Schafer Cullen Capital Management continues to stick to its knitting by building around a sound, time-tested investment philosophy. It maintains an Above Average Parent rating.
CEO James Cullen founded the boutique more than 40 years ago to run the Schafer Cullen High Dividend Value Equity strategy. That strategy remains the anchor of the firm’s USD 23.3 billion in assets under management as of December 2024 (across both Schafer Cullen and affiliate Cullen Capital). Schafer Cullen sticks to its strengths in dividend-focused, value-equity investing, but it has prudently evolved to meet client demand for different vehicles. In 2024, it launched its first exchange-traded fund based on the concentrated equity-income strategy. The ETF is attractively priced, but mutual fund fees could be more competitive.
As Schafer Cullen has added mandates and grown assets, the firm has steadily added to its investment team and expanded employee ownership. Retention has been high on the 17-person investment team, many of whom have a stake in the firm’s success. Portfolio managers also align their interests with fundholders by investing alongside them in the funds.
Succession plans for James Cullen have been in place for some time. His son Brooks Cullen, who joined the firm in 1994, is expected to succeed his father as CEO and already handles most of the day-to-day responsibilities. Additionally, comanagers have been named on each of the funds, in most cases since inception.
Note: This share class' Parent Pillar rating is analyst-driven, as its Branding Name, Cullen Funds (Branding Name ID: BN000008IW), is covered by Morningstar Manager Research.
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