Westwood Holdings (WHG) 2026年第三季法說會：營收成長，ETF規模達4.6億美元

Westwood Holdings (NYSE: WHG) 公布 2026 年第三季營收成長且獲利呈現季增，主要受惠於私募資本分配、ETF 以及私募能源次級市場基金的挹注。然而，受到資金淨流出及市場跌價影響，資產管理規模有所下滑。

重點摘要

• 2026 年第三季營收達 2,660 萬美元，高於 2,530 萬美元（2026 年第二季）與 2,430 萬美元（2025 年第三季）。
• 淨利為 310 萬美元，即每股 0.34 美元，相較之下第二季為 150 萬美元（每股 0.17 美元）。財報結果包含 170 萬美元的資遣相關薪酬費用。
• Non-GAAP 經濟盈餘季增至 440 萬美元，即每股 0.48 美元，但低於去年同期的 570 萬美元（每股 0.64 美元）。
• 全公司管理與諮詢資產規模總計達 171 億美元。AUM 在該季度出現 3 億美元的資金淨流出 與 6 億美元的市場跌價。
• Westwood 的 ETF 平台規模超過 4.3 億美元（截至 9 月 30 日），並在法說會前一天增至約 4.6 億美元。
• 私募募資取得約 3,000 萬美元（於第三季），今年迄今累計近 2 億美元。

關鍵財務數據

業務與營運表現

Westwood 的機構通路帶來了 5.563 億美元的總銷售額 與 300 萬美元的淨流出。一家《財星》50 大企業的大型確定提撥制退休金計畫注資該公司的中小型股 (SMidCap) 策略，而流出資金則集中在小型價值股 (SmallCap Value)，並包含兩家公共退休金計畫客戶。

共同基金與 ETF 錄得 1.42 億美元的總銷售額 與 8,700 萬美元的淨流出。能源與實體資產引領總銷售與淨銷售，而 ETF 則實現資金淨流入。

截至 9 月 30 日，ETF 資產包含近 2.85 億美元的 MDST、超過 1.05 億美元的 WEEI，以及超過 4,000 萬美元的 YLDW。新推出的 Westwood Salient Enhanced Power & Infrastructure ETF（PWRX）規模已超過 1,700 萬美元（截至法說會前一天）。PWRX 是在德州證券交易所上市的首檔 ETF。

該公司亦同意重整與 Webb’s Investments 的合作關係。在獲得股東批准的前提下，DVQQ 與 DBSP 預計將轉移至 Ultimus Managers 平台，並由 Westwood 擔任投資顧問。

在私募資本方面，Westwood 推出了 Energy Secondaries Co-Investment Fund VII，並完成了約 3,000 萬美元的新承諾資本（涵蓋新增與現有能源次級市場基金）。該公司還錄得 255 萬美元的收益（源自德州證券交易所更高估值的融資輪），以及未實現收益 333,707 美元（與 Ridgeline 的 E 輪融資相關）。

管理階層展望

管理階層表示展望審慎樂觀。管理階層預期，與電力基礎設施、AI、資料中心以及製造業回流相關的需求，將為其能源策略提供支撐；同時，市場波動加劇可能會提高投資人對美國價值型策略以及著重於風險緩釋之多元資產策略的興趣。

該公司預期確定提撥制退休金計畫將有更多中小型股 (SMidCap) 全權委託案，並期望隨著資產成長擴大 ETF 平台的通路布局。在基金股東批准的前提下，公司目標於 2027 年初完成 DVQQ 與 DBSP 的重組。

Westwood 亦預計於明年完成其財富管理策略向聯合家族辦公室模式的轉型。

風險與關注領域

該季度 AUM 面臨資金淨流出與市場跌價的雙重壓力。機構資金流出主要集中於小型價值股 (SmallCap Value)，而共同基金與 ETF 雖有 ETF 資金淨流入，但整體仍錄得 8,700 萬美元的淨流出。

第三季獲利包含 170 萬美元的資遣相關薪酬費用。與 2025 年第三季相比，淨利亦受到較高的專業服務費用及所得稅所影響。

管理階層表示私募資本基金表現良好，但未提供潛在附帶權益的時間點或金額。擬議中的 ETF 重組亦仍需獲得股東批准。

分析師問答集錦

在 ETF 通路分銷方面，執行長 Brian Casey 表示 ETF 總資產已增至約 4.6 億美元，比 季末高出約 3,000 萬美元。MDST 已獲得美國最大型證券經紀商之一的核准，Westwood 也正為 WEEI 爭取類似核准。

Casey 表示，Westwood 的四檔 ETF 旨在提供差異化的收益策略。例如，WEEI 結合了廣泛的能源曝險與掩護性買權策略，旨在產生額外收益。

在討論私募資本的經濟效益時，管理階層表示管理費通常約為 1%，附帶權益通常為 超過 8% 報酬率部分的 15%，不過各基金條款並非完全一致。Westwood 表示，其一直以約 每 1 美元資產 0.65 至 0.70 美元的價格收購資產，但婉拒預估何時可認列附帶權益或可能產生多少收益。

法說會逐字稿全文

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管理層陳述

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.

分析師問答

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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