Aristotle has shifted its identity over the last decade. Spun out of Wells Fargo in 2010 after having been through several other owners, Aristotle and its founders had long specialized in large-cap stocks. Between 2014 and 2016, however, the firm acquired and rebranded three other boutiques; today those are Aristotle Credit Partners (which it purchased in 2014 for its fixed-income capabilities), Aristotle Capital Boston (2014, small- and mid-cap equities), and Aristotle Atlantic (2016, core and growth stocks). Its most-recent acquisition of Pacific Asset Management (2023), which was renamed Aristotle Pacific, is its largest, and boosts the firm’s assets under management by roughly 50% to USD 70 billion. What started as an equity investment boutique is now a multiaffiliate asset manager.
Besides some rebranding, Aristotle made other immediate changes after the Pacific acquisition. Specifically, it liquidated several smaller funds, most of which were subadvised by outside managers, leaving Aristotle Pacific focused on fixed income. Overall, those funds have been strong performers.
Like other multiboutique firms, Aristotle allows its affiliates investment autonomy while the group shares back-office support, but it will take some time to see how the firm moves forward from here.