The firm maintains its Average Parent rating.
The firm has implemented a thoughtful succession plan to address the eventual retirement of founder and chairman John Osterweis, after the original successor left in 2016. Since then, firm ownership has significantly broadened, with nearly half of employees owning the majority of the firm and John Osterweis retaining a 10% stake as of November 2022. Two internal veterans, Carl Kaufman and Catherine Halberstadt, have assumed responsibility for the firm’s investment and operational sides as co-CEOs. Several other key hires joined as well, including a new compliance officer, a lead for the private-client group, and a few portfolio managers to round out expertise areas on the equity and fixed-income teams.
The acquisition of Zeo Capital Advisors in early 2022 represents another step in the firm’s transition to the next generation, and getting sustainability-themed experience may be a boost to its growing skill sets, but additions to product lineup won’t be enough if they fail to perform. Three fourths of the firm’s assets under management still reside in flexibly minded Osterweis Strategic Income. How the strategies will succeed in complementing each other bears watching.