Organization and Description of the Business

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2020

Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]

Organization and Description of the Business

BrightSphere Investment Group Inc. (“BrightSphere”, “BSIG” or the “Company”), through its subsidiaries, is a global asset management company with interests in a diverse group of investment management firms (the “Affiliates”) individually headquartered in the United States. The Company provides investment management services globally to predominantly institutional investors, in asset classes that include U.S. and global equities, fixed income, alternative assets, forestry and secondary strategies focused in real estate and private equity. Fees for services are largely asset-based and, as a result, the Company’s revenue fluctuates based on the performance of financial markets and investors’ asset flows in and out of the Company’s products.

The Company’s Affiliates are organized as limited liability companies. The Company generally utilizes a profit-sharing model in structuring its compensation and ownership arrangements with its Affiliates. The Affiliates’ variable compensation is generally based on each firm’s profitability. BSIG and Affiliate key employees share in profits after variable compensation according to their respective ownership interests. The profit-sharing model results in the alignment of BSIG and Affiliate key employee economic interests, which is critical to the Company’s talent management strategy and long-term growth of the business. The Company conducts its operations through the following three reportable segments:

•Quant & Solutions—comprised of versatile, often highly-tailored strategies that leverage data and technology in a computational, factor based investment process across a range of asset classes and geographies, including Global, non-U.S., emerging markets and managed volatility equities, as well as multi-asset products.

•Alternatives—comprised of illiquid and differentiated liquid investment strategies that include private equity, real estate and real assets, including forestry, as well as a growing suite of liquid alternative capabilities in areas such as long/short, market neutral and absolute return.

•Liquid Alpha(1)—comprised of specialized investment strategies with a focus on alpha-generation across market cycles in long-only small-, mid-, and large-cap U.S., global, non-U.S. and emerging markets equities, as well as fixed income.

(1)In July 2020, the Company completed the sale of Copper Rock Capital Partners LLC (“Copper Rock”) and announced the divestiture of Barrow, Hanley, Mewhinney & Strauss, LLC (“Barrow Hanley”). See Note 3, Divestitures and Assets and Liabilities Held for Sale for further discussion of divestitures and Affiliate assets and liabilities held for sale.

Prior to 2014, the Company was a wholly-owned subsidiary of Old Mutual plc (“OM plc”), an international long-term savings, protection and investment group, listed on the London Stock Exchange. On October 15, 2014, the Company completed the initial public offering (the “Offering”) by OM plc pursuant to the Securities Act of 1933, as amended. Additionally, between the Offering and February 25, 2019, the Company, OM plc and/or HNA Capital U.S. (“HNA”) completed a series of transactions in the Company’s shares, including a two-step transaction announced on March 25, 2017 for a sale by OM plc of a 24.95% shareholding in the Company to HNA and a two-step transaction announced on November 19, 2018 for a sale of the substantial majority of the ordinary shares held by HNA of the Company to Paulson & Co. (“Paulson”). On February 25, 2019, this transaction was completed and Paulson held approximately 21.7% of the ordinary shares of the Company. The remaining shares held by HNA were bought back by the Company in the first quarter of 2019.

On July 12, 2019, the BrightSphere corporate group, which consisted of BrightSphere Investment Group plc, a public company limited by shares incorporated under the laws of England and Wales and its operating subsidiaries (such operating subsidiaries and the holding company collectively, the “BrightSphere Group”), completed a redomestication, resulting in BrightSphere Investment Group Inc., a Delaware corporation, becoming the publicly traded parent company of BrightSphere Group (the “Redomestication”). The scheme of arrangement pursuant to which the Redomestication was effected was approved by the Company’s shareholders and the High Court of Justice of England and Wales. Effective as of the close of business on July 12, 2019, all issued ordinary shares of BrightSphere Investment Group plc were exchanged on a one-for-one basis for newly issued shares of common stock of BrightSphere Investment Group Inc. As a result, all outstanding shareholders of BrightSphere Investment Group plc became common stockholders of BrightSphere Investment Group Inc. The common stock of BrightSphere Investment Group Inc. began trading on July 15, 2019, and the Company’s trading symbol on the NYSE remained unchanged as “BSIG.” For the three months ended September 30, 2020, the Company did not repurchase any shares of common stock. For the nine months ended September 30, 2020, the Company repurchased 5,667,962 shares of common stock at an average price of $6.20 per share, or approximately $35.3 million in total, including commissions.