Final CNS AR 2020 - Flipbook - Page 17
PART I
Item 1. Business
Overview
Cohen & Steers, founded in 1986, is a global investment manager specializing in liquid real assets, including real estate
securities, listed infrastructure and natural resource equities, as well as preferred securities and other income solutions.
Headquartered in New York City, with offices in London, Dublin, Hong Kong and Tokyo, we serve institutional and
individual investors around the world.
Cohen & Steers, Inc. (CNS) was organized as a Delaware corporation on March 17, 2004. CNS is the holding company
for its direct and indirect subsidiaries, including Cohen & Steers Capital Management, Inc. (CSCM), Cohen & Steers
Securities, LLC (CSS), Cohen & Steers Asia Limited (CSAL), Cohen & Steers UK Limited (CSUK), Cohen & Steers Japan
Limited (CSJL) and Cohen & Steers Ireland Limited (CSIL). CNS and its subsidiaries are collectively referred to as the
Company, we, us or our.
Our revenue is derived from fees received from our clients, including fees for managing or subadvising client accounts,
as well as investment advisory, administration, distribution and service fees received from Company-sponsored open-end and
closed-end funds. Our fees are based on contractually specified rates applied to the value of the assets we manage and, in
certain cases, investment performance. Our revenue fluctuates with changes in the total value of our assets under
management, which may occur as a result of market appreciation and depreciation, contributions or withdrawals from
investor accounts and distributions. This revenue is recognized over the period that the assets are managed.
Investment Vehicles
We manage three types of investment vehicles: institutional accounts, open-end funds and closed-end funds.
Institutional Accounts
Institutional accounts for which we serve as investment adviser represent portfolios of securities we manage for
institutional clients. We manage the assets in each institutional account in accordance with the investment requirements of
that client as set forth in such client’s investment management agreement and investment guidelines. The investment
management agreements with our institutional account clients are generally terminable at any time.
Advisory assets, which represent accounts for which we have been appointed as the investment manager, are included
in our institutional account assets under management. As investment adviser, we are responsible to oversee certain daily
activities and manage the assets in the account while adhering to the specified investment objectives.
Subadvisory assets, which generally represent commingled investment vehicles for which we have been appointed as a
subadvisor by the investment manager of that investment vehicle, are also included in our institutional account assets under
management. As subadvisor, we are responsible for managing all or a portion of the vehicle's investments and to oversee
certain daily activities, while the investment adviser oversees our performance as subadvisor; the vehicle sponsor is
responsible for decisions regarding the amount, timing and whether to pay distributions from the investment vehicle to its
beneficial owners. Subadvisory assets also include assets of third parties for which we provide model portfolios. We regularly
provide the investment manager of that investment vehicle with a model portfolio of securities in accordance with the
investment objectives of that client as set forth in such client’s investment advisory agreement and investment guidelines.
These investment advisory agreements are generally terminable at will with 30 days’ notice.
Open-end Funds
The U.S. and non-U.S. open-end funds that we sponsor and for which we serve as investment adviser offer and issue
new shares continuously as assets are invested and redeem shares when assets are withdrawn. The share price for purchases
and redemptions of shares of each of the open-end funds is determined by each fund’s net asset value, which is calculated at
the end of each business day. The net asset value per share is the current value of a fund’s assets less liabilities, divided by the
fund’s total shares outstanding.
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