U.S. Value Equity Team

The Pillars of Our Culture

Four pillars set the foundation for the U.S. value equity team’s investment process—and align with our larger purpose of delivering strong client results.

The term “team” is fundamental to who we are. Our deep collaboration aligns individual priorities with the goals of the group.

We see our analysts as our greatest asset, which is why we strive to create a workplace where analysts are free to do their best work.

We are tireless in our pursuit of long-term results for investors. We believe that if you want to find opportunities that many overlook, you need to do the work that few will.

We consider it an honor to be able to do the work we do, and we find our successes deeply satisfying, knowing the positive impact we have made in the lives of others.

What Differentitates Our
U.S. Value Equity Team

Quality Fundamental Focus

WHAT WE BELIEVE

We believe that pricing inefficiencies exist in small- and mid-cap stocks such that quality companies can temporarily trade below their intrinsic value. This valuation discrepancy tends to be rationalized over time. By maintaining a strong valuation discipline, with a strict focus on quality companies, we believe we are rewarded for our stock selection, conviction, and patience.

Strong investment timing has been a key factor to our success. Our focus is to nimbly identify profitable entry and exit points of quality companies.

WHY THIS MATTERS

Research has shown that historically, small- and mid-cap value stocks have been among the best-performing asset classes over time.

Both value and small- and mid-cap company risk premiums have amply rewarded investors over the long term. Our view is that most investors can benefit from the attractive long-term capital appreciation potential that a strategic allocation to small- and mid-cap value equities has offered. We believe that investors are well served and can improve their long-term prospects by investing with an active manager in this space.

SEE WILLIAM BLAIR’S U.S. VALUE EQUITY STRATEGIES

Team-First Mindset

Keeping Culture
Healthy

Many portfolio managers want to be superstars, but I couldn’t care less about that. My goal is to dedicate time and resources to encourage and support all colleagues in pursuit of long-term results for investors.

Bill Heaphy, CFA
HEAD OF U.S. VALUE EQUITY TEAM

Our Organizational Culture

We believe our backgrounds are a key element of our success. Our clients’ success and our own success are inextricably linked with our experiences.

LOW EGOS, FROM TOP TO BOTTOM

When you’re as focused on the process as we are, I don’t think that leaves a lot of time left over to develop an ego. Everyone here is rowing the boat in the same direction.

Jack Sequerth
ASSOCIATE PORTFOLIO SPECIALIST,
U.S. VALUE EQUITY TEAM

There’s a lot of mutual respect among our team members that in my past experience you don’t always see on investment teams.

Matt Fleming, CFA
PORTFOLIO MANAGER AND RESEARCH ANALYST, U.S. VALUE EQUITY TEAM

I think the best companies allow bad
news to come to the top. You benefit
from knowing you can make some
mistakes, and learn from them.

Gary J. Merwitz
DIRECTOR OF RESEARCH, RESEARCH ANALYST, AND PORTFOLIO MANAGER,
U.S. VALUE EQUITY TEAM

We’re all in it together, trying to help each other out. Everybody’s door is open; you can always go in, talk, and collaborate.

Craig Miller, CFA
TRADER, U.S. VALUE EQUITY TEAM

Personal Accountability,
Shared Responsibility

When an investment doesn’t perform as expected, everyone says, ‘Hey, you didn’t put it in the portfolio. We did.’ That encourages you to take more appropriate risks.

Jamie Shurtleff, CFA

RESEARCH ANALYST, U.S. VALUE EQUITY TEAM

Unwavering Rigor

Pattern Recognition

If you ask me why we have been successful, I’d say a huge piece of it is just our team’s collective knowledge and history. We’ve met a lot of management teams. We’ve seen a lot of patterns.

Matt Fleming, CFA
PORTFOLIO MANAGER AND RESEARCH ANALYST, U.S. VALUE EQUITY TEAM

Emphasis on Downside Protection

For long-term performance, we believe upside opportunity must be tempered with careful capital preservation. We don’t choose companies simply because they’re cheap relative to historical prices; we use a strong quality discipline when selecting companies and determining entry/exit points, seeking to limit downside.

