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UNITED STATES


SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION


Washington, D.C. 20549

SCHEDULE 14A

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VICTORY CAPITAL HOLDINGS, INC.


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LOGO

April 7,


September 27, 2021

Dear Stockholder:

On behalf of the Board of Directors of Victory Capital Holdings, Inc., we cordially invite you to attend the 2020 Annuala Special Meeting (the “Special Meeting”) of Stockholders, whichStockholders. The meeting will be held on May 18,Friday, November 19, 2021, at 8:00 a.m., Eastern Time. Forat our corporate offices, located at 15935 La Cantera Parkway, San Antonio, TX 78256.
Due to COVID-19, we may enforce appropriate social protocols as may be permissible under the law.
Please note that in order to gain admission to the site of the Special Meeting, attendees may need to present a photo identification card.
Enclosed with this letter are your convenience, we are pleased to advise that the AnnualNotice of Special Meeting will be a completely virtual meeting which will be conducted via live webcast. You will be able to attend the Annual Meeting via the Internet, vote your shares electronically,of Stockholders, proxy statement and submit questions during the Annual Meeting by visiting:

www.virtualshareholdermeeting.com/VCTR2021.

proxy voting card. The mattersmatter to be considered by stockholders at the AnnualSpecial Meeting areis described in detail in the accompanying materials.

We have decided to provide access to

Representatives from our proxy materials over the Internet under the SecuritiesBoard of Directors and Exchange Commission’s “notice and access” rules. Information about how to access and review our proxy statement and 2020 Annual Report on Form 10-K, is included in the Notice of Internet Availability of Proxy Materials that you received in the mail. The notice also explains how you may submit your vote over the Internet. You will not receive printed copiescertain of our proxy materials unless you request them.

Attached to this letter are a Notice of Annual Meeting of Stockholders and Proxy Statement, which describe the business toexecutive officers will be conductedavailable at the meeting.

Special Meeting to respond to appropriate questions from stockholders.

Whether or not you plan to attend the AnnualSpecial Meeting, virtually, please submit your vote at your earliest convenience.

Sincerely,
Sincerely,
LOGO
David C. Brown
Chairman of the Board of Directors and Chief Executive Officer

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NOTICE OF 2021 ANNUALSPECIAL MEETING OF STOCKHOLDERS

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the 2021 AnnualSpecial Meeting of Stockholders of Victory Capital Holdings, Inc. will be held at our corporate offices, located at 15935 La Cantera Parkway, San Antonio, TX 78256 on May 18,Friday, November 19, 2021, at 8:00 a.m., Eastern Time. You will be able to attend the Annual Meeting via the Internet, vote your shares electronically and submit your questions during the meeting by visiting:

www.virtualshareholdermeeting.com/VCTR2021.

You will need the control number included in your Notice of Internet Availability of Proxy Materials or your proxy card (if you received a printed copy of the proxy materials) to enter the meeting onlineTime to consider and vote upon:

1.

The election of three Class III directors to serve until the 2024 annual meeting of stockholders.

2.

The ratification of the appointment of Ernst & Young LLP as our independent registered public accounting firm for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2021.

3.

Any other business as may properly come before the Annual Meeting or any adjournments thereof.

upon the approval of the amendment and restatement of the Company’s Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation.

Stockholders who owned shares of our stock as of the close of business on March 19,October 29, 2021, are entitled to attend and vote at the AnnualSpecial Meeting and any adjournments thereof.

We encourage you to read this proxy statement and submit your proxy or voting instructions as soon as possible. You may vote your shares in person at the Special Meeting, by Internet, by phone or if you received printed proxy materials, by mailing the completed proxy card. Please refer to the section “How do I vote?” for detailed voting instructions.

By Order of the Board of Directors,
LOGO
Nina Gupta
Nina Gupta
Corporate Secretary
Corporate Secretary

San Antonio, Texas

April 7,

September 27, 2021

Important Notice Regarding the Internet Availability of Proxy Materials for the Stockholder Meeting to be held on Tuesday, May 18, 2021, at 8:00 a.m., Eastern Time. Our proxy statement and 2020 Annual Report on Form 10-K are available at www.proxyvote.com.

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LOGO

A Message from the Board of Directors

iii

Our Strategy and Progress for Making a Positive Impact

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Victory Capital’s role as an asset manager uniquely positions us to make meaningful and positive impacts on the financial wellbeing of our clients, and also on our talented employees, our shareholders, our communities, and all other stakeholders.

With an emphasis on sustainably growing our business, we continually evolve and improve how we address the changing needs of investors. We appreciate the genuine need to make changes to improve the world we all share. Our daily decisions and actions are being rigorously examined to ensure they will lead to constructive economic, social, and environmental outcomes. We thoughtfully allocate resources to further this corporate social responsibility (“CSR”) mission in many ways.

In the pages that follow, we proudly share specific tangible actions that document our journey and our approach. These actions represent corporate-level initiatives that are furthered by responsible investing and the integration of Environmental, Social, and Governance (“ESG”) considerations into our investment decision making processes.

As we look back on 2020, we realize that the economic and societal disruptions from COVID-19 may have lasting effects. The civil unrest we all witnessed also serves as a reminder that humanity is still maturing and has significant room for improvement. We are honored to include ourselves in the community of businesses becoming a positive force for change.

Actions speak louder than words. At

Victory Capital we have taken many decisive actions to enhance the impact our business has on the environment and people, including clients and employees. We strive to have a positive impact on the communities where we live and work. We also endeavor to influence the actions being taken at the companies in which we invest.

Holdings, Inc.

2020 GOALS

2020 PROGRESS

2021 GOALS

Responsible

Investing (“RI”)

●   Broaden our commitment to Responsible Investing

●   Add new research and data resources to support growing emphasis on Responsible Investing

●   Provide investment professionals with access to training and materiality frameworks to optimally integrate ESG considerations according to their respective investment processes

●   Maintain investment performance excellence on behalf of clients, while integrating ESG considerations into the investment decision-making process or according to client direction

●   Added third-party ESG dedicated research, data feeds, tools and training for all investment teams to facilitate their respective integrations of ESG factors into the investment processes or according to client direction

●   Became a signatory to the United Nations-supported Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) at the enterprise level

●   Joined PRI’s Working Group Coalition on Human Rights

●   More than two-thirds of Assets Under Management (AUM) outperformed benchmarks for the 1-, 3-, and 5-year periods ended Dec. 31, 2020; and more than three-quarters of AUM outperformed benchmarks for the 10-year period

●   Enhance proxy voting guidelines and engagement tools to align with our enhanced ESG initiatives

●   Become member of Ceres Investor Network on Climate Risk and Sustainability to deepen our knowledge on various sustainability topics and share best practices with like-minded investors

●   Join Climate Action 100+ (Ceres Working Group), which is an investor-led initiative to ensure the world’s largest corporate greenhouse gas emitters improve governance on climate change, curb emissions, and strengthen climate related financial disclosures

●   Become a User member of the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) Alliance, which allows members the right to use SASB’s materiality framework in commercial activities, including internal business processes, products, and services

Corporate Social Responsibility

(“CSR”)

●   Create leadership role to oversee “RI” and “CSR” initiatives

●   Take tangible actions to enhance diversity & inclusion at Victory Capital

●   Continue making positive impacts in our communities

●   Hired first Director of Responsible Investing who also shares CSR responsibilities

●   Formed Company’s first Diversity, Inclusion, Cohesion, and Engagement (DICE) Committee

●   Conducted professional half-day unconscious bias training for 60 members of the management team

●   Mandated unconscious bias training for all employees

●   Invested in linguistics software for job posting to attract diverse candidates

●   Enrolled managers in McKinsey’s Black Leadership Academy

●   Produce Company’s inaugural “CSR” report highlighting our numerous human capital and community involvement initiatives designed to make positive impacts

●   Establish Employee Resource Groups (“ERGs”) to provide additional networking and support opportunities

●   Start a scholarship program for students pursuing careers in asset management

15935 La Cantera Parkway

Enterprise Approach to Environmental, Social, and Governance (“ESG”) Issues

and Corporate Social Responsibility (“CSR”)

Approach & Objectives

Victory Capital is committed to sustainable growth while striving to deliver desired investment performance and outcomes for our clients by focusing on our Company’s material ESG factors. According to the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) Materiality Map®, the key ESG factors for asset management firms include:

Social Capital issues comprising customer privacy, data security, and selling practices;

Human Capitalinitiatives encompassing employee engagement, diversity and inclusion;

Business Model and Innovation matters such as product design and lifecycle management; and,

Leadership and Governance subjects including business ethics and systematic risk management.

Social Capital

As a socially responsible Company, we care deeply about all stakeholders, including our clients, employees, industry partners, shareholders, and our communities. We have a number of initiatives designed to be catalysts for positive change. One example is the Victory Capital Military Financial Readiness Program. In conjunction with our management of the USAA Mutual Funds, ETFs, and 529 College Savings Plan, this program centers on content designed to educate service members on the importance of financial management and investing for their futures. According to Blue Star Families Annual Military Family Lifestyle Surveys, financial issues and funding a dependent child’s education are two of the top concerns of military families. To do our part, we have committed a $1 million initial investment and a portion of revenue from these USAA Mutual Funds in subsequent years to promote financial readiness for service members preparing to transition to civilian life. Our one-of-a-kind program is called the Road to Victory, Financial Command and Control for Transition Readiness. You are invited to visit our dedicated portal where we provide free educational materials, tools such as retirement and college savings calculators, and inspiration from veterans and service members who we have shared their personal financial journeys with heartfelt video interviews.

We are also proud to provide our employees with paid-time-off to volunteer their time for causes uniquely important to them. This is in addition to our Victory Matching Gifts Program that encourages employees to contribute to qualifying charitable organizations. This program supports employee giving by offering a way to double – up to $250 (U.S.) per person each calendar year – employees’ cash contributions to their favorite charitable organizations and thus improve our communities in a diverse manner. We also sponsor service initiatives in many of the communities in which our employees live and work. For example, in 2020 directed by employee initiatives, our employees volunteered at the San Antonio, Food Bank to provide support during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Another example is Victory Capital’s partnership with The Children’s Hospital of San Antonio, where we helped children (and their families) with serious medical conditions. Our program began in 2019 and, until it was suspended in 2020 due to COVID-19, it included:

Emotional support by creating a fun and memorable experience at the San Antonio Spurs home games

“Care packages” to families with infants in the Hospital’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (“NICU”)

We also partnered with Breakthrough Schools of Cleveland, a nationally recognized network of free, public charter schools in Ohio. The mission of Breakthrough Schools is to help students achieve success in school, their careers, and ultimately in life. Our support included a financial commitment and service opportunities for our employees.

Customer Privacy

We abide by strict policies with respect to cybersecurity and the protection of customer and employee data. We continuously test our cybersecurity program and environment which enhances resiliency and reduces risk from evolving cybersecurity threats. Our Corporate Information Protection and Technology Use Policy prohibits storing or sending private client data on personal devices or email. Please click here for more information on our privacy policy.

We do not sell customer information to third parties. We do not joint market. We do not share customer information about creditworthiness or insurability or share any other customer information with non-Victory companies for marketing purposes.

TX 78256

In order to provide services to our customers, we retain vendors who, depending on the services provided, may require access to certain customer information. We have a formal vendor oversight policy in place that is designed to ensure customer data is adequately protected by our vendors.

If we receive a request to disclose customer information, we will only disclose such information if the request is required under applicable law, made by court order or subpoena, made by written administrative request (and is reviewed and cleared by appropriate Victory Capital personnel), or made by state or federal regulatory authorities under their powers of examination or supervision.

Data Security and Business Continuity Planning

We take security very seriously and are committed to protecting our information systems and data. We maintain a comprehensive Information Security Program consisting of a wide array of controls and procedures to reduce cyber risk. We protect information and systems from threats, whether internal or external, deliberate or accidental. We adhere to reasonable administrative, technical, and physical security controls. We are dedicated to the following principles to protecting information:

Protecting the confidentiality of data

Preserving the integrity of data

Promoting the availability of data for authorized use

We maintain plans to minimize the impact of significant incidents through coordinated continuity planning and resource management. These plans provide guidelines for ensuring that needed personnel and resources are available to respond to an incident and that the proper steps are carried out for the timely restoration of services to an acceptable level. Here are the main points of these plans:

Victory Capital utilizes data centers that are geographically diverse and independent of its office locations.

Victory Capital also maintains geographically separated office locations to minimize the impact of regional events.

All personnel have Company issued laptops with virtual private network (VPN) capability to work from anywhere with an Internet connection. Victory has invested in technologies that permit consistent policy enforcement, including data loss prevention measures, regardless of staff location.

Victory Capital performs annual business continuity and disaster recovery plan testing. Such testing is designed to confirm the resilience of our technology infrastructure and the ability of personnel to perform critical operations in case any of our offices are unavailable.

In early 2020, we successfully made the swift transition to working from home for the majority of our employees. Prior technology investments and advance preparations adequately equipped us to seamlessly make this transition without any interruption to client service.

We also contract with reputable third parties to test our Information Security Program by conducting penetration testing and security assessments to evaluate overall security and further ensure we can adequately withstand evolving and increasingly sophisticated threats. In our history, there have been no known cybersecurity breaches or material data loss incidents.

Selling Practices

Investment adviser advertising is regulated primarily under Rule 206(4)-1, adopted under Section 206(4) of the Investment Advisers Act (IAA). Fund material is covered under the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority’s (FINRA) rules 2210-2214, and 3010, Rule 482 under the Securities Act of 1933 (1933 Act), and Rule 34b-1 of the Investment Company Act of 1940 (ICA), among other rules. Our internal policies articulate guidelines and review processes to ensure all advertisements are clear, fair, and balanced with appropriate disclosures and otherwise compliant with all applicable laws. In addition to the regulations covered by the IAA, 1933 Act, ICA, FINRA, and Victory Capital policy, all materials are reviewed and approved in advance of public dissemination.

The Securities and Exchange Commission defines the term “advertisement” as any notice, circular, letter or other written communication addressed to more than one person, or any other published or broadcast notice, which offers analyses or reports concerning securities, any graph, chart, formula or other device to be used in determining when a security should be bought or sold, or which security to buy or sell, or which offers any other investment advisory service related to securities.

The product distribution teams at Victory Capital are staffed with individuals who, in addition to being licensed through FINRA, undergo extensive background checks to ensure the Company maintains an educated, competent, and ethical sales force.

Victory Capital has policies and procedures in place regarding the Investing and Retention of Qualifying Employer Securities, and Transactions Involving Parties in Interest. It is the policy of Victory Capital to monitor transactions in those employee benefit accounts defined in Section 3(2)(A) of ERISA:

To determine whether the transactions involve parties in interest, as defined in Section 3(14) of ERISA, engaging directly or indirectly with the account, in the:

o Sale, exchange or lease of property.

o Lending of money or other extension of credit.

o Furnishing of goods, services or facilities.

o Transfer to or use of assets by or for the benefit of a party in interest.

o Acquire any employer security or employer real property in excess of certain percentage limits.

To determine that Victory Capital does not:

o Deal with plan assets for its own account or in its own interest.

o Act in any capacity with respect to a plan on behalf of (or represent) a party whose interests are averse to those of the plan, its participants or beneficiaries.

o Receive any consideration for its personal accounts from any party dealing with the plan in connection with a transaction involving plan assets.

Human Capital Development and Succession Planning

As an asset management firm, we are in the human capital business. As such, we value and appreciate our most important asset—our people. We employ “owners”, not employees. We want them to own their contribution to Victory Capital’s success. In recognition of this mission, Victory Capital has established an equity ownership program that has been recognized by MSCI as sector leading.

We all take pride in the deep expertise that we bring to the table. Every “owner” is held accountable for their individual actions as we work hard to generate positive outcomes. This culture is consistently supported and deliberately reinforced to drive sustainable financial performance and enhance value for our clients, shareholders, and other stakeholders.

We strive to provide a healthy work environment for our employees. Victory Capital sponsors an annual health fair that includes access to wellness vendors, free flu shots, and biometric screenings. We also have an employee rewards program that incentivizes employees to stay up to date with appropriate health screenings and complete health education courses. Victory Capital offers a wellness reimbursement program for external fitness memberships and other health programs, and amenities at no cost to employees such as treadmill workstations at certain office locations and a new fitness facility in our San Antonio headquarters.

Employee Diversity and Inclusion

Victory Capital recognizes and appreciates the importance of creating an environment in which all employees feel valued, included, and empowered to do their best work. We recognize that each employee’s unique experiences, perspectives, and viewpoints add value to our ability to create and deliver the best possible investment products to our clients. Given that our individual social, economic, and cultural identities shape and influence our experiences and perspectives, we enhance our collective success by ensuring diversity in our workforce across the various dimensions of social, cultural, and cognitive identity and by practicing inclusivity in how we work with one another. We created a formal Diversity, Inclusion, Cohesion and Engagement (“DICE”) committee charged with integrating a diversity strategy that drives best practices, goals and objectives, and monitors progress on results. DICE is instrumental in fostering an environment that attracts the best talent, values diversity of life experiences and perspectives, and encourages innovation and excellence.

Our Chairman and CEO, David Brown, has committed himself and Victory Capital Management to advancing diversity and inclusion in our workplace by joining the growing CEO Action for Diversity & InclusionTM coalition. By signing on to this commitment, we have pledged to take action to cultivate a workplace where diverse perspectives and experiences are welcomed and respected and where employees feel encouraged to discuss diversity and inclusion.

We recently began using linguistics software to screen our job postings. We aim to ensure inclusive language is used and that our job descriptions are intentionally targeting the most diverse candidates possible.

Where appropriate and beneficial to our clients, we also strive to engage business partners and vendors owned by historically marginalized groups. For example, three Minority- and Women-Owned Business Enterprises have been approved as trading counterparties to execute client transactions. Each of these firms are allocated trades for execution, subject to our fiduciary obligation to obtain best execution.

We also have formal Health and Safety, Anti-Discrimination, Diversity, and Human Rights policies in place applicable to all employees of our Company. To monitor the diversity and inclusion practices at our suppliers and vendors, we have instituted supplemental questions on vendor due-diligence questionnaires to help ensure our business partners are adequately addressing important diversity issues in their respective workforces.

All employees complete mandatory sexual harassment and compliance training. They are encouraged to voice concerns and are obligated to report any policy violations, without fear of retaliation. Following half-day Inclusive Leadership Training for 60 of our Company’s leaders, we launched mandatory Inclusive Culture eLearning for all employees.

Hiring, compensation, and promotion practices are not influenced by gender, race, ethnicity, or religious affiliation; rather by role and achievement. Four of our employees participated in McKinsey’s Black Leadership Academy and others participated in McKinsey’s Women in Finance Academy.

Benefits, Training & Development

We offer an array of benefits to attract, retain and assist our employees. These benefits include health and wellness benefits, as well as other programs to help our employees’ health and financial wellbeing. All new employees are welcomed into Victory Capital through onboarding, a process in which we integrate new employees into the Company.

We provide all full-time exempt employees with unlimited paid vacation. We offer optional flexible spending account (FSA) benefits to cover medical expenses not covered by insurance. FSAs provide employees a commuting allowance and childcare reimbursement. We fund a portion of each employee’s Healthcare Savings Accounts (HSAs) and provide numerous perquisites such as paid paternity and maternity benefits, in addition to accommodating lactation with Mother’s rooms. Certain job-related relevant education expenses are reimbursed upon approval, and we provide employees with identity theft protection at no cost.

Victory Capital is committed to supporting our military service member employees through our Paid Military Leave Policy. Under this policy, employees who serve in the National Guard or the Reserves of the Armed Forces are eligible for paid time off in the event they are put on active or temporary military duty. Victory Capital also supports employees who choose to enlist in the U.S. Armed Forces after they begin employment with Victory Capital. Such employees are eligible for paid leave of up to 12 months while they complete basic training and other follow-up skills training before becoming a full-time active duty military member. Employees who return from Paid Military Leave are eligible to be reinstated to the position they would have attained if their continuous employment had not been interrupted. This means that reasonable effort is made to train or retrain returning employees to refresh or upgrade their skills. Seniority and other benefits also accrue to the level they would have attained if their continuous employment had not been interrupted.

Following strong execution by all employees—during what was a difficult personal and professional environment during 2020—that culminated in record financial results for Victory Capital, we rewarded employees with a special one-time 401(K) profit sharing contribution.

Business Model and Innovation

Product Design and Lifecycle Management

The asset management business is evolving. The industry is undergoing rapid and dramatic transformation. We deliberately designed a unique business model that specifically addresses ongoing trends in the capital markets and in the investment industry. Our distinctive operating model addresses the epic shift of assets from active to passive management and embraces these changes with our growing exchange traded funds (ETFs) and Solutions offerings. Moreover, the compression of average industry fee rates for active management plays nicely into our integrated platform, which has produced industry-leading profit margins despite the declining fee-rate environment.

Our platform is also structured to make accretive acquisitions and add value for asset managers seeking the innovation, technology, and distribution afforded by our enhanced economies of scale. With approximately two-thirds of our cost structure made up of variable expenses, our model allows us to scale and flex quickly in response to changing business and market conditions. In short, our Company has been built to benefit from current industry trends and rapidly adapt to future developments.

Leadership and Governance

WHAT WE DOWHAT WE DO NOT DO

We appropriately balance short- and long-term incentives

LOGO

We do not provide Executive officers with guaranteed annual base salary increases

The majority of executive pay is performance based and variable

LOGO

We do not provide excessive perquisites

We pay out long-term incentives in equity and link incentive based compensation programs to performance

LOGO

We do not use cash to pay out long-term incentives as our long-term incentive plan is designed to incentivize increasing shareholder value

Our Compensation Committee conducts an annual executive compensation review that includes a review of the compensation peer group

LOGO

We do not offer defined benefit retirement plans

We conduct competitive benchmarking to ensure executive-office compensation is aligned with market rates

LOGO

We do not permit employees or Directors to hedge, short, or pledge our equity securities

We align the interests of our employees with shareholders by using restricted stock awards that vest over time

LOGO

Apart from our CEO, we do not have any employment contracts

We maintain an Independent Compensation Committee

LOGO

We have no poison pill or similar shareholder rights plan in place to inhibit being acquired

Please click here for more information on our leadership team and click here for more information on our Board of Directors, Board Committee Charters, and additional Corporate Governance information.

Business Ethics

The Victory Capital ethics hotline is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Employees may report an anonymous complaint by calling 1-800-584-9055. Victory Capital also has a Victory Funds ethics hotline and a USAA Mutual Funds ethic hotline.

Victory Funds ethics hotline: 1-866-855-3863

USAA Mutual Funds ethics hotline: 1-877-711-3336

Trust and integrity are core to our DNA. Trust is a sacred attribute that forms the foundation of our culture. We understand that great relationships are built on trust. Every day we earn trust through reliability, discipline, transparency, and strength. Our culture is one of mutual respect with our business partners and our clients. Therefore, identifying and mitigating conflicts of interest is at the heart of what we do. We limit gifts to a value of $100 per year and all travel and entertainment expenses must

be reasonable and customary to avoid even the appearance of any conflicts. All employees must pre-clear their political contributions, and we monitor the outside business activities of our employees to ensure they don’t present conflicts to our clients.

Additionally, we closely monitor the personal trading activities of our employees and all employees are subject to our investment adviser Code of Ethics. In most cases, employees must obtain pre-clearance prior to engaging in any personal securities transactions. Our Code of Ethics establishes controls and restrictions to ensure personal transactions are conducted in a manner that avoids even the appearance of a conflict of interest in addition to preventing any actual or potential conflict. For example, when a Franchise trades a security on behalf of a client, all investment professionals within that franchise are prohibited from personally trading that security for a 10-day period (seven days before and three days after the execution of the trade). All employees are prohibited from short selling any stock, including their beneficial ownership in our common stock or any associated options.

