VIRTUS INVESTMENT PARTNERS, INC. (VRTS) Business

Item 1. Business.

Organization

Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. (the "Company"), a Delaware corporation, commenced operations on November 1, 1995 and became an independent publicly traded company on December 31, 2008.

Our Business

We provide investment management and related services to institutions and individuals. We use a multi-manager, multi-style approach, offering investment strategies from our investment managers, each having its own distinct investment style, autonomous investment process and individual brand, as well as from select unaffiliated managers for certain of our funds. By offering a broad array of products, we believe we can appeal to a greater number of investors and have offerings across market cycles and through changes in investor preferences. Through our multi-manager model, we provide our investment managers with distribution, business and operational support.

We offer investment strategies for institutional and individual investors in different investment products and through multiple distribution channels. Our investment strategies are available in a diverse range of styles and disciplines, managed by differentiated investment managers. We have offerings in various asset classes (equity, fixed income, multi-asset and alternatives), geographies (domestic, global, international and emerging), market capitalizations (large, mid and small), styles (growth, core and value) and investment approaches (fundamental and quantitative). Our investment strategies are provided to individual investors through products consisting of: mutual funds registered pursuant to the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, that include U.S. retail funds, exchange-traded funds ("ETFs"); Undertaking for Collective Investment in Transferable Securities and Qualifying Investor Funds ("global funds" and collectively with U.S. retail funds and ETFs the "open-end funds"); closed-end funds (collectively with open-end funds, the "funds"); retail separate accounts sold through intermediaries; and wealth advisory services to high- net-worth clients through our wealth management business. Our investment strategies are offered to a variety of institutional clients through institutional separate accounts and commingled accounts, including subadvisory services to other investment advisers as well as collateral management of structured products.

Our Investment Managers

We provide investment management services through our investment managers who are registered as investment advisers under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as amended (the "Investment Advisers Act"). The investment managers are responsible for portfolio management activities for our retail and institutional products operating under advisory, subadvisory or collateral management agreements. We also use the investment management services of select unaffiliated managers for certain of our funds. We monitor our managers' services by assessing their performance, style and consistency and the discipline with which they apply their investment process.

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Our investment managers, their respective investment styles and assets under management as of December 31, 2025 were as follows:

Summary information regarding investment managers in which we have a minority interest, their respective investment styles and assets under management as of December 31, 2025 was as follows:

(1) Reflects assets under management in Virtus sponsored products and is included in our assets under management. Assets under management as of December 31, 2025 of Crescent Cove Advisors and Zevenbergen Capital Investments, respectively, for which we do not serve as the investment adviser, but share in our portion of the earnings through our minority ownership was $0.9 billion and $2.4 billion, respectively. These amounts are not included in our assets under management.

(2) Acquired a 35% minority interest on December 15, 2025

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Summary information regarding our select unaffiliated subadvisers, their respective investment styles and assets under management as of December 31, 2025 was as follows:

(1) Reflects assets under management in Virtus sponsored products and is included in our assets under management.

Our Investment Products

Our assets under management are in open-end funds, closed-end funds, retail separate accounts and institutional accounts. Our earnings are primarily from asset-based fees charged for services relating to these various products, including investment management, fund administration, distribution and shareholder services.

Assets Under Management by Product as of December 31, 2025

(1)Represents assets under management of U.S. retail funds, ETFs and global funds.

(2)Includes investment models provided to managed account sponsors.

(3)Represents assets under management of institutional separate and commingled accounts including structured products.

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Open-End Funds

Our U.S. retail funds are offered in a variety of asset classes, market capitalizations (large, mid and small), styles (growth, core and value) and investment approaches (fundamental and quantitative). Our ETFs are offered in a range of actively managed and index-based investment capabilities across multiple asset classes. Our global funds are offered in select investment strategies to non-U.S. investors. Summary information about our open-end funds by asset class as of December 31, 2025 was as follows:

(1)Represents management fees earned as a percentage of average daily net assets. The percentages represent the range of management fees paid by the funds, from the highest to the lowest and includes the impact of breakpoints at which the fees for certain funds decrease as assets in such funds increase. Subadvisory fees paid on funds managed by unaffiliated subadvisers are not reflected.

(2)Consists of multi-asset offerings not included in equity, fixed income and alternatives.

(3)Consists of real estate securities, managed futures, event-driven, infrastructure and other strategies.

