First Black-Owned Mutual Fund Company in Chicago Celebrates 40th Anniversary
Ariel Investments, LLC (“Ariel” or “the firm”), a global value-based asset management firm, today unveiled a new brand in honor of its 40th anniversary. Ariel’s new creative can be viewed on ArielInvestments.com and the firm’s social media channels (Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram).
“Forty years ago, a 24-year-old John W. Rogers, Jr. founded Ariel to pursue his passion of picking high-quality stocks: a hobby he began at the age of 12,” said Mellody Hobson, Co-CEO and President of Ariel Investments.
“Ariel started as the first Black-owned mutual fund company based in Chicago. Today, we are a global, diversified asset management firm with 123 teammates in offices across Chicago, New York, San Francisco and Sydney. So much has changed, but our patient investment philosophy remains core to everything we do.”
Hobson continued: “This new look and feel represents the next step in Ariel’s transformation – but evolution is not new to us. Each decade we have expanded our reach and service to clients.”
Ariel Investments launched in January 1983 as a small and mid-cap value investment firm. Today, its flagship Ariel Fund has the longest track record in the mid-cap value category. In 2011, Ariel built an all-cap international & global research team in New York City that continues to expand. In 2021, the firm launched its first private equity subsidiary, Ariel Alternatives, to scale sustainable, middle-market, minority-owned businesses and fuel Fortune 500 vendor diversity. That same year, Ariel entered the exchange-traded fund space, partnering with Schwab as subadvisor for its inaugural environmental, social and governance ETF (NYSE: SAEF).
Arielle Patrick, Chief Communications Officer of Ariel Investments, commented:
“The inspiration for our rebrand was born out of a reverence for the people who make our mission possible – our teammates and our clients. While Aesop’s tortoise is still our mascot and ‘Slow and steady wins the race’ continues to be our motto, today we are updating our tagline to Active PatienceSM. This phrase reminds us that while Ariel is patient, we are never static. We actively seek value for our stakeholders who entrust us with their financial futures.”
Patrick concluded: “The brand features an editorial aesthetic with a focus on large-scale black-and-white photography of our people and the communities we serve. Our redesign is more contemporary and translates to an improved user experience on our website. Thank you to our consultants: Michael Rock and his team at 2×4 for our visual identity and Brunswick Group for bringing it to life on the web.”