Since our founding in 1974 by veteran value investor Martin J. Whitman, M.J. Whitman has consistently sought to develop risk-averse strategies for the aggressive conservative investor. Each area of the company—research, sales and trading in our full-service brokerage firm, as well as portfolio management in our investment advisory ffiliate—adheres to the premise that a disciplined value approach to investing should deliver superior returns, on average and over time.

A SINGULAR VALUE INVESTMENT PHILOSOPHY

M.J. Whitman applies a singular value investment philosophy to identifying opportunities in the undervalued equity securities of well-capitalized companies, across the full spectrum of fixed income instruments, and in the debt obligations of distressed issuers. The combination of M.J. Whitman’s value investing premise and research-driven methodology forms a unique approach that has been remarkably successful in creating value for clients.

CHALLENGING CONVENTIONAL THINKING

M.J. Whitman views the risk-reward relationship quite differently from conventional investors. The common belief is that there is an elementary trade-off: An investor must take risks in order to obtain rewards, and the degree of risk assumed in a particular situation is directly related to the anticipated reward.

In M.J. Whitman’s view, there is no such trade-off. It is our belief that the lower the price an investor pays for a particular security, the less the risk and the greater the potential reward. This value investing posture is commensurate with our belief that investment risk should be based on the underlying performance of a business and its resources, and not determined by the market price at which a company’s securities might trade.

RESEARCH PROPELS THE SEARCH FOR VALUE

Good investment ideas are valuable. They must be thoroughly researched and diligently pursued. Indeed, investment success is the result of understanding a business, its capital structure and its securities. It is M.J. Whitman’s objective to know more about each investment situation—and from a decidedly unique perspective—that differentiates our ecommendations from those of other investment firms.

The M.J. Whitman value approach to investing is based on stringent "bottom-up" analysis, which emphasizes the detailed study of individual companies and securities. This is fundamental analysis with the ultimate goal of understanding a business intimately and thoroughly, with all idiosyncrasies appreciated. After exhaustive analysis of a business and its securities, M.J. Whitman’s analysts arrive at a judgment about those securities in the context of the prices at which they are selling. SEC filings, financial statements, stockholder reports, field research, management interviews and industry publications are the focus of M.J. Whitman’s research effort. Trends, sectors, cycles and psychologies of the overall market are virtually ignored.

M.J. Whitman combines strong research expertise with our experience in the financial markets to develop innovative investment strategies tailored to meet specific client needs, for both individuals and institutions. The research and trading professionals at M.J. Whitman work together to conduct the detailed company-specific research and apply the market knowledge necessary to arrive at each investment decision.