Gosling's Grouse: What makes a top boutique?

GOSLING'S GROUSE

The founder of San Diego-based Brandes Investment, Charles Brandes, talks of a 100-year vision for the firm, which he puts at the heart of what the group does.

This includes how it manages money, looks after clients and manages staff, which all sounds very American – us cynical Brits might cringe at the thought. In US terms Brandes is a boutique with a ‘modest’ $32bn under management (the firm remains privately owned with Brandes himself the majority owner) but it goes to the heart of what is a boutique and, importantly, how boutique managers will fare in the UK’s version of RDR and the European version that is coming soon. Brandes established his business in the depth of the bear market of the 1970s, not long after executing trades for Benj...