Closed-End Funds

Our closed-end funds, each of which is traded on the New York Stock Exchange, are offered in a variety of asset classes. Summary information about our closed-end funds by asset class as of December 31, 2025 was as follows:

(1)Represents management fees earned as a percentage of average daily net assets. The percentages represent the range of management fees paid by the funds, from the highest to the lowest and includes the impact of breakpoints at which the fees for certain funds decrease as assets in such funds increase. Subadvisory fees paid on funds managed by unaffiliated subadvisers are not reflected.

(2)Consists of multi-asset offerings not included in equity, fixed income and alternatives.

(3)Consists of real estate securities, managed futures, event-driven, infrastructure and other strategies.

Retail Separate Accounts

Intermediary-Sold Managed Accounts

Intermediary-sold managed accounts are individual investment accounts that are contracted through intermediaries

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as part of investment programs offered to retail investors.

Wealth Management Accounts

Wealth management accounts are investment accounts offered by certain of our investment managers directly to individual investors and include wealth advisory services and may utilize third-party investment services.

The following table summarizes our retail separate accounts by asset class as of December 31, 2025:

(1)Consists of multi-asset offerings not included in equity, fixed income and alternatives.

(2)Consists of real estate securities, managed futures, event-driven, infrastructure and other strategies.

Institutional Accounts

Our institutional clients include corporations, multi-employer retirement funds, public employee retirement systems, foundations and endowments. We also provide subadvisory services to unaffiliated mutual funds. In addition, we act as collateral manager for collateralized loan obligations ("CLOs").

The following table summarizes our institutional accounts by asset class as of December 31, 2025:

(1)    Consists of real estate securities, managed futures, event-driven, infrastructure and other strategies.

(2)    Consists of multi-asset offerings not included in equity, fixed income and alternatives.

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Other Fee Earning Assets

Other fee earning assets include assets for which we provide services for an asset-based fee but do not serve as an investment adviser. Other fee earning assets are not included in our assets under management. At December 31, 2025, we had $1.8 billion of other fee earning assets.

Our Investment Management, Administration and Shareholder Services

Our investment management, administration and shareholder service fees earned in each of the last three years were as follows:

Investment Management Fees

We provide investment management services pursuant to investment management agreements through our investment advisers (each an "Adviser"). For our funds, we earn fees based on each fund's average daily or weekly net assets with certain fee schedules providing for rate declines or "breakpoints" as asset levels increase to certain thresholds. For funds managed by subadvisers, the day-to-day investment management of the portfolio is performed by the subadviser, which receives a fee based on a percentage of the management fee. Each fund bears all expenses associated with its operations. In some cases, to the extent total fund expenses exceed a specified percentage of a fund's average net assets, the Adviser has agreed to reimburse the fund's expenses in excess of that level.

For intermediary sold retail separate accounts and institutional accounts, investment management fees are negotiated and based primarily on portfolio size and complexity, individual client requests and investment strategy capacity, as appropriate. In certain instances, institutional accounts may include performance-related fees, generally earned if the returns on the portfolios exceed agreed upon periodic or cumulative return targets, primarily benchmark indices. Fees for CLOs are generally calculated at a contractual fee rate applied against the end of the preceding quarter par value of the total collateral being managed. Fees for wealth management accounts are generally based on a standard fee schedule that provides for rate declines or “breakpoints” as asset levels increase to certain thresholds.

Administration Fees

We provide various administrative services to our U.S. retail funds, ETFs and closed-end funds. We earn fees based on each fund's average daily or weekly net assets. These services include: record keeping, preparing and filing documents required to comply with securities laws, legal administration and compliance services, client service, supervision of the activities of the funds' service providers, tax services and treasury services as well as providing office space, equipment and personnel that may be necessary for managing and administering the business affairs of the funds.

Shareholder Service Fees

We provide shareholder services to our U.S. retail funds. We earn fees based on each fund's average daily net assets. Shareholder services include maintaining shareholder accounts, processing shareholder transactions, preparing filings and performing necessary reporting, among other things.

Our Distribution Services

Our products are offered through various retail and institutional distribution channels.

Retail

Our retail distribution resources in the U.S. consist of regional sales professionals, a national account relationship

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group and specialized teams for retirement and ETFs. Our U.S. retail funds, ETFs and intermediary sold retail separate accounts are distributed through financial intermediaries. We have broad distribution access in the U.S. retail market, with distribution partners that include national and regional broker-dealers, independent broker-dealers and registered investment advisers, banks and insurance companies. In many of these firms, we have a number of products that are on preferred or "recommended" lists and on fee-based advisory programs.

Our wealth management business is marketed directly to individual clients by financial advisory teams at our investment managers.

