Spire Investment Partners is an investment management firm founded in 2016 and based in San Francisco, California. With over $500 million in assets under management, Spire provides customized investment solutions to high net worth individuals, families, foundations, and endowments.
In this article, we will take a closer look at Spire – its investment philosophy and strategies, portfolio management team, as well as some of the firm’s key clients. We will also evaluate Spire’s performance and track record since its inception. The goal is to provide an informative introduction to this relatively young but fast-growing investment management firm in the Bay Area.
Spire’s Core Investment Philosophy and Strategies
Spire describes its investment approach as ‘intrinsic value investing’ – focused on determining the intrinsic value of a business based on fundamental analysis, rather than relying on market sentiment or momentum. The firm combines principles from legendary investors like Warren Buffett and Benjamin Graham in its analysis framework.
Specifically, Spire seeks to invest in high-quality companies with durable competitive advantages, excellent management teams, and favorable growth outlooks. The firm prefers understandable business models that can compound earnings and intrinsic value over long periods of time.
In terms of portfolio construction, Spire aims to create concentrated positions in its highest-conviction ideas, while still maintaining adequate diversification across sectors and industries.
Experienced Investment Team
Spire’s investment team has over 60 years of combined experience researching, analyzing and investing in public and private businesses globally.
The team is led by Managing Partners, Mark DiSalvo and Alex Captain. Prior to founding Spire, Mark and Alex worked together at TPG, a leading private equity and growth equity investment firm managing over $100 billion.
The broader Spire investment team also includes professionals like Amy Hood who previously managed a healthcare portfolio at Senator Investment Group, and Pras Chatterjee who spent over a decade investing in Asian markets.
Client Base and Assets Under Management
As mentioned earlier, Spire Investment Partners has over $500 million in assets under management currently. The vast majority of these assets come from ultra high net worth families and endowments.
Some of Spire’s most notable clients include the endowments of Stanford University and University of California. The firm also manages money for several ultra high net worth families in the San Francisco Bay Area focused on legacy and tax-efficient generational wealth transfer.
In summary, Spire Investment Partners is a focused investment management firm applying fundamental analysis to construct concentrated, long-term portfolios of high-quality businesses. With an experienced investment team and strong client base consisting primarily of institutions and ultra high net worth families, Spire has rapidly grown to over $500 million in assets under management since 2016.