What Contravisory Investment Management does

Contravisory Investment Management, Inc. is a privately held, SEC-registered investment adviser (RIA) founded in 1972 by G. Edward Noonan as an institutional equity research firm and headquartered at 120 Longwater Drive, Norwell, Massachusetts. The firm transitioned in the late 1990s from a pure research provider to a full-scale investment management business built on its proprietary ContraSignals quantitative/technical research system, which applies long-term relative price trend analysis across a proprietary database of more than 2,000 stocks, industry groups, and market sectors. As of December 31, 2025, Contravisory manages $701,722,949 in total assets, of which $640,357,426 is discretionary and $61,365,523 is non-discretionary. Five named investment professionals exercise investment discretion, supported by an operations team.

Contravisory offers approximately nine core portfolio strategies spanning equity-only (Strategic Equity, Small Cap, Large Cap, Mid Cap, Equity Opportunities), balanced (60/40), sector ETF, international equity, and two long-short limited partnerships (Contravisory Fund LP and Contravisory IDF LP) available to accredited investors, all constructed using the ContraSignals methodology. The firm serves high-net-worth individuals and families (target minimum $500,000), institutional clients (pension plans, profit-sharing plans, endowments, foundations), and corporate retirement plan sponsors, with distribution occurring through direct advisory relationships, wrap fee program providers, model portfolio licensing, and institutional research subscriptions. Tiered management fees are billed quarterly in advance at 1.2% on the first $1M, 1.0% on the next $1M, and 0.8% above $2M, with additional streams from retirement plan advisory fees, fixed-fee equity research sales, and performance fees on the long-short LPs.

The business is referral-driven, with stated 'almost exclusively referral' private client acquisition, complemented by strategic partnerships with RIAs, wire-houses, family offices, and consultants. Ownership is concentrated in the Noonan family: William M. Noonan owns 75%, Philip A. Noonan 10%, and outside investor Guy Daniello 15% following a 2026 restructuring. Contravisory LLC, in which William and Philip Noonan each hold 50%, serves as the general partner for the firm's LP offerings and is the firm's only disclosed affiliate.

Name

Contravisory Investment Management

Legal name

Contravisory Investment Management, Inc.

Website

https://contravisory.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1972

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Contravisory Investment Management is an SEC-registered investment adviser founded in 1972 and based in Norwell, Massachusetts, managing approximately $701.7M in assets through its proprietary ContraSignals quantitative trend system for high-net-worth individuals, families, institutions, and retirement plan sponsors.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Norwell

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Investment Management Fees (AUM-based): Contravisory charges a tiered investment management fee based on assets under management. Fees are calculated as a percentage of the market value of client accounts, billed quarterly in advance. The fee schedule incentivizes account growth. This is the primary revenue stream.
2. Model Portfolio Licensing (Model Provider): Contravisory sells its model portfolio as a 'model provider' and receives an asset-based fee for providing the model and maintaining it as changes are made.
3. Retirement Plan Advisory Fees: Contravisory receives an asset-based fee for providing investment recommendations to retirement plan sponsors.
4. Equity Research Sales: Contravisory sells investment research to portfolio managers in the financial services industry, invoiced on a fixed-fee basis. This was the original business from 1972 until the late 1990s and continues today alongside the primary investment management business.
5. Performance Fees (Limited Partnerships): The Contravisory Fund LP and Contravisory IDF LP (available to accredited investors only) assess performance fees calculated and payable annually to Contravisory LLC, the general partner. William M. Noonan and Philip A. Noonan each own 50% of Contravisory LLC.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Contravisory Investment Management is an SEC-registered investment advisor that provides discretionary portfolio management to high-net-worth individuals, families, and institutional clients using a proprietary quantitative/technical research system (ContraSignals). The firm delivers multiple portfolio strategies—Strategic Equity, Balanced, Small Cap, Large Cap, Mid Cap, International Equity, Sector ETF, and Equity Opportunities—built on long-term relative price trend analysis of a private database covering over 2,000 U.S. stocks, industry groups, and market sectors. Complementary offerings include two long-short limited partnerships for accredited investors, equity research sales, model portfolio licensing, and retirement plan advisory.

