Orso Partners disclosed a sizable short position against Affiliated Managers Group (AMG) in a report released on April 17, 2026, which appeared in Bloomberg. The research firm highlighted concerns that AMG’s recent growth is heavily tied to regulatory‑arbitrage strategies, particularly tax‑loss harvesting practices employed by its affiliate AQR Capital Management. Orso’s thesis centers on the view that tightening regulatory scrutiny could erode the profitability of these strategies and, by extension, AMG’s earnings.
AMG’s Q4 2025 results, released on February 12, 2026, showed an earnings per share of $9.48, beating the consensus estimate of $8.75 by $0.73. Revenue, however, fell to $556.60 million, below analysts’ expectation of $578.54 million. The earnings beat was driven by disciplined cost management and a favorable mix of high‑margin private‑market and liquid‑alternative products, while the revenue shortfall reflected softer demand in the public‑market segment and a modest decline in fee‑based income.
Management’s perspective, as expressed by CEO Jay C. Horgen in February, emphasized that 2025 was one of AMG’s strongest years, driven by organic growth and a strategic shift toward private markets and liquid alternatives. Horgen noted that the company’s asset‑under‑management total reached $813 billion at year‑end 2025, underscoring the scale of its operations. Despite this, the company’s short interest rose to 2.97 % of the float, with a short‑interest ratio of 2.03 days to cover, and increased by 59.15 % in the month preceding the report.
Insider activity in the three months leading up to April 17, 2026, totaled $2.9 million in shares sold, suggesting that some stakeholders may have concerns about the company’s future trajectory. AMG’s market capitalization hovered between $7.88 billion and $8.13 billion, and its price‑to‑earnings ratio stood at 12.79×, placing it in a moderate valuation range relative to peers.
The Orso Partners report underscores a potential vulnerability in AMG’s business model: the reliance on tax‑arbitrage strategies that could be curtailed by forthcoming regulatory changes. If such scrutiny materializes, it could compress margins and slow the growth that has propelled AMG’s recent performance, prompting investors to reassess the company’s long‑term prospects.
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