Challenging circumstances at Champlain Investment Partners support a Parent rating downgrade to Average from Above Average.
Founded in Burlington, Vermont, in 2004, Champlain has built its reputation specializing in US small- and mid-cap growth strategies, which account for nearly all its assets under management. Long-term performance has been solid overall with some ups and downs, and AUM peaked in 2021 at USD 22 billion. But in the wake of worse-than-expected results since then, AUM has fallen precipitously in the last year to USD 3.7 billion as of August 2026 following substantial redemptions, including the loss of subadvisory mandates with two important clients, Jackson National and Edward Jones, in June 2026.
Considering its smaller scale, Champlain completed a restructuring at the end of 2025, ending a long period of stability. Specifically, the small firm eliminated eight (or about 25%) of its client-service and operational roles. One of the firm’s three tech analysts was also let go and won’t be replaced. Most impactful was the unexpected departure of deputy co-CIO Corey Bronner, which was a substantial change to the investment team’s structure and succession plan: In 2022, Bronner and Joseph Caligiuri—who had both been analysts on the team for over a decade each—were elevated to deputy co-CIOs, signaling their potential as future firm leaders and recognizing greater influence on investment decisions. Caligiuri remains and is now the sole deputy under Scott Brayman, Champlain’s co-founder and CIO, who remains an active manager on all the firm’s strategies.
The investment team remains committed to its long-standing approach; although not as crisp as it once was, it retains merit owing to its disciplined focus on owning high-quality businesses, which is an advantage when investing down cap. Additionally, recent upgrades to the firm’s technology and data infrastructure should mitigate the impact of departures elsewhere in the organization. Still, further AUM declines could necessitate more potentially disruptive changes. It's best to be cautious for now.
United States