Institutional

Our institutional distribution resources include manager-specific institutional sales teams primarily focused on the U.S. market, supported by shared consultant relations and U.S. and non-U.S. institutional sales distribution. Our institutional products are marketed through relationships with consultants as well as directly to clients. We target key market segments, including foundations and endowments, corporations, public and private pension plans, sovereign wealth funds and subadvisory relationships.

Our Broker-Dealer Services

We operate a broker-dealer that is registered under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the "Exchange Act"), and is a member of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority ("FINRA"). Our broker-dealer serves as the principal underwriter and distributor of our funds, provides market advisory services to sponsors of retail separate accounts, and is also a program manager and distributor of a qualified tuition plan under Section 529 of the Internal Revenue Code. Our broker-dealer is subject to, among others, the net capital rule of the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC"), which is designed to enforce minimum standards regarding the general financial condition and liquidity of broker-dealers.

Our Competition

The financial services industry is a highly competitive global business. We face significant competition from a wide variety of financial institutions, including other investment management companies. We also face competition from proprietary products offered by our distribution partners such as banks, broker-dealers and financial planning firms. Competition in our businesses is based on several factors, including, among others, product mix and offerings, investment performance, fees charged, access to distribution channels, service quality and innovation. Our competitors, many of which are larger than us, offer a wide range of financial and investment management services and products to the same retail, institutional and high-net-worth investors and accounts that we are seeking to attract.

Our primary source of distribution for retail products is through intermediaries that include third-party financial institutions such as: major wire-houses; national, regional and independent broker-dealers and financial advisors; banks and financial planners; and registered investment advisers. Because we rely on these intermediaries, we do not control the ultimate recommendations given to them by clients and they may recommend competing products. For more information on our competitive risks, refer to "Risk Factors – Risks Related to Our Industry, Business and Operations."

Our Regulatory Matters

The financial services industry is highly regulated, regulations are complex, and failure to comply with related laws and regulations can result in the revocation of registrations, the imposition of censures or fines and the suspension or expulsion of a firm and/or its employees from the industry. In the U.S., we are subject to regulation by the SEC, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission ("CFTC"), other federal and state agencies, as well as FINRA and the National Futures Association ("NFA").

Each of our investment managers is registered as an investment adviser with the SEC under the Investment Advisers Act. The Investment Advisers Act imposes numerous obligations on registered investment advisers, including fiduciary duties, compliance and disclosure obligations, and operational and recordkeeping requirements. Certain of our investment managers are also members of the NFA and are regulated by the CFTC with respect to the management of funds and other products that utilize futures, swaps, or other CFTC regulated instruments.

Our investment managers manage registered and unregistered funds in the U.S. and other jurisdictions and are subject to the regulatory requirements in the jurisdiction where those funds are sponsored or offered. In the U.S., the open-end funds, ETFs and closed-end funds we offer are subject to the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the "Investment Company Act"). The Investment Company Act governs the operations of registered funds and imposes

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obligations on their advisers, including investment restrictions and other governance, compliance, reporting and fiduciary obligations with respect to the management of those funds.

Our investment managers operating outside of the U.S. are also subject to regulation by various regulatory authorities and exchanges in the relevant jurisdiction such as directives and regulations in the European Union and other jurisdictions related to funds, including the Undertakings for the Collective Investment of Transferable Securities ("UCITS") Directive and the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive ("AIFMD"), with respect to depository functions, remuneration policies and sanctions and other matters. Our global funds are registered with and subject to regulation by the Central Bank of Ireland.

Our broker-dealer, VP Distributors, LLC, is subject to SEC and FINRA rules and regulations, including extensive regulatory requirements related to sales practices, registration of personnel, compliance and supervision and compensation and disclosure. We have distribution teams that operate in the United Kingdom and Singapore and are subject to regulation by the Financial Conduct Authority and Monetary Authority of Singapore, respectively. Sales and marketing activities of investment management services are also subject to regulation by non-U.S. authorities in the jurisdictions in which investment management products and services are offered. The ability to transact business in these jurisdictions and to conduct cross-border activities, is subject to the continuing availability of regulatory authorizations and exemptions.

Virtus Fund Services, LLC is an SEC-registered transfer agent and is subject to the Exchange Act and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder. These laws and regulations grant the SEC broad administrative powers to address non-compliance with regulatory requirements.

We may be considered a fiduciary under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, as amended (“ERISA”) and related regulations with respect to certain assets that we manage for benefit plans subject to ERISA. ERISA, the regulations promulgated thereunder, and the applicable provisions of the Internal Revenue Code impose certain duties on persons who are fiduciaries under ERISA, prohibit certain transactions involving ERISA plan clients, and impose monetary penalties for violations of these provisions. The U.S. Department of Labor, which administers ERISA and regulates, among others, investment advisers who service retirement plan clients, has been active in proposing and adopting additional regulations applicable to the investment management industry, some of which are under legal challenge.

