Fiera Capital (FSZ) Q4 2024 earnings summary

Executive summary

• Assets under management (AUM) ended 2024 at $167.1B, up $5.4B year-over-year and $1.6B quarter-over-quarter, driven by market gains, new mandates, and strong Private Markets growth.

• Private Markets AUM grew nearly 7% to $19.7B, with $1.7B in new subscriptions and $2.2B deployed, now contributing 35% of 2024 revenues.

• Public Markets AUM ended at $147.4B, with net outflows mainly from PineStone sub-advised mandates, which saw $9.6B in outflows in 2024 and further transfers expected in 2025.

• Performance fees declined, leading to lower total revenues and profitability despite higher base management fees and Private Wealth AUM growth.

• Private Wealth AUM increased by $300M in Q4, closing at $14.6B, with nearly $1B growth for the year.

Financial highlights

• Q4 2024 revenues were $184M, down 13% year-over-year due to lower performance fees; full-year revenues were $689M, up slightly year-over-year.

• Adjusted EBITDA for Q4 was $53.4M, down 31% year-over-year; full-year Adjusted EBITDA was $196M, down 5%, with margins at 28.4% versus 30% prior year.

• Adjusted net earnings for Q4 were $22.8M ($0.21 per share diluted), down from $50M last year; full-year adjusted net earnings were $103M, down 19%.

• Net loss attributable to shareholders in Q4 was $0.2M, compared to net earnings of $39.4M in Q4 2023.

• LTM free cash flow was $87M, down slightly due to timing of interest payments and higher interest costs.

Outlook and guidance

• Management expects further PineStone-related AUM outflows in 2025, including a $5.7B transfer in January and an additional $1B anticipated.

• Focus remains on organic growth in Private Markets, with a strong pipeline and $900M in committed, undeployed capital.

• Free cash flow for Q1 2025 projected to be in line with Q4 2024, supported by higher base management fees and AUM.