About Us

Our clients have trusted John W. Bristol to safeguard and grow their investments since 1937. We are passionate about investing and maintain a resolute focus on our one line of business: constructing portfolios to help clients achieve their goals. Over our history, we have demonstrated a culture and an investment approach that have been distinctive, durable, and effective over many decades and various market cycles.

Firm Facts

We have been a stable, trusted partner to our clients for generations.

1937

Year Founded

100%

Employee-owned

$6.6 billion

Assets under management

15 years

Avg. tenure of employees

15 years

Avg. tenure of clients

As of December 31, 2024

Our Principles

We maintain an unwavering commitment to our core principles, which are timeless and foundational to our culture and investment process.

Client Alignment

Bristol has only one business: managing our clients’ portfolios. Our employees have a material co-investment alongside our clients.

Long-Term Focus

Our average investment holding period exceeds five years, and our client relationships average almost two decades.

Collective Process

We believe fostering a transparent, collaborative environment leads to higher-quality decision-making and superior investment results.

Research Driven

In-depth fundamental research is at the heart of everything we do. Every investment professional is a research analyst.

Our History

1937 

A proven and timeless strategy

Founded in 1937, John W. Bristol has evolved from an investment advisor to university endowments into an institutional asset management firm with a broad and diverse client base. Our research-intensive, long-term investment philosophy has endured the test of time, over many decades and market cycles.

1950s

Cultivating a client-first, team-oriented culture

In 1959, Bristol established a profit-sharing plan for all employees, aligning the firm’s interests with our clients’ goals. The profit-sharing plan still exists today, and we firmly believe it has helped foster a culture of strong employee engagement.

1960s

Broadening our client base

Bristol’s clients expanded from private university endowments to charitable foundations and pension funds, solidifying our standing in the institutional asset management industry. Over time, we developed capabilities to serve taxable accounts.

1980s

Research-driven approach

Under Charlie Mott’s leadership, the firm bolstered its investment expertise and assembled a team of fundamental investors who shared a passion for intensive primary research. The team laid the groundwork for our consensus decision-making process and created our common analytical platform – allowing us to bring more than 40 years of perspective to every investment decision.

1990s

Steadfast in times of turbulence

The firm’s commitment to investing in Corporate Athletes was tested when capital chased unproven business models in the late 1990s. Bristol’s investment team stood by its investment process, and in the years following the tech bubble, our disciplined approach provided downside protection for our clients. Our equity portfolio has outperformed the S&P 500 in every calendar year of negative market returns.

2000s

Commitment to quality, global businesses

The Global Financial Crisis shook markets around the world, exposing the interdependencies among global economies. We are acutely aware of the global dynamics in every sector and analyze our companies with a global lens. Though we primarily invest in U.S. securities, about half of the sales generated by our portfolio of Corporate Athletes take place outside the U.S.

Today

A time-tested, ever-evolving paradigm

The Bristol of today embodies the principles we have cultivated over the decades. We put our clients first, treat one another with integrity, and approach the markets with humility and intellectual rigor. We have continued to evolve, with newer generations of team members bringing dynamism, global experience, and diverse perspectives. But the core tenets of our simple, yet powerful philosophy remain unchanged: focusing on the long term, identifying Corporate Athletes, and making decisions by consensus.