Highland Global Allocation Fund HGLB

Competitive advantage analysis · financial-services

Asset Management Specialized
Overall moat score
72/100
Moderate

Ranked against 174 peers in Asset Management

Key strengths

  • High Return on Equity Return on equity ranks highly vs peers (score 0.90).
  • Sticky AUM Base Revenue stickiness is high (stability score 0.69).

The dashed ring is the peer median. Defense scores are percentile ranks against peers, so 50 is roughly the typical company in this group.

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Fee Revenue Quality

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Signals, strengths and risks for Fee Revenue Quality

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Signals, strengths and risks for Client Retention & Revenue Stickiness

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Signals, strengths and risks for Compensation Discipline

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Signals, strengths and risks for Capital Efficiency

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Signals, strengths and risks for Earnings Quality & Cash Conversion

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Signals, strengths and risks for Balance Sheet Strength

Where HGLB ranks in Asset Management

Highland Global Allocation Fund ranks #8 of 173 scored companies in Asset Management by moat score — the top 5%. The widest moat in the group is Sound Point Meridian Capital Inc (SPMC) at 77/100.

# Company Moat score Rating
4 Blue Owl Capital Corporation OBDC 73/100 Moderate
5 Virtus Artificial Intelligence & Technology Opportunities Fund AIO 73/100 Moderate
6 StoneCastle Financial Corp BANX 72/100 Moderate
7 Northern Trust Corporation NTRS 72/100 Moderate
8 Highland Global Allocation Fund HGLB 72/100 Moderate
9 AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. AB 71/100 Moderate
10 BlackRock Science and Technolog BSTZ 69/100 Moderate
11 BlackRock ESG Capital Allocation Term Trust ECAT 68/100 Moderate
12 FS Credit Opportunities Corp. FSCO 67/100 Moderate

See every Asset Management & Capital Markets company ranked by moat score →

How HGLB scores on the Asset Management Specialized defenses

Fee Revenue Quality

Not measurable · 20% of the moat score

Fee revenue quality is the ability to charge above the industry's falling average and keep charging it.

Client Retention & Revenue Stickiness

Score 67 · 18% of the moat score

Assets under management leave far more easily than they arrive, and the fee leaves with them.

Compensation Discipline

Not measurable · 18% of the moat score

Compensation is the largest expense in asset management and the one that decides whether a good year ever reaches shareholders.

Capital Efficiency

Score 79 · 20% of the moat score

Asset managers are asset-light: with little capital employed, a healthy business should earn a very high return on equity, and a merely average one is a real warning.

Earnings Quality & Cash Conversion

Score 60 · 14% of the moat score

Reported profits here can be flattered by performance fees, seed-capital gains and consolidated fund accounting, none of which recur reliably.

Balance Sheet Strength

Score 84 · 10% of the moat score

Because the business needs so little capital, an asset manager carrying meaningful debt has usually borrowed to buy another manager or to fund distributions.

How each Asset Management Specialized defense is measured, in full →

Understanding HGLB's moat

What is Highland Global Allocation Fund's moat score?

Highland Global Allocation Fund (HGLB) scores 72 out of 100 on the StatsAlpha Moat Map, which rates its competitive advantage as moderate. It ranks #8 of 173 scored companies in Asset Management, the top 5%. The score is a weighted composite of 6 competitive defenses, each measured against industry peers of 174 companies in Asset Management. Its strongest defense is Balance Sheet Strength (84/100) and its weakest is Earnings Quality & Cash Conversion (60/100).

How does Highland Global Allocation Fund compare with other Asset Management companies?

Highland Global Allocation Fund ranks #8 of 173 scored companies in Asset Management by moat score. The widest moat in Asset Management is Sound Point Meridian Capital Inc (SPMC) at 77/100. The companies ranked closest are Northern Trust Corporation (NTRS) at 72 just above it and AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. (AB) at 71 just below it.

How is the moat score calculated?

Each company is scored with an industry-specific template — Asset Management Specialized in this case, chosen because the defenses that matter to a bank are not the ones that matter to a software company. Every defense combines several financial signals, and each signal is measured as a percentile against a peer group of 174 companies in Asset Management. The defenses are then weighted to produce the overall score out of 100.

Why is Highland Global Allocation Fund scored with the Asset Management Specialized template?

An asset manager owns almost nothing. It charges a fee on someone else's money, pays much of that fee out in compensation, and keeps the remainder — so its economics turn on the fee rate it can defend, whether client money stays, and how much revenue survives the bonus pool. The Asset Management template scores those questions rather than the balance sheet, which in this industry is largely beside the point.

Which competitive defenses are measured for Highland Global Allocation Fund?

The Asset Management Specialized template measures 6 defenses, and HGLB scores: Fee Revenue Quality (not measurable), Client Retention & Revenue Stickiness (67), Compensation Discipline (not measurable), Capital Efficiency (79), Earnings Quality & Cash Conversion (60), Balance Sheet Strength (84). Each is scored independently as a percentile against peers, so a company can be strong on one and weak on another — the overall score reflects how those defenses are weighted for this industry.

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