Description of the Business

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2017

Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]

DESCRIPTION OF THE BUSINESS

DESCRIPTION OF THE BUSINESS:

Westwood Holdings Group, Inc. (“Westwood”, “the Company”, we”, “us” or “our”) was incorporated under the laws of the State of Delaware on December 12, 2001. Westwood manages investment assets and provides services for its clients through its wholly-owned subsidiaries, Westwood Management Corp. and Westwood Advisors, L.L.C. (each of which is an SEC registered investment adviser and referred to hereinafter together as “Westwood Management”), Westwood Trust and Westwood International Advisors Inc. (“Westwood International Advisors”). Westwood Management and Westwood International Advisors provide investment advisory services to institutional clients, a family of mutual funds called the Westwood Funds®, other mutual funds, an Ireland-domiciled fund organized pursuant to the European Union’s Undertakings for Collective Investment in Transferable Securities (“the UCITS Fund”), individuals and clients of Westwood Trust. Westwood Trust provides trust and custodial services and participation in self-sponsored common trust funds ("CTFs") to institutions and high net worth individuals. Revenue is largely dependent on the total value and composition of assets under management (“AUM”). Accordingly, fluctuations in financial markets and in the composition of AUM impact our revenues and results of operations.

Westwood Management is a registered investment adviser under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940. Westwood Trust is chartered and regulated by the Texas Department of Banking. Westwood International Advisors is registered as a portfolio manager and exempt market dealer with the Ontario Securities Commission and the Autorité des marchés financiers in Québec.

Divestiture of our Omaha Operations

On September 6, 2017, we entered into an agreement to sell the Omaha-based component of our Private Wealth business, subject to usual and customary closing conditions and the receipt of regulatory approval from the Nebraska Department of Banking. The sale was completed on January 12, 2018. The component is reported within both our Advisory and Trust segments. The sale does not represent a major strategic shift in our business and does not qualify for discontinued operations reporting. See Note 16 “Subsequent Events” for additional discussion of the sale.