30%
Aperture Performance-Linked Fee
Why We’re Different
We believe in a simple but powerful premise: it is the job of active managers to produce outperformance, and clients should only pay for outperformance when they get it.
Most firms charge fixed fees as a percent of assets, so the percent fee is the same whether your investment increases or decreases in value, or whether the manager out / under-performs the benchmark. Great for asset managers but not for clients. And given that most managers don’t consistently beat their benchmarks,1 it’s understandable that investor trust in active managers is waning.
That’s why we believe in performance-linked fees. All Aperture strategies utilize performance-linked fee structures. Each strategy charges a fee competitive with that of comparable passive ETFs if performance is at or below its stated benchmark. As outperformance is generated, each strategy is charged a performance-linked fee of 30% on returns generated in excess of that strategy’s stated benchmark, up to a cap. For example, the average passive emerging markets bond ETF has an expense ratio of 0.40%.2 So we would charge a hypothetical emerging markets bond strategy a management fee of approximately 0.40% (TER of 0.50%), when it performs at or below its benchmark. We don’t think our clients should pay more than the price of passive unless they actually get more. As outperformance is generated, the strategy is charged a performance-linked fee of 30% on returns generated in excess of the strategy’s stated benchmark. However, the total fee for this fund would be capped at 2.15%, where outperformance equals 5.50%.
1. SPIVA 2019 Year-End Scorecard, S&P Global. 2. Source: Morningstar Direct Dec 1, 2020. 2019 Annual Report Net Expense Ratio. Average calculated by Aperture of the 10 ETFs classified by Morningstar as “Emerging Markets Bond” that also describe themselves as predominantly passive, index-tracking products.
See How it Works
Drag the slider to see our fee change under different scenarios.
Hypothetical Outperformance
Total Fee (incl. expenses)
Indices are unmanaged and do not include the effect of fees. One cannot invest directly in an index.
For a particular Strategy fees and expenses, please see the applicable Prospectus and any additional offering materials.
Total Potential Investment Team Performance Payout
x
35%
Investment Team Share
=
10.5%
Aperture is all about alignment, which is why the compensation of our portfolio managers and investment teams is also designed to put client results first, with an emphasis on consistent outperformance.
Base Compensation Aperture investment teams receive modest base salaries according to industry data.4
Performance Compensation Fully-seeded investment teams can earn up to 35% of performance-linked fees charged to the strategy (30% of performance in excess of the benchmark). Half of performance compensation is deferred and requires consistent performance over 3-year periods to be earned in full.
Deferral and Clawback Aperture’s deferral and clawback structure is designed to incentivize long-term performance. 50% of the investment team’s performance compensation is deferred for 2 years from the end of the year in which it was earned. After 2 years, the deferred performance compensation can only be paid in full if the cumulative return over the full 3 year period was equal to or greater than the return achieved in the first year. Deferred compensation is decreased pro-rata by any underperformance of that level.
4. We compare our typical portfolio manager’s and investment team professional’s base compensation to the salaries of people with the title “Chief Investment Officer” and “Senior Portfolio Manager” respectively in the Greater New York City and Greater London areas using LinkedIn Salary, which bases its estimates on information voluntarily provided by members and employers as of July 2, 2019