It is our policy to maintain the highest ethical standards and to comply with all applicable laws, rules, and regulations that affect our business. Because we conduct business internationally, we also abide by the applicable national and local laws of all countries in which we operate. We adhere to the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and Anti Money Laundering rules and regulations intended to detect and prevent financial crime.

We believe that adherence to our Code of Ethics helps to ensure our continued success, as well as earn and maintain the confidence of our clients, shareholders, and the communities in which we live.

Systematic Risk Management

Victory Capital’s risk governance structure includes a committee led by a diverse group of business managers who assist the firm in identifying and evaluating risks associated with the firm’s profile. We stress and note that risk management is the responsibility of every employee and is a core responsibility for our Board of Directors and each senior executive. Senior management plays an active and visible role in all risk management functions. We employ a risk management evaluation methodology and have established a framework that defines major risk categories and identifies the responsible parties for managing those risks.

This methodology assesses the likelihood and potential impact of events or threats, the residual risk based on the control’s design and effectiveness, and the risk outlook based on trends, industry knowledge, and external analysis.

The framework’s major risk categories include business, financial, legal, compliance, investment, operational, and reputational.

Evaluation of risks and the adequacy and execution of controls are critical to our enterprise risk management. As such, open communication is encouraged at Victory Capital. We provide all employees with Security Awareness Training for cyber risks and proper use of systems. Moreover, we require that critical suppliers and contractors receive proper training if their in-house programs are less robust than ours.

Environmental Considerations

We actively take steps to reduce the impact our operations have on the environment. At year-end 2020, approximately 84% of our employees working in offices were based in “green” office buildings. Our largest office and headquarters in San Antonio, Texas, has achieved Silver certification from the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program. Our second-largest office in Brooklyn, Ohio, has achieved Platinum certification. In addition, we have smaller offices that have achieved Gold certifications.

We also have policies for employees to use their own mobile devices for work purposes thereby reducing the environmental impact from requiring employees to maintain multiple devices. Moreover, we issue employees portable laptops with VPN capabilities and avoid the need for multiple computers. Additionally, FSA funds can be used to defray the costs of commuter travel, which encourages use of mass transit where available.

Victory Capital’s Approach to Responsible Investing

Victory Capital separates Responsible Investing intentions into three distinct and potentially complementary categories:

Enhance: The systematic and explicit inclusion of ESG factors as a supplement to the financial analysis traditionally performed by investment managers with the goal(s) of risk mitigation or alpha generation (i.e., ESG Integration).

Avoid: Avoiding companies, sectors, or countries in an exclusionary manner based upon ESG controversies or certain standards, values or norms (e.g., Socially Responsible Investing, Norms-Based Screening, Faith-Based Investing, etc.).

Impact: Examples include positive screening (i.e., selecting companies in an inclusionary manner based upon certain ESG criteria); impact investing (i.e., equity or debt investing with the disclosed intention to generate and measure both social and environmental benefits, alongside a financial return).

These responsible investing intentions could either be used as an isolated approach or part of a multi-faceted strategy, depending upon general market demand or specific client mandates. Proxy voting, corporate engagement, and stewardship activities are increasingly important to investors.

As a global asset management firm operating a next-generation business model that combines boutique investment qualities with the benefits of a fully integrated, centralized operating and distribution platform, Victory Capital strongly advocates independent decision-making and investment processes.

We are committed to incorporating specific ESG factors in portfolios we manage to accommodate objectives sought by our clients. We partner with clients to develop products that meet our fiduciary duty while delivering investment strategies aligned to the client’s potential desire for responsible investing with investment success. We appreciate the importance of ESG issues in the investment, risk management, and due diligence processes and, when appropriately directed by clients, we promote the following Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI):

We will incorporate ESG issues into investment analysis and decision-making processes.

We will be active owners and incorporate ESG issues into our ownership policies and practices.

We will seek appropriate disclosure on ESG issues by the entities in which we invest.

We will promote acceptance and implementation of the Principles within the investment industry.

We will work together to enhance our effectiveness in implementing the Principles.

We will each report on our activities and progress towards implementing the Principles.

These Principles for Responsible Investment were developed by an international group of institutional investors reflecting the increasing relevance of ESG issues to investment practices. The process was convened by the United Nations Secretary-General. We trace our signatory status back to 2016 when Sophus became a signatory. In 2020, we became a signatory on an enterprise-wide basis. Additional information about PRI can be found at www.unpri.org.

In addition, Victory Capital became a SASB Alliance User member in 2021, which gives our investment teams the rights to use SASB’s materiality framework in their investment decision making processes as well as products and services, and it allows them to map to third-party data sets.

Our goal is continuous improvement. Victory Capital encourages each of its Investment Franchises to perform the following iterative activities regarding responsible investing on a regular basis:

Assess the effectiveness and efficiency of their current procedures.

Remain aware of current research, new developments, and best practices.

Identify changes needed to close gaps between current and target future states.

Evaluate implications for investment decision-making processes and ensure all training needs are met.

Implement desired changes, monitor progress, and assess attributable risk mitigation and/or alpha generation.

Statement

Victory Capital believes investing in sustainable companies (i.e., those able to properly manage their relevant ESG risks and opportunities) may improve risk-adjusted performance over the long-term. Each of our Investment Franchises and Solutions Platform follow an approach to integrating ESG considerations or implementing responsible investing approaches that best suits its autonomous investment processes or the objectives of its clients.

We provide our investment professionals with enhanced tools and resources to access the ESG attributes of portfolio companies and prospective portfolio companies. These resources include access to research and training on best practices to use at their discretion in a manner consistent with our fiduciary responsibilities and client-specific objectives.

We review our Proxy Voting Policy at least annually and have increasingly integrated ESG concerns into our policy based on consultation provided by Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS). For the 2021 proxy season, we revised our proxy voting guidelines to align more rigorously with material ESG factors.

We endeavor to advance continuous improvements in every aspect of our business and welcome comments and/or suggestions regarding our ESG, CSR, or RI initiatives.

GENERAL INFORMATION

We are providing you this proxy statement in connection with the solicitation of proxies by our Board of Directors to be voted at the 2021 Annual Meeting of Stockholders (the “Annual Meeting”) and at any adjournments thereof.Special Meeting. The AnnualSpecial Meeting will be held virtually via live webcastat our corporate offices, located at 15935 La Cantera Parkway, San Antonio, TX 78256 on Tuesday, May 18,Friday, November 19, 2021, at 8:00 a.m., Eastern Time. You will be able to attend the Annual Meeting via the Internet, vote your shares electronically,
The proxy statement and submit questions during the Annual Meeting by visiting www.virtualshareholdermeeting.com/VCTR2021.

We provide our stockholders with access to proxyaccompanying materials on the Internet instead of mailing a printed copy of the materials to each stockholder. A Notice of Internet Availability of Proxy Materials has beenare first being mailed to our stockholdersStockholders on or about April 7,November 3, 2021. As of that date, stockholders will have the ability to access the proxy materials on the website referred to in the notice or request a printed set of proxy materials be sent by following the instructions on the notice.

When we use the terms “Victory”, the “Company”, “we”, “us” and “our” in this Proxy Statement, we mean Victory Capital Holdings, Inc., a Delaware corporation and, unless the context otherwise requires, its consolidated subsidiaries. “You” refers to the holders of our common stock.

Matters

Matter to be voted on at the AnnualSpecial Meeting

Proposal
Board
Recommendation
Vote Required
 Proposal        

Board

Recommendation

Vote Required

 Election of Class III Directors FOR each nominee Plurality
Approval of the votes present in person or by proxy

 Ratificationamendment and restatement of the AppointmentCompany’s Amended and Restated Certificate of Ernst &

 Young LLP as our Independent Registered

 Public Accounting Firm for the Fiscal Year

 Ending December 31, 2021

Incorporation
 FOR
FOR
Majority of the votes present in person or by proxyoutstanding shares of Class A Common Stock and Class B Common Stock (voting together as a single class)
Majority of the outstanding shares of Class B Common Stock
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QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS ABOUT THE PROXY MATERIALS AND ANNUALSPECIAL MEETING

1.

Why did I receive a notice in the mail regarding the Internet availability of proxy materials instead of a full set of materials?

We have decided to provide access to our proxy materials over

1. What information does the Internet under the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (“SEC”) “notice and access” rules. Information about how to access and review our proxy materials is included in the Notice of Internet Availability of Proxy Materials that you received in the mail. The notice also explains how you may submit your vote over the Internet. You will not receive printed copies of our proxy materials unless you request them by following the instructions on the notice.

If you own shares of stock in more than one account—for example, in a joint account with your spouse and in your individual brokerage account—you may receive more than one notice. To vote all of your shares, please follow the instructions provided on each of the notices you received.

2.

What information does the notice contain?

contain?

The notice provides information about:

The date, time and details of how the AnnualSpecial Meeting will be conducted.

The proposalsproposal to be voted on at the AnnualSpecial Meeting and the voting recommendation of our Board of Directors with regard to each item.

such proposal.

The website where our proxy materials can be viewed.

Instructions on how to request a paper or E-Mail copy of the proxy materials.

Instructions on how to vote by Internet, mail, phone or by mail orin person at the AnnualSpecial Meeting.

3.

What proposals will be voted on at the Annual Meeting?

2. What proposals will be voted on at the Special Meeting?
There are two proposalsis one proposal to be considered and voted on at the AnnualSpecial Meeting:

The election of three Class III directors to serve until the 2024 annual meeting of stockholders.

The ratificationapproval of the appointmentamendment and restatement of Ernst & Young LLP as our independent registered public accounting firm for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2021.

Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation.

We will also consider any other business that properly comes before

3. What securities can be voted at the Annual Meeting.

4.

What securities can be voted at the Annual Meeting?

Special Meeting?

The securities that can be voted in connection with the AnnualSpecial Meeting consist of our Class A and Class B common stock. Each share of Class A common stock entitles its holder to one vote and each share of Class B common stock entitles its holder to ten votes. The holdersapproval of the amendment and restatement of the Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation requires the affirmative vote of (i) a majority of the outstanding shares of our Class A common stock will voteand Class B common stock (voting together as a single class, on all matters presentedand (ii) a majority of the outstanding shares of our Class B stock.
Crestview Partners II GP, L.P. (“Crestview GP”), Reverence Capital Partners LLC (“Reverence”) and the Employee Shareholders Committee, who have stock ownership with sufficient voting power to control the stockholdersoutcome of voting for theirthe proposal, intend to vote or approval.

in favor of the proposal.

5.

Who is entitled to vote at the Annual Meeting?

4. Who is entitled to vote at the Special Meeting?

Holders of our Class A common stock (each of which entitles its holder to one vote per share), Class B common stock (each of which entitles its holder to ten votes per share) and unvested Class B restricted stock (each of which entitles its holder to ten votes per share(which have voting rights but are subject to future vesting based on time or performance criteria) at the close of business on March 19,October 29, 2021, are entitled to vote in connection with the AnnualSpecial Meeting.

On March 19, 2021,that day, we had the following numbers of shares outstanding entitled to vote:

outstanding:

Class A common stock

16,158,343
[•]

Class B common stock and unvested restricted stock

53,958,381
[•]

Total shares of common stock

70,116,724
[•]

Pursuant to our Employee Shareholders’ Agreement, a three-member Employee Shareholders Committee, currently composed of David C. Brown (Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board), Michael D. Policarpo, (President, Chief Financial Officer and Chief Administrative Officer) and Kelly S. Cliff (President, Investment Franchises), has an irrevocable proxy from a substantial majority of our employees to vote the shares of Class B common stock and Class A common stock those employees have acquired from us, and any shares they may acquire from us in the future. As of the record date, there were 6,963,466[•] shares of Class B common stock and unvested restricted stock and 2,218,922[•] shares of Class A common stock held by such employees and subject to the Employee Shareholders’ Agreement, representing in the aggregate approximately 13%[•]% of the total voting power of the outstanding common stock (including unvested restricted shares). For administrative ease, we have adopted the following methodology to approximate the number of Class A shares held by those employees and subject to the Employee Shareholders’ Agreement as of the record date. We generally compare (x) the cumulative number of Class B shares that have been converted to Class A shares and are held by those employees (the “Employee-Converted“Employee-Converted Class A Shares”) to (y) the number of Class A shares held by these employees in brokerage accounts to determine the number of those Employee-Converted Class A Shares that have been sold by those employees (the “Employee-Sold“Employee-Sold Class A Shares”). We then subtract the Employee-Sold Class A Shares from the cumulative Employee-Converted Class A Shares to calculate the number of Employee-Converted Class A Shares held by those employees and subject to the Employee Shareholders’ Agreement. For more information on our Employee Shareholders’ Agreement and
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The Employee Shareholders Committee see “Relationships and Related Party Transactions—Employee Shareholders’ Agreement.”

6.

How does the Board of Directors recommend I vote?

intends to vote in favor of the proposal.

5. How does the board of directors recommend I vote?
Our Board of Directors recommends that you vote:

“FOR” eachvote “FOR” the amendment and restatement of the Class III nominees to the BoardAmended and Restated Certificate of Directors.

Incorporation.

“FOR” the ratification of the appointment of Ernst & Young LLP as our independent registered public accounting firm for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2021.

6. How do I hold my stock?

7.

How do I hold my stock?

Most of our Class A stockholders hold their shares as a beneficial owner through a broker or other nominee rather than directly in their own name on the records of our transfer agent. There are distinctions between shares held of record and those owned beneficially, which are highlighted below.

Stockholder of Record - If you hold stock that is registered directly in your name on the records of our transfer agent, American Stock Transfer & Trust Company, LLC (“AST”), you are a stockholder of record. As a stockholder of record, you will receive the notice from our mailing distributor.

Beneficial Owner - If you hold stock in an account through a broker, bank or similar institution, you are considered a beneficial owner of shares held in street name. As such, the notice will be sent to you by the broker, bank or similar institution through which you hold your shares.

8.

How do I vote?

7. How do I vote?

If you are a stockholder of record, you may vote your shares at the Special Meeting in person or by proxy. To vote in person, you must attend the Special Meeting and obtain and submit a ballot. The ballot will be provided at the Special Meeting. To vote by proxy, you may choose one of four ways:

the following methods to vote your shares:

By Internet.Go to www.proxyvote.com and follow the instructions for Internet voting. You will need the control number located on your notice or proxy card, as applicable. Internet voting is available 24 hours a day. If you choose to vote by Internet, you do not need to return a proxy card. To be valid, your vote by Internet must be received by 11:59 p.m., Eastern Time on May 17, 2021.

November 18, 2021 for shares held directly and by 11:59 p.m., Eastern Time on November 16, 2021 for shares held in a Plan. Have your proxy card in hand when you access the web site and follow the instructions to obtain your records and to create an electronic voting instruction form.

By Mail.If you request printed copies of Included in the proxy materials you will receiveis a printed proxy card. You may then vote by marking, signing, dating and mailing the proxy card in the envelope provided.provided to Vote Processing, c/o Broadridge, 51 Mercedes Way, Edgewood, NY 11717. To be valid, your vote by mail must be received by 11:59 p.m., Eastern Time, on May 17,November 18, 2021.

By Phone. Use any touch-tone telephone and dial 1-800-690-6903 to transmit your voting instructions. VoteTo be valid, your vote by Phone must be received by 11:59 p.m., Eastern Time on May 17,November 18, 2021 for shares held directly and by 11:59 p.m., Eastern Time on May 12,November 16, 2021 for shares held in a Plan. Have your proxy card in hand when you call and then follow the instructions.

During the Virtual Meeting. Go to www.virtualshareholdermeeting.com/VCTR2021 during the virtual meeting on Tuesday May 18, 2021 via webcast at 8:00 a.m., Eastern Time.

If you are the beneficial owner of shares held in street name, you will receive voting instructions from the institution holding your shares. The availability of telephone or Internet voting will depend upon that particular institution’s voting processes. You may also vote during the AnnualSpecial Meeting webcast after obtaining a legal proxy from the institution holding your shares. Please contact your broker for more information.

9.

How many votes must be present to transact business at the Annual Meeting?

8. How many votes must be present to transact business at the Special Meeting?
To conduct the AnnualSpecial Meeting, a majority of the voting power of the common stock issued and outstanding as of the record date must be present during the webcast or by proxy. This is called a quorum.

10.

If I submit a proxy by Internet or mail, how will my shares be voted?

9. If I submit a proxy by Internet or mail, how will my shares be voted?
If you properly submit your proxy by Internet or mail and do not subsequently revoke your proxy, your shares will be voted in accordance with your instructions.

If you sign, date and return a proxy card but do not give voting instructions, your shares will be voted as recommended by our Board of Directors.
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11.

10. If I am the beneficial owner of shares held in street name and do not provide voting instructions, can my broker still vote my shares?

Under the rules of the New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”), if you hold shares in street name and do not provide specific voting instructions, yourcan my broker may generallystill vote your shares with respect to certain routine matters.

my shares?

The ratificationapproval of the appointmentamendment and restatement of Ernst & Young LLP as our independent registered public accounting firmthe Company’s Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation is not considered a routine matter and so your broker may vote your shares on that proposal. However,matter. As a result, your broker may not vote your shares in connection with the election of the three Class III directors without receiving voting instructions from you.

When your broker submits its proxy, but does not vote on a matter, a broker non-vote occurs with respect to that matter.

12.

11. What vote is required to approve each proposal and how are votes counted?

With respect to approve the election of directors, a pluralityproposal and how are votes counted?

The approval of the votes cast by the holdersamendment and restatement of the sharesAmended and Restated Certificate of Class A common stock and Class B common stock (voting together as a single class) present during the webcast or represented by proxy at the meeting is required for the election of each of the three nominees. This means that the three nominees receiving the highest number of votes will be elected regardless of whether the number of votes received by any such nominee constitutes a majority of the number of votes cast. Broker non-votes will not be counted as shares entitled to vote with respect to the election of directors and so they will have no effect on the voting results.

The ratification of the appointment of Ernst & Young LLPIncorporation requires the affirmative vote of the holders of(i) a majority of the voting power of theoutstanding shares of our Class A common stock and Class B common stock (voting together as a single class) present during, and (ii) a majority of the webcast or represented by proxy and entitled to vote.outstanding shares of our Class B stock. Abstentions will be counted as shares entitled to vote and therefore will have the effect of negative votes with respect to the proposal.

Crestview Partners II GP, L.P. (“Crestview GP”) hasReverence and the Employee Shareholders Committee, who have stock ownership with sufficient voting power to control the outcome of voting for both proposals and intendsthe proposal, have indicated that they intend to vote in favor of eachthe proposal.

13.

How can I attend and vote my shares during the Annual Meeting?

12. How can I attend and vote my shares during the Special Meeting?
We will be hostingholding a completely virtual AnnualSpecial Meeting which will be conducted live via webcast. Any stockholder can attend the annual Meeting via the Interneton Friday, November 19, 2021, at www.virtualshareholdermeeting.com/VCTR2021. 8:00 a.m. Eastern Time. at our corporate offices, located at 15935 La Cantera Parkway, San Antonio, TX 78256.
If you wereare a stockholder of record, you may vote your shares at the Special Meeting by completing a ballot at the Special Meeting. If you hold your shares in “street name,” you may vote your shares at the Special Meeting only if you obtain a proxy card issued by your bank, broker or other nominee giving you the right to vote the shares.
Due to COVID-19, we may enforce appropriate social protocols as may be permissible under the law.
Please note that in order to gain admission to the site of the Record Date, or you hold a valid proxy for the AnnualSpecial Meeting, you can vote at the Annual Meeting. A summary of the information youattendees may need to attend the Annual Meeting online is provided below:

present a photo identification card.

Instructions on how to attend and participate via the Internet, including how to demonstrate proof of stock ownership, are posted at www.virtualshareholdermeeting.com/VCTR2021.

Webcast starts at 8 a.m., Eastern Time.

Stockholders may13. How can I change my vote and submit questions while attending the Annual Meeting via the Internet.

or revoke a proxy?

14.

How can I change my vote or revoke a proxy?

If you are a stockholder of record you may change your vote or revoke a proxy at any time prior to the AnnualSpecial Meeting by submitting a written notice of revocation or a proxy bearing a later date to the Company’s Corporate Secretary no later than the deadline specified on the notice or proxy card, or by voting viain person at the Internet during the AnnualSpecial Meeting.

If you are the beneficial owner of shares held in street name you may change your vote or revoke a proxy in accordance with the instructions provided by the institution through which you hold your shares.

15.

Where and when will the voting results be available?

14. Where and when will the voting results be available?
We will file the official voting results on a Form 8-K within four business days of the AnnualSpecial Meeting. If the final results are not available at that time, we will provide preliminary voting results in the Form 8-K and will provide the final results in an amendment to the Form 8-K when they become available.

16.

How can I view a list of record stockholders?

15. How can I view a list of record stockholders?
A list of the stockholders of record entitled to vote at the AnnualSpecial Meeting will be available for inspection upon request of any stockholder for a purpose germane to the meeting during ordinary business hours at our principal executive offices located at 15935 La Cantera Parkway, San Antonio, TX 78256, during the ten days prior to the AnnualSpecial Meeting. To make arrangements to view the list prior to the AnnualSpecial Meeting, stockholders should contact our Investor Relations department at (216) 898-2412 or ir@vcm.com.

17.

Who pays for the expenses of this proxy solicitation?

ir@vcm.com.

16. Who pays for the expenses of this proxy solicitation?
We will pay all expenses incurred in connection with the solicitation of proxies.

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PROPOSAL 1: ELECTION

TABLE OF CLASS III DIRECTORSCONTENTS

General

Victory’s

PROPOSAL– APPROVAL OF THE AMENDMENT AND RESTATEMENT OF THE COMPANY’S AMENDED AND RESTATED CERTIFICATE OF INCORPORATION
Our Board of Directors currently consists of nine members who are divided into three classes with three members each: Class I, Class II and Class III. Class I directors are serving for a term expiring at the 2022 annual meeting, Class II directors are serving for a term expiring at the 2023 annual meeting and Class III directors are serving for a term expiring at the Annual Meeting. At each succeeding annual meetingis requesting stockholder approval of the stockholders, successors to the classamendment and restatement (the “Amendment”) of directors whose term expires at that annual meeting will be elected for a three-year term. Our bylaws permit our BoardAmended and Restated Certificate of Directors to establish by resolution the authorized number of directors, and nine directors are currently authorized. Any increase or decreaseIncorporation (our “Charter”) substantially in the numberform attached hereto as Annex A (the “Second A&R Charter”) in connection with the elimination of directors will be distributed among the three classes so that, as nearly as possible, each class will consistCompany’s dual-class share structure. The Amendment would (i) convert all the shares of Class B Common Stock into an equal number of directors.

Nomineesshares of Class A Common Stock (the “Conversion”), (ii) delete provisions no longer applicable following the Conversion, (iii) rename our Class A Common Stock as “Common Stock”.

A copy of Victory Capital’s proposed Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation is attached as Annex A to this Proxy Statement. The discussion herein regarding the proposal is only a summary of material terms and may not contain all information that is important to you. You should carefully read the full text of Appendix A before deciding how to vote.
Reasons for the Amendment and Restatement of the Certificate of Incorporation
Strengthening corporate governance profile and enhancing eligibility for inclusion in major indices.
Currently, the Company has two classes of common stock: Class III Directors

Three candidates have been nominated for election asA common stock and Class III directorsB common stock. The rights of the holders of Class A and Class B shares are identical, except voting and conversion rights. Each Class A share is entitled to one vote, and each Class B share is entitled to ten votes. The Class B shares are currently convertible at any time, at the 2021 Annual Meeting for a three-year term expiring in 2024. Upon the recommendationoption of the Nominatingholder, into one Class A share.

