Polen Capital is an American

investment management Investment management (sometimes referred to more generally as financial asset management) is the professional asset management of various Security (finance), securities, including shareholdings, Bond (finance), bonds, and other assets, such as r ...

firm headquartered in

Boca Raton, Florida Boca Raton ( ; ) is a city in Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. The population was 97,422 in the 2020 United States census, 2020 census and it ranked as the 23rd-largest city in Florida in 2022. Many people with a Boca Raton Address, ...

. The firm's main strategy is

growth investing Growth investing is a type of investment strategy focused on capital appreciation. Those who follow this style, known as ''growth investors'', invest in companies that exhibit signs of above-average growth, even if the share price appears expen ...

in a limited number of growth equities. In recent years, the firm has expanded into investments in the

credit market The bond market (also debt market or credit market) is a financial market in which participants can issue new debt, known as the primary market, or buy and sell debt securities, known as the secondary market. This is usually in the form of bonds, ...

. Outside the U.S., the firm has offices in London and Hong Kong.

Background

In 1979, Polen Capital was founded in New York by David Polen. In 1989, Polen Capital launched its flagship fund, the Focus Growth Strategy, which invested in growth equities based in the U.S. It was developed by Polen to follow a high-conviction, low-turnover approach where only between 100 and 150 stocks are invested in and are held for a long period of time. It would focus only on companies with strong sustainable growth potential. Thousands of stocks are observed and a filter is applied where only a small selection is bought. From 1989 to 2020, the fund had a compounded average annual return of 15%. In 2002, Polen Capital moved its headquarters to Boca Raton in Florida due to it having a more affordable cost of living. In 2012, Polen died and was succeeded by his co-manager, Damon Ficklin, and CEO Stan Moss. In 2014, Polen Capital explored the idea of making a global version of its US-focused flagship fund and in 2015, launched the Global Growth Strategy fund. In 2016, London-based investment company, iM Square (now iM Global Partner), acquired a 20% stake of Polen Capital. In December 2021, Polen Capital diversified into the credit market business after it acquired DDJ Capital Management a Boston-based high-yield credit investment firm. It was rebranded to Polen Capital Credit. In March 2023, Polen Capital acquired LGM's

emerging market An emerging market (or an emerging country or an emerging economy) is a market that has some characteristics of a developed market, but does not fully meet its standards. This includes markets that may become developed markets in the future or we ...

s equities team as well as their funds from

Columbia Threadneedle Investments Columbia Threadneedle Investments is an American asset management firm. It is a subsidiary of Ameriprise Financial and operates as its asset management arm. Background Columbia Threadneedle was formed in 2015 as the result of a merger between ...

so it could expand into the Asia market. The LGM funds were rebranded under the Polen name. At the same time, the firm opened an office in Hong Kong. As of May 2023, the firm's

asset allocation Asset allocation is the implementation of an investment strategy that attempts to balance risk versus reward by adjusting the percentage of each asset in an investment portfolio according to the investor's risk tolerance, goals and investm ...

was stated to be 85% in growth equities and 15% in credit. There are long-term goals to have a more balanced asset allocation as well to move away from a US focus. In June 2023, Polen Capital established a

strategic partnership A strategic partnership (also see strategic alliance) is a relationship between two commercial enterprises, usually formalized by one or more business contracts. A strategic partnership will usually fall short of a legal partnership entity, agency ...

with Income Partners, a Hong Kong-based investment firm focusing on Asian Credit. It involved Polen Capital investing an unspecified sum into Income Partners. In February 2024, after UK-based Somerset Capital (founded by

Jacob Rees-Mogg Sir Jacob William Rees-Mogg ( ; born 24 May 1969) is a British politician, broadcaster and member of the Conservative Party who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for North East Somerset from 2010 to 2024. He served as Leader of the House o ...

and Dominic Johnson) closed due to St. James's Place plc severing ties with it, Polen Capital acquired its funds and portfolio managers. Although Polen Capital has demonstrated strong returns, due to its high-conviction investment strategy, it has also suffered from significant underperformance several times. From 2003 to 2006, the firm's performance lagged the

S&P 500 The Standard and Poor's 500, or simply the S&P 500, is a stock market index tracking the stock performance of 500 leading companies listed on stock exchanges in the United States. It is one of the most commonly followed equity indices and in ...

. Due to the

2008 financial crisis The 2008 financial crisis, also known as the global financial crisis (GFC), was a major worldwide financial crisis centered in the United States. The causes of the 2008 crisis included excessive speculation on housing values by both homeowners ...

, the firm's

assets under management In finance, assets under management (AUM), sometimes called fund under management, refers to the total market value of all financial assets that a financial institution—such as a mutual fund, venture capital firm, or depository institutio ...

shrunk to less than one seventh of its size from 2004. In 2013, the firm also underperformed the S&P 500 by 10.2%. Polen Capital is majority-owned by its employees.

References

External links

* {{authority control 1979 establishments in New York City Companies based in Boca Raton, Florida Financial services companies established in 1979 Investment companies of the United States Asset management companies