Stockholders' Equity - Earnings per share (Details) - USD ($) $ / shares in Units, $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 2019	Mar. 31, 2018
Components of basic and diluted earnings per share
Net income attributable to Waddell & Reed Financial, Inc.	$ 32,053	$ 46,337
Weighted average shares outstanding - basic and diluted	76,299,000	83,111,000
Earnings per share:
Earnings per share, basic and diluted (in dollars per share)	$ 0.42	$ 0.56
Dividends
Dividends declared (in dollars per share)	$ 0.25	$ 0.25
Dividends to be paid	$ 18,800
Common stock repurchases
Shares repurchased in the open market or privately	2,226,325	996,309
Shares repurchased from employees to cover income tax withholdings	149,073	121,309

Aggregate dividends declared during the period for each share of common stock outstanding.

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