Highlights
Through its subsidiary, American Century Investments, the company offers an expanding range of products and services
The founder and his family still own more than half the company.
Named to Fortune’s “100 Best Companies to Work For” in 2006, the seventh consecutive year the company has made the list.
Founded in 1958, American Century Companies manages a group of more than 85 mutual funds—about 12 of which were purchased in 2006—in domestic and international equity, fixed income, and money markets. The firm also offers brokerage and asset management services to individuals, corporations, nonprofits, and retirement funds for individual and institutional investors. American Century Companies prides itself on its use of technology as much as it does its financial results. The company was an early adopter of online account access, and it pioneered the use of computerized financial models that help identify companies with earnings and revenue acceleration. This method is still used today by the company’s growth-oriented investment managers. The firm often appears on “best-of” lists for assuring that its mutual fund boards are composed of 80% independent directors, and for avoiding some of the “iffy” management arrangements other mutual fund companies have employed.