Westwood Hldgs Stock Price, News & Analysis

Westwood Holdings Group, Inc. (NYSE: WHG) is a focused investment management boutique and wealth management firm in the finance and insurance sector. Classified in the securities and commodity exchanges industry, Westwood operates as a boutique asset management firm that offers actively managed, outcome-oriented investment strategies and white-glove trust and wealth services to institutional, intermediary and private wealth clients. Founded in 1983 and based in Dallas, Texas, the company has more than four decades of experience serving investors through a mix of advisory, trust and pooled investment vehicles.

According to company disclosures, Westwood manages investment assets and provides services for clients through subsidiaries, operating its business through Advisory and Trust segments. The Advisory segment provides investment advisory services to corporate retirement plans, public retirement plans, endowments, foundations, individuals and the Westwood Funds, as well as investment sub-advisory services to mutual funds. The Trust segment offers trust and custodial services to its clients, and the Advisory segment sponsors common trust funds to institutions and high-net-worth individuals. The firm has stated that it generates a majority of its revenue from the Advisory segment and that it derives a majority of its revenue from the United States.

Westwood describes itself as a boutique asset management firm that offers a diverse array of actively managed, outcome-oriented investment strategies in public equities, private equity and fixed income strategies. These capabilities are delivered through separate accounts, the Westwood Funds family of mutual funds, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and other pooled vehicles. The firm highlights several distinct investment capabilities, including U.S. Value Equity, Multi-Asset, Energy & Real Assets, Income Alternatives, Tactical Absolute Return and Managed Investment Solutions, which are made available to institutional investors, private wealth clients and financial intermediaries.

Westwood also emphasizes its role in energy and real assets. Company disclosures note that Westwood has more than $18 billion in assets under management and advisement, including over $3 billion in public and private energy investments. The firm has developed a growing alternative investments platform, including an energy secondaries business. Westwood Energy Secondaries Fund II, LLC and related co-investment funds represent a flagship energy secondaries strategy that focuses on energy-focused secondary and continuation fund opportunities, including limited partnership interests and general partner–led continuation fund portfolio company investments in upstream, midstream and oil-services companies.

In addition to private funds, Westwood sponsors exchange-traded funds. The Westwood Salient Enhanced Midstream Income ETF (MDST) and the Westwood Salient Enhanced Energy Income ETF (WEEI) are examples of actively managed ETFs that the firm describes as designed to help provide advisors and investors with investments for generating high distributable monthly income. These ETFs seek to combine dividend yield and options premiums from covered calls, while also offering exposure to energy-related companies. MDST invests in midstream energy companies and master limited partnerships that gather, transport, store and distribute crude oil, natural gas and other energy products, while WEEI offers broad exposure to energy companies, including upstream, downstream, oil service and integrated companies.

Westwood also provides operational and distribution support to certain ETF strategies managed by other advisers. For example, WEBs Investments Inc. has stated that Westwood provides operational and distribution support for its Defined Volatility ETF suite, which uses a rules-based approach to adjust exposure to underlying ETFs based on real-time market volatility.

The firm notes that it benefits from significant, broad-based employee ownership and that it trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol WHG. Westwood highlights its origins as a woman-founded firm and states that its team comes from varied backgrounds and life experiences. The company emphasizes a client-first approach, describing a focus on bespoke investment strategies with a vehicle-optimized approach, exceptional counsel and high-touch client service. Westwood also references core values such as integrity, reliability, responsiveness, adaptability, teamwork and driving results as central to its culture and approach.

Westwood maintains offices in Dallas, Chicago, Houston and San Francisco. Across its advisory and trust platforms, mutual funds, ETFs, private funds and other pooled vehicles, the firm positions itself as offering actively managed strategies and trust and wealth services tailored to institutional, intermediary and private wealth clients.