Product overview

Contravisory Investment Management offers a unified platform of proprietary investment management products built on its ContraSignals quantitative/technical research system. The core offering consists of multiple portfolio strategies including equity-only (Strategic Equity, Small Cap, Large Cap, Mid Cap, Equity Opportunities), balanced (Balanced Portfolio), sector-focused (Sector ETF Portfolio), and international (International Equity Portfolio) approaches. For accredited investors, the firm offers two long-short equity limited partnerships (Contravisory Fund LP and Contravisory IDF LP). All strategies are grounded in the proprietary ContraSignals system which uses long-term relative price trend analysis across over 2000 stocks, industry groups, and market sectors.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Contravisory Strategic Equity Portfolio A fully equity-invested portfolio strategy built on the ContraSignals quantitative/technical model, holding approximately 40 different stocks with diversified sector exposure; available to Contravisory discretionary private and institutional clients.
• Contravisory Balanced Portfolio A balanced strategy targeting approximately 60% equity exposure (using the same stocks as the Strategic Equity Portfolio) combined with 40% fixed income exposure through highly rated fixed income mutual funds; offered to Contravisory discretionary clients.
• Contravisory Small Cap Portfolio A small-cap equity portfolio strategy applying the same ContraSignals research methodology as the core offering, focused on smaller companies and holding approximately 50 stocks.
• Contravisory International Equity Portfolio An international equity strategy investing exclusively outside the United States through single country ETFs, regional ETFs, developed/emerging market ETFs, and selectively American Depositary Receipts, with all trading executed in U.S. markets.
• Contravisory Sector ETF Portfolio A sector-level exposure strategy using sector ETFs to mimic the sector exposure obtained through Contravisory's core stock offering, reducing individual stock impact within sectors.
• Contravisory Large Cap Portfolio (Contravisory MSN Large Cap Portfolio) A large capitalization equity strategy generally holding approximately 50 stocks with target weights of about 2% each, designed for clients seeking blue-chip large-cap exposure.
• Contravisory Mid Cap Portfolio (Contravisory MSN Mid Cap Portfolio) A mid capitalization equity strategy generally holding approximately 50 stocks with target weights of about 2% each, targeting mid-cap U.S. equity exposure.
• Contravisory Equity Opportunities Portfolio An 80-stock portfolio strategy investing in the 80 smallest capitalization stocks in the S&P 500 that are positively rated under Contravisory's proprietary research methodology.
• Contravisory Fund LP A long-short equity strategy available only to accredited investors, employing conservative hedging of market risk; performance fees apply, calculated annually and payable to Contravisory LLC as general partner.
• Contravisory IDF LP A long-short equity strategy similar to Contravisory Fund LP and available only to accredited investors, with performance fees applicable.
• Equity Research Services Sale of Contravisory's proprietary equity research—built on the ContraSignals quantitative/technical model and the firm's 2,000+ stock database—to institutional portfolio managers throughout the financial services industry, invoiced on a fixed-fee basis; legacy offering originating from the firm's 1972 founding as an investment research organization.
• Model Portfolio Licensing Provision of Contravisory's model portfolio as a "model provider" to other financial institutions, with Contravisory receiving an asset-based fee for providing and maintaining the model as portfolio changes are made.
• Retirement Plan Advisory Investment recommendations provided to retirement plan sponsors for their corporate retirement plans (e.g., 401(k) lineups), with Contravisory receiving an asset-based fee for the advisory relationship.

Quantifiable outcome

• Assets under management of $701,722,949 as of December 31, 2025, demonstrating substantial client trust and business scale.