While Class B stockholders control a majority of the Company’s economic interest, major indices, proxy advisors, institutional investors, and Corporate Governance Committee,assets managers contend that dual-class shares may have a negative effect on governance. The S&P, MSCI, and FTSE Russell indices have set limitations on dual-class companies. ISS, Glass Lewis, the Council of Institutional Investors (CII), and the Investor Stewardship Group support a one-share, one-vote standard and recommend that companies eliminate dual-class shares.
The Company’s Board of Directors has nominated Milton R. Berlinski, David C. Brown approved, and Richard M. DeMartini for re-election as Class III directors. Biographical information about eachrecommends that the Company’s stockholders approve, an amendment and restatement of the nomineesCompany’s Charter to simplify the Company’s capital structure and cause all outstanding shares of Class B common stock to be converted into Class A common stock on a one-to-one basis. The total number of shares of common stock currently authorized under the Company’s Charter will not change if the proposal is containedapproved.
The Company’s Board of Directors approved this proposal for the reasons detailed below. The Company strives to observe corporate governance best practices, which Victory Capital believes are correlated with higher long-term returns to stockholders. The Second A&R Charter would align voting rights with the economic interests of all stockholders. Simplifying the Company’s capital structure such that all stockholders of the Company will own a single class of common stock of the Company will also reduce the cost and complexity and associated with Company’s current capital structure. Moreover, increasing index eligibility and broadening investor appeal to both active and passive investors may expand the Company’s stockholder base.
A single class of stock should enable us to streamline our stock transfer agent functions and benefit plan administration.
If we simplify our capital structure by moving to a single class of stock, we will be in a better position to consider alternatives in the following section. A discussionfuture for improving stock and plan administration. In addition, this change would better position us to evaluate or consider other providers of these services.
Simplifying our capital structure would eliminate confusion created by our dual-class stock structure.
Our dual-class stock structure has created confusion among some investors with respect to the calculation of our total market capitalization and shares outstanding. Eliminating the dual-class structure would eliminate such confusion.
Background of the qualifications, attributes and skills of each nominee that ledProposal
Prior to submitting this proposal to our stockholders, our Board of Directors and the Nominatingmanagement engaged in investor outreach efforts and Corporate Governance Committee to the conclusion that he should continue to servegained valuable insight about our stockholder’s outlook on our corporate governance practices in light of our continued growth as a director follows eachcompany and our commitment to long-term investor value creation.
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In deciding whether to submit this proposal to stockholders at this time, the Board of Directors weighed the pros and cons of the director and nominee biographies.

If you are a stockholderproposal. After deliberation, the Board of record and you sign your proxy card or vote by telephone or over the Internet but do not give instructions with respect to the voting of directors, your shares willDirectors unanimously agreed that it would be voted FOR the re-election of Messrs. Berlinski, Brown and DeMartini. Each of Messrs. Berlinski, Brown and DeMartini has accepted such nomination; however, in the event that a nominee is unable or declines to serve as a director at the timebest interests of the 2021 Annual Meeting, the proxies will be votedVictory Capital and its stockholders for any nominee who shall be designated by the Board of Directors to fill such vacancy. If you wishsubmit the proposal for stockholder approval. We urge stockholders to give specific instructions with respectvote “FOR” a recapitalization plan for all outstanding stock to the voting of directors, you may do so by indicating your instructions on your proxy card or when youhave one vote by telephone or over the Internet. If you are a beneficial owner holding your shares in street name and you do not give voting instructions to your broker, bank or other intermediary, that organization will leave your shares unvoted on this matter.

THE BOARD RECOMMENDS A VOTE

FOR

THE ELECTION OF MILTON R. BERLINSKI, DAVID C. BROWNAND RICHARD M. DEMARTINI.

Information Regarding the Class III Director Nominees and the Other Membersper share.

Effective Time of the Board of Directors

The namesAmendment and Restatement of the proposed director nominees andCertificate of Incorporation

The Second A&R Charter will become effective on the remaining membersdate that it is accepted for filing by the Delaware Secretary of our BoardState. The text of Directors, their respective ages, their positions with Victory and other biographical informationthe Second A&R Charter is subject to modification to include such changes as may be required by the Delaware Secretary of April 7, 2021, areState to effectuate the amendments set forth below. To our knowledge, there are no family relationships among any of our directors or executive officers.

Class III Director Nominees

Name

  Age  

Position

Milton R. Berlinski

64Director

David C. Brown

48Chief Executive Officer and Chairman

Richard M. DeMartini

68Director

Other Members of the Board of Directors

Name

  Age  

Position

James B. Hawkes

79Director

Robert J. Hurst

75Director

Alan H. Rappaport

68Director

Alex Binderow

39Director

Lawrence Davanzo

68Director

Karin Hirtler-Garvey

64Director

Additional Information Regarding the Class III Director Nominees

Milton R. Berlinski joined our Board of Directors at the time of our acquisition from KeyCorp in August 2013. Mr. Berlinski co-founded Reverence Capital Partners, or Reverence Capital, in June 2013 after concluding a 26-year career at Goldman, Sachs & Co., or Goldman Sachs, as a Partner and Managing Director. He joined Goldman Sachs in 1986 as Vice President of the investment banking division and as one of the founders of Goldman Sachs’ Financial Institutions business. He became a Partner and Managing Director in 1996, responsible for Advisory, Principal Investing and Merchant Banking for financial institutions. In 1999, he was named head of the firm’s Strategy and Corporate Development Group, and in 2001 he assumed additional responsibility as head of Firm Wide Strategy. Mr. Berlinski also served as a member of the Operating Committee and Compensation Committee. Mr. Berlinski also served as Global Head of the Financial Sponsors Group from 2005 until 2012 and was a founding member of the Financial Institutions Group. Mr. Berlinski is a founding partner of the Aruba Growth Fund, a private equity fund funded by and invested in local companies and institutions in Aruba. Mr. Berlinski received a Master of Business Administration in finance from The Wharton School of Finance at the University of Pennsylvania and a Bachelor of Arts in engineering from California State University. Mr. Berlinski’s qualifications to serve on our Board of Directors include his extensive background in the investment management industry, business development, corporate strategy and international finance, as well as his substantial board experience (both public and private). In addition, he brings experience relating to operations and compensation matters having served as a member of Goldman Sachs Operating and Compensation Committees for several years. In addition, Mr. Berlinski serves on the Board of Directors of Russell Investments Ltd., Diamond Resorts International Inc., Venerable Holdings, Inc., Transact Holdings, Inc., Vida Capital, Inc., Advisor Group, and DMG Bancshares, Inc. He also serves on the following boards: the Ronald McDonald House, the Advisory Board of the Wharton Graduate School of Business, The Mount Sinai Department of Surgery Advisory Board, and the New America Alliance, supporting Latino leadership in entrepreneurship, corporate America, and public service.

David C. Brown has served as our Chief Executive Officer since our acquisition from KeyCorp in August 2013 and Chairman of our Board of Directors since April 2014. He joined our Board of Directors upon its formation. Mr. Brown serves as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Victory Capital Management Inc., (“VCM”) our wholly owned registered investment adviser, responsible for the development, execution and oversight of firm strategy. He is also Chairman of the VCM investment committee and a trustee for our proprietary mutual funds, the Victory Funds and USAA Mutual Funds. Mr. Brown joined the firm in 2004 and has held multiple senior level positions including President and Chief Operating Officer prior to his current role. Before joining Victory, Mr. Brown spent five years at Gartmore Global Investments, Inc. in a number of senior management positions including Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer of Gartmore Emerging Managers, LLC. Prior to joining Gartmore, he worked for Ernst & Young LLP as a manager in the Assurance & Advisory Business Services unit focusing on investment management businesses. He previously was a member of the Bluecoats, Inc. of Cuyahoga County, OH, and previously served on the Summa Health Systems of Ohio Investment Committee, the Board of Directors for JumpStart of Ohio and the board of Cerebellum Capital. Mr. Brown is a Certified Public Accountant (inactive) and holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science with an emphasis on accounting from Ursinus College and a Master of Business Administration from Case Western Reserve University. Mr. Brown’s extensive business, finance and leadership skills gained and developed through years of experience in the financial services industry, including tenure overseeing our strategic direction as Chief Executive Officer, brings valuable industry-specific knowledge and insights to our Board of Directors. Mr. Brown has also overseen several transactions in the asset management sector during his tenure with us. He has significant expertise in identifying, structuring and executing strategic acquisitions, as well as in managing boutique firms post-acquisition. These skills, combined with Mr. Brown’s extensive knowledge of our business and our industry, enable him to provide valuable insights to our Board of Directors on our strategic direction.

Richard M. DeMartini joined our Board of Directors at the time of our acquisition from KeyCorp in August 2013. Mr. DeMartini joined Crestview as a partner in 2005 and is currently Vice Chairman of Crestview. Prior to Crestview, Mr. DeMartini served as President of the Bank of America Asset Management Group from March 2001 until December 2004. At Bank of America, Mr. DeMartini was responsible for all wealth and asset management activities and oversaw approximately $400 billion in AUM. He was also a member of Bank of America’s operating committee. Prior to working at Bank of America, Mr. DeMartini served as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the international private client group at Morgan Stanley Dean Witter. His 26-year career at Morgan Stanley included roles as President of individual asset management, Co-President of Dean Witter & Company, Inc. and Chairman of Discover Card. He was also a member of the Morgan Stanley management committee. He is currently co Chairman of DHB Capital Corp., a director of Fidelis Insurance holdings, PMC Consolidated Holdings, Partners Capital and as a trustee and Chairman of the Whitney Museum of American Art. Mr. DeMartini has served as Chairman of the Board of Directors of the NASDAQ Stock Market, Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors of the National Association of Securities Dealers, Inc. and a director of Capital Bank Financial Corp. Mr. DeMartini received a Bachelor of Arts from San Diego State University. Mr. DeMartini’s qualifications to serve on our Board of Directors include his in-depth knowledge and operating experience in financial services, particularly in the asset and wealth management sectors, having held senior executive positions at major institutions. In addition, Mr. DeMartini has significant experience as a director on the boards

of public and private companies. He provides the Board of Directors with a valuable perspective on global investment management and capital markets and has extensive experience in assessing value, strategy and risks related to potential acquisitions.

Additional Information Regarding the Other Members of the Board of Directors

James B. Hawkes joined our Board of Directors at the time of our acquisition from KeyCorp in August 2013. Mr. Hawkes also serves as Chairman Emeritus of Eaton Vance Corp. In his 37-year career at Eaton Vance, Mr. Hawkes served in numerous senior executive roles, including Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer, Chief Investment Officer and Director of Investment Research. Mr. Hawkes also serves on the Board of Managers of Central Park Group, an alternative investment advisory firm, and on other private company boards. He is a Trustee of the Peabody Essex Museum and Winterthur Museum and is a Life Trustee of the USS Constitution Museum. Mr. Hawkes earned a Master of Business Administration from Harvard Business School and a Bachelor of Science, With Distinction, in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Oklahoma. After graduation from the University of Oklahoma Mr. Hawkes served in the U.S. Navy aboard submarines as a nuclear-trained officer. He also earned the Chartered Financial Analyst designation. Mr. Hawkes’ qualifications to serve on our Board of Directors include his extensive business, finance, investment and leadership skills gained and developed through years of experience in the numerous senior executive roles held during his 37-year career at Eaton Vance. In particular, as former Chief Executive Officer of Eaton Vance, Mr. Hawkes has substantial experience managing and leading a firm in the financial services industry. These skills, combined with Mr. Hawkes’ extensive knowledge of our business and our industry, enable him to provide valuable insights to our Board of Directors on our strategic direction.

Robert J. Hurst joined our Board of Directors in October 2016. Mr. Hurst joined Crestview as a partner in 2005 and became Vice Chairman of Crestview in 2018. He retired as Vice Chairman of Goldman Sachs in June 2004. At Goldman Sachs, Mr. Hurst spent 30 years in a variety of leadership positions, including head of the investment banking division from 1990 to 1999. Following Goldman Sachs’ initial public offering, Mr. Hurst became Vice Chairman and a member of the Board of Directors and focused on firm-wide matters in addition to having client responsibilities. He is currently co Chairman of DHB Capital Corp, a director of Oxbow Carbon, a private Company, and former director of seven public companies. He has been active in the nonprofit sector, serving as the former Chairman and current trustee of the Aspen Music Festival and School, former Chairman and trustee of the National Cybersecurity Center, former Chairman of the Board of Directors and current Chairman of the executive committee of the Whitney Museum of American Art, a trustee and member of the executive committee of The Aspen Institute, Chairman emeritus of the Jewish Museum and a former member of the board of overseers of The Wharton School. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. Mr. Hurst was also founding Chief Executive Officer of the 9/11 United Services Group, the coordinating arm for 13 social service agencies involved in relief activities, including the Red Cross. Mr. Hurst received a Master of Governmental Administration from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and a Bachelor of Arts from Clark University. He also did additional graduate work as a Public Finance Fellow at the University of Pennsylvania. Mr. Hurst’s qualifications to serve on our Board of Directors include his 30 years of operating and leadership experience at Goldman Sachs, membership on a number of public boards and as a partner in a private equity firm. Through his involvement with Crestview, he has provided leadership to both public and private companies. Mr. Hurst brings to our Board of Directors extensive experience in the financial services industry, finance and business development.

Alan H. Rappaport joined our Board of Directors at the time of our acquisition from KeyCorp in August 2013. Mr. Rappaport was formerly the Chairman and President of Bank of America’s Private Bank. Prior to Bank of America, Mr. Rappaport served as a Managing Director of the Chase Global Private Bank and a Partner of the Beacon Group. Mr. Rappaport also spent 17 years with CIBC Oppenheimer, where he was the senior executive responsible for the Asset Management Division. Mr. Rappaport has served as an adjunct professor of finance at New York University’s Stern School of Business and a lecturer at Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business. Previously, Mr. Rappaport had served as Chairman of the Board of Trustees of GuideStar, trustee of NYU Langone Medical Center, trustee of the American Museum of Natural History and national co-chair of the Duke University Parents Committee. He is currently a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and serves on the boards of directors of PIMCO multifund and Virtus closed end fund complex. Mr. Rappaport earned a Master of Business Administration from Stanford University and a Bachelor of Arts from Harvard University. Mr. Rappaport’s qualifications to serve on our Board of Directors include the knowledge, leadership and experience gained in over 40 years of working in the investment management business of a large global, complex asset management organization, including serving as Chairman and President of Bank of America’s Private Bank. Mr. Rappaport’s leadership and experience in academia provide our Board of Directors with a unique perspective and in-depth understanding of issues concerning international finance, economics and public policy.

Alex Binderow joined our Board of Directors at the time of our acquisition from KeyCorp in August 2013. Mr. Binderow is the Chief Executive Officer, President and Director of DHB Capital. Prior to DHB, Mr. Binderow spent over 15 years at Crestview. At Crestview, Mr. Binderow was a partner and a leader on the financial services team, specializing in asset and wealth management investments. Prior to joining Crestview, he worked at Bear, Stearns & Co. in the company’s acquisition finance group on a range of assignments, which included leveraged buyouts, strategic refinancings and M&A financings across various industries. Mr. Binderow is currently a director of PMC Consolidated Holdings and previously served on the Board of Directors of Munder Capital Management, a registered investment company, until our acquisition of Munder in 2014. He was also involved with other Crestview portfolio companies. Mr. Binderow received his Bachelor of Business Administration, with high distinction, from Emory University’s Goizueta Business School with majors in finance, and organization and management. Mr. Binderow’s qualifications to serve on our Board of Directors include his in depth knowledge and experience in mergers and acquisitions, investing, leveraged finance, capital markets and asset management.

Lawrence Davanzo joined our Board of Directors in October 2014. Mr. Davanzo most recently served as President of Wilshire Associates Incorporated, overseeing the asset management areas of the firm, and as Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors of Wilshire and on its executive committee until his retirement in 2012. He first joined Wilshire in 1978 and rejoined in October 2004. During his tenure at Wilshire, he founded Wilshire’s Pension Consulting business and built the firm’s Funds Management Group. With over $70 billion in assets under management, or AUM, for financial intermediaries, Funds Management became the firm’s primary source of revenue growth. He also served as President of the firm’s mutual fund complexes. During Mr. Davanzo’s career, he also founded Asset Strategy Consulting and served as its managing director from February 1991 to February 2000. Mr. Davanzo earned a Bachelor of Business Administration (B.B.A.) and a Masters of Science degree in Finance (M.S.) at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Mr. Davanzo’s qualifications to serve on our Board of Directors include the knowledge and experience gained in the combination of more than 40 years of asset management experience through his extensive career at Wilshire Associates and also managing and running his own investment consulting firm. This allows him to bring to the Board of Directors a deep understanding of issues associated with operating a business and the importance of client service and customer satisfaction unique to the asset management business.

Karin Hirtler-Garvey joined our Board of Directors in October 2014. Ms. Hirtler-Garvey has over fifteen years of experience as a board director in diversified industries and over 25 years of leadership experience in the financial services industry, preceded by eight years in public accounting as a CPA licensed in New Jersey. Ms. Hirtler-Garvey is currently a director at PhenixFIN Corporation (formerly Medley Capital Corporation), where she serves as the Audit Committee Chair and as a member of the Nominating and Governance Committee and the Compensation Committee, and USAA Federal Savings Bank, where she serves as the Risk Committee Chair and a member of the Finance and Audit Committee and Nominating and Governance Committee. Ms. Hirtler-Garvey also serves on one additional private company board. Previously, Ms. Hirtler-Garvey served as a director and Audit Committee Chair at Residential Capital LLC, a director and a member of the Audit Committee and Risk Committee for Validus Holdings, Ltd, a director at Aeropostale, Inc., where during her tenure she served in various roles including as Chairman of the Board of Directors, the Lead Independent Director, Audit Committee Chair and a member of the Nominating and Governance Committee, a director at Western World Insurance Company, where she served as the Audit Committee Chair and a member of the Compensation Committee and Pension Committee and as a director at StarStone Specialty Insurance Company. Ms. Hirtler-Garvey was previously Chief Risk Officer at Ally Financial (formerly GMAC) and held a broad range of leadership positions at Bank of America and its predecessor NationsBank and a broad range of mid-level assignments at J.P. Morgan in both the finance and risk groups. Prior to this she worked for eight years at Ernst & Young LLP with a focus on banking, insurance, garment industry and technology clients. Ms. Hirtler-Garvey earned a Bachelor of Science from Fairleigh Dickinson University and is a Certified Public Accountant. Ms. Hirtler-Garvey brings executive experience from large national and international, diversified financial services companies providing traditional banking, real estate, insurance and asset management services and through her service on other public company boards. Ms. Hirtler-Garvey provides our Board of Directors with unique insight and perspective to its oversight of our global operations, corporate governance and risk management. She qualifies as an audit committee financial expert under the rules and regulations of the SEC.

Background and Experience of Directors

When considering whether directors and nominees have the experience, qualifications, attributes or skills, taken as a whole, to enable our Board of Directors to satisfy its oversight responsibilities effectively in light of our business and structure, the Board of Directors focused primarily on each person’s background and experience as reflected in the information discussed in each of the director’s individual biographies set forth above. While we do not have a formal policy on board diversity, we also consider diversity of experience as one of the factors. We believe our directors provide an appropriate mix of experience and skills relevant to the size and nature of our business.

Director Independence

Proposal. Our Board of Directors has evaluatedexpect to file the independenceSecond A&R Charter promptly following the Special Meeting assuming approval of its members basedthis Proposal, upon which the rulesConversion will occur automatically, without any further action by the holder of NASDAQ. Applying these standards, our Boardany share of Directors has affirmatively determined that eachClass B Common Stock.

Vote Required for Approval
The approval of the directors, other than Mr. Brown, is an independent director.

Board Leadership Structure

Our Boardamendment and restatement of Directors includes our Chief Executive Officer, who also serves as ChairmanAmended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation requires the affirmative vote of the Boardholders of Directors. Our Board of Directors understands that there is no single, generally accepted approach to providing board leadership and that given the dynamic and competitive environment in which we operate, the right board leadership structure may vary as circumstances warrant. To this end, our Board of Directors has no policy mandating the combination or separation of the roles of Chairman of the Board of Directors and Chief Executive Officer. We do not have a lead independent director. The Board of Directors will discuss and consider the matter from time to time as circumstances change and, subject to our amended and restated bylaws, will have the flexibility to modify our board structure as it deems appropriate.

Director Nomination Rights Under the Shareholders’ Agreement

Under the Shareholders’ Agreement to which the Company is a party, for so long as Crestview Victory, L.P. (“Crestview Victory”), continues to own 20% of the aggregate outstanding shares of our common stock, we have the obligation to nominate three Crestview Victory designees to the Board of Directors, for so long as Crestview Victory continues to own at least 10% but less than 20% of the aggregate outstanding shares of our common stock, we have the obligation to nominate two Crestview Victory nominees, and for so long as Crestview Victory continues to own at least 5% but less than 10% of the aggregate outstanding shares of our common stock, we have the obligation to nominate one Crestview Victory nominee (plus one individual with board observer rights who is permitted to attend board and committee meetings). For so long as Reverence Capital Partners (“Reverence Capital”) continues to own at least 10% of the aggregate outstanding shares of our common stock, we have the obligation to nominate two Reverence Capital designees, and for so long as Reverence Capital continues to own at least 5% but less than 10% of the aggregate outstanding shares of our common stock, we have the obligation to nominate one Reverence Capital designee. As long as it is entitled to designate at least one director to the Board of Directors, each of Crestview Victory and Reverence Capital are entitled to have a designee serve on each board committee, subject to applicable law and stock exchange requirements. Each of the stockholders party to the Shareholders’ Agreement (including the Employee Shareholders Committee) have also agreed to vote, or cause to be voted, all of its outstanding shares to ensure the above composition of our Board of Directors.

Committees of the Board; Board Meetings

The Board of Directors conducts its business through meetings of the board and its committees. The Board of Directors has three standing committees: an Audit Committee, a Compensation Committee and a Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee. The current members and chairpersons of the committees are:

 Director

Audit
    Committee    
Compensation
        Committee        
Nominating and Corporate
        Governance Committee        

 Alex Binderow*

X

 Lawrence Davanzo*

X

 Karin Hirtler-Garvey*

Chairperson

 Milton R. Berlinski*

XX

 Richard M. DeMartini*

Chairperson

 James B. Hawkes*

XX

 Alan H. Rappaport*

XChairperson

 *

Independent Director

During 2020, our Board of Directors held 23 meetings, the Audit Committee held 9 meetings, the Compensation Committee held 6 meetings and the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee held 3 meetings. As a matter of policy, it is expected that all directors should make every effort to attend meetings of the Board of Directors and meetings of the committees of which they are members. During 2020, each director attended at least 75% of the aggregate number of meetings of the Board of Directors and meetings of the committees of which he or she is a member.

Our Corporate Governance Guidelines provide that directors are encouraged to attend our annual stockholder meetings.

Crestview GP controls Class B common stock representing approximately 66% of the total voting power of our outstanding common stock. As a result, we are a “controlled company” under the corporate governance listing standards of the NASDAQ. As a controlled company, we are exempt from the obligation to comply with certain corporate governance requirements, including the requirements:

that(i) a majority of our Board of Directors consists of independent directors, as defined under the rules of NASDAQ;

that we have a corporate governance and nominating committee that is composed entirely of independent directors with a written charter addressing the committee’s purpose and responsibilities; and,

that we have a compensation committee that is composed entirely of independent directors with a written charter addressing the committee’s purpose and responsibilities.