We don’t need home runs. We want to avoid strikeouts. So we look for a lot of singles and doubles.

Josh Overholt, CFA

RESEARCH ANALYST, U.S. VALUE EQUITY TEAM
REPEATABLE METHODOLOGY

Our standard valuation assessment is not about the output; it’s designed to create an objective starting point that prompts a team dialogue around where the company is in its lifecycle.

Bill Heaphy, CFA
HEAD OF U.S. VALUE EQUITY TEAM

Intersection of Quality and Value

Our focus on quality companies—combined with our strong valuation discipline—seeks to provide consistent upside capture and downside protection across market cycles.

Some people just like to buy cheap stocks. That’s not us. We have a quality overlay. We’re trying to find what we believe are good or great companies at good or great prices.

Matt Fleming, CFA

PORTFOLIO MANAGER AND RESEARCH ANALYST, U.S. VALUE EQUITY TEAM
METICULOUS CONTRARIANS

I’m a value person in pretty much everything I do. I love to find stuff that other people don’t find. I love to find great deals. If I can find an attractively valued company and I believe the consensus is underestimating its earning potential, that’s a great angle for me. And if that plays out, it’s very rewarding.

Gary J. Merwitz
DIRECTOR OF RESEARCH, RESEARCH ANALYST, AND PORTFOLIO MANAGER, U.S. VALUE EQUITY TEAM

Principled Professionalism

The Value of Stewardship

Our proudest moments are sitting beside a client that has been
invested in our strategies for more than three decades, which to us
is a testament to the outcomes we’ve delivered.

Greg J. Czarnecki
PORTFOLIO SPECIALIST, U.S. VALUE EQUITY TEAM

A FOCUS ON  CLIENTS

I’m motivated by the goal of delivering good returns for clients, and that trickles down to everything we do.

Bill Heaphy, CFA
HEAD OF U.S. VALUE EQUITY TEAM

We consider it an honor to be able to do the fascinating, challenging work we do on behalf of our clients.

Andrew Pinheiro
RESEARCH ANALYST, U.S. VALUE EQUITY TEAM

Thinking about the strong results that we try to produce and how that impacts the lives of our clients is very motivating.

Jamie Shurtleff, CFA
RESEARCH ANALYST, U.S. VALUE EQUITY TEAM

Some people think value investing is an intellectual exercise. Not us. We never lose sight of the fact that we’re stewards of our clients’ capital. It’s a real calling for us.

Dave Brenia
RESEARCH ANALYST, U.S. VALUE EQUITY TEAM

U.S. Value Equity Team

The Pillars of Our Culture

Four pillars set the foundation for the U.S. value equity team’s investment process—and align with our larger purpose of delivering strong client results.

1. Team First Mindset

The term “team” is fundamental to who we are. Our deep collaboration aligns individual priorities with the goals of the group.

2. Analyst-Driven Environment

We see our analysts as our greatest asset, which is why we strive to create a workplace where analysts are free to do their best work.

3. Unwavering Rigor

We are tireless in our pursuit of long-term results for investors. We believe that if you want to find opportunities that many overlook, you need to do the work that few will.

4. Principled Professionalism

We consider it an honor to be able to do the work we do, and we find our successes deeply satisfying, knowing the positive impact we have made in the lives of others.

What Differentitates
Our U.S. Value Equity Team

Quality Fundamental Focus
WHAT WE BELIEVE

We believe that pricing inefficiencies exist in small- and mid-cap stocks such that quality companies can temporarily trade below their intrinsic value. This valuation discrepancy tends to be rationalized over time. By maintaining a strong valuation discipline, with a strict focus on quality companies, we believe we are rewarded for our stock selection, conviction, and patience.

Strong investment timing has been a key factor to our success. Our focus is to nimbly identify profitable entry and exit points of quality companies.

    WHY THIS MATTERS

    Research has shown that historically, small- and mid-cap value stocks have been among the best-performing asset classes over time.