Named customers5 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Contravisory LLCcoreOthersContravisory LLC is the general partner of the Contravisory Fund LP and Contravisory IDF LP, two private limited partnerships available to accredited investors. Contravisory Investment Management serves as the investment manager for these partnerships. William M. Noonan (75% owner of Contravisory Investment Management) and Philip A. Noonan (10% owner) each hold 50% of Contravisory LLC, creating a common ownership affiliation between the two entities.
• Third-Party Independent Prime BrokercoreOthersThe Contravisory Fund LP and Contravisory IDF LP employ an independent prime broker to custody assets and facilitate trade execution. The partnerships also have an independent third-party administrator for bookkeeping and records, plus an independent auditor with appropriate industry designations for annual audits. These independent third parties provide inherent checks and balances to protect investors.
• Wrap Fee Program ProvidersminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorContravisory participates in wrap fee programs where program providers hire Contravisory for investment management services. In this structure, the program provider serves as the client-facing entity collecting a single fee from the end investor, from which Contravisory receives its investment management fee. Contravisory's trade rotation system treats each wrap program separately to ensure fair treatment of all clients.
• Model Portfolio RecipientsminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorContravisory licenses its model portfolio to third-party financial institutions and receives an asset-based fee for providing and maintaining the model. The model recipients use Contravisory's research-driven portfolio construction in their own client offerings.
• Institutional Research ClientsminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorContravisory sells its equity research to institutional portfolio managers throughout the financial services industry on a fixed-fee basis. This is a legacy revenue stream from the firm's origins in 1972 as an investment research organization, continuing today alongside its primary investment management business.
• Retirement Plan SponsorsminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorContravisory provides investment recommendations to retirement plan sponsors and receives an asset-based fee for this service. This represents a distinct revenue stream and client acquisition channel for the firm.
• Strategic Partners (RIAs, Wire-houses, Family Offices, Consultants)minorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorContravisory's stated strategic partners are organizations that control assets and want to offer their investors an alternative to status quo equity management. Partnership examples include registered investment advisors, wire-houses, family offices, and consultants. The firm provides partners with investment philosophy, methodology, and market outlook information to enable them to serve their clients effectively.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Hodges Capital Management: Texas-based RIA managing equity and fixed-income strategies across multiple mutual funds and separately managed accounts for institutional and retail clients; comparable multi-product platform and mid-market scale.
• Segall Bryant & Hamill: Mid-market employee-owned RIA offering U.S. equity, fixed income, and balanced strategies to institutional and HNW clients; directly comparable product overlap (core equity, balanced, fixed income) and similar AUM band.
• Mairs & Power: Long-tenured (founded 1931) Minnesota-based equity RIA managing concentrated portfolios for individuals, families, and institutions; comparable in longevity, equity-active philosophy, and HNW/institutional client mix, though with a fundamental rather than technical bent.
• Westwood Holdings Group: Public RIA that combines quantitative/technical equity research with active large-cap and SMid-cap portfolio management for institutional and HNW clients; highly comparable in that ContraSignals is built on a similar technical-trend foundation serving a comparable client mix.
• Ariel Investments: Mid-sized, minority-owned equity RIA managing actively managed U.S. equity strategies for institutional and retail intermediaries; comparable in mid-market AUM scale and multi-product (large/mid/small/intl) platform structure.
• Dean Investment Associates: Privately held, family-influenced RIA providing discretionary equity, fixed income, and balanced portfolio management to HNW families and institutions; comparable in scale, product mix, and concierge-style HNW service model.
• Atalanta Sosnoff Capital: Privately held, employee-owned equity RIA managing roughly comparable AUM for institutional and high-net-worth clients; comparable size band and active-equity focus, with a long-only large-cap core strategy similar in structure to Contravisory Strategic Equity.

Broad incumbents

• Fisher Investments: Much larger private RIA (>$200B AUM) serving HNW and institutional clients with active global equity strategies; comparable client profile and sales-led outbound model, but operates at dramatically greater scale and broader product scope than Contravisory.
• Charles Schwab Investment Management: Large incumbent asset manager offering institutional and retail portfolio solutions; Contravisory's custodian linkage to Schwab and overlap in equity ETF/model strategies makes it a relevant competitive reference point even though it serves far larger client counts.

Others

• Commonwealth Financial Network: Independent broker-dealer/RIA platform where Liam Noonan previously worked; comparable in that Commonwealth advisors often layer third-party money management (like Contravisory's strategies) onto its planning relationships, making it a relevant distribution/ecosystem connection rather than a direct competitor.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Contravisory Investment Management