We do not intend to take advantage of these exemptions once Crestview GP no longer controls a majority of our voting power. These exemptions do not modify the independence requirements for our audit committee.

Audit Committee

We have an Audit Committee that is responsible for, among other things: and,

assisting the Board of Directors in reviewing our financial reporting and other internal control processes;

our financial statements; the independent auditors’ qualifications, and independence;

our compliance with legal and regulatory requirements and our Code of Business Conduct and Ethics.

The Audit Committee consists of Karin Hirtler-Garvey (Chair), Lawrence Davanzo and Alan H. Rappaport. Our Board of Directors has affirmatively determined that each of Karin Hirtler-Garvey, Lawrence Davanzo and Alan H. Rappaport meet the definition of “independent director” for purposes of serving on an audit committee under Rule 10A-3 and the NASDAQ rules. Karin Hirtler-Garvey has been identified as an “audit committee financial expert” as that term is defined in the rules and regulations of the SEC. The Audit Committee has adopted a written charter that, among other things, specifies the scope of its rights and responsibilities and satisfies the applicable standards of the SEC and NASDAQ. The charter of the Audit Committee is available under the Investor Relations link on our website at www.vcm.com. We will provide a printed copy of the charter of the Audit Committee to stockholders upon request.

Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee

We have a Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee that is responsible for, among other things:

reviewing board structure, composition and practices, and making recommendations on these matters to our Board of Directors;

reviewing, soliciting and making recommendations to our Board of Directors and stockholders with respect to candidates for election to the Board of Directors;

overseeing our Board of Directors’ performance and self-evaluation process;

reviewing the compensation payable to board and committee members and providing recommendations to our Board of Directors in regard thereto; and,

developing and reviewing a set of corporate governance principles.

The Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee consists of Richard M. DeMartini (Chair), James B. Hawkes and Milton R. Berlinski. The Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee has adopted a written charter that, among other things, specifies the scope of its rights and responsibilities and satisfies the applicable standards of the SEC and NASDAQ. The charter of the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee is available under the Investor Relations link on our website at www.vcm.com. We will provide a printed copy of the charter of the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee to stockholders upon request.

Compensation Committee

We have a Compensation Committee that is responsible for, among other things:

determining the compensation of our executive officers;

reviewing our executive compensation policies and plans; and,

administering and implementing our equity compensation plans.

The Compensation Committee consists of Alan H. Rappaport (Chair), James B. Hawkes, Alex Binderow and Milton R. Berlinski. The Compensation Committee has adopted a written charter that, among other things, specifies the scope of its rights and responsibilities and satisfies the applicable standards of the SEC and NASDAQ. The charter of the Compensation Committee is available under the Investor Relations link on our website at www.vcm.com. We will provide a printed copy of the charter of the Compensation Committee to stockholders upon request.

As a controlled company, we may rely upon the exemption from the requirement that we have a compensation committee composed entirely of independent directors with a written charter addressing the committee’s purpose and responsibilities.

Compensation Committee Interlocks and Insider Participation

None of the members of our Compensation Committee is, or has at any time during the past year been, one of our officers or employees. None of our executive officers currently serves, or in the past year has served, as a member of the Board of Directors or compensation committee of any entity that has one or more executive officers serving on our Board of Directors or Compensation Committee.

Director Compensation

The Compensation Committee of our board of directors approved changes in non-employee director annual compensation that took effect on January 1, 2020. The changes were made at the recommendation of an outside compensation consultant to retain qualified directors and align the structure of the director compensation program with current market pay practices. Beginning on that date, all directors who are not employed as our executive officers earn compensation, payable quarterly in arrears, for their service on our board of directors and on committees of our board of directors.

For 2020, non-employee directors received $185,000 for their service on our board of directors, $15,000 to $25,000 for service as the chair of a committee and $7,500 to $10,000 for service as a member of a committee. Each director received $100,000 of their total annual compensation in restricted stock awards for shares of the Company’s Class B common stock that were fully-vested on the grant date, and had the opportunity to elect to receive all or a portion of their remaining total annual compensation in cash, in restricted stock awards for shares of the Company’s Class B common stock that were fully-vested on the grant date, or through the Victory Capital Holdings, Inc. Directors Deferred Compensation Plan (the “VCH Director DC Plan”).

We also reimburse our directors for reasonable and necessary out-of-pocket expenses incurred in attending board and committee meetings.

Except as described above, we currently have no other formal arrangements under which our directors receive compensation for service to the board of directors or its committees.

The following table sets forth information concerning director compensation earned during the year ended December 31, 2020.

  Name  Fees Earned or
Paid in Cash($)
   Stock
Awards($)(1)
   All Other
Compensation($)

(2)
   Total
($)(3)
 

Milton R. Berlinski(4)

   100,000    100,000    580    200,580 

Alex Binderow(5)

   92,500    100,000    580    193,080 

Lawrence Davanzo(6)

   95,000    100,000    580    195,580 

Richard M. DeMartini(7)

   100,000    100,000    580    200,580 

James B. Hawkes(8)

   100,000    100,000    1,161    201,161 

Karin Hirtler-Garvey(9)

   110,000    100,000    580    210,580 

Robert J. Hurst(10)

   85,000    100,000    580    185,583 

Alan H. Rappaport(11)

   110,000    100,000    580    213,189 

(1)

Represents director compensation earned in 2020 and settled with quarterly grants of restricted stock awards for shares of the Company’s Class B common stock, which were fully-vested as of the grant date. The price of the shares of Class B common stock was based on the closing price of the Class A common stock on the grant date. The grant date fair value of each quarterly restricted stock award issued for director compensation earned in 2020 was $25,000.

(2)

Represents dividends received on stock awards granted in 2020.

(3)

Represents total director compensation earned in 2020.

(4)

Represents $185,000 for board service, $7,500 for Compensation Committee service and $7,500 for Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee service. Director compensation earned by Mr. Berlinski and payable in cash was paid to Reverence Capital Partners. The shares of Class B common stock issued under restricted stock awards granted to Mr. Berlinski are held of record by Mr. Berlinski.

(5)

Represents $185,000 for board service and $7,500 for Compensation Committee service. Director compensation earned by Mr. Binderow and payable in cash was paid to Crestview Advisors, L.L.C. All rights, title and interest in the shares of Class B common stock issued under restricted stock awards to Mr. Binderow were assigned to Crestview Advisors, L.L.C.

(6)

Represents $185,000 for board service and $10,000 for Audit Committee service.

(7)

Represents $185,000 for board service and $15,000 for Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee service. Director compensation earned by Mr. DeMartini and payable in cash was paid to Crestview Advisors, L.L.C. All rights, title and interest in the shares of Class B common stock issued under restricted stock awards to Mr. DeMartini were assigned to Crestview Advisors, L.L.C.

(8)

Represents $185,000 for board service, $7,500 for Compensation Committee service and $7,500 for Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee service. In 2020, Mr. Hawkes elected to receive the $100,000 payable in cash in grants of restricted stock awards for shares of Class B common stock, which were fully-vested as of the grant date.

(9)

Represents $185,000 for board service and $25,000 for Audit Committee service.

(10)

Represents $185,000 for board service. Director compensation earned by Mr. Hurst and payable in cash was contributed by the Company to the VCH Director DC Plan at the election of and on behalf of Mr. Hurst.

(11)

Represents $185,000 for board service, $15,000 for Compensation Committee service and $10,000 for Audit Committee service. Director compensation earned by Mr. Rappaport and payable in cash was contributed by the Company to the VCH Director DC Plan at the election of and on behalf of Mr. Rappaport.

CORPORATE GOVERNANCE

Corporate Governance Guidelines

We have adopted Corporate Governance Guidelines that guide our Board of Directors on matters of corporate governance, including:

Composition and leadership structure of the Board of Directors.

Selection and retirement of directors.

Obligations with respect to Board of Directors and committee meetings.

Committees of the Board of Directors.

Specific functions related to management succession, executive compensation and director compensation.

Certain expectations related to, among other things, meeting attendance and participation, compliance with our Code of Business Conduct, other directorships and continuing education.

Evaluation of board performance.

Board access to management and independent advisors.

A copy of the Corporate Governance Guidelines is available under the Investor Relations link on our website at www.vcm.com. We will provide a printed copy of the guidelines to stockholders upon request.

Board Effectiveness

On an annual basis, the Board of Directors, through the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee, conducts a self-evaluation to evaluate its effectiveness in fulfilling its obligations. In addition, each of the Audit Committee, Compensation Committee and Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee completes an annual self-evaluation.

Code of Business Conduct and Ethics

We have adopted a code of business conduct and ethics that applies to all of our employees, officers and directors, including those officers responsible for financial reporting. The code satisfies applicable SEC requirements and NASDAQ listing standards. The code is available under the Investor Relations link on our website at www.vcm.com. We will provide a printed copy of the code to stockholders upon request.

Board Oversight of Risk Management

Our Board of Directors in conjunction with our Audit Committee, is responsible for overseeing management in the execution of its responsibilities and for assessing our general approach to risk management. In addition, an overall review of risk is inherent in the consideration of our business, long-term strategies and other matters presented to our Board of Directors. Our Board of Directors exercises its risk oversight responsibilities periodically as part of its meetings and also through its standing committees, each of which is responsible for overseeing various components of enterprise risk as summarized below.

 Board/Committee 

Primary Areas of Risk Oversight

 Full Board

Oversight of strategic, financial, operational (including cybersecurity) and execution risks in connection with the Company’s business operations and the operating environment.

 Audit Committee

Oversight of risks, including reviewing and discussing with management the Company’s risk assessment and risk management policies, in particular risks related to financial matters (especially financial reporting and accounting practices and policies) and significant tax, legal and compliance matters.

 Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee

Oversight of risks associated with director independence, potential conflicts of interest, director qualification, management and succession planning and overall effectiveness of the Board of Directors.

Compensation Committee

Oversight of risks associated with compensation policies, plans and practices, including whether the compensation program provides appropriate incentives that do not encourage excessive risk taking.

Senior management is responsible for assessing and managing risk, including strategic, operational, cybersecurity, regulatory, investment, and execution risks, on a day-to-day basis, including the creation of appropriate risk management programs. The Board of Directors periodically reviews information presented by senior management regarding the assessment and management of the Company’s risk.

The role of the Board of Directors in risk oversight of the Company is consistent with our leadership structure, with the Chief Executive Officer and other members of senior management having responsibility for assessing and managing our risk exposure, and our Board of Directors and its committees providing oversight in connection with those efforts. We believe this division of risk management responsibilities provides a consistent and effective approach for identifying, managing and mitigating risks throughout the Company.

Nomination of Directors

Our Corporate Governance Guidelines provide that the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee is responsible for identifying the nominees to stand for election to the Board of Directors and recommending such nominees for selection by the Board of Directors, and for recommending to the Board of Directors individuals to fill vacancies occurring between annual meetings of stockholders. The Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee is responsible for developing criteria for the evaluation of candidates for directorship and responsible for taking into consideration the requirements of NASDAQ and applicable law and other factors as deemed appropriate by the committee, which criteria are approved by the Board of Directors. In accordance with our Corporate Governance Guidelines, any nominee to the Board of Directors should demonstrate the following qualities, which are criteria used by the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee in evaluating candidates for election to the Board of Directors:

The highest personal and professional ethics and integrity.

Proven achievement and competence in the nominee’s field and the ability to exercise sound business judgment.

Skills that are complementary to those of the existing members of the Board of Directors.

The ability to assist and support management and make significant contributions to the Company’s success.

An understanding of the fiduciary responsibilities that are required of a member of the Board of Directors and the commitment of time and energy necessary to diligently carry out those responsibilities.

The Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee seeks to create a board that consists of a diverse group of qualified individuals that function effectively as a group. Qualified candidates are those who, in the judgment of the committee, possess strong personal attributes and relevant business experience to assure effective service on our Board of Directors. Personal attributes include effective leadership qualities, a high standard of integrity and ethics, professional and sound judgment, strong interpersonal skills, and a collaborative attitude. Experience and qualifications include professional experience with corporate boards, financial acumen, industry knowledge, diversity of viewpoints, and special business experience and expertise in an area relevant to the Company. When the committee reviews a potential new candidate, the committee will look specifically at the candidate’s qualifications in light of the needs of our Board of Directors and the Company at that time given the then current make-up of our Board of Directors. Candidates are selected on the basis of qualifications and experience without discriminating on the basis of gender, age, race or ethnicity.

The Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee, at least annually, assesses the appropriate size of the Board of Directors and any committee thereof. In the event that vacancies are anticipated or otherwise arise, the committee will seek to identify director candidates based on input provided by a number of sources. The committee also has the authority to consult with or retain advisors or search firms to assist in the identification and evaluation of qualified director candidates. In addition to the above considerations, the committee will consider the Company’s obligations under our Shareholders’ Agreement to nominate individuals designated by Crestview Victory and Reverence Capital when identifying, selecting or recommending nominees for the Board of Directors. For more information on our obligations under our Shareholders’ Agreement, see “Proposal 1: Election of Class III Directors—Director Nomination Rights Under the Shareholders’ Agreement.”

Once director candidates have been identified, the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee will evaluate each candidate in light of his or her qualifications and credentials, and any additional factors that the committee deems necessary or appropriate, including those set forth above. The committee will evaluate whether a prospective candidate is qualified to serve

as a director and, if so qualified, will seek the approval of the full Board of Directors for the nomination of the candidate or the election of such candidate to fill a vacancy on the Board of Directors.

All of the nominees recommended for election at the Annual Meeting are current members of our Board of Directors. Based on the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee’s evaluation of each nominee’s satisfaction of the qualifications described above and their past performance as directors, the committee has recommended the nominees for re-election and the Board of Directors has approved such recommendation.

Our amended and restated bylaws establish procedures by which stockholders may recommend nominees to our Board of Directors. The Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee will consider nominees recommended by stockholders and evaluate such candidates in the same manner as any other candidate. The committee did not receive any director nominees from stockholders for the Annual Meeting. Nominations for consideration at the Company’s 2021 annual meeting of stockholders must be submitted to the Company in writing with the information required by our amended and restated bylaws, in accordance with the procedures described below.

Stockholder Proposals and Director Nominations for the 2022 Annual Meeting of Stockholders

Stockholders who, in accordance with the SEC’s Rule 14a-8, wish to submit a proposal for consideration at our 2022 annual meeting of stockholders and include that proposal in our 2022 proxy materials should submit their proposal by certified mail, return receipt requested to Victory Capital Holdings, Inc., c/o Corporate Secretary, 15935 La Cantera Parkway, San Antonio, TX 78256. Proposals must be received no later than December 8, 2021 and satisfy the requirements under applicable SEC Rules (including SEC Rule 14a-8) to be included in the proxy materials for the 2022 annual meeting.

Our amended and restated bylaws also establish an advance notice procedure for stockholders who wish to present a proposal, including any proposal for the nomination of a director for election, before an annual meeting of stockholders but do not intend for the proposal to be included in our proxy materials. For such a proposal to be properly brought before the 2022 annual meeting of the stockholders, written notice of the proposal must be received by the Corporate Secretary no earlier than January 2, 2022 nor later than February 1, 2022. Any such stockholder notice must contain the information required by, and be provided in the manner set forth in, our amended and restated bylaws.

Communications with the Board of Directors

Stockholders or other interested parties wishing to contact the Board of Directors, the non-management directors or any individual director may send correspondence to the address provided below.

Victory Capital Holdings, Inc.

c/o: Corporate Secretary

15935 La Cantera Parkway

San Antonio, TX 78256

Communications are distributed to the Board of Directors, or to any individual director as appropriate.

EXECUTIVE OFFICERS

The names of our executive officers and their ages, positions and biographies are set forth below. To our knowledge, there are no family relationships among any of our directors or executive officers.

 Name              Age  

Position

 David C. Brown

48Chairman and Chief Executive Officer

 Michael D. Policarpo

46President, Chief Financial Officer and Chief Administrative Officer

 Kelly S. Cliff

51President, Investment Franchises

 Nina Gupta

46Chief Legal Officer and Head of Human Resource Administration

David C. Brown has served as our Chief Executive Officer since our acquisition from KeyCorp in August 2013 and Chairman of our Board of Directors since April 2014. Mr. Brown’s full biography is set forth above in the description of our current Board of Directors.

Michael D. Policarpo has served as our President, Chief Financial Officer and Chief Administrative Officer since March 2019, responsible for all finance, accounting and treasury functions for the firm and the day-to-day operations of the integrated business platform, including all administrative functions. In addition, Mr. Policarpo provides support in inorganic growth sourcing, evaluation and execution and business platform integration. Mr. Policarpo joined the firm in 2005 and served

as our Chief Financial Officer from our acquisition from KeyCorp in August 2013 until July 2017, and our Chief Operating Officer from February 2016 until February 2019 among various other roles. Prior to joining Victory, he served as Vice President of Finance for Gartmore Global Investments, Inc. where he was responsible for strategic planning in conjunction with Gartmore’s senior management teams. He held several other positions during his five years at Gartmore, including Chief Financial Officer of Advisor Services and corporate controller. Prior to his tenure with Gartmore, he worked for Ernst & Young LLP as a senior accountant in the Assurance & Advisory Business Services unit with a focus on investment management companies, registered investment companies and broker-dealers. Mr. Policarpo holds a Bachelor of Science degree in accounting and finance from Lehigh University. He is a Certified Public Accountant and holds Series 7, 24, 27 and 99 securities licenses.

Kelly S. Cliff has served as our President, Investment Franchises since November 2015 and was on our Board of Directors from November 2015 until January 2018. In his role as our President, Investment Franchises, he serves as a strategic resource for our Franchises, focusing on best practices in alpha generation, risk management and alignment of investment management capabilities with client needs. He is also responsible for providing tactical analysis of our existing Franchises as well as evaluating the capabilities of potential new franchises as part of our acquisition strategy. Mr. Cliff oversees the centralized investment functions that support our Investment Franchises, including trading, quantitative analysis and risk management. He is also a member of the VCM investment committee. Prior to joining Victory in 2014, Mr. Cliff spent 22 years with Callan Associates, most recently serving as the Chief Investment Officer of public markets and co-lead of the Global Manager Research Group. Previously, he was Chief Investment Officer of Callan’s Trust Advisory Group. Mr. Cliff graduated from the University of the Pacific with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration and has earned the Chartered Financial Analyst designation and the Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst designation.

Nina Gupta has served as our Chief Legal Officer and Secretary since July 2016 and in November 2019 she assumed the role of Head of Human Resource Administration. Previously, Ms. Gupta was General Counsel and Secretary of RS Investment Management Co. LLC, or RS Investments, from April 2013 until RS Investments was acquired by Victory in July 2016. Prior to joining RS Investments, Ms. Gupta worked at BlackRock Inc., where she was a Managing Director and Deputy General Counsel of BlackRock Institutional Trust Company, responsible for providing legal advice in connection with corporate matters, counterparty trading, transactional documentation and regulatory issues in connection with a variety of different fund structures and accounts. Previously, Ms. Gupta was an associate at the law firm of Shearman & Sterling LLP in New York, NY and Menlo Park, CA, where her practice focused on general corporate, structured finance and banking matters. Ms. Gupta has extensive legal and regulatory experience in the financial services industry and had also executed several transactions in the asset management sector during her legal career. Ms. Gupta earned a law degree from the University of London and a Masters in Law from the University of Cambridge.

SECURITY OWNERSHIP OF CERTAIN BENEFICIAL OWNERS AND MANAGEMENT

The following table sets forth the beneficial ownership of our common stock as of March 19, 2021 by (1) each person, or group of affiliated persons, known by us to be the beneficial owner of 5% or more of either class of our outstanding common stock, (2) each of our directors, (3) each of our named executive officers and (4) all of our directors and executive officers as a group.

To our knowledge, each person named in the table has sole voting and investment power with respect to all of the securities shown as beneficially owned by such person, except as otherwise set forth in the notes to the table. The number of securities shown represents the number of securities the person “beneficially owns,” as determined by the rules of the SEC. The SEC has defined “beneficial” ownership of a security to mean the possession, directly or indirectly, of voting power and/or investment power. A security holder is also deemed to be, as of any date, the beneficial owner of all securities that such security holder has the right to acquire within 60 days after that date through (1) the exercise of any option, warrant or right, (2) the conversion of a security, (3) the power to revoke a trust, discretionary account or similar arrangement, or (4) the automatic termination of a trust, discretionary account or similar arrangement. These shares and shares of unvested restricted stock (which have voting rights but are subject to future vesting based on time or performance criteria), are deemed to be outstanding and beneficially owned by the person holding such securities for the purpose of computing the percentage ownership and voting of that person, but they are not treated as outstanding for the purpose of computing the percentage ownership or voting of any other person.

The percentages reflect beneficial ownership as determined in accordance with Rule 13d-3 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the “Exchange Act”) and are based on 16,158,343 shares of our Class A common stock and 51,657,009Class B common stock (voting together as a single class) and (ii) a majority of the outstanding shares of our Class B common stock outstandingstock. Abstentions will be counted toward the tabulation of votes cast on this proposal and will have the same effect as negative votes. The approval of March 19, 2021 (excluding 2,301,372 shares of unvested restricted stockthis Proposal is a non-routine proposal on which carry voting rights). Unless otherwise noted below, the address for each of the stockholders in the table below is c/o Victory Capital Holdings, Inc., 15935 La Cantera Parkway, San Antonio, TX 78256.

Principal Stockholders Table

   Shares Beneficially Owned As of 3.19.21 

 Name 

  # of
Class A
  Shares(1)  
   % of
Class A
  Shares  
   # of
Class B
  Shares  
   % of
Class B
  Shares  
   % of Total
  Common  
Stock
   % of
Total
Voting
  Power(2)  
 

5% Stockholders

            

Crestview GP(3)

       *    35,262,064    68.3%    52.0%    66.2% 

Reverence Capital Partners LLC(4)

       *    9,711,740    18.8%    14.3%    18.2% 

Employee Shareholders Committee(5)

   2,218,922    13.7%    13,159,160    21.9%    20.2%    21.7% 

Steamboat Capital Partners, LLC(6)

   1,706,715    10.6%        *    2.5%    * 

Granahan Investment Management, Inc.(7)

   1,130,145    7.0%        *    1.7%    * 

Impax Asset Management LLC(8)

   1,063,234    6.6%        *    1.6%    * 

Capital World Investors(9)

   812,000    5.0%        *    1.2%    * 

Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Inc.(10)

   808,828    5.0%        *    1.2%    * 

Directors and Named Executive Officers

            

David C. Brown(11)(12)

   16,500    *    2,512,958    4.8%    3.7%    4.6% 

Michael D. Policarpo(11)(13)

       *    1,293,645    2.5%    1.9%    2.4% 

Kelly S. Cliff(11)(14)

   722    *    814,535    1.6%    1.2%    1.5% 

Milton R. Berlinski(15)

       *    476,123    *    *    * 

Alex Binderow

       *        *    *    * 

Lawrence Davanzo(16)

   20,000    *    154,934    *    *    * 

Richard M. DeMartini

       *        *    *    * 

James B. Hawkes(17)

   440,464    2.7%    699,128    1.4%    1.7%    1.4% 

Karin Hirtler-Garvey

       *    27,318    *    *    * 

Robert J. Hurst

       *    5,464    *    *    * 

Alan H. Rappaport(18)

   10,000    *    418,358    *    *    * 

All Directors and executive officers as a group (12 Persons)

   487,686    3.0%    6,651,331    12.7%    10.4%    12.4% 

*

Represents beneficial ownership of less than 1%.

