called Texas home for nearly 35 years, and launching PowerX on a Texas-based exchange reflects our commitment to innovation and leadership right here where we live and work. Westwood and Webb's Investments have reached an agreement to reorganize the relationship. Accordingly, we are working together to move the Webb's Triple Q Defined Volatility ETF, DVQQ, and the Webb's SPY Defined Volatility ETF, DBSP, onto the Ultimus Managers platform, with Westwood serving as investment advisor to both funds. These 2 ETFs, DVQQ and DBSP, are natural additions to our growing ETF platform, offering innovative strategies built around core assets. The reorganization is subject to fund shareholder approval, and we're targeting completion early next year. Our private capital platform continues to expand.

We launched a new co-investment fund, Westwood Energy Secondaries Co-Investment Fund VII, and closed approximately $30 million in new commitments across multiple new and existing energy secondaries funds. Our team executed multiple LP secondaries and GP-led transactions across our energy secondary funds, and we also completed onboarding of Intapp DealCloud, a new deal CRM system that strengthens our deal management capabilities. As an early investor in the Texas Stock Exchange, we've participated in its growth through successive capital raises. We actually completed another capital raise this quarter at a higher valuation, and we marked up our investment accordingly, $2.55 million gain in Q3, continuing a pattern in which each successive funding round has increased the value of our position. Similarly, as a Series D investor in Ridgeline, an investment management software company, we recognized an unrealized gain of $333,707 after Ridgeline's Series E completed at a higher share price. In summary, Westwood is executing on strategic shifts we anticipated some time ago, expanding in ETFs, alternatives, and managed investment solutions. Our ETF platform continues to scale.

Our private capital business is growing. Our pipeline remains robust, and we're seeing strong long-term performance results across our U.S. Value, multi-asset, and energy strategies. With growing demand for power and income, a renewed focus on risk mitigation, and a more diversified platform than ever, we believe Westwood is well positioned to deliver value to our clients and shareholders. Thank you for your continued support and confidence in Westwood. I'll now turn the call over to our CFO, Terry Forbes.

Unknown Speaker

Thanks, Brian, and good afternoon, everyone. Today, we reported total revenues of $26.6 million for the third quarter of 2026, compared to $25.3 million in the second quarter and $24.3 million in the prior year's third quarter. Third quarter revenues exceeded the second quarter on higher private capital distributions and continued growth from our ETFs and private energy secondaries funds. Third quarter revenues were higher than last year's third quarter due to continued growth in our ETFs and private energy secondaries funds, as well as private capital distributions. Our third quarter income of $3.1 million, or $0.34 per share, exceeded the $1.5 million, or $0.17 per share, in the second quarter on higher revenues and unrealized gains on multiple private investments offset by $1.7 million in severance-related compensation expenses and higher income taxes. Non-GAAP economic earnings were $4.4 million, or $0.48 per share in the current quarter, versus $3.0 million, or $0.33 per share, in the second quarter. Third quarter income of $3.1 million, or $0.34 per share, compared unfavorably to last year's third quarter income of $3.7 million, or $0.41 per share, due to $1.7 million of severance-related compensation expenses, higher professional services expenses, and higher income taxes, all offset by higher revenues and unrealized gains on multiple private investments. Economic earnings for the quarter were $4.4 million, or $0.48 per share, compared with $5.7 million, or $0.64 per share, in the third quarter of 2025.

Firmwide assets under management and advisement totaled $17.1 billion at quarter-end, consisting of assets under management of $16.1 billion and assets under advisement of $1.0 billion. Assets under management consisted of institutional assets of $7.8 billion, or 49% of the total, wealth management assets of $4.4 billion, or 27% of the total, and mutual fund and ETF assets of $3.9 billion, or 24% of the total. Over the quarter, our assets under management experienced net outflows of $0.3 billion and market depreciation of $0.6 billion. And our assets under advisement experienced market depreciation of $9 million and net outflows of $14 million. At quarter-end, we had cash and investments totaling $65 million. I'm happy to announce that our Board of Directors approved a regular cash dividend of $0.15 per common share, payable on January 4, 2027, to stockholders of record on December 1, 2026. This brings our prepared comments to a close. We encourage you to review our investor presentation that we have posted on our website, reflecting quarterly highlights as well as discussion of our business, product development, and longer-term trends in revenues and earnings. We thank you for your interest in our company, and we'll open the line to questions. Thank you.

Operator

[Operator Instructions] Our first question comes from Macrae Sykes of Gabelli Funds.

分析师问答

Macrae Sykes

Could you talk about sort of the ETF channel? You've had some great success and then launched this new one this month. Do you see that asset gathering accelerating or helping to also lead discussions with other products? I just want a little more color in terms of your efforts on the ETFs.

Brian Casey

Sure. Well, we're thrilled to be in the ETF business. It has been a learning experience. We've been in it for less than 3 years, but we continue to see nice acceleration in the growth of all of our ETFs. In fact, just since quarter-end, I think I looked as of yesterday, we're at about $460 million. So we're net $30 million positive since the end of the quarter. So we're at about $460 million total. And that really is a testament to a lot of folks working really hard to get us on platforms and to really get out and tell the story.

We have been approved now at 1 of the ETFs, MDST, has been approved at 1 of the largest wirehouses in the country, and that allows all of our sales team to go in and talk to advisors in those offices about MDST. We're trying really hard to get WEEI approved at the same wirehouse, and if we're successful, that allows them to have those same types of conversations. And you may recall that WEEI is the Westwood Enhanced Energy Income ETF. And it's very similar to the index fund known as XLE, which is really the energy sector ETF that people go to for broad energy exposure. So our portfolio is very similar, but we write covered calls against the position so that we are able to deliver a superior income. And that's really what we're trying to do across the board with all 4 of our ETFs now is have something unique and different that delivers an income level that's attractive to the client base.

Macrae Sykes

Great. And then congrats on the asset gathering in private capital. Could you, if possible, give us a little foresight on expectations for earning carry there and the timing of that? And how it comes off of the vehicle? Is there some kind of year-end lock, or is it done on an individual basis?

Brian Casey

I've got to be careful what I say here because I'm looking at our compliance folks. But suffice to say that it's an attractive space, 1 that we have been very fortunate to not only step into but create a number of different funds. We have completed 2 funds. We're fundraising for a 3rd fund. And then along the way, we've done a number of co-investments for opportunities. And in general, and this would not be for every fund, but in general, the management fee is around 1%. And the carry is 15% over an 8% return. As of now, the funds are performing really well.

You can imagine when you're entering into these funds, we're buying assets that are $0.65 to $0.70 on the dollar. So you're putting fresh capital into an investment that is already at a significant discount. So we would expect that we will be able to deliver some carry. As to when that comes and how much that will be, I don't think I'm able to answer that question.

Macrae Sykes

Okay, great. Thank you.

Brian Casey

Thank you, Mac. I appreciate your questions.

Operator

Thank you. I am showing no further questions at this time. I would now like to turn the call back to CEO Brian Casey for closing remarks.

Brian Casey

Great. Well, thank you. We're really excited about PowerX [1.2.2] and the future of our entire ETF business, which as I mentioned is now over $460 million as of yesterday in total assets. Our energy secondaries business is now fully staffed. We've built a great team. And then finally, we've made a ton of progress in the transformation of our wealth business to a multi-family office, and we would expect to fully transition our wealth strategy next year. We appreciate your interest, and please reach out to me or Terry if you have any questions. Have a great afternoon. Thank you.

Operator

Thank you for your participation in today's conference. This concludes today's conference. Thank you for participating. You may now disconnect.

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