American Century Investments

American Century Investments is an independent, privately-controlled asset management firm dedicated to delivering superior investment performance and building long-term client relationships. The firm was founded by James E. Stowers, Jr. in 1958.

The Stowers Institute for Medical Research was founded by Jim and Virginia Stowers in 1994. They dedicated the vast majority of their net worth to benefiting humankind through research on genetic-based diseases, including cancer. Through our ownership structure, more than 40% of American Century Investments' profits support the Stowers Institute for Medical Research. It is one of the largest endowments in the world among private basic biomedical research institutions.

All active employees participate in the ownership of the firm.

Since 1998, J.P. Morgan & Co. has held a minority interest in American Century Investments. J.P. Morgan has a 9% voting stake and holds one of eight seats on our Board of Directors. From investment management and general business perspectives, however, the two firms are legally and operationally distinct.

We believe there are four key characteristics that, when combined together, differentiate American Century Investments from other investment management firms:

Exclusive focus on investment management

We are a profitable investment firm that has achieved success for over 50 years by exclusively serving the fiduciary interests of our clients, whether they are institutions or individuals. Over the past 10 years, we have grown our institutional business substantially, and we now manage over $20 billion for institutions globally.

Independent and privately-controlled ownership structure

We are independent and privately controlled, with a supportive ownership structure, which has allowed us to invest continually in our investment business in spite of the unpredictability of the public markets. For example, our owners have diluted their ownership positions to allow us to increase our equity commitment to our investment professionals, and in 2008 they waived their dividend to allow us to reinvest during this market downturn.

Fundamentally-driven, risk-adjusted performance

We are driven by our ability to generate alpha for our clients through fundamental analysis of companies. All of our investment professionals are compensated based upon their ability to generate long-term performance.

Delivering results to our clients has a greater impact

Finally, we are a values-based organization with an exemplary record. Our primary owner – The Stowers Institute for Medical Research – is the second largest organization of its kind in the United States. Through our ownership structure, over 40% of our profits go directly to research on curing cancer and other gene-based diseases.