(1)

The persons who hold shares of our Class B common stock (which are convertible, at the option of the holder, into an equal number of shares of Class A common stock) are currently deemed to have beneficial ownership over a number of shares of our Class A common stock equal to the number of shares of our Class B common stock reflected in the table above. Because we have disclosed the ownership of shares of our Class B common stock, the shares of Class A common stock underlying Class B common stock are not separately reflected in the table above.

(2)

Percentage of total voting power represents voting power with respect to all shares of our Class A and Class B common stock, as a single class, calculated on the basis of beneficial ownership. The holders of our Class B common stock are entitled to ten votes per share, and holders of our Class A common stock are entitled to one vote per share. Sum of percentages exceeds 100% due to unvested restricted stock with voting rights and shares of Class B common stock issuable upon the exercise of options.

(3)

This number does not include 27,172,838 shares of Class B common stock owned by other parties to the Shareholders’ Agreement for which Crestview GP may be deemed to have beneficial ownership. See “Certain Relationships and Related Party Transactions—Amended and Restated Shareholders’ Agreement.” Crestview GP disclaims beneficial ownership of all such shares. Crestview GP may be deemed to be the beneficial owner of 35,251,136 shares of Class B common stock owned directly by Crestview Victory, and 10,928 shares of Class B common stock owned directly by Crestview Advisors, L.L.C., which provides investment advisory and management services to certain Crestview entities. Crestview Victory GP, LLC is the general partner of Crestview Victory. Crestview Partners II, L.P., Crestview Partners II (TE), L.P., Crestview Partners II (FF), L.P., Crestview Offshore Holdings II (Cayman), L.P., Crestview Offshore Holdings II (FF Cayman), L.P. and Crestview Offshore Holdings II (892 Cayman), L.P. (collectively, the “Crestview Funds”) are members of Crestview Victory GP, LLC and limited partners of Crestview Victory. Crestview GP is the general partner

of each of the Crestview Funds. Crestview GP and the Crestview Funds may be deemed to be beneficial owners of the shares owned directly by Crestview Victory. Crestview GP has voting and investment control over such shares. Decisions by Crestview GP to vote or dispose of such shares require the approval of a majority of the members of its investment committee and the chairman of the investment committee, which is composed of the following individuals: Barry S. Volpert, Thomas S. Murphy, Jr., Robert V. Delaney, Jr., Brian P. Cassidy, Alexander M. Rose, Adam J. Klein and Daniel G. Kilpatrick. None of the foregoing persons has the power individually to vote or dispose of such shares. Each of the foregoing individuals disclaims beneficial ownership of all such shares. The address of each of the foregoing is c/o Crestview, 590 Madison Avenue, 42nd Floor, New York, NY 10022.

(4)

This number does not include 52,723,162 shares of Class B common stock owned by other parties to the Shareholders’ Agreement for which RCP GenPar Holdco LLC and RCP Co-Invest GP LLC (the “RCP Entities”) may be deemed to have beneficial ownership. See “Certain Relationships and Related Party Transactions—Amended and Restated Shareholders’ Agreement.” The RCP Entities disclaim beneficial ownership of all such shares. The RCP Entities may be deemed to be the beneficial owners of 9,711,740 shares of Class B common stock owned directly by Reverence Capital Partners Opportunities Fund I, L.P., Reverence Capital Partners Opportunities Fund I (Cayman), L.P., and Reverence Capital Partners Opportunities Fund I (AI), L.P. (collectively, the “Reverence Capital Funds”) and RCP Lake Co-Invest, L.P. RCP GenPar Holdco LLC is the general partner of each of the Reverence Capital Funds and RCP Co-Invest GP LLC is the general partner of RCP Lake Co-Invest, L.P. The RCP Entities, Reverence Capital Funds and RCP Lake Co-Invest, L.P. may be deemed to be beneficial owners of the shares. The RCP Entities have voting and investment control over such shares. Decisions by each of the RCP Entities to vote or dispose of such shares require the approval of a majority of the three members of the investment committee, which is composed of the following individuals: Milton Berlinski, Peter Aberg and Alexander Chulack. None of the foregoing persons has the power individually to vote or dispose of such shares. Each of the foregoing individuals disclaims beneficial ownership of all such shares. The address of each of the foregoing is c/o Reverence Capital Partners, 10 East 53rd Street, 14th Floor, New York, NY 10022.

(5)

Upon the completion of the Company’s initial public offering in 2018, or IPO, a substantial majority of our employee stockholders entered into the Employee Shareholders’ Agreement pursuant to which they granted an irrevocable voting proxy with respect to the shares of our common stock they have acquired from us and any shares they may acquire from us in the future to the Employee Shareholders Committee currently consisting of Mr. Brown, Mr. Policarpo and Mr. Cliff. All shares subject to the Employee Shareholders’ Agreement will be voted in accordance with the majority decision of those three members. Shares originally subject to the agreement cease to be subject to it when sold by the employee or upon the termination of the employee’s employment with us. The number of shares of common stock in this row includes the shares of common stock currently beneficially owned by current employees party to the Employee Shareholders’ Agreement, which consist of (i) 4,662,094 shares of Class B common stock, (ii) 2,301,372 unvested restricted shares of Class B common stock, (iii) 6,195,694 shares of Class B common stock issuable upon the exercise of options, and (iv) 2,218,922 shares of Class A common stock converted from Class B common stock since the IPO. As members of our Employee Shareholders Committee, Mr. Brown, Mr. Policarpo and Mr. Cliff share voting power over all of these shares. Other than as shown in the row applicable to each of them individually, none of Mr. Brown, Mr. Policarpo or Mr. Cliff has investment power with respect to any of the shares subject to the Employee Shareholders’ Agreement, and each disclaims beneficial ownership of such shares. See “Relationships and Related Party Transactions—Employee Shareholders’ Agreement.”

This numbera broker or other nominee does not include 47,056,820 shares of Class B common stock owned by other partieshave discretionary authority to the Shareholders’ Agreement for whichvote.

Crestview GP, Reverence and the Employee Shareholders Committee, may be deemedwho have stock ownership with sufficient voting power to have beneficial ownership. The Employee Shareholders Committee disclaims beneficialcontrol the outcome of all such shares.

(6)

Based solely on a Schedule 13G filed with the SEC on February 16, 2021 reporting stock ownership as of December 31, 2020. The Schedule 13G was filed by Steamboat Capital Partners, LLC and Parsa Kiai. According to the Schedule 13G, Steamboat Capital Partners, LLC and Parsa Kiai each had (i) sole power to vote or direct the vote of 1,622,743 shares of Class A common stock, (ii) shared power to vote or direct the vote of 0 shares of Class A common stock, (iii) sole power to dispose or to direct the disposition of 1,706,715 shares of Class A common stock and (iv) shared power to dispose or direct the disposition of 0 shares of Class A common stock.

(7)

Based solely on a Schedule 13G filed with the SEC on January 21, 2021 reporting stock ownership as of December 31, 2020. The Schedule 13G was filed by Granahan Investment Management, Inc. According to the Schedule 13G, Granahan Investment Management Inc. had (i) sole power to vote or direct the vote of 836,355 shares of Class A common stock, (ii) shared power to vote or direct the vote of 0 shares of Class A common stock, (iii) sole power to dispose or to direct the disposition of 1,130,145 shares of Class A common stock and (iv) shared power to dispose or direct the disposition of 0 shares of Class A common stock.

(8)

Based solely on a Schedule 13G filed with the SEC on February 16, 2021 reporting stock ownership as of December 31, 2020. The Schedule 13G was filed by Impax Asset Management Group plc and Impax Asset Management LLC. According to the Schedule 13G, Impax Asset Management Group plc and Impax Asset Management LLC each had (i) sole power to vote or direct the vote of 1,063,234 shares of Class A common stock, (ii) shared power to vote or direct the vote of 0 shares of Class A common stock, (iii) sole power to dispose or to direct the disposition of 1,063,234 shares of Class A common stock and (iv) shared power to dispose or direct the disposition of 0 shares of Class A common stock.

(9)

Based solely on a Form 13F filed with the SEC on February 12, 2021 by Capital World Investors reporting stock ownership as of December 31, 2020. According to the Form 13F, Capital Group Companies Inc and Capital Research & Management Co had (1) investment discretion over 812,000 shares of Class A common stock, (ii) sole voting authority for 812,000 shares of Class A common stock and (iii) shared voting authority for 0 shares of Class A common stock.

(10)

Based solely on a Form 13F filed with the SEC on February 14, 2020 by Bank of America Corp reporting stock ownership as of December 31. According to the Form 13F, Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Inc., had (1) investment discretion over 808,828 shares of Class A common stock, (ii) sole voting authority for 0 shares of Class A common stock, (iii) shared voting authority for 0 shares of Class A common stock and (iv) no voting authority for 808,228 shares of Class A common stock.

(11)

Pursuant to the Employee Shareholders Agreement, Mr. Brown, Mr. Policarpo and Mr. Cliff each granted an irrevocable voting proxy with respect to all of the shares of our Class B common stock he has acquired from us and any shares he may acquire from us in the future to the Employee Shareholders Committee as described in footnote 5 above. Each retains investment power with respect to the shares of our common stock he holds, which are the shares reflected in the row applicable to each person. This amount does not include shares owned by other parties to the Employee Shareholders Agreement for which each of Mr. Brown, Mr. Policarpo and Mr. Cliff may be deemed to have beneficial ownership. Each of such persons disclaims beneficial ownership of all such shares.

(12)

Consists of (i) 16,500 shares of Class A common stock, (ii) 1,294,130 shares of Class B common stock, (iii) 367,475 unvested restricted shares of Class B common stock and (iv) 851,353 shares of Class B common stock issuable upon the exercise of options.

(13)

Consists of (i) 576,211 shares of Class B common stock, (ii) 202,072 unvested restricted shares of Class B common stock and (iii) 515,362 shares of Class B common stock issuable upon the exercise of options.

(14)

Consists of (i) 238,448 shares of Class B common stock, (ii) 151,913 unvested restricted shares of Class B common stock and (iii) 424,174 shares of Class B common stock issuable upon the exercise of options.

(15)

Consists of (i) 291,892 shares of Class B common stock held of record by Mr. Berlinski and (ii) 184,231 shares of Class B common stock held of record by MRB ICBC LLC, an entity which Mr. Berlinski controls.

(16)

Consists of (i) 20,000 shares of Class A common stock held of record by the Lawrence E. Davanzo and Christine Davanzo Revocable Trust, for which Mr. Davanzo serves as trustee and (ii) (A) 149,470 shares of Class B common stock held of record by the Lawrence E. Davanzo and Christine Davanzo Revocable Trust and (B) 5,464 shares of Class B common stock held of record by Mr. Davanzo.

(17)

Consists of (i) (A) 277,464 shares of Class A common stock held of record by James B. Hawkes 2012 Revocable Trust, for which Mr. Hawkes serves as trustee, (B) 90,000 shares of Class A common stock held of record by Hawkes Family LLC, an entity which Mr. Hawkes controls, (C) 71,000 shares of Class A common stock held of record by Hawkes Nest, LLC, an entity which Mr. Hawkes controls and (D) 2,000 shares of Class A common stock held by record by Mr. Hawkes and (ii) (A) 406,443 shares of Class B common stock held of record by Mr. Hawkes and (B) 292,685 shares of Class B common stock held of record by Hawkes Family LLC.

(18)

Consists of (i) 10,000 shares of Class A common stock held of record by ADR Partners, an entity which Mr. Rappaport controls and (ii) (A) 129,497 shares of Class B common stock held of record by Mr. Rappaport and (B) 288,861 shares of Class B common stock held of record by ADR Partners.

Securities Authorized for Issuance Under Equity Compensation Plans

The following table sets forth the total shares of our common stock authorized and issued (orproposal, intend to be issued) under our equity compensation plans as of December 31, 2020:

  Number of
securities
to be issued
upon
exercise of
outstanding
options,
warrants and
rights
(a)(1)
  Weighted-average
exercise price of
outstanding options,
warrants and rights (b)
  Number of
securities
remaining
available for
future issuance
under
equity
compensation
plans (excluding
securities
reflected in
column (a)) (c)(2)
 

Equity compensation plans approved by security holders

  6,865,101   $6.50   1,658,420 

Equity compensation plans not approved by security holders

         
 

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

 

Total

      6,865,101   $6.50             1,658,420 
 

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

 

(1)

Reflects 6,833,923 shares of our Class B common stock issuable upon the exercise of options outstanding as of December 31, 2020 which were granted under the Victory Capital Holdings, Inc. Equity Incentive Plan (the “2013 Plan”), and 31,178 shares of our Class B common stock issuable upon the exercise of options outstanding as of December 31, 2020 which were granted under the Victory Capital Holdings, Inc. 2018 Stock Incentive Plan (the “2018 Plan”).

(2)

Reflects 3,372,484 shares of Class A and Class B common stock reserved for issuance under the 2018 Plan and 350,388 shares of our Class A common stock reserved for issuance under the Victory Capital Holdings, Inc. 2018 Employee Stock Purchase Plan (the “2018 ESPP”). Except with respect to the issuances described in footnote (1) above, no further shares will be issued or distributed under the 2013 Plan. As of December 31, 2020, the Company also had issued 3,351,614 restricted shares of Class B common stock under the 2013 Plan, 2,238,255 restricted shares of Class B common stock under the 2018 Plan, and 14,328 shares of Class A common stock under the 2018 ESPP, which are not reflected in the table because they are treated as issued and outstanding and will not have additional dilutive impact on the Company when any applicable restrictions lapse.

DELINQUENT SECTION 16(a) REPORTS

Section 16(a)vote in favor of the Exchange Act and regulationsproposal.

Recommendation of the SEC require our directors, executive officers and, with certain exceptions, persons who own more than 10% of a registered class of our equity securities, as well as certain affiliates of such persons, to file with the SEC reports of ownership of, and transactions in, our equity securities. These reporting persons are further required to provide us with copies of these reports.

Based solely on our review of such reports and written representations by the reporting persons, we believe that during the fiscal year ended December 31, 2020, our directors, officers and owners of more than 10% of a registered class of our equity securities complied with all applicable filing requirements, except that a late amended Form 4 was filed for Mr. Kelly Cliff on April 1, 2021 to report the conversion of Class B Common Stock to Class A Common Stock.

COMPENSATION OF OUR NAMED EXECUTIVE OFFICERS

The following table sets forth information regarding the compensation awarded to, earned by or paid to certain of our executive officers during the fiscal year ended December 31, 2020. As an emerging growth company, we have chosen to comply with the executive compensation disclosure rules applicable to “smaller reporting companies” as such term is defined in the rules promulgated under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), which require compensation disclosure for our principal executive officer and our next two most highly compensated executive officers. Throughout this proxy statement, these three officers are referred to as our “named executive officers.”

Summary Compensation Table

 Name and

 Principal Position

 Year Salary
($)
  Bonus
($)(1)
  Stock
Awards
($)(2)
  Option
Awards
($)
  Nonqualified
Deferred
Compensation
Earnings
($)(3)
  All Other
Compensation
($)(4)
  Subtotal
($)
  Relocation
($)(5)
  Total
($)
 

David C. Brown

 2020  600,000   6,850,000   1,549,995         263,138   9,263,133   687,261   9,950,394 

Chief Executive Officer and Chairman

 2019  600,000   6,850,000   2,059,993         207,473   9,717,466      9,717,466 

Michael D. Policarpo

 2020  450,000   2,805,000   459,994         226,685   3,941,679      3,941,679 

President, Chief Financial Officer and Chief Administrative Officer

 2019  443,270   2,725,000   1,524,996         97,305   4,790,571      4,790,571 

Kelly S. Cliff

 2020  425,000   1,200,000   499,994         124,782   2,249,776      2,249,776 

President, Investment Franchises

 2019  425,000   1,200,000   719,999         79,690   2,424,689      2,424,689 

(1)

The amounts reported as earned in this column represent the bonuses earned with respect to 2019 and 2020 by each executive pursuant to our annual bonus plan. The 2020 amounts were paid in 2021 with the exception of $600,000 of Mr. Brown’s bonus which was paid in 2020. For additional information, please see “—Summary Compensation Table—Narrative to Summary Compensation Table—Annual Incentive Compensation” below.

(2)

Amounts reported represent the aggregate grant date fair value of the shares of restricted stock granted to our named executive officers in 2019 and 2020. The amounts above reflect our aggregate accounting expense for these awards and do not necessarily correspond to the actual value that will be recognized by our named executive officers, which depends on the market value of our Class B common stock on a date in the future.

(3)

Our named executive officers had no above-market or preferential earnings on deferred compensation during 2019 or 2020.

(4)

The amounts reported as earned by each named executive officer in this column represent employer matching contributions made to Messrs. Brown, Policarpo and Cliff of $17,100 each, under our 401(k) plan during 2020, as well as employer matching contributions made to Messrs. Brown, Policarpo and Cliff of $162,900, $161,016 and $59,804, respectively, under our nonqualified deferred compensation plan. Amounts reported also include dividend payments made upon vesting of equity-based awards of $83,138, $48,569 and $47,878 for Messrs. Brown, Policarpo and Cliff, respectively.

(5)

Mr. Brown received relocation benefits totaling $416,824 for customary closing costs on the sale of his existing house and the purchase of a new house, loss associated with the sale of his existing house, moving and transportation expenses and other miscellaneous amounts in connection with the relocation. Mr. Brown also received a net tax gross up totaling $270,437 to offset the amounts imputed to his income as a result of these benefits.

Narrative to Summary Compensation Table

Certain of the compensation paid to our named executive officers reflected in the Summary Compensation Table was provided pursuant to the agreements, plans and programs which are summarized below. For a discussion of the severance pay and other benefits to be provided to our named executive officers in connection with a termination of employment and/or a change in control, please see “—Potential Payments Upon Termination or Change in Control” below.

Employment Agreement with David C. Brown. We entered into an employment agreement with Mr. Brown, dated March 20, 2017, which took effect as of February 12, 2018, in connection with our IPO, and which superseded Mr. Brown’s prior employment agreement with us, dated August 5, 2014 (the terms of which were substantially similar to those of the current employment agreement, except with respect to term, annual incentive award mechanics, and certain severance mechanics). Pursuant to the employment agreement, which has an indefinite term, Mr. Brown serves as the Chief Executive Officer of VCM and as a director on our Board of Directors (of which he is currently the Chairman), and is entitled to an annual base salary of $600,000, an annual bonus of $600,000 which is payable quarterly, and a target annual incentive award, which award is to be

determined by our Board of Directors and Compensation Committee each year during the term and be payable partly in cash and partly in fully-vested (unless otherwise stated in the equity grant agreement) equity based on achievement of specified performance criteria (as discussed under “—Annual Incentive Compensation” below). In addition, Mr. Brown’s employment agreement provides for certain severance entitlements, which are discussed under “—Potential Payments Upon Termination or Change in Control” below.

Annual Incentive Compensation. Certain employees, including our named executive officers, are eligible to participate in the Victory Capital Holdings, Inc. Bonus Plan (the “Bonus Plan”), pursuant to which participants are eligible to earn a bonus with respect to each fiscal year, typically paid in the first calendar quarter of the calendar year following the year for which the bonus is earned, subject to the participant remaining employed with us through the payment date. Individual awards may be discretionary or earned based on individual, Company or other criteria determined by our Compensation Committee. 2020 annual bonuses for our named executive officers, which were paid in March 2021 were determined at the discretion of the Compensation Committee after consideration of both Company and individual performance and, in the case of Messrs. Policarpo and Cliff, recommendations from Mr. Brown. For 2020, Messrs. Brown, Policarpo and Cliff were awarded actual cash bonuses of $6,850,000 (which included the annual bonus of $600,000 which is payable quarterly), $2,805,000 and $1,200,000, respectively. Messrs. Brown, Policarpo and Cliff did not have target bonuses for 2020, and the Compensation Committee determined the amount of their bonuses after considering market competitiveness, Company performance factors and individual performance. None of our named executive officers received any annual bonus amounts that were payable in shares of our Class B common stock. Under the Bonus Plan, for each fiscal year, the Company, in conjunction with the Board of Directors and Compensation Committee, establishes an annual bonus pool equal to a percentage of pre-bonus EBITDA that is payable in cash or shares of our Class B common stock. For this purpose, and subject to additional adjustments as may be determined by our Board of Directors in its discretion, pre-bonus EBITDA is generally calculated using our “Adjusted EBITDA,” to which we add back debt governance expenses, director fees, board-related expenses and stock compensation expense unrelated to equity awards issued from pools created in connection with our management-led buyout and various acquisitions and as a result of equity granted related to our IPO, to arrive at Management reported EBITDA. We then add back our incentive compensation expense to Management reported EBITDA to arrive at pre-bonus EBITDA.

Equity Grants. Prior to the completion of our IPO in February 2018, we granted equity-based awards to our named executive officers pursuant to the 2013 Plan. In connection with our IPO we adopted the 2018 Plan, which took effect upon the completion of the IPO and which replaced the 2013 Plan as the Company’s equity-based compensation plan. A total of 3,372,484 shares of either Class A common stock or Class B common stock, or any combination thereof, as determined by the Compensation Committee, are reserved and available for issuance under the 2018 Plan. Under the 2018 Plan, the Company may grant stock options, restricted stock awards, restricted stock units, stock appreciation rights, performance awards and other awards that may be settled in or based upon shares of our Class A common stock or Class B common stock, though currently outstanding awards under the 2018 Plan are based upon shares of our Class B common stock.

Equity compensation awards are an important part of our executive compensation program. We have granted performance-based restricted shares and time-based restricted shares to our named executive officers under our stock plans.

Annual Equity Grants. In connection with our annual compensation review for 2019, the Compensation Committee made its annual equity grants to named executive officers on March 31, 2020. The value of these restricted stock grants reflects the Compensation Committee’s review of market competitive pay practices relative to peers and our 2019 performance.

The named executive officers received time-based restricted shares, ratably vesting over a three-year period ending on March 31, 2023, as follows:

Name                                 

    Time-Based    OUR BOARD OF DIRECTORS RECOMMENDS THAT OUR STOCKHOLDERS
RSAs (#)

David C. Brown

94,743

Michael D. Policarpo

28,117

Kelly S. Cliff

30,562

Health and Welfare Plans. Our named executive officers are eligible to participate in the employee benefit plans that we offer to our employees generally, including medical, dental, vision, life and accidental death and dismemberment, disability, supplemental life, a health savings account, health and dependent care flexible spending accounts, critical illness and accident benefit plans, as well as commuter benefits and health and wellness rewards.

Nonqualified Deferred Compensation Plan. Messrs. Brown, Policarpo and Cliff currently participate in the Victory Capital Management Inc. Deferred Compensation Plan, or the NQDC Plan, a nonqualified deferred compensation plan maintained by us primarily for the benefit of a select group of management or highly compensated employees. Pursuant to the NQDC Plan, participants may elect to defer up to 100% of their base compensation and cash incentive compensation. In 2020, the Company provided a matching contribution equal to 100% of a participant’s deferral contribution, up to a maximum of the lesser of 5% of compensation in excess of the Internal Revenue Code Section 401(a)(17) limit for the applicable year or $3,000,000 per year. We may also elect to provide discretionary contributions pursuant to the NQDC Plan. Deferred amounts and employer contributions are contributed to individual accounts in the NQDC Plan trust, and participants self-direct the notional investment of deferred contribution accounts in various investment funds. A participant is 100% vested in his deferral contributions when contributed and will become 100% vested in our matching contributions and discretionary contributions, to the extent any are made, after three years of continuous service. No discretionary contributions pursuant to the NQDC Plan have been made to date. The vested balance of a participant’s account may be distributed in a lump sum, in five equal installments or in another approved form upon a participant’s death, disability, separation from service (including retirement), a change in control event, or on a time or fixed schedule, in each case, as elected by the participant in accordance with the terms of the NQDC Plan. Messrs. Brown, Policarpo and Cliff are fully vested in their NQDC account balances as they have met the vesting criteria of three years of continuous service. For a summary of the treatment of named executive officers’ account balances under the NQDC Plan in connection with certain terminations of employment and/or a change in control, see “—Potential Payments Upon Termination or Change in Control” below.

