Segment Reporting (Details) - USD ($)	3 Months Ended								12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2019	Sep. 30, 2019	Jun. 30, 2019	Mar. 31, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018	Sep. 30, 2018	Jun. 30, 2018	Mar. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Revenue From External Sources									$ 83,280,000	$ 121,304,000	$ 132,233,000
Net intersegment revenues									0	0	0
Net interest and dividend revenue									103,000	910,000	636,000
Other revenue									696,000	86,000	916,000
Total revenues	$ 18,616,000	$ 19,892,000	$ 21,709,000	$ 23,862,000	$ 26,119,000	$ 29,854,000	$ 32,760,000	$ 33,567,000	84,079,000	122,300,000	133,785,000
Expenses:
Depreciation and amortization									2,624,000	2,539,000	2,916,000
Other operating expenses									76,811,000	83,823,000	96,976,000
Total expenses									79,435,000	86,362,000	99,892,000
Disposal Group, Not Discontinued Operation, Gain (Loss) on Disposal									0	524,000	0
Income (loss) before income taxes	3,691,000	1,559,000	2,656,000	1,496,000	7,888,000	7,151,000	10,936,000	10,487,000	9,402,000	36,462,000	33,893,000
Income tax expense (benefit)									3,491,000	9,711,000	13,904,000
Net income	2,541,000	$ 1,117,000	$ 1,861,000	$ 392,000	5,413,000	$ 5,368,000	$ 7,992,000	$ 7,978,000	5,911,000	26,751,000	19,989,000
Restricted stock expense									10,305,000	15,283,000	16,430,000
Amortization of intangible assets									1,726,000	1,672,000	1,872,000
Deferred taxes on goodwill									237,000	237,000	626,000
Economic Earnings (Loss)									18,179,000	43,943,000	38,917,000
Assets	178,707,000				199,183,000				178,707,000	199,183,000	192,659,000
Segment goodwill	19,804,000				19,804,000				19,804,000	19,804,000	27,144,000
Expenditures for long-lived assets									593,000	991,000	884,000
Unrealized Gain (Loss) on Investments									3,296,000
Investment Income, Investment Expense									1,318,000
Other Income									144,000
General and Administrative Expense [Member]
Expenses:
Amortization of intangible assets									1,726,000	1,700,000	1,900,000
Operating Segments | Advisory [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Revenue From External Sources									57,797,000	92,351,000	100,612,000
Net intersegment revenues									3,457,000	6,973,000	8,120,000
Net interest and dividend revenue									103,000	708,000	546,000
Other revenue									696,000	53,000	911,000
Total revenues									62,053,000	100,085,000	110,189,000
Expenses:
Depreciation and amortization									311,000	276,000	548,000
Other operating expenses									46,235,000	48,970,000	58,950,000
Total expenses									46,546,000	49,246,000	59,498,000
Income (loss) before income taxes									17,962,000	50,838,000	50,691,000
Income tax expense (benefit)									4,308,000	12,032,000	17,120,000
Net income									13,654,000	38,806,000	33,571,000
Restricted stock expense									5,362,000	8,673,000	9,140,000
Amortization of intangible assets									170,000	95,000	138,000
Deferred taxes on goodwill									0	0	38,000
Economic Earnings (Loss)									19,186,000	47,574,000	42,887,000
Assets	242,854,000				230,565,000				242,854,000	230,565,000	207,792,000
Segment goodwill	3,403,000				3,403,000				3,403,000	3,403,000	5,219,000
Expenditures for long-lived assets									288,000	314,000	151,000
Unrealized Gain (Loss) on Investments									1,438,000
Investment Income, Investment Expense									1,017,000
Other Income									0
Operating Segments | Trust [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Revenue From External Sources									25,483,000	28,953,000	31,621,000
Net intersegment revenues									236,000	238,000	218,000
Net interest and dividend revenue									0	202,000	90,000
Other revenue									0	33,000	5,000
Total revenues									25,719,000	29,426,000	31,934,000
Expenses:
Depreciation and amortization									1,765,000	1,764,000	1,900,000
Other operating expenses									19,672,000	25,467,000	28,580,000
Total expenses									21,437,000	27,231,000	30,480,000
Income (loss) before income taxes									5,606,000	2,179,000	1,454,000
Income tax expense (benefit)									1,459,000	572,000	(47,000)
Net income									4,147,000	1,607,000	1,501,000
Restricted stock expense									1,587,000	2,356,000	2,641,000
Amortization of intangible assets									1,516,000	1,537,000	1,734,000
Deferred taxes on goodwill									237,000	237,000	588,000
Economic Earnings (Loss)									7,487,000	5,737,000	6,464,000
Assets	51,274,000				64,196,000				51,274,000	64,196,000	69,174,000
Segment goodwill	16,401,000				16,401,000				16,401,000	16,401,000	21,925,000
Expenditures for long-lived assets									223,000	295,000	530,000
Unrealized Gain (Loss) on Investments									1,026,000
Investment Income, Investment Expense									298,000
Other Income									0
Westwood Holdings
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Revenue From External Sources									0	0	0
Net intersegment revenues									0	0	0
Net interest and dividend revenue									0	0	0
Other revenue									0	0	0
Total revenues									0	0	0
Expenses:
Depreciation and amortization									548,000	499,000	468,000
Other operating expenses									14,597,000	16,597,000	17,784,000
Total expenses									15,145,000	17,096,000	18,252,000
Income (loss) before income taxes									(14,166,000)	(16,555,000)	(18,252,000)
Income tax expense (benefit)									(2,276,000)	(2,893,000)	(3,169,000)
Net income									(11,890,000)	(13,662,000)	(15,083,000)
Restricted stock expense									3,356,000	4,254,000	4,649,000
Amortization of intangible assets									40,000	40,000	0
Deferred taxes on goodwill									0	0	0
Economic Earnings (Loss)									(8,494,000)	(9,368,000)	(10,434,000)
Assets	24,732,000				19,240,000				24,732,000	19,240,000	18,437,000
Segment goodwill	0				0				0	0	0
Expenditures for long-lived assets									82,000	382,000	203,000
Unrealized Gain (Loss) on Investments									832,000
Investment Income, Investment Expense									3,000
Other Income									144,000
Eliminations
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Revenue From External Sources									0	0	0
Net intersegment revenues									(3,693,000)	(7,211,000)	(8,338,000)
Net interest and dividend revenue									0	0	0
Other revenue									0	0	0
Total revenues									(3,693,000)	(7,211,000)	(8,338,000)
Expenses:
Depreciation and amortization									0	0	0
Other operating expenses									(3,693,000)	(7,211,000)	(8,338,000)
Total expenses									(3,693,000)	(7,211,000)	(8,338,000)
Income (loss) before income taxes									0	0	0
Income tax expense (benefit)									0	0	0
Net income									0	0	0
Restricted stock expense									0	0	0
Amortization of intangible assets									0	0	0
Deferred taxes on goodwill									0	0	0
Economic Earnings (Loss)									0	0	0
Assets	(140,153,000)				(114,818,000)				(140,153,000)	(114,818,000)	(102,744,000)
Segment goodwill	$ 0				$ 0				0	0	0
Expenditures for long-lived assets									0	$ 0	$ 0
Unrealized Gain (Loss) on Investments									0
Investment Income, Investment Expense									0
Other Income									$ 0