Due to the extensive laws and regulations to which we and our investment managers are subject, we devote substantial time, expense, and effort to remain current on, and to address, legal and regulatory compliance matters. We have established compliance programs to address regulatory compliance, and we have experienced legal and compliance professionals in place to address these requirements. We also have established legal and regulatory service providers in each of the countries where we conduct business. New regulations or interpretations of existing laws may result in enhanced disclosure obligations. Increased regulations generally increase our costs, and we could continue to experience higher costs if new laws require us to spend more time, hire additional personnel, or purchase new technology to comply effectively. For more information about our regulatory environment, refer to “Risk Factors – Legal and Regulatory Risks.”

Our officers, directors and employees may, from time to time, own securities that are also held by one or more of our funds or strategies offered to clients.

Human Capital

As of December 31, 2025, we employed 801 employees and operated offices throughout the U.S., and in the U.K. and Singapore. We strive to attract and retain talented individuals by creating an environment of excellence and opportunity that serves as a foundation for all employees to reach their potential and make meaningful contributions to the organization.

We offer competitive salaries and a comprehensive suite of benefits, including programs that support wellness, financial security, and professional development. As part of our offerings, we:

▪Regularly assess and benchmark our compensation and benefit practices and conduct internal and external pay comparisons to assist us in ensuring that employees are compensated fairly, equitably and competitively.

▪Offer career enhancement opportunities to maximize each employee's potential and develop leaders throughout the organization.

▪Provide an education assistance program with tuition reimbursement for employees who wish to continue their education to secure increased responsibility and growth within the organization and in their careers.

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▪Offer benefits that promote financial and personal security including comprehensive medical, dental, prescription, disability and life insurance coverages as well as an employee assistance program; company match to employees' 401(k) contributions; and an employee stock purchase plan.

▪Provide wellness programs that include health screenings and wellness earned premium rebates, as well as paid time off for vacation, illness, bereavement, parental and family care leave, and volunteer activities.

We rely upon key personnel to manage our business, including senior executives, portfolio managers, securities analysts, wealth advisers, sales personnel and other professionals. The retention of senior executives and key investment personnel is material to the management of our business.

Our value as a company derives from the talents of our employees, and we are committed to creating and maintaining an environment where every employee is treated with dignity and respect. The collective sum of employees' backgrounds, unique skills, and life experiences creates an environment where they and the company can achieve the highest levels of performance. Programs and practices - including those supporting an inclusive culture, employee involvement in community activities and corporate philanthropy - are designed to help us deliver on our commitment to maintaining an organization that is diverse and inclusive for all employees.

▪As an employer, we prohibit any form of discrimination and have no tolerance for harassment in any form or any behavior that may contribute to a hostile, intimidating, unwelcoming, and/or inaccessible work environment.

▪Collaborative efforts with organizations, institutions, and referral sources support us in identifying diverse talent pools, increasing the diversity of backgrounds and experiences of potential candidates, and engaging with employees across the organization to raise the awareness of and advance our inclusion efforts.

▪Community engagement is ingrained into our culture. The Company and employees have supported a wide range of philanthropic activities that help to enrich and sustain the communities in which we have a business presence.

Available Information

Our Annual Reports on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, Current Reports on Form 8-K, and all amendments to these reports filed or furnished pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Exchange Act, as well as proxy statements, are available free of charge on our website located at www.virtus.com as soon as reasonably practicable after they are filed with, or furnished to, the SEC. Reports, proxy and other information statements and other information regarding issuers that file electronically with the SEC, including our filings, are also available to the public on the SEC's website at http://www.sec.gov.

A copy of our Corporate Governance Guidelines, our Code of Conduct and the charters of our Audit Committee, Compensation Committee, and Governance Committee are posted on our website at http://ir.virtus.com under "Corporate Governance" and are available in print without charge to any person who requests copies by contacting Investor Relations by email to: investor.relations@virtus.com or by mail to Virtus Investment Partners, Inc., c/o Investor Relations, One Financial Plaza, Hartford, CT 06103. The Company may use its website as a distribution channel of material company information. Financial and other important information regarding the Company is routinely posted on and accessible through the Company’s website at http://ir.virtus.com. In addition, you may automatically receive email alerts and other information about the Company when you enroll your email address by visiting http://ir.virtus.com. Information contained on the website is not incorporated by reference or otherwise considered part of this document.