401(k) Plan. We sponsor a retirement plan intended to qualify for favorable tax treatment under Section 401(a) of the Internal Revenue Code, containing a cash or deferred feature that is intended to meet the requirements of Section 401(k) of the Internal Revenue Code. Full-time employees, other than nonresident aliens and leased employees, who are paid from our U.S. payroll are generally eligible to participate in the plan. Participants may make pre-tax contributions to the plan from their eligible earnings up to the statutorily prescribed annual limit on pre-tax contributions under the Internal Revenue Code, and may also make post-tax contributions. Participants who are 50 years of age or older may contribute additional amounts based on the statutory limits for catch-up contributions. All employee and employer contributions are allocated to each participant’s individual account and are then invested in selected investment alternatives according to the participant’s directions. Pre-tax contributions by participants and contributions that we make to the plan and the income earned on those contributions are generally not taxable to participants until withdrawn, and all contributions are generally deductible by us when made. Participant contributions are held in trust as required by law. No minimum benefit is provided under the plan. An employee is 100% vested in their pre-tax and post-tax contributions and any employer contributions when contributed. The plan provides for an employer matching contribution for employees who have completed at least one year of service equal to 100% of a participant’s 401(k) contributions, up to 6% of the participant’s compensation subject to limits set by the Internal Revenue Service, as well as discretionary profit sharing contributions.

Relocation. During 2020, we provided relocation benefits to Mr. Brown for customary closing costs on the sale of his existing house and the purchase of a new house, loss associated with the sale of his existing house, moving and transportation expenses and other miscellaneous amounts in connection with the relocation. These benefits are consistent with the terms and conditions of our relocation policies for executives at Mr. Brown’s level in the organization. The Compensation Committee believed these benefits were necessary and appropriate to support Mr. Brown’s relocation to San Antonio.

Outstanding Equity Awards at Fiscal Year End

The following table sets forth outstanding equity awards to acquire shares of our Class B common stock held by each of our named executive officers as of December 31, 2020.

     Option Awards  Stock Awards 
                             Equity 
                             Incentive 
                          Equity  Plan 
                          Incentive  Awards: 
           Equity              Plan  Market or 
           Incentive              Awards:  Payout 
           Plan Awards:           Market  Number of  Value of 
        Number of  Number of        Number of  Value of  Unearned  Unearned 
     Number of  Securities  Securities        Shares Or  Shares Or  Shares Or  Shares Or 
     Securities  Underlying  Underlying        Units of  Units of  Units of  Units of 
     Underlying  Unexercised  Unexercised        Stock That  Stock That  Stock That  Stock That 
     Unexercised  Options  Unearned  Option  Option  Have Not  Have Not  Have Not  Have Not 
     Options  Unexercisable  Options  Exercise  Expiration  Vested  Vested  Vested  Vested 
  Grant Date  Exercisable (#)  (#)(1)(5)  (#)(2)(5)  Price ($)(6)  Date  (#)(3)(5)  ($)(4)  (#)(3)(5)  ($)(4) 

David C. Brown

  7/31/2013   385,112   -       -  $2.45   7/31/2023   -  $-   -  $- 
  2/5/2014   87,597   -       -  $2.45   2/5/2024   -  $-   -  $- 
  12/17/2014   40,670   -       -  $4.73   12/17/2024   -  $-   -  $- 
  3/11/2016   61,833   -       -  $7.52   3/11/2026   -  $-   -  $- 
  4/15/2016   257,638   -       -  $7.52   4/15/2026   -  $-   -  $- 
  3/10/2017   15,727   2,776   -  $13.52   3/10/2027   -  $-   -  $- 
  3/31/2017   -       -       -       -   -       -  $-   37,007  $918,144 
  1/1/2018   -       -       -       -   -       306,589  $7,606,473   102,196  $2,535,483 
  3/31/2019   -       -       -       -   -       91,433  $2,268,453   -  $- 
  3/31/2020   -       -       -       -   -       94,743  $2,350,574   -  $- 

Michael D. Policarpo

  7/31/2013   179,719   -       -  $2.45   7/31/2023   -  $-   -  $- 
  2/5/2014   36,790   -       -  $2.45   2/5/2024   -  $-   -  $- 
  12/17/2014   31,284   -       -  $4.73   12/17/2024   -  $-   -  $- 
  3/11/2016   46,374   -       -  $7.52   3/11/2026   -  $-   -  $- 
  4/15/2016   154,582   -       -  $7.52   4/15/2026   -  $-   -  $- 
  3/10/2017   56,621   9,992   -  $13.52   3/10/2027   3,700  $91,797   -  $- 
  3/31/2017   -   -   -   -   -   -  $-   18,503  $459,059 
  1/1/2018   -   -   -   -   -   175,194  $4,346,563   58,398  $1,448,854 
  3/31/2019   -   -   -   -   -   67,687  $1,679,314   -  $- 
  3/31/2020   -   -   -   -   -   28,117  $697,583   -  $- 

Kelly S. Cliff

  9/8/2014   75,083   -       -  $4.73   9/8/2024   -  $-   -  $- 
  10/29/2015   25,027   -       -  $5.81   10/29/2025   -  $-   -  $- 
  3/11/2016   18,034   -       -  $7.52   3/11/2026   -  $-   -  $- 
  4/15/2016   206,110   -       -  $7.52   4/15/2026   -  $-   -  $- 
  3/10/2017   84,932   14,988   -  $13.52   3/10/2027   6,476  $160,670   -  $- 
  3/31/2017   -       -       -   -   -   -  $-   18,503  $459,059 
  1/1/2018   -       -       -   -   -   148,915  $3,694,581   49,638  $1,231,519 
  3/31/2019   -       -       -   -   -   31,957  $792,853   -  $- 
  3/31/2020   -       -       -   -   -   30,562  $758,243   -  $- 

(1) Historically, the options granted to our named executive officers have consisted of 60% options subject to time-vesting conditions, or time-vesting options, which vest over a period of four years, 25% per year, beginning on the first anniversary of the applicable grant date, and 40% options subject to performance-vesting conditions, or performance-vesting options, which are earned based on level of achievement of the performance goals described in footnote 2 below prior to the applicable expiration date. Only options subject to time-vesting are unexercisable as of December 31, 2020.

(2) Performance-vesting options granted to our named executive officers vest based on the achievement of Management reported EBITDA targets, revenue targets and AUM targets. All performance-vesting options have vested as of December 31, 2020.

(3) Restricted shares granted on January 1, 2018 vest 50% based on continued employment (50% on January 1, 2021, 25% on January 1, 2022, and 25% on January 1, 2023) and restricted shares granted on March 31, 2017 vest 50% based on continued employment through March 31, 2020. The balance of the restricted shares granted on January 1, 2018 and March 31, 2017 vest when the Company’s fair market value of the Company stock meets or exceeds certain thresholds (one-third vested when the Company’s fair market value of the Company stock exceeded $19.98 on November 25, 2019; one-third vested when the Company’s fair market value of the Company stock exceeded $22.84 on February 12, 2020; and one-third will vest when the Company’s fair market value of the Company stock equals or exceeds $25.69), subject to continued employment through the date on which such thresholds are achieved. Restricted shares granted on March 10, 2017 vest 25% on each of the first four anniversaries of the grant date. Restricted shares granted on March 31, 2019 and March 31, 2020 vest one-third on each of the first three anniversaries of the grant dates.

(4) Values determined based on the value of our Class B common stock at market close on December 31, 2020, or $24.81 per share.

(5) Time-vesting options, performance-vesting options and certain restricted shares are subject to additional vesting upon a termination of employment due to death or “disability,” by us without “cause” or by the named executive officer without “good reason” (each such term, as defined in the applicable equity plan), as discussed under “-Potential Payments Upon Termination or Change in Control” below.

(6) Option exercise prices were adjusted in February 2017 due to declaration and payment of a special dividend to our stockholders. Amounts shown in the above table are post-adjustment.

Potential Payments Upon Termination or Change in Control

The following summaries describe the potential payments and benefits that we would provide to our named executive officers in connection with a termination of employment and/or a change in control.

We have entered into an employment agreement with Mr. Brown, which provides for certain payments to be made in connection with certain terminations of employment and/or a change in control. In addition, Messrs. Policarpo and Cliff are eligible to receive severance pursuant to our severance plan in connection with certain terminations of employment. Our named executive officers are also entitled to additional vesting of options and restricted shares pursuant to the terms of the Equity Plans and their award agreements, as well as to distributions pursuant to the NQDC Plan, in connection with certain terminations of employment.

Employment Agreement with David C. Brown. Mr. Brown’s employment agreement provides that if his employment is terminated by us without “cause” or by him for “good reason,” each as defined in the employment agreement, subject to his execution of a release of claims, he will be entitled to severance benefits consisting of: (i) an amount equal to two times a fraction, the numerator of which is the sum of the base salary, the annual cash bonus and the annual incentive award (consisting of both the cash and equity components) paid for the preceding two calendar years and the denominator of which is two, payable in eight quarterly installments beginning within 30 days of the termination date; and (ii) continuation of all medical benefits for up to 18 months following termination or an amount equal to the cost of such benefits; and (iii) a payment in respect of accrued but unused vacation and sick days. Such severance payments will be subject to a modified cutback provision which acts to reduce the amounts payable to Mr. Brown to the extent necessary so that no excise tax would be imposed pursuant to Section 280G of the Internal Revenue Code, but only if doing so would result in Mr. Brown retaining a larger after-tax amount. The employment agreement also provides that, in the event of a “change in control,” as defined in the employment agreement, Mr. Brown will be entitled to accelerated vesting of all then-outstanding equity awards granted prior to March 11, 2017, and that in the event of a termination of employment by us without “cause” within 90 days prior to a “change in control,” Mr. Brown will be entitled to accelerated vesting of all equity awards (whether granted before or after March 11, 2017) that would have vested as of the date of the change in control but for the termination (or the economic equivalent of such accelerated vesting). In the event of a termination of Mr. Brown’s employment due to death or “disability,” as defined in the employment agreement, he will be entitled to (i) a payment in respect of accrued but unused vacation and sick days, (ii) a prorated annual bonus for the year of termination and, (iii) for terminations due to disability, continuation of all medical benefits at no cost for up to 18 months following termination or an amount equal to the cost of such benefits. The employment agreement subjects Mr. Brown to confidentiality restrictions that apply while he is employed with us and indefinitely thereafter, to an inventions assignment commitment, to a non-compete restriction that applies during his employment with us and for one year thereafter, and to a non-solicitation restriction with respect to our customers and employees that applies during his employment with us and for two years thereafter. For additional information regarding Mr. Brown’s employment agreement, see “—Summary Compensation Table—Narrative to Summary Compensation Table—Employment Agreement with David C. Brown” above.

Victory Capital Management Inc. Severance Pay Plan. Messrs. Policarpo and Cliff are participants in the Victory Capital Management Inc. Severance Pay Plan, or the Severance Plan. Pursuant to the Severance Plan, in the event that a participant is terminated involuntarily without “cause,” as defined in the Severance Plan, as part of a restructuring or reduction in force, subject to the execution of a release of claims, the participant will receive a severance payment that will be determined by the plan administrator (currently, Mr. Brown) in accordance with the following guidelines:

Benefit

Type            

Severance Formula

Maximum Payout(2)

Basic BenefitTwo weeks of pay for each full year of continuous service.30 weeks of pay
Enhanced Benefit(1)Four weeks of pay for each full year of continuous service.52 weeks of pay

(1)

For Chief Investment Officers, members of senior management and other designated participants. Messrs. Policarpo and Cliff would each be entitled to receive the enhanced benefit.

(2)

Subject to an additional limitation that the maximum payout may not exceed two times the lesser of (i) the Internal Revenue Code Section 401(a)(17) limit for the applicable year or (ii) the participant’s annualized compensation for the year preceding the year of the termination.

The payment schedule for severance benefits under the Severance Plan is determined by the plan administrator, subject to a requirement that all benefits be paid no later than the last day of the second taxable year following the taxable year in which the termination occurs. The Severance Plan provides that the Company has the right to amend, modify, suspend or terminate the plan at any time by formal action by our Board of Directors or by the plan administrator.

Vesting of Options and Restricted Shares. Our named executive officers are entitled to additional vesting of unvested options and restricted shares held by them in connection with certain terminations of employment pursuant to the 2013 Plan and their award agreements. Other than with respect to the 2017 and 2018 restricted shares, upon a termination of employment due to death or “disability,” by us without “cause” or by the named executive officer for “good reason” (each such term as defined in the 2013 Plan), time-vesting options and restricted shares will be subject to additional, pro-rated vesting, determined by multiplying the number of time-vesting options or restricted shares, as applicable, that are unvested as of the termination date by a fraction, the numerator of which is the number of days elapsed between the most recent vesting date (or the grant date, if no vesting date has occurred) and the termination date, and the denominator of which is the number of days between the most recent vesting date (or the grant date, if no vesting date has occurred) and the final vesting date. For grants made pursuant to the 2018 Plan, upon a termination of employment due to death or “disability,” by us without “cause” or by the named executive officer for “good reason” (each such term as defined in the 2018 Plan), unvested time-vesting options and restricted shares shall be forfeited. In addition, performance-vesting options and restricted stock will vest under the 2013 Plan and 2018 Plan assuming target levels of achievement enumerated in the award agreements upon a termination of employment due to death or “disability,” and based on actual performance measured as of the named executive officer’s date of termination upon a termination by us without “cause” or by the named executive officer for “good reason.” Except as may otherwise be provided in an employment agreement, restricted shares under the 2013 and 2018 Plan are not subject to accelerated vesting upon a change in control and will generally be forfeited upon a termination of employment for any reason prior to vesting.

Nonqualified Deferred Compensation Plan. The NQDC Plan provides that, in the event of a termination due to death or “disability” or a “change in control” (each such term, as defined in the NQDC Plan), a participant will become 100% vested in his accrued but unvested benefits attributable to our matching contributions and discretionary contributions. In addition, the vested balance of a participant’s NQDC Plan account may be distributed to such participant upon his death, disability, separation from service (including retirement) or a change in control event, in each case, as elected by the participant in accordance with the terms of the NQDC Plan, as discussed under “—Summary Compensation Table—Narrative to Summary Compensation Table—Nonqualified Deferred Compensation Plan” above.

RELATIONSHIPS AND RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS

Amended and Restated Shareholders’ Agreement

On October 31, 2014, we entered into a Shareholders’ Agreement with Crestview Victory, Reverence Capital, and certain other persons named therein. In connection with our IPO, we amended and restated the Shareholders’ Agreement.

Each of Crestview Victory and Reverence Capital has rights to nominate a certain number of our directors depending on their ownership and each of the stockholders party to the Shareholders’ Agreement have agreed to vote, or cause to be voted, all of their outstanding shares to ensure the election of such directors. For more information on the rights of Crestview Victory and Reverence Capital to nominate directors, see “Proposal 1: Election of Class III Directors—Director Nomination Rights Under the Shareholders’ Agreement.”

The Shareholders’ Agreement provides for certain registration rights, pursuant to which either Crestview Victory or Reverence Capital may request us, (a) to file a registration statement with the SEC, and (b) to file a shelf registration statement with the SEC, in each case, if the registration statement relates to a firmly underwritten public offering, only if the expected aggregate gross proceeds are expected to be at least $25 million or either Crestview Victory or Reverence Capital propose to sell 100% of their respective shares. Subject to certain conditions, we will not be obligated to (i) effect more than one underwritten offering involving substantial marketing effort in any consecutive 120-day period, and (ii) effect more than five demand registrations for Crestview Victory and three demand registrations for Reverence Capital. In addition, each of Crestview Victory and Reverence Capital, and each of the remaining 2% holders of registrable securities to the extent either Crestview Victory or Reverence Capital participate, have certain “piggyback” registration rights, pursuant to which, subject to certain exceptions, it will be entitled to register its registrable securities alongside any offering of securities that we may undertake, subject to cutback in certain cases. The Shareholders’ Agreement also provides that we will pay certain expenses relating to such registrations and indemnify the holders against certain liabilities which may arise in connection with the registration.

Employee Shareholders’ Agreement

A substantial majority of our employee stockholders entered into the Employee Shareholders’ Agreement upon the completion of the IPO, pursuant to which they granted an irrevocable voting proxy with respect to the shares of our common stock they have acquired from us, and any shares they may acquire from us in the future, to the Employee Shareholders Committee. The employee stockholders who are party to the agreement beneficially own in the aggregate approximately 20% of the total common stock and 13% of the total voting power of the outstanding common stock and the unvested restricted shares as of March 19, 2021. Any shares of our common stock that we may issue in the future to our employees, including under the 2018 Plan, will be subject to the Employee Shareholders’ Agreement. Shares held by an employee stockholder will cease to be subject to the Employee Shareholders’ Agreement upon termination of employment by such employee stockholder (including by death).

The members of the Employee Shareholders Committee must be our employees and holders of shares subject to the agreement. The Employee Shareholders Committee is currently composed of David C. Brown (Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board), Michael D. Policarpo, (President, Chief Financial Officer and Chief Administrative Officer) and Kelly S. Cliff (President, Investment Franchises). Employee stockholders holding shares representing a majority of the shares subject to the Employee Shareholders’ Agreement will be entitled to remove and replace the Employee Shareholders Committee members (other than the Chief Executive Officer). Each member of the Employee Shareholders Committee is entitled to indemnification from us in his or her capacity as a member of the Employee Shareholders Committee.

The Employee Shareholders Committee has the sole right to determine how to vote all shares subject to the Employee Shareholders’ Agreement, and such shares will be voted in accordance with the majority decision of those three members. Subject to its obligations under the Shareholders’ Agreement, the Employee Shareholders Committee may in its discretion vote, or abstain from voting, all or any of the shares subject to the Employee Shareholders’ Agreement on any matter on which holders of shares of our common stock are entitled to vote, including, but not limited to, the election of directors to our Board of Directors, amendments to our certificate of incorporation or bylaws, changes to our capitalization, a merger or consolidation, a sale of substantially all of our assets, and a liquidation, dissolution or winding up.

Indemnification Agreements

We have entered into indemnification agreements with each of our directors, executive officers and members of the Employee Shareholders Committee. The indemnification agreements and our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and bylaws require us to indemnify our directors and executive officers to the fullest extent not prohibited by Delaware law. Subject to certain limitations, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and bylaws also require us to advance expenses incurred by our directors and officers.

Investment Advisory Agreements

Victory Capital Management Inc. (“VCM”) has agreements to serve as the investment adviser of the Victory Funds and VictoryShares, our ETF brand, in each case with which certain of our employees are affiliated. Under the terms of the investment advisory agreements with the Victory Funds and the VictoryShares, the continuation of which is subject to annual review and approval by the board of the Victory Funds and VictoryShares, VCM earns investment management fees based on a percentage of AUM, as delineated in the respective investment advisory agreements and disclosed in the prospectus for each Victory Fund and each of the VictoryShares. The gross amount earned from advising the Victory Funds and the VictoryShares was $225.4 million for the year ended December 31, 2020.

VCM has agreed to waive its management fee and/or reimburse expenses for certain of the share classes of certain of the Victory Funds and for certain of the VictoryShares, to the extent their respective expenses exceed certain levels. In addition, VCM may decide to voluntarily reduce additional fees or reimburse any Victory Fund or any of the VictoryShares for other expenses. The amount VCM waived or reimbursed for the Victory Funds and the VictoryShares was $20.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2020.

VCM also has an agreement to serve as the investment adviser of the separate series of USAA Mutual Funds Trust (“the “USAA Mutual Funds”), with which certain of our employees are affiliated. Under the terms of the investment advisory agreement with the USAA Mutual Funds, the continuation of which is subject to the review and approval by the board of the USAA Mutual Funds Trust, VCM earns investment management fees based on a percentage of AUM, which for certain equity and fixed income funds are subject to a performance fee adjustment depending on the investment performance, better or worse, of those funds relative to their specified benchmark indexes, as delineated in the investment advisory agreement and disclosed

in the prospectus for each USAA Mutual Fund. For the year ended December 31, 2020, the gross amount earned from advising the USAA Mutual Funds was $269.6 million, which included an unfavorable performance fee adjustment of $4.8 million.

VCM pays a portion of its investment management fees to unaffiliated investment advisers for services they provide as sub-advisers to certain of the USAA Mutual Funds. In addition, effective July 1, 2019, for a period of at least two years, VCM has agreed to waive its management fee and/or reimburse expenses for each share class of the USAA Mutual Funds to the extent their respective expenses exceed certain levels. In addition, VCM may decide to voluntarily reduce additional fees or reimburse any USAA Mutual Fund for other expenses. The amount VCM waived or reimbursed for the USAA Mutual Funds was $12.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2020.

VCM has agreements to serve as the investment adviser of the Victory Collective Funds. Under the terms of the investment advisory agreements with the Victory Collective Funds, VCM earns investment management fees based on a percentage of AUM net of fund expenses. Amount earned from advising the Victory Collective Funds was $8.6 million for the year ended December 31, 2020.

Administration Agreements

VCM has agreements to serve as the administrator and fund accountant for the Victory Funds and VictoryShares, with which certain of our employees are affiliated. Under the terms of the administration agreements with the Victory Funds and VictoryShares, the continuation of which is subject to annual approval by the board of the Victory Funds and VictoryShares, VCM earns administration fees based on a percentage of AUM as delineated in the respective administration agreements and disclosed in the statement of additional information for each Victory Fund and each of the VictoryShares. The gross amount earned from providing administration and fund accounting services to the Victory Funds and VictoryShares was $23.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2020.

VCM pays a portion of these administration fees to an unaffiliated sub-administrator for services it provides as sub-administrator and sub-fund accountant to the Victory Funds and VictoryShares. VCM has agreed to waive a portion of its administration fees for VictoryShares to the extent the fees earned exceed the portion of fees paid to the sub-administrator for services it provides to the VictoryShares. The amount of administration fees waived by VCM for the VictoryShares was $1.8 million for the year ended December 31, 2020.

VCM also has an agreement to serve as the administrator and fund accountant for the USAA Mutual Funds, with which certain of our employees are affiliated. Under the terms of the administration agreement with the USAA Mutual Funds, the continuation of which is subject to annual approval by the board of the USAA Mutual Funds Trust, VCM earns administration fees based on a percentage of AUM, as delineated in the respective administration agreement and disclosed in the statement of additional information for each USAA Mutual Fund. The gross amount earned from providing administration and fund accounting services to the USAA Mutual Funds was $91.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2020. VCM pays a portion of these administration fees to an unaffiliated sub-administrator for services it provides as sub-administrator and sub-fund accountant to the USAA Mutual Funds.

Transfer Agent Agreement

Victory Capital Transfer Agency, Inc. (formerly, USAA Transfer Agency Company) performs transfer agent services for the USAA Mutual Funds, with which certain of our employees are affiliated, under a Transfer Agency Agreement, and sub-transfer agent services to the Victory Funds for member class shares under a Sub-Transfer Agency Agreement. Services include maintenance of shareholder account records, handling of communications with shareholders, distribution of Fund dividends, and production of reports with respect to account activity for shareholders and the Trust. The Transfer Agency Agreement continues from year to year subject the approval of the board of the USAA Mutual Funds Trust. The Sub-Transfer Agency Agreement, which took effect on November 2, 2020 with the launch of the member class shares, continues from year to year subject to the approval of the board of the Victory Funds. The gross amount earned from providing transfer agent services to the USAA Mutual Funds was $74.0 million for the year ended December 31, 2020; fees earned in the year ended December 31, 2020 from sub-transfer agent services to the Victory Funds for member class shares were de minimis. VCM pays a portion of its transfer agency fees to an unaffiliated transfer agent for services it provides as sub-transfer agent to the USAA Mutual Funds.

