What Cypress Asset Management does

Cypress Asset Management, Inc. is a privately held, SEC registered investment advisory firm headquartered in Houston, Texas, founded in 1996 by William L. Garwood, Jr. and Frank P. Lee, who previously spent a decade together at Fayez Sarofim & Co. The firm provides discretionary equity and fixed income portfolio management to high net worth individuals, foundations, and endowments, with a stated objective of generating above-market returns across diverse global economic and market environments.

The firm's investment process combines a top-down macroeconomic outlook with fundamental, research-driven stock selection applied to a universe of approximately the 2,000 largest U.S. companies plus global ADRs, MLPs, REITs, and ETFs. Portfolios are typically diversified across 30 or more holdings with individual stock weightings capped at approximately 7% of the portfolio. Cypress offers five custom managed product strategies: Large Cap Core Growth, Growth and Income, Energy and Natural Resources, High Yield Equity, and Fixed Income, and publishes quarterly market commentary dating back to 2001.

Cypress generates revenue through investment advisory and management fees charged as a percentage of assets under management, consistent with the standard RIA subscription model. The firm is distributed through direct consultation-based outreach to prospective clients rather than through volume sales channels, and operates as an independently owned boutique with no parent company, external institutional investors, or M&A activity disclosed in available materials. The team consists of five named professionals: the two founding principals, a next-generation Investment and Marketing Principal (Will Garwood III), a Vice-President of Investment Operations, and an Executive Administration lead.

Name

Cypress Asset Management

Legal name

Cypress Asset Management, Inc.

Website

https://cypressasset.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1996

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Cypress Asset Management is a privately held, SEC registered investment advisory firm in Houston, TX, founded in 1996, that provides discretionary equity and fixed income portfolio management to high net worth individuals, foundations, and endowments across five custom managed strategies.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Wealth Management / Investment Advisory

NAICS

Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (523940), Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (52394)

SIC

Investment Advice (6282)

akta.pro primary industry

Advisory Portfolio Management (Non-Discretionary) (FSAAABAD)

akta.pro secondary industry

Portfolio Construction & Asset Allocation Advisory (FSAEAAAC)

Keywords

• Wealth management services
• Investment advisory services
• Equity portfolio management
• Asset management firm
• Custom managed portfolios

Headquarters

HQ city

Houston

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Investment Advisory and Management Fees: As an SEC registered investment advisory firm, Cypress Asset Management generates revenue through advisory fees charged to clients for wealth management and portfolio management services. The firm manages assets for long-term growth and income for individuals, foundations, and endowments, with revenue derived from a percentage of assets under management (typical for registered investment advisors).

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Cypress Asset Management is an SEC-registered, independently owned investment advisory firm providing discretionary equity portfolio management for high net worth individuals, foundations, and endowments. The firm delivers custom managed products across five strategies (Large Cap Core Growth, Growth and Income, Energy and Natural Resources, High Yield Equity, and Fixed Income), built on a top-down macro overlay combined with fundamental, research-driven stock selection across a universe of the 2,000 largest U.S. companies plus global ADRs, MLPs, REITs, and ETFs.

Product overview

Cypress Asset Management offers a unified investment advisory platform providing custom managed products across five distinct investment strategies: Large Cap Core Growth, Growth and Income, Energy and Natural Resources, High Yield Equity, and Fixed Income. The firm combines top-down macro analysis with fundamental, research-driven stock selection to construct diversified portfolios typically holding 30 or more positions. Alongside their core investment management services, they provide quarterly market commentary research content to clients.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Large Cap Core Growth A custom managed equity strategy focused on generating returns from large-capitalization companies with strong fundamentals and sustainable growth characteristics, offered to high net worth individuals, foundations, and endowments.
• Growth and Income A custom managed strategy designed to provide investors with both capital appreciation and regular income through a balanced portfolio approach across equity and income-oriented holdings.
• Energy and Natural Resources A sector-focused custom managed strategy targeting companies in the energy and natural resources industries, including equities, ADRs, MLPs, REITs, and ETFs.
• High Yield Equity A custom managed equity strategy focusing on stocks with attractive dividend yields and income-generating potential across various market sectors.
• Fixed Income A fixed income strategy within Cypress's custom managed products, complementing equity holdings for portfolio diversification and income stability.
• Quarterly Market Commentary Quarterly market commentary reports providing analysis of portfolio performance and market conditions, with archives dating back to 2001, supporting client and prospect engagement.

Quantifiable outcome

• Above market returns for individuals, foundations, and endowments across challenging global economic and market environments

Named customers2 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves4 records

Broad incumbents

• Lazard Asset Management: Global investment manager with a fundamental, research-driven equity platform serving institutional and private wealth clients. Represents the type of large incumbent Cypress competes with for foundation and endowment mandates.
• Goldman Sachs Personal Financial Management: Wealth management arm of Goldman Sachs serving HNW individuals with portfolio management and financial planning services. Represents the scaled, brand-driven incumbent peer competing for the same HNW wallet.
• Invesco: Large global asset manager headquartered in Atlanta with deep Houston roots following the AIM merger. Offers comparable active large-cap and energy strategies at scale, representing the broader incumbent benchmark against which Cypress competes.

Direct peers

• Vaughan Nelson Investment Management: Houston-based investment advisor managing U.S. equity and fixed income strategies for institutional and HNW clients with a similar fundamental, research-driven approach. Directly comparable in geography, client base, and product strategy mix.
• Tortoise Capital Advisors: Energy- and natural-resources-focused investment manager headquartered in the Kansas City area with a Houston presence. Directly comparable in the dedicated energy/natural resources mandate Cypress offers, even though Tortoise is more energy-specialized.
• Salient Partners: Houston-based investment manager offering fundamental equity and multi-strategy products to institutional and private wealth clients. Comparable in regional footprint, strategy breadth, and target client base.
• Wedgewood Partners: Houston-based RIA offering large-cap equity and energy/natural resources strategies to HNW and institutional clients. Closely comparable in regional positioning, equity-centric strategy mix, and inclusion of an energy-focused product.
• Fayez Sarofim & Co. Houston-based, SEC-registered investment advisor focused on large-cap equities and the exact firm where both Cypress founding principals spent a decade prior to founding Cypress. Operates the same fundamental large-cap equity mandate with similar U.S. focus, making it a direct lineage and operational peer.

Others

• Focus Financial Partners: Partnership of independent RIAs including many small and mid-sized wealth managers. Relevant as a structuring/aggregator option that Cypress could join or compete against for talent and client acquisition in the RIA consolidation wave.

Regional players

• Brinson Patrick Securities: Houston-based RIA providing discretionary equity portfolio management to HNW individuals and institutions. Similar scale, region, and fundamental active equity approach, making it a closer-scope regional peer.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

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 Cypress Asset Management