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Variable Interest Entities
3 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 2015
Variable Interest Entities [Abstract]  
Variable Interest Entities

8. VARIABLE INTEREST ENTITIES

Westwood Trust sponsors common trust funds (“CTFs”) for its clients. These funds allow clients to commingle assets to achieve economies of scale. Westwood International and Westwood Management provide investment advisory services to Westwood Investment Funds PLC (the “UCITS Fund”), which was authorized by the Central Bank of Ireland on June 18, 2013 pursuant to the European Communities (Undertakings for Collective Investment in Transferable Securities) Regulations 2011 (“UCITS”), and which is an Ireland domiciled umbrella-type open-ended self-managed investment company. Westwood Management provides investment advisory services to the Westwood Funds®, a family of mutual funds, and two collective investment trusts (“CITs”). Some clients of Westwood Management hold their investments in ten limited liability companies (“LLCs”). The CTFs, UCITS, Westwood Funds®, CITs and LLCs (“Westwood VIEs”) are considered variable interest entities (“VIEs”) because our clients, who hold the equity at risk, do not have a direct or indirect ability through voting or similar rights to make decisions about the funds that would have a significant effect on their success. We receive fees for managing assets in these entities commensurate with market rates.

We evaluate all of our advisory relationships and CTFs to determine whether or not we qualify as the primary beneficiary based on whether there is an obligation to absorb the majority of expected losses or a right to receive the majority of expected residual returns. Since all losses and returns are distributed to the shareholders of the Company’s VIEs, we are not the primary beneficiary and consequently the Westwood VIEs are not included in our condensed consolidated financial statements.

In January 2015 and January 2014, the Company provided $1.0 million and $2.0 million, respectively, to common trust funds for the sole purpose of showing economic substance needed to establish the funds. In October 2014, the Company provided €1.6 million, or $2.0 million, to the UCITS Fund for the sole purpose of showing economic substance needed to establish a new sub-fund. The corporate capital invested in these funds is included in “Investments, at fair value” on our consolidated balance sheet at March 31, 2015.

Otherwise, we have not provided any financial support we were not previously contractually obligated to provide and there are no arrangements that would require us to provide additional financial support to any of these VIEs. Our investments in the Westwood Funds®, the CTFs and the UCITS Fund are accounted for as investments in accordance with our other investments described in Note 5. We recognized fee revenue from the Westwood VIEs of approximately $14.3 million and $11.2 million for the three months ended March 31, 2015 and March 31, 2014, respectively.

The following table displays assets under management, corporate capital invested and risk of loss in each vehicle (in millions).

 

 

As of March 31, 2015

 

 

Assets

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Under

 

 

Corporate

 

 

Risk of

 

 

Management

 

 

Investment

 

 

Loss

 

VIE's:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Westwood Funds®

$

4,239

 

 

$

1

 

 

$

1

 

Common Trust Funds

 

2,108

 

 

 

3

 

 

 

3

 

Collective Investment Trusts

 

309

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

LLCs

 

142

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

UCITS Fund

 

820

 

 

 

2

 

 

 

2

 

VIE totals

 

7,618

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

All other assets:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Private Wealth

 

1,775

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Institutional

 

12,329

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Total AUM

$

21,722