Distribution Agreements

Victory Capital Services, Inc., (which we call VCS) our broker-dealer subsidiary registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission has agreements to serve as the distributor for the Victory Funds, with which certain of our employees are affiliated. Under the terms of the distribution agreements with the Victory Funds, the continuation of which is subject to annual approval by the board of the Victory Funds, VCS is entitled to receive payments, if any, under the 12b-1 plan for the Victory Funds in accordance with the terms thereof and payments, if any, of sales charges as set forth in the prospectus and statement of additional information of each Victory Fund. The amount earned from providing distribution services to the Victory Funds was $24.4 million for the year ended December 31, 2020. VCA pays a portion of its distribution fees to unaffiliated broker dealers for services they provide as distributors of the Victory Funds.

VCS also has an agreement to serve as the distributor for the USAA Mutual Funds, with which certain of our employees are affiliated. Under the terms of the distribution agreement with the USAA Mutual Funds, the continuation of which is subject to annual approval by the board of the USAA Mutual Funds Trust, VCA is entitled to receive payments, if any, under the 12b-1 plan for the USAA Mutual Funds in accordance with the terms thereof and payments, if any, of sales charges as set forth in the prospectus and statement of additional information of each USAA Mutual Fund. The gross amount earned from providing distribution services to the USAA Mutual Funds was $1.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2020. VCA pays a portion of its distribution fees to unaffiliated broker dealers for services they provide as distributors of the USAA Mutual Funds.

Compliance Services Agreement

VCM has an agreement to furnish a VCM employee to serve as the Chief Compliance Officer as well as other compliance personnel and resources reasonably necessary to provide compliance design, administration and oversight services for the Victory Funds and VictoryShares with which certain of our employees are affiliated, in accordance with Rule 38a-1 under the Investment Company Act. The term of the agreement began on July 1, 2017 and initially expired on July 1, 2019 but is subject to renewal thereafter. The amount earned from providing these services to the Victory Funds and VictoryShares was $325,000 in the twelve months ended December 31, 2020.

VCM has an agreement to furnish a VCM employee to serve as the Chief Compliance Officer as well as other compliance personnel and resources reasonably necessary to provide compliance design, administration and oversight services for the USAA Mutual Funds, with which certain of our employees are affiliated, in accordance with Rule 38a-1 under the Investment Company Act. The term of the agreement began on July 1, 2019 and initially expired on July 1, 2020 but is subject to renewal thereafter. The gross amount earned from providing these services to the USAA Mutual Funds was $500,000 for the year ended December 31, 2020.

The Company also maintains a list which has been previously shared with the Committee which list all related party transactions that do not meet the definition under the Policy and all other affiliate transactions/relationships.

Review, Approval or Ratification of Transactions with Related Persons

We have adopted a written policy regarding the approval, with certain exceptions, of any transaction or series of transactions in which we or any of our subsidiaries is a participant, the amount involved exceeds $120,000, and a “related party” (a director, director nominee, executive officer, or a person known to us to be the beneficial owner of more than 5% of our voting securities, or any immediate family member of any of the foregoing) has a direct or indirect material interest (a “related-party transaction”). Under the policy, a related party must promptly disclose to our Chief Legal Officer any potential related-party transaction and all material facts about the transaction. The Chief Legal Officer will then assess whether the transaction constitutes a related-party transaction. If the Chief Legal Officer determines a transaction qualifies as such, he or she will communicate that information to the Audit Committee, or to the Chairperson of the Audit Committee, if the Chief Legal Officer in consultation with the Chief Executive Officer or Chief Financial Officer determines it is impracticable or undesirable to wait until the next committee meeting. Based on its consideration of all of the relevant facts and circumstances, the Audit Committee or the Chairperson of the Audit Committee, as applicable, will decide whether to approve such transaction and will generally approve only those transactions that are not inconsistent with our best interests. If we become aware of a related-party transaction that was not approved under this policy before it was entered into, the transaction will be referred to the Audit Committee, which will evaluate all options available, including ratification, amendment or termination of such transaction. Under the policy, any director who has an interest in a related-party transaction will recuse himself or herself from any formal action with respect to the transaction as deemed appropriate by the Audit Committee.

AUDIT COMMITTEE REPORT

The Audit Committee oversees the Company’s financial reporting process on behalf of the Board of Directors. The duties and responsibilities of the Audit Committee are more fully described in the committee’s written charter, which is reviewed annually and available under the Investor Relations link on our website at www.vcm.com.

The Audit Committee consists of Karin Hirtler-Garvey (Chair), Lawrence Davanzo and Alan H. Rappaport. Our Board of Directors has affirmatively determined that each of Karin Hirtler-Garvey, Lawrence Davanzo and Alan H. Rappaport meet the definition of “independent director” for purposes of serving on an audit committee under Rule 10A-3 and the NASDAQ rules. Each member of the Audit Committee is able to read and understand fundamental financial statements as required by the listing rules of the NASDAQ. Karin Hirtler-Garvey has been identified as an “audit committee financial expert” as that term is defined in the rules and regulations of the SEC.

In fulfilling its oversight responsibilities, the Audit Committee has reviewed and discussed with management the audited financial statements of the Company for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2020.

The Audit Committee has discussed with the Company’s independent auditors, Ernst & Young LLP, the matters required to be discussed by the applicable requirements of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board.

The Audit Committee has also received the written disclosures and letter from Ernst & Young LLP as required by the applicable requirements of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board regarding the independent accountant’s communications with the Audit Committee concerning independence, and has discussed with Ernst & Young LLP its independence.

Based on the review and discussions referred to above in this report, the Audit Committee recommended to the Board of Directors that the audited financial statements be included in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020 for filing with the SEC.

Submitted by the Audit Committee of the Board

of Directors:

Karin Hirtler-Garvey (Chairperson)

Lawrence Davanzo

Alan H. Rappaport

The information contained in this report shall not be deemed to be “soliciting material” or “filed” or incorporated by reference in future filings with the SEC, or subject to the liabilities of Section 18 of the Exchange Act, except to the extent that the Company specifically requests that the information be treated as soliciting material or specifically incorporates it by reference into a document filed under the Securities Act or the Exchange Act.

PROPOSAL 2: RATIFICATIONVOTE “FOR” THE APPROVAL OF THE APPOINTMENTAMENDMENT AND RESTATEMENT OF ERNST & YOUNG LLP FOR THE FISCAL YEAR ENDING DECEMBER 31, 2021COMPANY’S

AMENDED AND RESTATED CERTIFICATE OF INCORPORATION.
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Our Audit Committee, in accordance with its charter and authority delegated to it by the Board of Directors, has appointed the firm of Ernst & Young LLP to serve as our independent registered public accounting firm for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2021, and the Board of Directors has directed that such appointment be submitted to our stockholders for ratification at the Annual Meeting.

Ernst & Young LLP has served as the Company’s auditor since 2013 and is considered by our Audit Committee to be well qualified. Our organizational documents do not require that our stockholders ratify the selection of Ernst & Young LLP as our independent registered public accounting firm. We are doing so because we believe it is a matter of good corporate practice. If the stockholders do not ratify the appointment of Ernst & Young LLP, the Audit Committee will reconsider the appointment, but may still retain Ernst & Young LLP.

Representatives of Ernst & Young LLP will be present at the Annual Meeting and will have an opportunity to make a statement if they desire to do so. They also will be available to respond to appropriate questions from stockholders.

Recommendation of the Board of Directors

The Board of Directors and the Audit Committee recommend that you vote “FOR” the ratification of the appointment of Ernst & Young LLP as our independent registered public accounting firm for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2021.

Fees Paid to the Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm

Aggregate fees for professional services rendered for us by Ernst & Young LLP as of and for the fiscal years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019 are set forth below. The aggregate fees included in the “Audit fees” category are fees billed for the fiscal year for the audits of our annual financial statements, audits of statutory and regulatory filings, and quarterly reviews. The aggregate fees included in the Audit-related and Tax fees categories are fees for services performed in the fiscal years.

   Fiscal Year
2020
   Fiscal Year
2019
 

Audit fees

    $963,612     $1,200,660 

Audit-related fees

   90,750    75,050 

Tax fees

   33,784    61,057 
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total

    $    1,088,146     $    1,336,767 
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Audit fees for the fiscal years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019 include fees and expenses related to the annual audits of our consolidated financial statements and financial statements for our broker-dealer and foreign subsidiaries, reviews of quarterly consolidated financial statements, and services that are customarily provided in connection with statutory or regulatory filings.

Audit-related fees for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2020 and 2019 include fees for transfer agent annual internal control report services and foreign subsidiary XBRL services.

Tax fees for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2020 and 2019 include fees for foreign tax return compliance and consultations related to technical interpretations, applicable laws and regulations and tax accounting.

Policy on Audit Committee Pre-Approval of Audit and Non-Audit Services

The Audit Committee is required to pre-approve, or adopt appropriate procedures to pre-approve, all audit and non-audit services to be provided by the independent auditors. The Audit Committee will typically pre-approve specific types of audit, audit-related, tax and other services on an annual basis. All services not pre-approved annually are approved on an individual basis throughout the year as the need arises. The committee has delegated to its chairperson the authority to pre-approve independent auditor engagements between meetings of the committee. Any such pre-approvals will be reported to and ratified by the entire committee at its next regular meeting.

Following our IPO in February 2018, all audit, audit-related, tax and other services in fiscal 2019 and 2020 were pre-approved by the Audit Committee. In all cases, the committee concluded that the provision of such services by Ernst & Young LLP was compatible with the maintenance of Ernst & Young LLP’s independence.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

This proxy statement and our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2020 areis available at https://materials.proxyvote.com/92645B.www.proxyvote.com. Stockholders are directed to the 2020 Form 10-K for financial and other information about us. The 2020 Form 10-K is not part of this proxy statement.

We are required to file annual, quarterly and current reports, proxy statements and other reports with the SEC. Copies of these filings are available through the Investor Relations link on our website at www.vcm.com or the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov. We will furnish copies of our SEC filings (without exhibits), including this proxy statement, and our 2020 Form 10-K, without charge to any stockholder upon written or verbal request provided to us at Victory Capital Holdings, Inc., 15935 La Cantera Parkway, San Antonio, TX 78256, Attn: Investor Relations, telephone: (216) 898-2412, e-mail ir@vcm.com. email mdennis@vcm.com.

Additional information about the Company, including the charters of our standing committees, our Corporate Governance Guidelines and our Code of Business Conduct can be found under the Investor Relations link on our website at www.vcm.com. We will provide a printed copy of these documents to stockholders upon request.

Other Matters that May Come Before the AnnualSpecial Meeting

Our Board of Directors knows of no matters other than those stated in the accompanying Notice of AnnualSpecial Meeting of Stockholders that may properly come before the AnnualSpecial Meeting. However, if any other matter should be properly presented for consideration and voting at the AnnualSpecial Meeting or any adjournments thereof, it is the intention of the persons named as proxies on the enclosed form of proxy card to vote the shares represented by all valid proxy cards in accordance with their judgment of what is in the best interest of Victory.

We encourage you to read this proxy statement and submit your proxy or voting instructions as soon as possible. You may vote your shares by Internet or, if you received printed proxy materials, by mailing the completed proxy card. Please refer to the section “How do I vote?” for detailed voting instructions.

By Order of the Board of Directors,
LOGO

David C. Brown


Chairman of the Board of Directors and Chief
Executive Officer

San Antonio, Texas

April 7,

September 27, 2021

The 2020 Form 10-K, which includes audited consolidated financial statements, does not form any part of the material for the solicitation of proxies.

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ANNEX A
SECOND AMENDED AND RESTATED
CERTIFICATE OF INCORPORATION
OF
VICTORY CAPITAL HOLDINGS, INC.

15935 LA CANTERA PARKWAY

SAN ANTONIO,  TX  78256

VOTE BY INTERNET - www.proxyvote.com

UseVictory Capital Holdings, Inc., a corporation organized and existing under the InternetGeneral Corporation Law of the State of Delaware, does hereby certify as follows:

(1) The original Certificate of Incorporation of the Corporation was filed with the office of the Secretary of State of the State of Delaware on February 13, 2013 (the “Original Certificate”).
(2) The Original Certificate was amended and restated on February 9, 2018 (the “First Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation”)
(3) This Second Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation was duly adopted in accordance with Sections 228, 242 and 245 of the DGCL.
(4) This Second Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation restates and integrates and further amends the First Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation of the Corporation in its entirety.
(5) The text of the First Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation hereby is amended and restated in entirety as follows:
ARTICLE I.
NAME
The name of the corporation (the “Corporation”) is Victory Capital Holdings, Inc.
ARTICLE II.
REGISTERED OFFICE AND AGENT
The address of the registered office of the Corporation in the State of Delaware is Corporation Trust Center, 1209 Orange Street, City of Wilmington, County of New Castle, Delaware 19801. The name of its registered agent at such address is The Corporation Trust Company.
ARTICLE III.
PURPOSE
The purpose of the Corporation is to transmit yourengage in any lawful act or activity for which corporations may be organized under the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware (the “DGCL”), as the same exists or may hereafter be amended.
ARTICLE IV.
CAPITAL STOCK
I.
Authorized Capital
A. The total number of shares of all classes of capital stock which the Corporation shall have authority to issue is 610,000,000, which shall be divided into two classes as follows: 600,000,000 shares of common stock, par value $0.01 per share (“Common Stock”); and 10,000,000 shares of preferred stock, par value $0.01 per share (“Preferred Stock”).
B. Immediately upon the effectiveness (the “Effective Time”) of this Second Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation (as amended or modified from time to time, this “Second Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation”), each share of the Corporation’s Class B common stock, par value $0.01 per share, issued and outstanding or held as treasury stock immediately prior to the Effective Time, shall, automatically and without further action by any holder thereof, be reclassified as, and shall become, one share of Common Stock. Any stock certificate that immediately prior to the Effective Time represented shares of the Corporation’s

