Hillman Capital Management

Mark Hillman

US-listed stocks across every Hillman account, including accounts that belong to no fund below. Mark Hillman is the founder, CEO, and chief investment officer of Hillman Capital Management, which he established in 1998. A graduate of Tufts University who also completed graduate coursework at the Harvard University Extension School, he started his career as a financial consultant at Shearson Lehman Hutton before founding his first investment firm, Custom Asset Management, in the early 1990s. That firm merged with Menocal Capital Management in 1993, where Hillman became chief investment officer; he brought both the people and the assets of those predecessor companies into Hillman Capital when he launched it. His investment process itself dates back a few years further, to 1995. Hillman describes his approach as quality value investing: he looks for U.S. businesses with durable competitive advantages — brands, pricing power, barriers to entry — that have fallen out of favor for short-term or non-recurring reasons. Before a company's price matters, it must pass a qualitative screen to earn a spot in what the firm calls its qualified investment universe; only then does he apply a quantitative valuation process to decide what the shares are worth. He targets long-term total return rather than quick trades and does not push management to change, preferring to let a temporary problem run its course while the underlying business stays strong. The firm manages the Hillman Value Fund alongside separate accounts for foundations, endowments, and private investors. Hillman's results over the years have drawn attention from Fortune, The New York Times, Bloomberg News, and Forbes.com.