Alternatives manager AQR Capital Management is reducing its headcount as assets under management decline.
The company is cutting its current workforce of 900 by 5% to 10%, said a source with knowledge of AQR's plans, who asked not to be identified.
After the firm's annual review, AQR executives "made the difficult decision to reduce headcount to balance the size of our workforce with the current needs of our clients," said Suzanne Escousse, principal and AQR's chief marketing officer, in a statement obtained by Pensions & Investments.
Ms. Escousse said it "continues to be a challenging time for the asset management industry."
Ms. Escousse said the firm will not change its investment philosophy, process or investment strategies, noting the firm believes "that today's action contributes to the long-term health and strength of our business."
AQR spokeswoman Claudia Gray declined to comment on the firm's personnel actions.
AQR's worldwide assets under management as of Sept. 30 totaled $185 billion, according to its website, down $11 billion or 5.7% compared to $196 billion as of Dec. 31, 2018 reported by the company in a response to P&I's annual survey of money managers.
The firm's most recent peak of worldwide assets as reported to P&I totaled $225 billion as of Dec. 31, 2017. AQR's assets declined by $39 billion, or 17.4%, from Dec. 31, 2017 to Sept. 30, 2019.
