Artisan Partners: 3 Key Takeaways for Long-Term Investors

During its earnings call for the third quarter of 2026 on October 28, Artisan Partners (NYSE:APAM) shared insights into its financial performance, highlighting how its credit and alternative strategies have provided a buffer against significant outflows from equity assets. This information is particularly relevant for long-term investors, as the company sees a shift in client asset flows towards higher-fee strategies, while its core equity offerings manage to navigate temporary fluctuations.

Three main points emerged from the call that are crucial for investors.

Firstly, the firm has experienced consistent inflows into its credit and alternative strategies. These areas are viewed as growth engines that operate independently of the traditional stock market dynamics. Notably, during the third quarter, Artisan Partners recorded $1.1 billion in net inflows from these strategies, contributing to a total of $3.2 billion raised so far this year. Jason A. Gottlieb, the Chief Executive Officer and President of Artisan Partners, emphasized the importance of these strategies in attracting stable institutional capital and generating higher fee rates.

Secondly, the company reported that a couple of significant client redemptions were primarily responsible for the outflows in assets, yet these did not substantially affect the firm's fee revenue. According to Charles James Daley Jr., the Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, approximately 75% of the net outflows that contributed to the overall decline in assets under management (AUM) were linked to these discrete events. He noted that both redemptions had a relatively minor impact on the company's revenues for the quarter, with average fee rates even seeing a slight increase.

Lastly, Artisan Partners is expanding its reach to wealth management clients through the introduction of exchange-traded funds (ETFs). This move aims to capture new capital while maintaining the existing fee structure without the need to offer discounts. Gottlieb announced plans to launch ETF share classes for the Artisan Select Equity Fund and the Artisan Focus Fund in the fourth quarter, which are intended to enhance investor access in the wealth management sector.

Looking forward, the firm continues to see growth in alternative assets under management, with the total market value of client investments managed by Artisan Partners on the rise across various investment franchises. Over the past five years, the combined AUM for credit and alternative strategies has nearly doubled, climbing to over $26 billion and increasing from 8% to 15% of the firm’s total AUM.

Artisan Partners' leadership believes that the autonomy granted to investment teams, the diverse range of multi-asset offerings, and the expansion of wealth distribution channels will provide the firm with long-term pricing power. The management is committed to focusing on product innovation and global distribution to drive future growth in fees.