Celebrating 50 Years of Trusted Partnerships

1974

Company founded by Benjamin H. Gannett and Jackson O. Welsh

Ben and Jack founded the company in November 1974, with an initial goal to provide customized investment management services for a select group of families.

The firm was founded on these core values:

Client and Employee Respectful

We believe that the highest levels of client service and employee productivity come from creating an environment of trust and respect.

Entrepreneurial Driven

Independent thinking and the ability to be nimble and actively respond to market changes are critical to GW&K’s ability to drive product and service innovation and quickly respond to our client needs.

Enduring and Trusted Relationships

To achieve integrity and the highest performance organizationally we strive to build long-term, mutually rewarding relationships with our clients, employees, service providers, and broader community.

Collaboration

We believe that an open and collaborative culture, together with a flat organizational structure, ensures quality engagement by the GW&K team and that clients have access to our best thinking and highest levels of service.

1975

Harold G. Kotler joined the firm as a Principal, Executive Vice President, and Chief Strategist.

Harold joined in March 1975.

Ben, Jack, and Harold cultivated an investment philosophy of active management, a careful fundamental research-based approach, and a commitment to client service — values that continue to guide the firm’s approach to managing client assets today.

The founders made a conscious decision early on to adopt a centralized approach to individual portfolio management where the firm’s investment professionals worked as a team to develop investment ideas and then implemented them across all client portfolios simultaneously. The vision was that all clients should benefit equally from the firm’s best investment ideas. This paved the way for our future growth, and to our becoming a leading manager for wealth clients. It also helped forge successful relationships with advisory sponsor firms and institutional consultants.

1980

Rolled out first municipal bond product to broaden distribution opportunities

Our flagship municipal bond strategy, an intermediate approach, remains one of our cornerstone strategies. Today we offer several municipal bond strategies and manage more than $30 billion across 30,000 client accounts.

Harold Kotler was responsible for developing the municipal bond strategy that led to the firm’s broadening success and recognition as a pioneer and market leader in municipal bond investing.

1985

Harold G. Kotler appointed President

Harold, a true entrepreneur to his core, had the creative energy, innovative ideas, and enthusiasm for growth and change to guide this company.

1987

Note From Jack

Oct 23, 1987

Dear Harold,

After the worst series of financial events in the stock market in history, our small firm survived – in dignity and assets – thanks to your fine leadership and building an asset base which escaped the deathly volatility.

Thanks,
Jack

1988

Rolled out our first taxable fixed income product, Total Return Bond, for broader distribution

Three decades on, today our Taxable Bond Team employs an active, multi-sector, risk-sensitive approach founded on comprehensive research.

1989

Rolled out first equity product, Diversified Equity Strategy, for broader distribution

This core strategy was created for clients who wanted exposure to several different end markets, growth drivers, business models, and industries. Our goal was and is to assemble a portfolio of the highest-quality businesses possible, while also factoring in valuation considerations.

By focusing our portfolio only on those businesses where we have the highest conviction, we believe we are able to deliver a diversified portfolio of the highest-quality businesses that minimizes risk and is focused on long-term growth of capital.

1992

Company moved to our current location at 222 Berkeley Street in Boston

Established a new headquarters at 222 Berkeley Street in Boston, marking a significant milestone in our company’s growth.

1996

Expansion

As GW&K had successfully established itself as a leading investment advisor for private clients, with a strong reputation for municipal bond strategy, the partners considered how to expand distribution through advisory platforms. They hired Tom Powers who opened opportunities with leading separate account platforms. Fourteen years later, GW&K was named an SMA Manager of the Year by Investment Advisor.

Today we are a top US separate account manager, with total advisory assets representing 70% of our business.

We also launched our first mutual funds in 1996, the GW&K Government Securities Fund and GW&K Equity Fund. Today we subadvise 10 funds for AMG.

2000

Opened our first Small Cap Strategy

We launched our first small cap strategy in January 2000. Having managed a multi-cap strategy since 1989, it was a natural decision to expand into small caps. Under the leadership of Jeff Thibault since 2004, as of June 30, 2024, we manage Small Cap Strategies across the style spectrum totaling over $3.5 billion in client assets under management. Jeff’s investment talent, and that of our Equity Research Team he has guided, has produced outstanding performance and helped advance GW&K’s identity as a sought after small cap manager.

2006

Tom Powers & Bill Roberts appointed Co-Presidents of GW&K; Harold G. Kotler becomes CEO

Tom and Bill are responsible for establishing GW&K’s strategic plan and managing the firm’s business, reporting to Harold.

2008

Became an affiliate of AMG

Partnering with AMG (NYSE: AMG) was an important milestone in the history of our company. The relationship has helped us advance new products, expand our distribution globally, and augment our legal and compliance resources. We operate independently and have maintained our entrepreneurial culture and our focus on delivering highly personalized investment management services.

2010

Building Our Institutional Team

Through the years GW&K managed several smaller institutional clients that appreciated our broadly diversified equity and fixed income approach. We knew we had the operational integrity, client service capabilities, and a growing product line that would serve the institutional channel well and made the decision to diversify our business in this direction. We started to build a team whose mission was to create greater awareness in the consultant community and build relationships with public and private retirement plans, endowments, and foundations.

2014

Added International Team

GW&K breaks into international equities with the hiring of Reid Galas and Karl Kyris, co-portfolio managers of our Global and International Small Cap Equity Strategies, further supporting our expansion in the institutional space. Similar to our domestic equity approach, our strength in the international and global arena has been our ability to identify and purchase underfollowed and underappreciated companies at attractive prices that are growing or possess a potential catalyst for growth. 

Given the large investable universe and limited analyst coverage, it is possible to find opportunities early enough and at valuations that allow for both fundamental growth and rerating potential. We focus a lot of attention on assessing the business quality of the companies in which we invest. We also evaluate the management teams, looking for proven experience, leadership talent, high integrity, and strategic vision. We believe we set the bar higher than other international or global small cap managers. 

2020

Reached $50 Billion in AUM

2022

Tom Powers and Bill Roberts named Co-CEOs. Harold Kotler named Founder-Chairman of the firm. 

Tom and Bill, who served as Co-Presidents since 2006, were named Co-Chief Executive Officers. Harold was named Founder-Chairman of the firm, stepping aside from his role as Chief Executive Officer.

2024

Celebrating 50 years of Service

Our success is intrinsically linked to the success of our clients. We view them as valued partners, and are confident that working together, we can unlock innovative investment solutions in the years to come.