Financial Times Ranks Ferguson Wellman Capital Management on Top Registered Investment Advisers List

PORTLAND, Ore. – July 1, 2014 – Ferguson Wellman Capital Management was recently informed that the firm was named by Financial Times to their inaugural “300 Top Registered Investment Advisers List”. The Financial Times compiled the list of RIA firms by soliciting applications from more than 2,000 independent RIA firms who had $300 million or more in assets. They judged the firms on six categories which resulted in a numeric score for each adviser. The areas they took into consideration included assets under management, growth of assets under management, number of years the firm has been in existence, the number and depth of industry certifications of staff, the SEC compliance record of the firm and accessibility of the firm online. According to Financial Times, only independent and elite firms were considered for this designation and the average firm listed on the 300 list manages more than $2.5 billion in assets under management and serves over 3,000+ clients.

“Everyone at Ferguson Wellman is very gratified by our recent acknowledgement in the Financial Times. We appreciate being mentioned alongside our peers, but quite frankly what means the most to us is the trusting relationship that we continually earn with each client we serve,” said James H. Rudd, principal and chief executive officer.

Founded in 1975, Ferguson Wellman Capital Management is a privately owned registered investment adviser that serves over 650 clients with assets starting at $3 million. The firm works with individuals and institutions in 35 states with a concentration of those clients in the West. Ferguson Wellman manages $3.9 billion that comprises union and corporate retirement plans; endowments and foundations; and separately managed accounts for individuals and families. In 2013, West Bearing Investments was established, a division of Ferguson Wellman, that serves clients with assets starting at $750,000. All company information listed above reflects 3/31/14 data.

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Methodology and Disclosure: The 2014 Financial Times Top 300 Registered Investment Advisors is an independent listing produced by the Financial Times (June, 2014). The Financial Times 300 is based on data gathered from RIA firms, regulatory disclosures, and the FT’s research. As identified by the Financial Times, the listing reflected each practice’s performance in six primary areas, including assets under management, asset growth, compliance record, years in existence, credentials and accessibility. Neither the RIA firms nor their employees pay a fee to The Financial Times in exchange for inclusion in the Financial Times 300.

Spreading the Wealth: Article on Ferguson Wellman in Oregon Business Magazine

Oregon Business Magazine Spreading the Wealth 

February 25, 2014

By Paige Parker

A high bar to clear. Until last year, investors seeking the expertise of Portland firm Ferguson Wellman Capital Management needed to bring at least $2 million along with them. The 39-year-old wealth management firm lavishes personal attention on its clients. Some families have trusted Ferguson Wellman with their money through three generations. And its employees are far from fickle: Not a single investment professional hired in the last 25 years has left Ferguson Wellman for another job, says CEO James Rudd. The firm closed out 2012 with just shy of 600 individual and institutional clients and $2.91 billion in assets under management. “We’re not a hot-dot manager,” Rudd says.

Creating growth, controlling growth. Market research told the employee-owned firm that the time had come to pursue less wealthy investors. Assuming it would attract younger investors, Ferguson Wellman this summer added two employees and launched West Bearing Investments, a division for Oregon, Washington and California clients with at least $750,000 to invest. West Bearing clients have access to the same investments as Ferguson Wellman clients, as well as direct access to the analysts who create those investments.

The rich get richer. On January 1, the firm raised its minimum for entry into the established Ferguson Wellman division to $3 million. The move doesn’t affect current clients. “I’ve been here 31 years, and this is the fourth time we’ve increased our minimum,” Rudd says. Ferguson Wellman first established a minimum, then $1 million, in 1989. The higher minimum “allows us to continue to be very client centered in what we do and very entrepreneurial,” Rudd says. “Clients are the greatest resource that we have. Believe me, it takes years to form a trusting relationship with a client.”

Surprising results. The 43-employee company ended 2013 with $3.8 billion in assets under management, largely because of the strong performance of the stock market. But it also brought in 52 new clients. Twenty-eight came from the West Bearing division, which hit its goal of $25 million in assets under management.

So has the double-digit growth in Oregon’s software sector brought young, flush investors into the Ferguson Wellman fold? Not yet. The new clients aren’t of the high-tech hoodie set, but rather business owners, entrepreneurs, doctors and those who’ve inherited money. “When it came down to it, in the Northwest — anywhere, for that matter — $750,000 is a great amount of money to be putting into a retirement,” says Mary Faulkner, senior vice president for branding and communications. “Our demographics at West Bearing compared to Ferguson Wellman, they’re essentially the same. It was an exciting discovery for us — how wealth manifests itself in the Northwest.”