WCM Investment Management is a global growth equity manager based in Laguna Beach, California, USA. They believe their competitive advantage stems from a unique set of investment principles combined with world class talent and a culture built on a relentless pursuit of excellence.
Paul Black, CEO and Portfolio Manager at WCM, explains what makes WCM different from other active managers, including its investment philosophy and company culture.
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Investment philosophy
Moat trajectory
WCM strongly believes that the direction of a company’s competitive advantage (“moat trajectory”) is far more important for driving shareholder returns than the size of the competitive advantage (“moat”). Simply put, WCM looks to invest in companies that are getting structurally better over time.
Culture
WCM believes culture is the most underappreciated company asset. It turns good companies into great ones and is a strong driver of share price growth. The team believe their own culture is part of their competitive advantage.
Portfolio construction
WCM believes portfolios that only manage risk at the individual stock level are often overexposed to dangerous hidden correlations. WCM analyses ~100 subsectors and themes to gain a deep awareness of portfolio exposures and deliver all-weather portfolios that should perform well in a range of different economic environments.
Research team core values
Think different
WCM believes the investment industry suffers from a severe case of groupthink. It believes in the simple idea that if you want different results, you must do things differently. The team prizes original thought and obsesses over delivering outperformance for clients rather than minimizing career risk by blindly hewing to long held industry practices.
Get better
WCM believes many professional investors are more concerned with looking and sounding the part rather than getting better at their craft. WCM takes the opposite approach and relentlessly pursues continuous improvement. They foster an environment of adaptability by hiring for humility, encouraging vulnerability, openly admitting mistakes, and reflecting candidly.
Make the team better
WCM believes that too often the hyper-competitive mindset within many firms leads people to pursue their own success rather than the success of the team. The team ask themselves each day: “how can I make the people around me better?”. This aims to remove the hidden frictions and insecurities that undermine team performance, resulting in better decisions for portfolios and better outcomes for clients.
Featured campaign
WCM Select Global Growth Equity
A high conviction, unconstrained strategy which concentrates WCM’s best ideas into an all-cap, global growth portfolio.
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Assets under management (AUM) as of June 30, 2026. AUM, as reported, may include notional assets, assets serviced, gross assets, assets of minority-owned affiliated entities and other types of nonregulatory AUM managed or serviced by firms affiliated with Natixis Investment Managers.
Natixis Investment Managers, LLC and WCM Investment Management are affiliated.