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Class B common stock shall from and after the Effective Time be deemed to represent shares of Common Stock, without the need for surrender or exchange thereof or, if such shares are uncertificated, the Corporation, or any transfer agent of the Corporation, shall register such shares in book-entry form.
C. Immediately upon the Effective Time of the Second Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation, each share of the Corporation’s Class A common stock, par value $0.01 per share, issued and outstanding or held as treasury stock immediately prior to the Effective Time, shall, automatically and without further action by any holder thereof, be reclassified, renamed and become one share of Common Stock. Any stock certificate that immediately prior to the Effective Time represented shares of the Corporation’s Class A common stock shall from and after the Effective Time be deemed to represent shares of Common Stock, without the need for surrender or exchange thereof or, if such shares are uncertificated, the Corporation, or any transfer agent of the Corporation, shall register such shares in book-entry form.
D. The number of authorized shares of any class of capital stock of the Corporation may be increased or decreased (but not below the number of shares thereof then outstanding) by the affirmative vote of the holders of a majority in voting instructionspower of the stock of the Corporation entitled to vote thereon irrespective of the provisions of Section 242(b)(2) of the DGCL (or any successor provision thereto), and no vote of the holders of such class voting separately as a class shall be required therefor, unless a vote of any such holder is required pursuant to this Second Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation (including any certificate of designation relating to any series of Preferred Stock). For the avoidance of doubt, all references to the number of shares outstanding in this Second Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation shall include shares of capital stock subject to time-vesting or other restrictions.
II.
Common Stock
A. Voting Rights. No stockholder entitled to vote at an election for directors may cumulate votes to which such stockholder is entitled. Each holder of Common Stock shall be entitled to one vote for each share of Common Stock held as of the applicable record date on any matter that is submitted to a vote or for the consent of the stockholders of the Corporation; provided, however, that, except as otherwise required by law, holders of Common Stock shall not be entitled to vote on any amendment to this Second Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation (including any certificate of designation relating to any series of Preferred Stock) that relates solely to the terms of one or more outstanding series of Preferred Stock if the holders of such affected series are entitled, either separately or together as a class with the holders of one or more other such series, to vote thereon pursuant to this Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation (including any certificate of designation relating to any series of Preferred Stock).
B. Dividends. Subject to the preferences applicable to any series of Preferred Stock, if any, outstanding at any time, the holders of the shares of Common Stock shall be entitled to share equally, on a per share basis, in such dividends and other distributions of cash, property or shares of stock of the Corporation as may be declared by the Board of Directors of the Corporation (the “Board of Directors”) from time to time with respect to the Common Stock out of assets or funds of the Corporation legally available therefor.
C. Liquidation. Subject to the preferences applicable to any series of Preferred Stock, if any, outstanding at any time, in the event of the voluntary or involuntary liquidation, dissolution, distribution of assets or winding up of the Corporation, after payment or provision for payment of the debts and other liabilities of the Corporation, the holders of the shares of Common Stock shall be entitled to receive all the remaining assets of the Corporation available for distribution to its stockholders, ratably in proportion to the number of shares of Common Stock held by them.
D. Definitions. For purposes of this Second Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation (except where specified sections of the Second Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation otherwise define such terms):
1. “Affiliate” shall mean, with respect to any Person, any other Person directly or indirectly controlling, controlled by or under common control with such Person; provided that no securityholder of the Corporation shall be deemed an Affiliate of any other securityholder solely by reason of any investment in the Corporation.
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2. “control” (including the terms “controlled by” and “under common control with”), as used with respect to any Person, shall mean the possession, directly or indirectly, of the power to direct or cause the direction of the management and policies of such Person, whether through the ownership of voting securities, by contract or otherwise.
3. “Crestview Entities” shall mean Crestview Victory, L.P. and the Crestview Funds and their respective Crestview Permitted Holders, other than any such Crestview Permitted Holder that receives shares of Common Stock pursuant to a Distribution in Kind.
4. “Crestview Funds” shall mean, collectively, Crestview Partners II, L.P., Crestview Partners II (FF), L.P., Crestview Partners II (TE), L.P., Crestview Offshore Holdings II (Cayman), L.P., Crestview Offshore Holdings II (FF Cayman), L.P. and Crestview Offshore Holdings II (892 Cayman), L.P.
5. “Crestview Permitted Holder” shall mean (A) any Crestview Fund, (B) any Affiliate or member of any Crestview Entity, (C) any general or limited partner of any Crestview Fund (a “Crestview Partner”), (D) any current or former general partner, limited partner, manager, director, officer or employee of any Crestview Fund or any Crestview Partner (collectively, “Crestview Associates”), (E) any heir, executor, administrator, testamentary trustee, legatee or beneficiary of any Crestview Partner or any Crestview Associate and (F) a trust, corporation, partnership or other entity substantially all of the economic interests of which are held by or for the benefit of the Crestview Funds, their Affiliates, any Crestview Partner, any Crestview Associate, their spouses or their children (whether by birth or adoption).
6. “Distribution in Kind” shall mean, directly or indirectly, any sale, assignment, transfer, conveyance, hypothecation, exchange, pledge, encumbrance, distribution, bequest, donation or other transfer or disposition by any Crestview Entity or RCP Entity, as applicable, of shares of Common Stock to any members, stockholders or partners of such Crestview Entity or RCP Entity, as applicable, by means of a distribution in respect of the shares of or equity interests in such Crestview Entity or RCP Entity, as applicable.
7. “Person” shall mean any individual, corporation, limited liability company, partnership, association, trust or other entity or organization, including a government or political subdivision or an agency or instrumentality thereof.
8. “RCP Entities” shall mean, collectively, RCP Lake Co-Invest, L.P., Reverence Capital Partners Opportunities Fund I, L.P., Reverence Capital Partners Opportunities Fund I (AI), L.P., Reverence Capital Partners Opportunities Fund I (Cayman), L.P. and any RCP Fund and their respective RCP Permitted Holders, other than any such RCP Permitted Holder that receives shares of Common Stock pursuant to a Distribution in Kind.
9. “RCP Fund” shall mean any private investment fund raised by Reverence Capital Partners, LLC after the date of adoption of this Second Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation that is focused on financial services investments, together with its parallel and related investment vehicles.
10. “RCP Permitted Holder” shall mean (A) any RCP Fund, (B) any Affiliate or member of any RCP Entity, (C) any general or limited partner of any RCP Fund (an “RCP Partner”), (D) any current or former general partner, limited partner, manager, director, officer or employee of any RCP Fund or any RCP Partner (collectively, “RCP Associates”), (E) any heir, executor, administrator, testamentary trustee, legatee or beneficiary of any RCP Partner or any RCP Associate and (F) a trust, corporation, partnership or other entity substantially all of the economic interests of which are held by or for the benefit of the RCP Funds, their Affiliates, any RCP Partner, any RCP Associate, their spouses or their children (whether by birth or adoption).
III.
Preferred Stock
A. Preferred Stock may be issued from time to time by the Corporation. The Board of Directors is hereby expressly authorized, by resolution or resolutions, to provide, out of the unissued shares of Preferred Stock, for one or more series of Preferred Stock and, with respect to each such series, to fix, without stockholder approval, the designation of such series, the powers (including voting powers), preferences and relative, participating, optional and other special rights, and the qualifications, limitations or restrictions thereof, of such series of Preferred Stock and the number of shares of such series, and as may be permitted by the DGCL. The powers,
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preferences and relative, participating, optional and other special rights of, and the qualifications, limitations or restrictions thereof, of each series of Preferred Stock, if any, may differ from those of any and all other series at any time outstanding.
B. Except as otherwise required by law, holders of any series of Preferred Stock shall be entitled to only such voting rights, if any, as shall expressly be granted thereto by this Second Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation (including any certificate of designation relating to such series of Preferred Stock).
ARTICLE V.
AMENDMENT OF THE SECOND AMENDED AND RESTATED CERTIFICATE OF
INCORPORATION AND BYLAWS
A. Amendment of Second Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation. The Corporation reserves the right to amend or repeal any provision contained in this Second Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation in any manner prescribed by the laws of the State of Delaware and all rights conferred upon stockholders are granted subject to this reservation.
B. Amendment of Bylaws. The Board of Directors is expressly authorized to make, repeal, alter, amend and rescind, in whole or in part, the amended and restated bylaws of the Corporation (as in effect from time to time, the “Bylaws”) without the consent or vote of the stockholders in any manner not inconsistent with the laws of the State of Delaware or this Second Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation. The affirmative vote of the holders of a majority of the voting power of the outstanding shares of stock of the Corporation entitled to vote thereon, voting together as a single class, shall be required to alter, amend, repeal or rescind, in whole or in part, any provision of the Bylaws or to adopt any provision inconsistent therewith.
ARTICLE VI.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
A. Except as otherwise provided in this Second Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation or the DGCL, the business and affairs of the Corporation shall be managed by or under the direction of the Board of Directors. Subject to the rights of the holders of any series of Preferred Stock then outstanding to elect additional directors under specified circumstances, the total number of directors shall be determined from time to time exclusively by the Board of Directors. The directors (other than those directors elected by the holders of any series of Preferred Stock, voting separately as a series or together with one or more other such series, as the case may be) shall be divided into three classes designated Class I, Class II and Class III. Each class shall consist, as nearly as practicable, of one-third of the total number of such directors. Class I directors shall initially serve for a term expiring at the first annual meeting of stockholders following the date the Common Stock is first publicly traded (the “IPO Date”), Class II directors shall initially serve for a term expiring at the second annual meeting of stockholders following the IPO Date and Class III directors shall initially serve for a term expiring at the third annual meeting of stockholders following the IPO Date. At each succeeding annual meeting, successors to the class of directors whose term expires at that annual meeting shall be elected for a term expiring at the third succeeding annual meeting of stockholders. If the number of such directors is changed, any increase or decrease shall be apportioned among the classes so as to maintain the number of directors in each class as nearly equal as practicable, and any such additional director of any class elected to fill a newly created directorship resulting from an increase in such class shall hold office for a term that shall coincide with the remaining term of that class, but in no case shall a decrease in the number of directors remove or shorten the term of any incumbent director. Any such director shall hold office until the annual meeting at which his or her term expires and until his or her successor shall be elected and qualified, or his or her death, resignation, disqualification or removal from office. The Board of Directors is authorized to assign members of the Board of Directors already in office to their respective class.
B. Subject to the rights granted to the holders of any one or more series of Preferred Stock then outstanding, any newly created directorship on the Board of Directors that results from an increase in the number of directors and any vacancy occurring in the Board of Directors (whether by death, resignation, disqualification, removal or other cause) shall be filled, unless otherwise required by law or by the Board of Directors, by a majority vote of the directors then in office, even if less than a quorum, or by a sole remaining director. Any director elected to fill a vacancy or newly created directorship shall hold office until the next election of the class for which such director shall have been chosen and until his or her successor shall be elected and qualified, or until his or her earlier death, resignation, disqualification or removal.
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C. Any or all of the directors (other than the directors elected by the holders of any series of Preferred Stock of the Corporation, voting separately as a series or together with one or more other such series, as the case may be) may be removed at any time only for cause and only by the affirmative vote of a majority in voting power of all outstanding shares of stock of the Corporation entitled to vote thereon, voting as a single class.
D. Elections of directors need not be by written ballot unless the Bylaws shall so provide.
ARTICLE VII.
LIMITATION OF DIRECTOR LIABILITY AND INDEMNIFICATION
A. To the fullest extent permitted by the DGCL as it now exists or may hereafter be amended, a director of the Corporation shall not be personally liable to the Corporation or its stockholders for monetary damages for breach of fiduciary duty owed to the Corporation or its stockholders.
B. Neither the amendment nor repeal of this Article VII, nor the adoption of any provision of this Second Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation, nor, to the fullest extent permitted by the DGCL, any modification of law shall eliminate, reduce or otherwise adversely affect any right or protection of a current or former director of the Corporation existing at the time of such amendment, repeal, adoption or modification.
ARTICLE VIII.
CONSENT OF STOCKHOLDERS IN LIEU OF MEETING; ANNUAL AND SPECIAL MEETINGS OF STOCKHOLDERS
A. For as long as the Crestview Entities beneficially own, in the aggregate, more than 50% of the voting power of the outstanding shares of stock of the Corporation, any action required or permitted to be taken at any annual or special meeting of stockholders of the Corporation may be taken without a meeting, without prior notice and without a vote, if a consent or consents in writing, setting forth the action so taken, shall be signed by the holders of outstanding stock having not less than the minimum number of votes that would be necessary to authorize or take such action at a meeting at which all shares entitled to vote thereon were present and voted and shall be delivered to the Corporation in the manner required by law. Delivery made to the Corporation’s registered office shall be made by hand, overnight courier or by certified or registered mail, return receipt requested. Once the Crestview Entities beneficially own, in the aggregate, 50% or less of the voting power of the outstanding shares of stock of the Corporation, any action required or permitted to be taken by the stockholders of the Corporation must be effected at a duly called annual or special meeting of such holders and may not be effected by any consent in writing by such holders; provided, however, that any action required or permitted to be taken by the holders of Preferred Stock, voting separately as a series or separately as a class with one or more other such series, may be taken without a meeting, without prior notice and without a vote, to the extent expressly so provided by the applicable certificate of designation relating to such series of Preferred Stock.
B. Except as otherwise required by law and subject to the rights of the holders of any series of Preferred Stock outstanding, special meetings of the stockholders of the Corporation for any purpose or purposes may be called at any time only by or at the direction of the Board of Directors pursuant to a resolution adopted by the Board of Directors, the Chairman of the Board of Directors or the Chief Executive Officer of the Corporation; provided, however, that for as long as Crestview Entities hold, in the aggregate, more than 50% of the voting power of the outstanding shares of stock of the Corporation, special meetings of the stockholders of the Corporation for any purpose or purposes shall also be called by or at the direction of the Board of Directors or the Chairman of the Board of Directors at the request of the holders of shares of stock of the Corporation entitled to cast a majority of votes entitled to be cast at the meeting.
C. An annual meeting of stockholders for the election of directors to succeed those whose terms expire and for electronic deliverythe transaction of information. Votesuch other business as may properly come before the meeting, shall be held at such place, if any, on such date, and at such time as shall be fixed exclusively by, 11:59 P.M. ET on 05/17/2021or in the manner determined by, the Board of Directors.
D. A majority of the total number of authorized directors shall constitute a quorum at any meeting of the Board of Directors, and, except as otherwise expressly required by law or by this Second Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation, all matters shall be determined by the affirmative vote of a majority of the directors present at any meeting at which a quorum is present.
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E. Advance notice of stockholder nominations for the election of directors and of business to be brought by stockholders before any meeting of the stockholders of the Corporation shall be given in the manner provided in the bylaws of the Corporation.
ARTICLE IX.
COMPETITION AND CORPORATE OPPORTUNITIES
A. In recognition and anticipation that certain directors, principals, members, officers, associated funds, employees and/or other representatives of the Crestview Entities or the RCP Entities and their respective Affiliates may serve as directors, officers or agents of the Corporation, the Crestview Entities, the RCP Entities and their respective Affiliates may now engage and may continue to engage in the same or similar activities or related lines of business as those in which the Corporation, directly or indirectly, may engage and/or other business activities that overlap with or compete with those in which the Corporation, directly or indirectly, may engage, the provisions of this Article IX are set forth to regulate and define the conduct of certain affairs of the Corporation with respect to certain classes or categories of business opportunities as they may involve any of the Crestview Entities, the RCP Entities or their respective Affiliates and the powers, rights, duties and liabilities of the Corporation and its directors, officers and stockholders in connection therewith.
B. None of (i) the Crestview Entities or any of their respective Affiliates or (ii) the RCP Entities or any of their respective Affiliates (the Persons identified in (i) and (ii) above being referred to, collectively, as “Identified Persons” and, individually, as an “Identified Person”) shall, to the fullest extent permitted by law, have any duty to refrain from directly or indirectly (1) engaging in the same or similar business activities or lines of business in which the Corporation or any of its Affiliates now engages or proposes to engage or (2) otherwise competing with the Corporation or any of its Affiliates, and, to the fullest extent permitted by law, no Identified Person shall be liable to the Corporation or its stockholders or to any Affiliate of the Corporation for breach of any fiduciary duty solely by reason of the fact that such Identified Person engages in any such activities. To the fullest extent permitted by law, the Corporation hereby renounces any interest or expectancy in, or right to be offered an opportunity to participate in, any business opportunity which may be a corporate opportunity for an Identified Person and the Corporation or any of its Affiliates, except as provided in Section D of this Article IX. Subject to said Section D of this Article IX, in the event that any Identified Person acquires knowledge of a potential transaction or other matter or business opportunity which may be a corporate opportunity for itself, herself or himself and the Corporation or any of its Affiliates, such Identified Person shall, to the fullest extent permitted by law, have no fiduciary duty or other duty (contractual or otherwise) to communicate, present or offer such transaction or other business opportunity to the Corporation or any of its Affiliates and, to the fullest extent permitted by law, shall not be liable to the Corporation or its stockholders or to any Affiliate of the Corporation for breach of any fiduciary duty or other duty (contractual or otherwise) as a stockholder, director or officer of the Corporation solely by reason of the fact that such Identified Person pursues or acquires such corporate opportunity for itself, herself or himself, offers or directs such corporate opportunity to another Person, or does not present such corporate opportunity to the Corporation or any of its Affiliates.
C. In addition to and notwithstanding the foregoing provisions of this Article IX, a corporate opportunity shall not be deemed to be a potential corporate opportunity for the Corporation if it is a business opportunity that (i) the Corporation and its subsidiaries, taken as a whole, are neither financially or legally able, nor contractually permitted, to undertake, (ii) from its nature, is not in the line of the Corporation’s or its subsidiaries’ businesses or is of no practical advantage to the Corporation or its subsidiaries or (iii) is one in which neither the Corporation nor its subsidiaries has any interest or reasonable expectancy.
D. The Corporation does not renounce its interest in any corporate opportunity offered to any Person if such opportunity is expressly offered to such Person solely in his or her capacity as a director or officer of the Corporation.
E. To the fullest extent permitted by law, any Person purchasing or otherwise acquiring any interest in any shares of capital stock of the Corporation shall be deemed to have notice of and to have consented to the provisions of this Article IX. Neither the alteration, amendment, addition to or repeal of this Article IX, nor the adoption of any provision of this Second Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation (including any certificate of designation relating to any series of Preferred Stock) inconsistent with this Article IX, shall eliminate or reduce the effect of this Article IX in respect of any business opportunity first identified or any other matter occurring, or any cause of action, suit or claim that, but for this Article IX, would accrue or arise, prior to such alteration, amendment, addition, repeal or adoption.
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F. For purposes of this Article IX, “Affiliate” shall mean (a) in respect of any Crestview Entity, any Person that directly or indirectly is controlled by such Crestview Entity, controls such Crestview Entity or is under common control with such Crestview Entity and shall include any Crestview Partner or Crestview Associate, (b) in respect of any RCP Entity, any Person that directly or indirectly is controlled by such RCP Entity, controls such RCP Entity or is under common control with such RCP Entity and shall include any RCP Partner or RCP Associate and (c) in respect of the Corporation, any Person that, directly or indirectly, is controlled by the Corporation.
ARTICLE X.
DGCL SECTION 203 AND BUSINESS COMBINATIONS
A. The Corporation hereby expressly elects not to be governed by Section 203 of the DGCL.
B. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Corporation shall not engage in any business combination (as defined below), at any point in time at which the Corporation’s Common Stock is registered under Section 12(b) or 12(g) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), with any interested stockholder (as defined below) for a period of three (3) years following the time that such stockholder became an interested stockholder, unless:
1. Prior to such time, the Board of Directors approved either the business combination or the transaction which resulted in the stockholder becoming an interested stockholder;
2. Upon consummation of the transaction which resulted in the stockholder becoming an interested stockholder, the interested stockholder owned at least 85% of the voting stock (as defined below) of the Corporation outstanding at the time the transaction commenced, excluding for purposes of determining the voting stock outstanding (but not the outstanding voting stock owned by the interested stockholder) those shares owned (i) by Persons who are directors and also officers and (ii) employee stock plans in which employee participants do not have the right to determine confidentially whether shares held directly and by 11:59 P.M. ET on 05/12/2021 for shares heldsubject to the plan will be tendered in a Plan. Have yourtender or exchange offer; or
3. At or subsequent to such time, the business combination is approved by the Board of Directors and authorized at an annual or special meeting of stockholders, and not by written consent, by the affirmative vote of at least 66 2⁄3% of the outstanding voting stock of the Corporation which is not owned by the interested stockholder.
C. For purposes of this Article X:
1. “Affiliate” shall mean a Person that directly, or indirectly through one or more intermediaries, controls, or is controlled by, or is under common control with, another Person.
2. “associate,” when used to indicate a relationship with any Person, shall mean: (a) any corporation, partnership, unincorporated association or other entity of which such Person is a director, officer or partner or is, directly or indirectly, the owner of 20% or more of any class of voting stock; (b) any trust or other estate in which such Person has at least a 20% beneficial interest or as to which such Person serves as trustee or in a similar fiduciary capacity; and (c) any relative or spouse of such Person, or any relative of such spouse, who has the same residence as such Person.
3. “business combination,” when used in reference to the Corporation and any interested stockholder of the Corporation, shall mean:
(a) any merger or consolidation of the Corporation or any direct or indirect majority-owned subsidiary of the Corporation (i) with the interested stockholder, or (ii) with any other corporation, partnership, unincorporated association or other entity if the merger or consolidation is caused by the interested stockholder and as a result of such merger or consolidation Section B of this Article X is not applicable to the surviving entity;
(b) any sale, lease, exchange, mortgage, pledge, transfer or other disposition (in one transaction or a series of transactions), except proportionately as a stockholder of the Corporation, to or with the interested stockholder, whether as part of a dissolution or otherwise, of assets of the Corporation or
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of any direct or indirect majority-owned subsidiary of the Corporation which assets have an aggregate market value equal to 10% or more of either the aggregate market value of all the assets of the Corporation determined on a consolidated basis or the aggregate market value of all the outstanding stock of the Corporation;
(c) any transaction which results in the issuance or transfer by the Corporation or by any direct or indirect majority-owned subsidiary of the Corporation of any stock of the Corporation or of such subsidiary to the interested stockholder, except: (i) pursuant to the exercise, exchange or conversion of securities exercisable for, exchangeable for or convertible into stock of the Corporation or any such subsidiary which securities were outstanding prior to the time that the interested stockholder became such; (ii) pursuant to a merger under Section 251(g) of the DGCL; (iii) pursuant to a dividend or distribution paid or made, or the exercise, exchange or conversion of securities exercisable for, exchangeable for or convertible into stock of the Corporation or any such subsidiary which security is distributed pro rata to all holders of a class or series of stock of the Corporation subsequent to the time the interested stockholder became such; (iv) pursuant to an exchange offer by the Corporation to purchase stock made on the same terms to all holders of said stock; or (v) any issuance or transfer of stock by the Corporation; provided, however, that in no case under items (iii)-(v) of this subsection (c) shall there be an increase in the interested stockholder’s proportionate share of the stock of any class or series of the Corporation or of the voting stock of the Corporation (except as a result of immaterial changes due to fractional share adjustments);
(d) any transaction involving the Corporation or any direct or indirect majority-owned subsidiary of the Corporation which has the effect, directly or indirectly, of increasing the proportionate share of the stock of any class or series, or securities convertible into the stock of any class or series, of the Corporation or of any such subsidiary which is owned by the interested stockholder, except as a result of immaterial changes due to fractional share adjustments or as a result of any purchase or redemption of any shares of stock not caused, directly or indirectly, by the interested stockholder; or
(e) any receipt by the interested stockholder of the benefit, directly or indirectly (except proportionately as a stockholder of the Corporation), of any loans, advances, guarantees, pledges, or other financial benefits (other than those expressly permitted in subsections (a)–(d) above) provided by or through the Corporation or any direct or indirect majority-owned subsidiary.
4. “control,” including the terms “controlling,” “controlled by” and “under common control with,” shall mean the possession, directly or indirectly, of the power to direct or cause the direction of the management and policies of a Person, whether through the ownership of voting stock, by contract or otherwise. A Person who is the owner of 20% or more of the outstanding voting stock of the Corporation, partnership, unincorporated association or other entity shall be presumed to have control of such entity, in the absence of proof by a preponderance of the evidence to the contrary. Notwithstanding the foregoing, a presumption of control shall not apply where such Person holds voting stock, in good faith and not for the purpose of circumventing this Article X, as an agent, bank, broker, nominee, custodian or trustee for one or more owners who do not individually or as a group have control of such entity.
5. “Crestview Transferee” shall mean any Person that acquires (other than in a registered public offering or through a broker’s transaction executed on any securities exchange or other over-the-counter market) directly from the Crestview Entities or any of their respective Affiliates or successors beneficial ownership of 5% or more of the outstanding voting stock of the Corporation. For the purposes of this Second Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation, beneficial ownership of shares shall be determined in accordance with Rule 13d-3 promulgated under the Exchange Act.
6. “interested stockholder” shall mean any person (other than the Corporation or any direct or indirect majority-owned subsidiary of the Corporation) that (a) is the owner of 15% or more of the outstanding voting stock of the Corporation, or (b) is an affiliate or associate of the Corporation and was the owner of 15% or more of the outstanding voting stock of the Corporation at any time within the three (3) year period immediately prior to the date on which it is sought to be determined whether such person is an interested stockholder, and the affiliates and associates of such person; provided, however, that “interested stockholder” shall not include or be deemed to include, in any case, (i) any Crestview Entity,
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any Crestview Transferee or any of their respective Affiliates or successors, or (ii) any Person whose ownership of shares in excess of the 15% limitation set forth herein is the result of any action taken solely by the Corporation, provided further that such Person shall be an interested stockholder if thereafter such Person acquires additional shares of voting stock of the Corporation, except as a result of further corporate action not caused, directly or indirectly, by such Person. For the purpose of determining whether a Person is an interested stockholder, the voting stock of the Corporation deemed to be outstanding shall include stock deemed to be owned by the Person through application of the definition of “owner” below but shall not include any other unissued stock of the Corporation which may be issuable pursuant to any agreement, arrangement or understanding, or upon exercise of conversion rights, warrants or options, or otherwise.
7. “owner,” including the correlative terms “own” and “owned,” when used with respect to any stock, shall mean a Person that individually or with or through any of its Affiliates or associates:
(a) beneficially owns such stock, directly or indirectly; or
(b) has (i) the right to acquire such stock (whether such right is exercisable immediately or only after the passage of time) pursuant to any agreement, arrangement or understanding, or upon the exercise of conversion rights, exchange rights, warrants or options, or otherwise; provided, however, that a Person shall not be deemed the owner of stock tendered pursuant to a tender or exchange offer made by such Person or any of such Person’s affiliates or associates until such tendered stock is accepted for purchase or exchange; or (ii) the right to vote such stock pursuant to any agreement, arrangement or understanding; provided, however, that a Person shall not be deemed the owner of any stock because of such Person’s right to vote such stock if the agreement, arrangement or understanding to vote such stock arises solely from a revocable proxy cardor consent given in hand when you accessresponse to a proxy or consent solicitation made to ten or more Persons; or
(c) has any agreement, arrangement or understanding for the web sitepurpose of acquiring, holding, voting (except voting pursuant to a revocable proxy or consent as described in item (ii) of subsection (b) above), or disposing of such stock with any other Person that beneficially owns, or whose Affiliates or associates beneficially own, directly or indirectly, such stock.
8. “Person” shall mean any individual, corporation, partnership, unincorporated association or other entity.
9. “stock” shall mean, with respect to any corporation, capital stock and, followwith respect to any other entity, any equity interest.
10. “voting stock” shall mean stock of any class or series entitled to vote generally in the instructionselection of directors.
ARTICLE XI.
MISCELLANEOUS
A. If any provision or provisions of this Second Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation shall be held to obtain your recordsbe invalid, illegal or unenforceable as applied to any circumstance for any reason whatsoever: (1) the validity, legality and enforceability of such provisions in any other circumstance and of the remaining provisions of this Second Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation (including, without limitation, each portion of any paragraph of this Second Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation containing any such provision held to create an electronic voting instruction form.

During The Meeting - Go to www.virtualshareholdermeeting.com/VCTR2021

You may attend the meeting via the Internet and vote during the meeting. Have the informationbe invalid, illegal or unenforceable that is printednot itself held to be invalid, illegal or unenforceable) shall not in any way be affected or impaired thereby and (2) to the fullest extent possible, the provisions of this Second Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation (including, without limitation, each such portion of any paragraph of this Second Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation containing any such provision held to be invalid, illegal or unenforceable) shall be construed for the benefit of the Corporation to the fullest extent permitted by law.

B. When the terms of this Second Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation refer to a specific agreement or other document or a decision by any body or Person that determines the meaning or operation of a provision hereof, the Corporation shall maintain a copy of such agreement, document or decision at the principal executive offices of the Corporation and a copy thereof shall be provided free of charge to any stockholder who makes a request therefor.
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C. Unless the Corporation consents in writing to the selection of an alternative forum, the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware shall, to the fullest extent permitted by law, be the sole and exclusive forum for (1) any derivative action or proceeding brought on behalf of the Corporation, (2) any action asserting a claim of breach of a fiduciary duty owed by any director, officer, employee or stockholder of the Corporation to the Corporation or the Corporation’s stockholders or creditors, (3) any action asserting a claim against the Corporation or any director, officer, employee or stockholder of the Corporation arising pursuant to any provision of the DGCL or this Second Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation or the Bylaws (as either may be amended and/or restated from time to time) or as to which the DGCL confers jurisdiction on the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware, or (4) any action asserting a claim against the Corporation or any director, officer, employee or stockholder of the Corporation governed by the internal affairs doctrine; provided that, if and only if the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware dismisses any action for lack of subject matter jurisdiction, such action may be brought in another state court sitting in the box markedState of Delaware. To the fullest extent permitted by law, any person or entity purchasing or otherwise acquiring or holding any interest in shares of capital stock of the arrow availableCorporation shall be deemed to have notice of and followconsented to the instructions.provisions of this Section C of Article XI.
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VOTE BY PHONE - 1-800-690-6903

Use any touch-tone telephone

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, Victory Capital Holdings, Inc. has caused this Second Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation to transmit your voting instructions. Votebe executed by 11:59 P.M. ETits duly authorized officer on 05/17/2021 for shares held directly and by 11:59 P.M. ET on 05/12/2021 for shares held in a Plan. Have your proxy card in hand when you call and then follow the instructions.

VOTE BY MAIL

Mark, sign and date your proxy card and return it in the postage-paid envelope we have provided or return it to Vote Processing, c/o Broadridge, 51 Mercedes Way, Edgewood, NY 11717.

this
day of , 2021.

TO VOTE, MARK BLOCKS BELOW IN BLUE OR BLACK INK AS FOLLOWS:

KEEP THIS PORTION FOR YOUR RECORDS

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THIS   PROXY   CARD   IS   VALID   ONLY   WHEN   SIGNED   AND   DATED.

        DETACH AND RETURN THIS PORTION ONLY

The Board of Directors recommends you vote FOR the following:
1.Election of three Class III Directors
Nominees
  For  AgainstAbstain
1a.Milton R. Berlinski    ☐    ☐
1b.David C. Brown    ☐    ☐
1c.Richard M. DeMartini    ☐    ☐
The Board of Directors recommends you vote FOR the following proposal:ForAgainstAbstain
2.The ratification of the appointment of Ernst & Young LLP as our independent registered public accounting firm for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2021.    ☐    ☐
NOTE:  Such other business as may properly come before the meeting or any adjournment thereof.

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Please sign exactly as your name(s) appear(s) hereon. When signing as attorney, executor, administrator, or other fiduciary, please give full title as such. Joint owners should each sign personally. All holders must sign. If a corporation or partnership, please sign in full corporate or partnership name by authorized officer.

Signature [PLEASE SIGN WITHIN BOX]        DateSignature (Joint Owners)Date


Important Notice Regarding the Availability of Proxy Materials for the Annual Meeting:

The Notice & Proxy Statement and Form 10-K are available at www.proxyvote.com

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VICTORY CAPITAL HOLDINGS, INC.

Annual Meeting of Shareholders

May 18, 2021 8:00 A.M. ET

This proxy is solicited by the Board of Directors

The undersigned hereby appoints, with full power of substitution to each MICHAEL D. POLICARPO and NINA GUPTA, the power as proxy to vote all the shares of Common Stock which the undersigned would be entitled to vote if personally present and acting at the Annual Meeting of Shareholders of Victory Capital Holdings, Inc. to be held on May 18, 2021, at 8:00 A.M. ET virtually at www.virtualshareholdermeeting.com/VCTR2021 and any adjournments or postponements thereof.

This proxy, when properly executed, will be voted in the manner directed herein. If no such direction is made, this proxy will be voted in accordance with the Board of Directors’ recommendations.

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By:

Continued and to be signed on reverse side

Name:
Title:
[Signature Page to Second Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation of Victory Capital Holdings, Inc.]
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TABLE OF CONTENTS



TABLE OF CONTENTS