    Both value and small- and mid-cap company risk premiums have amply rewarded investors over the long term. Our view is that most investors can benefit from the attractive long-term capital appreciation potential that a strategic allocation to small- and mid-cap value equities has offered. We believe that investors are well served and can improve their long-term prospects by investing with an active manager in this space.

    SEE WILLIAM BLAIR’S U.S. VALUE EQUITY STRATEGIES

    Team-First Mindset

    Keeping Culture Healthy

    Many portfolio managers want to be superstars, but I couldn’t care less about that. My goal is to dedicate time and resources to encourage and support all colleagues in pursuit of long-term results for investors.

    Bill Heaphy, CFA

    HEAD OF U.S. VALUE EQUITY TEAM

    Our Organizational Culture

    We believe our backgrounds are a key element of our success. Our clients’ success and our own success are inextricably linked with our experiences.


    PLAY VIDEO

    Collaborative Debate

    00:56
    Greg Czarnecki, a portfolio specialist on the U.S. value equity team, discusses how his team values both individual experience and team dynamics.

    LOW EGOS, FROM TOP TO BOTTOM

    When you’re as focused on the process as we are, I don’t think that leaves a lot of time left over to develop an ego. Everyone here is rowing the boat in the same direction.

    Jack Sequerth
    ASSOCIATE PORTFOLIO SPECIALIST,
    U.S. VALUE EQUITY TEAM

    There’s a lot of mutual respect among our team members that in my past experience you don’t always see on investment teams.

    Matt Fleming, CFA
    PORTFOLIO MANAGER AND RESEARCH ANALYST, U.S. VALUE EQUITY TEAM

    We’re all in it together, trying to help each other out. Everybody’s door is open; you can always go in, talk, and collaborate.

    Craig Miller, CFA
    TRADER, U.S. VALUE EQUITY TEAM

    I think the best companies allow bad news to come to the top. You benefit from knowing you can make some mistakes, and learn from them.

    Gary J. Merwitz
    DIRECTOR OF RESEARCH, RESEARCH ANALYST, AND PORTFOLIO MANAGER,
    U.S. VALUE EQUITY TEAM

    Personal Accountability,
    Shared Responsibility

    When an investment doesn’t perform as expected, everyone says, ‘Hey, you didn’t put it in the portfolio. We did.’ That encourages you to take more appropriate risks.

    Jamie Shurtleff, CFA

    RESEARCH ANALYST, U.S. VALUE EQUITY TEAM

    Analyst-Driven Environment

    Letting Analysts Drive

    The research process is analyst-driven. You get to be in the discussions. You get to ask questions. In fact, we expect you to ask challenging questions.

    Dave Brenia

    RESEARCH ANALYST, U.S. VALUE EQUITY TEAM
    DIFFERENT BACKGROUNDS, UNIQUE EXPERIENCES

    Earlier in my career I worked for the Treasury Department, on the investment team of the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP). We were tasked with unwinding the portfolio of investments that were made in 2008.

    Jesse L. Fink, CFA
    RESEARCH ANALYST, U.S. VALUE EQUITY TEAM

    When I graduated from college in the late 1990s, tech was booming, and I worked for an IT company for four years as a business analyst covering banking systems. After that I got the itch to go into finance, so I became a tech analyst.

    Josh Overholt
    RESEARCH ANALYST, U.S. VALUE EQUITY TEAM

    I received a master’s degree in healthcare from Johns Hopkins University, then worked in different facets of the healthcare industry. It’s really informed my coverage of the sector.

    Jamie Shurtleff
    RESEARCH ANALYST, U.S. VALUE EQUITY TEAM

    I was on active military duty until 2001, and I think the military’s focus on discipline translates well to our business. We have a very disciplined way of thinking about quality and valuation.

    Dave Brenia
    RESEARCH ANALYST, U.S. VALUE EQUITY TEAM

    Thriving on Meritocracy

    00:23
    Trusting the talent of our researchers and giving them what they need to thrive is a key element of our U.S. value equity team’s culture, explains Andrew Pinheiro, a research analyst on the team.

