SS&C Wins Transfer-Agency Mandate for Thornburg ETF Share Classes

SS&C Technologies Holdings, Inc. (SSNC ) said in an October 13, 2026 release that Thornburg Investment Management has selected SS&C to support its exchange-traded fund (ETF) share class structure. SS&C described Thornburg as a global investment firm with USD 62 billion in assets, a figure that includes $60 billion in assets under management and $2 billion in assets under advisement as of August 31, 2026.

Under the arrangement, SS&C will provide operational oversight, calculation, reconciliation, shareholder coordination and conversion processing for Thornburg’s ETF share classes. SS&C said its comprehensive workflow support also covers exception resolution and integration with key market infrastructures, which it said ensures accurate processing and consistent execution across ETF conversion activity.

Richard Kuhn, Head of Product at Thornburg, said the firm is pleased to collaborate with SS&C to support the continued growth of its ETF share class solutions. “Having the transfer agency functions for the ETF share classes on the same platform as our mutual funds will help us streamline operations, enhance efficiency and support growing investor demand,” Kuhn said.

“We are proud to partner with Thornburg to deliver a flexible and scalable solution for managing ETF share classes and we are excited to be part of the next stage of the industry’s evolution,” said Rob Trower, Head of SS&C Global Investor & Distribution Solutions (DSGR ), U.S. Trower added that as industry leaders bring these offerings to market, SS&C is committed to delivering scalable, flexible solutions.

Exemptive Relief and the April ETF Share Launch

According to the release, earlier in 2026 Thornburg became one of the first firms to receive exemptive relief to launch actively managed ETF share classes for two of its mutual funds: Thornburg American Opportunities Fund and Thornburg Focus Growth Fund. The offerings launched in April, expanding the roster of Thornburg ETFs that today have more than $860 million in assets.

Thornburg’s own April 1, 2026 announcement stated that the two actively managed ETF share classes began trading that day. The firm said the listings made it one of the first firms to offer actively managed ETF share classes of mutual funds and the first to list them on Nasdaq. Thornburg said it received ETF share-class exemptive relief earlier in 2026 and subsequently filed to add ETF share classes to the Thornburg American Opportunities Fund and Thornburg Focus Growth Fund.

Thornburg CEO Mark Zinkula said at the time that extending the mutual funds into ETF share classes underscored the firm’s commitment to meeting evolving client demand with actively managed, high-conviction strategies grounded in fundamental research. Thornburg launched its first active ETFs in January 2025, and its ETF platform had grown to over $600 million in assets by the April announcement. As of March 31, 2026, the firm oversaw $57 billion in assets, a figure that includes $56 billion in assets under management and $1 billion in assets under advisement.

The Existing SS&C-Thornburg Relationship

The ETF share class selection extends an established servicing relationship between the two firms. SS&C said it already provides Thornburg an extensive suite of services, including AI-supported distribution solutions, investor services, ETF distribution, and mutual fund transfer agency.

On February 24, 2026, SS&C announced the launch of a generative AI-powered sales enablement solution it developed with Thornburg. Integrated into customer relationship management platforms, the tool provides sales teams with consolidated access to financial advisor insights by aggregating and summarizing content from multiple sources, and it surfaces sales prep insights directly within CRM systems. The tool is available to Thornburg’s intermediary sales team and integrates with each salesperson’s calendar and email. SS&C also collaborated with Thornburg to develop an advanced analytical model to prioritize advisors and advisor teams in each sales territory.

Jesse Brownell, Global Head of Distribution and Managing Director at Thornburg, said the tool empowers the firm’s intermediary sales and marketing teams with actionable insights and enables more impactful client conversations. Lee Kowarski, Head of Distribution Solutions at SS&C, said Thornburg’s sales professionals can spend less time searching for information and more time building relationships with advisors. SS&C’s Distribution Solutions suite, which provides business intelligence tools and data analytics for asset managers distributing products through financial intermediaries, includes its SalesConnect data management and WalletShare analytics offerings alongside bespoke sales enablement tools and consulting services.