Office address: 4400 Main St, Kansas City, MO 64111
Website: americancentury.com
Year established: 1958
Company type: financial services
Employees: 1,400+
Expertise: mutual funds, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), target-date portfolios, target-risk portfolios, retirement planning, college savings, advisor solutions, institutional distribution, separately managed accounts, collective investment trusts
Parent company: American Century Companies, Inc.
Key people: Jonathan Thomas (CEO), Patrick Bannigan (CFO), Cleo Chang (chief investment solutions officer), Sarah Cossa (chief people officer), Brian Schappert (division head), John Pak (general counsel), and Victor Zhang (chief investment officer)
Financing status: shareholder-owned company
American Century Investments (ACI) is a Kansas City investment management firm managing $300 billion for global clients as of 2025. Its team offers active strategies through ETFs, mutual funds, and retirement accounts. The company directs 40 percent of annual profits to support medical research.
The firm was founded in 1958 with $100,000 by James E. Stowers Jr. Originally Twentieth Century Mutual Funds, it used early computer models to screen stocks. Its reputation grew when Money magazine named Stowers a top stock picker.
American Century Investments bought the Benham Group in the 1990s to add fixed-income options. After Stowers and his wife, Virginia, survived cancer, they used their wealth to build a medical research institute. The firm soon opened offices in London and Hong Kong to fund this mission globally.
Nomura Holdings, a Japanese financial giant, bought a minority stake to help the firm reach new markets. ACI then launched Avantis Investors to offer low-cost, tax-efficient strategies. It also pioneered the market's first active semi-transparent exchange-traded funds to aid investors.
A 2025 report lists the firm as a top 10 manager for US household reach. This ranking reflects a surge in product awareness among investors using brokerage platforms. American Century Investments benefits as households increasingly recognize the specific investment brands they own. This standing allows the company to broaden its impact as it connects with modern investors.
The company sets its products apart by linking active management results directly to funding global medical research:
American Century Investments offers specialized guidance for managing inflation risks and tax efficiency. Its brokerage platform supports comprehensive legacy planning and small business retirement solutions.
American Century Investments states that people form its foundation. It reports that belonging celebrates differences, guided by these principles:
ACI also says that its rewards program creates an outstanding workplace for their staff. Its employee benefits include:
American Century Investments also highlights employee-led business resource groups as part of its culture. These groups, such as Accelerate, Charlie Mike, and Pride, bring people together around shared experiences. They encourage learning, connection, and inclusion for employees at all career stages.
Jonathan Thomas has led American Century Investments as chair, president, and CEO since 2007. Thomas joined the company in 2005 as CFO after working at Morgan Stanley. He holds an economics degree from the University of Massachusetts and an MBA from Boston College.
Thomas works alongside the management committee to lead ACI:
Leaders at American Century Investments state that success starts with investing in people. Their big-picture thinking shapes the firm's strategies and culture.
To capture future growth, ACI targeted sectors with pricing power in late 2025, as senior portfolio manager Steve Brown explained to InvestmentNews. He noted that the One Big Beautiful Act supports supply-constrained areas like senior housing and class A offices. This strategy positions the company to secure long-term earnings growth as the economy improves.
To clear the path for this future, American Century Investments helped fund a $25.5 million settlement to compensate affected employees and resolve an employment dispute. This followed allegations that ACI and Mariner Wealth, an RIA, agreed not to compete for certain asset and wealth management staff.
This step allows the firm to address past issues while focusing on serving investors and advisors. It also signals that long-term success is tied to closer scrutiny of how the company treats its workforce.
The judge dismissed claims of fiduciary breach under ERISA, largely falling in line with judgments from similar cases.
Allegations in the lawsuit largely resemble those of a separate one filed in August this year.
Voya allegedly took a "substantial portion" of the fee charged for investment advice, even though Financial Engines did the bulk of the work.
The lawsuit continues a barrage of litigation filed in recent weeks related to fiduciary breaches in retirement plans.
ERISA attorneys say the judge's decision was a complete rebuke of classic arguments in excessive-fee suits, and could provide fodder for the defense in future trials.
Another financial services company has been targeted for costly proprietary investments in its 401(k) plan, leading to allegations of self-dealing at the expense of employees.
Plaintiffs allege the asset management firm populated the retirement plan with proprietary investments for its own gain.
The asset management firm joins the likes of American Century Investments and New York Life, which were also sued by employees for using proprietary funds in their 401(k) plans.
Employees are suing for alleged self-dealing and fees charged by a company-affiliated index fund, which plaintiffs claim enriched New York Life at the expense of employees' retirement savings.
The firm's position as the top TDF provider strengthened against No. 2 Fidelity Investments, which actually had net outflows for this category last year.
Active managers have made small changes on the margins of their TDF portfolios, which could give them a short-term advantage over passive managers.
Those who master Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter and post content consistently can gain an advantage in the quest to impress prospects.
The winners and losers of the first quarter of 2015
Turned $100,000 in seed money in 1958 into the $141 billion money management powerhouse.
