Ariel Investments, LLC (Chicago)


Ariel Investments, LLC is a large advisory firm based in Chicago. It manages $11.57 billion of regulatory assets for 203 client accounts. It has been registered with the SEC as an adviser since 2008 and has operated in the jurisdictions of Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, and 48 other states.

Ariel Investments provides portfolio management for individuals and small businesses, portfolio management for investment companies, portfolio management for pooled investment vehicles, and portfolio management for businesses and institutional clients. It doesn't provide financial planning services to its clients. On top of advisory services, the firm doesn't engage in other business activities.

Ariel Investments: assets under management

The assets under management (AUM) of Ariel Investments, LLC is $11.57 billion, all of which is managed in discretionary accounts. The firm's AUM has grown by 63% since the beginning of its operation, and $758.39 million of the total AUM is attributable to clients outside of the United States.

The firm manages $11.57 billion in discretionary accounts. On average, the discretionary accounts where all decisions are made on behalf of the client hold $56.97 million each.
Ariel Investments has custody of $223.15 million in cash and securities for 1 client in total but doesn’t act as a qualified custodian.

Investments

The firm invests in exchange traded securities the most. They account for 95% of the total AUM. The second-largest asset type is cash and cash equivalents, which make up 4% of the firm’s portfolio. Investments in investment and business development companies form 1% of the total invested assets.

Fees & Commissions

The advisory firm has several streams of revenue. Clients pay Ariel Investments, LLC for their services and products based on a percentage of assets under management and performance-based fees. Compensation based on assets under management promotes a long-term relationship between a client and the adviser and helps align mutual interests. These fees don’t include brokerage commissions, interest, taxes, and other account expenses.

What kind of clients Paget L Alves serves?

The firm provides services to individuals, insurance companies, investment companies, charitable organizations, other investment advisers, high net worth individuals, pooled investment vehicles, corporations or other businesses, pension and profit sharing plans, state or municipal government entities, and sovereign wealth funds and foreign official institutions. The largest group of clients of Paget L Alves is investment companies with 4 clients and $4.02 billion of assets under management. Among the 11 most similar advisory firms, Ariel Investments has the 3rd highest percentage of investment companies out of all clients.

The amount of regulatory assets under management is $11.57 billion for 203 clients that can include trusts, estates, and 401(k) plans and IRAs of individuals and their family members. 1% of the firm’s clients are foreign persons or businesses.

Ariel Investments also advises several private funds. Namely, one other private fund. The minimum investment commitment required of non-related persons is $5,000,000 for each fund.

Careers at Ariel Investments, LLC

The company employs 79 people that are either part- or full-time employees. 29 percent of the employees work as investment advisers or researchers. 5 employees are registered as investment adviser representatives with the state securities authorities.

There isn’t anyone with the role of looking for and bringing in new clients on behalf of the firm. The firm compensates employees in addition to the salary for bringing in new clients. Employees don’t receive compensation from other entities for client referrals.

Paget L Alves has been acting as President since 1 Jul 2019. K J Martijn Cremers joined the executive team most recently as the Director.

Direct owners and executive officers


Name Entity Date acquired Ownership Employer ID
John Washington Rogers Director, chairman, chief executive officer and chief investment officer 1 May 2000 Other 717678
Mellody Louise Hobson Director, president 1 May 2000 Other 2184315
Merrillyn Jean Kosier Executive vice president; chief marketing officer, mutual funds 1 Nov 2002 Other 1138977
Inc. Ariel Capital Management Holdings Managing member 1 Feb 2004 50% - 75% 36-3219058
Charles Kellogg Bobrinskoy Director, vice chairman 1 Sep 2004 Other 1186069
Wendy D Fox Vice president, chief compliance officer 1 Oct 2004 Other 4870574
Thomas E. Herman Senior vice president, chief financial officer, and treasurer 1 Nov 2006 Other 4915058
Mareile Bayard Cusack Senior vice president, general counsel 1 Oct 2008 Other 5604085
Maureen Elizabeth Longoria Vice president, chief financial officer 1 Sep 2010 Other 5161262
Rupal Jayesh Bhansali Executive vice president, chief investment officer, international & global equities, portfolio manager 1 Dec 2015 Other 2252889
Timothy Fidler Executive vice president, director of research 1 Dec 2018 Other 2334725
John Paul Harold Lussow Senior vice president, chief operating officer 1 Apr 2019 Other 4834077
Paget L Alves Director 1 Jul 2019 Other 7161571
K J Martijn Cremers Director 1 Jul 2019 Other 7161579
Arne S Duncan Director 1 Jul 2019 Other 7161581
Valerie B Jarrett Director 1 Jul 2019 Other 7161582
Robert Irving Solomon Director 1 Jul 2019 Other 2547928
Heather E Tookes Director 1 Jul 2019 Other 7161589
David John Vitale Director 1 Jul 2019 Other 4347910
Paula Wolff Director 1 Jul 2019 Other 2547917
Leslie Adolphe Brun Director 1 Jul 2019 Other 1389297

Indirect Owners

The SEC currently registers 1 indirect owner.

Name Entity Date acquired Ownership Employer ID
John Washington Rogers Shareholder 1 Feb 2004 50% - 75% 717678

Based in Chicago

The principal office where Ariel Investments, LLC performs its advisory services is located at 200 East Randolph Street, Chicago, IL 60601, which is also the mailing address of the firm. An additional office of the firm is in New York, NY. It doesn’t run an office outside of the United States.

You can reach the main office by calling the phone number 312-726-0140 or by fax 312-726-7473. The normal business hours are m-f 7:30am - 7pm; sat 9am - 4pm; sun 10am - 4pm on Other. You can find more information about the New York firm at arielinvestments.com.