Equities remain the firm's largest business unit and a key area of strength, bolstered by capable portfolio managers and a deep bench of well-regarded analysts. Most equity assets are housed in mutual funds, and although the firm was slower than some peers to diversify into other vehicles, it is making up ground with new products such as transparent ETFs. While the equity franchise has suffered outflows partly because of the growing popularity of passively managed options and competitors' active ETFs, its many appealing strategies should help it endure.
Offsetting some of the equity unit's business challenges is its highly successful multi-asset franchise, which continues to grow. That division represented one third of the firm's roughly USD 1.5 trillion in assets under management as of March 2024. The firm's target-date offerings and tactical-allocation funds remain best-in-class. The fixed-income effort has some bright spots, such as municipal-bond and credit-sensitive strategies, but it hasn't delivered in others, such as core bond. New leadership of that unit, along with increased hiring to bolster its nascent risk department, should help improve that side of the business.