    QUALITY OVER QUANTITY

    I love that success on our team is determined by the quality of our insight, not the quantity of reports or the aesthetics of the presentation. And performance is measurable.

    Jesse Fink, CFA
    RESEARCH ANALYST, U.S. VALUE EQUITY TEAM

    Unwavering Rigor

    Pattern Recognition

    If you ask me why we have been successful, I’d say a huge piece of it is just our team’s collective knowledge and history. We’ve met a lot of management teams. We’ve seen a lot of patterns.

    Matt Fleming, CFA

    PORTFOLIO MANAGER AND RESEARCH ANALYST, U.S. VALUE EQUITY TEAM

    Emphasis on Downside Protection

    For long-term performance, we believe upside opportunity must be tempered with careful capital preservation. We don’t choose companies simply because they’re cheap relative to historical prices; we use a strong quality discipline when selecting companies and determining entry/exit points, seeking to limit downside.

    We don’t need home runs. We want to avoid strikeouts. So we look for a lot of singles and doubles.

    Josh Overholt, CFA

    RESEARCH ANALYST, U.S. VALUE EQUITY TEAM


    PLAY VIDEO

    Collective Wisdom

    00:58
    Three team members—a director of research, a research analyst, and a trader—explain how a rigorous application of collection knowledge contributes to their team’s dynamic (and success).

    REPEATABLE METHODOLOGY

    Our standard valuation assessment is not about the output; it’s designed to create an objective starting point that prompts a team dialogue around where the company is in its lifecycle.

    Bill Heaphy, CFA
    HEAD OF U.S. VALUE EQUITY TEAM

    Intersection of Quality
    and Value

    Our focus on quality companies—combined with our strong valuation discipline—seeks to provide consistent upside capture and downside protection across market cycles.

    Some people just like to buy cheap stocks. That’s not us. We have a quality overlay. We’re trying to find what we believe are good or great companies at good or great prices.

    Matt Fleming, CFA

    PORTFOLIO MANAGER AND RESEARCH ANALYST, U.S. VALUE EQUITY TEAM
    METICULOUS CONTRARIANS

    I’m a value person in pretty much everything I do. I love to find stuff that other people don’t find. I love to find great deals. If I can find an attractively valued company and I believe the consensus is underestimating its earning potential, that’s a great angle for me. And if that plays out, it’s very rewarding.

    Gary J. Merwitz

    DIRECTOR OF RESEARCH, RESEARCH ANALYST, AND PORTFOLIO MANAGER, U.S. VALUE EQUITY TEAM

    Principled Professionalism

    The Value of Stewardship

    Our proudest moments are sitting beside a client that has been invested in our stategies for more than three decades, which to us is a testament to the outcomes we’ve delivered.

    Greg J. Czarnecki

    PORTFOLIO SPECIALIST, U.S. VALUE EQUITY TEAM


    PLAY VIDEO

    The Importance of Alignment

    00:52
    Josh Overholt, a research analyst on our U.S. value equity team, explains why he believes William Blair is a perfect fit for his team.

    A FOCUS ON  CLIENTS

    I’m motivated by the goal of delivering good returns for clients, and that trickles down to everything we do.

    Bill Heaphy, CFA

    HEAD OF U.S. VALUE EQUITY TEAM

    We consider it an honor to be able to do the fascinating, challenging work we do on behalf of our clients.

    Andrew Pinheiro
    RESEARCH ANALYST, U.S. VALUE EQUITY TEAM

    Some people think value investing is an intellectual exercise. Not us. We never lose sight of the fact that we’re stewards of our clients’ capital. It’s a real calling for us.

    Dave Brenia

    RESEARCH ANALYST, U.S. VALUE EQUITY TEAM

    Thinking about the strong results that we try to produce and how that impacts the lives of our clients is very motivating.

    Jamie Shurtleff, CFA
    RESEARCH ANALYST, U.S. VALUE EQUITY TEAM

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    Enduring Partnership

    Our active ownership culture creates long-term client relationships by aligning with your interests and helping you achieve successful investment outcomes. Contact us to learn how we can partner with you.

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