Cornerstone Investment Partners

What Cornerstone Investment Partners does

Cornerstone Investment Partners is an employee-owned, SEC-registered investment advisor headquartered at Phipps Tower in Atlanta, Georgia. Founded in 1987, the firm operates a concentrated value-investing platform built around a proprietary Fair Value Model that the firm has refined over more than 30 years to identify stocks trading below their intrinsic value. The portfolio management team shares over 100 years of combined investment experience and has worked together under the same philosophy for nearly three decades; leadership includes CIO Rick van Nostrand, CFA (promoted June 2024 from Senior Portfolio Manager) alongside seven CFA-credentialed partners responsible for research, portfolio management, trading, marketing, and operations. The firm does not have external private equity or venture capital backing and is structured as an employee-owned partnership.

The firm's product platform comprises nine core strategies spanning Large Cap (Concentrated 30, Value 50, Domestic Ultra Concentrated), All Cap (All Cap 40, Yield), Small/SMID (Opportunistic Small Cap Value, Opportunistic SMID Cap Value, Diversified Small Cap Core), Asset Allocation (Compass), and customized client-specific mandates. These strategies are screened from an investment universe of approximately 800 large, liquid securities (US-traded, including non-US issuers), with concentrated portfolios typically holding 30-50 names and high active share versus Russell and S&P benchmarks. Distribution is executed through direct institutional sales targeting endowments, foundations, pension funds, and family offices, supported by investment consultant relationships, thought-leadership content (quarterly commentaries, thought papers, video library, podcast appearances), and earned media in the Financial Times, Barron's, Bloomberg Radio, and MarketWatch.

The firm earns investment management fees on assets under administration, which totaled approximately $2.5 billion as of June 2021 and $2,654.5 million as of December 31, 2025. Fee schedules vary by strategy and are tiered, generally ranging from 0.35% to 1.00% with declining breakpoints as AUM grows (e.g., Large Cap strategies 0.55% on the first $20M down to 0.35% on the balance; Small Cap strategies 1.00% on the first $10M down to 0.50% on the balance). The firm has received NASDAQ eVestment Top Brand designations (2021, 2023), multiple Zephyr Top Gun awards (2024) across four strategies, and maintains GIPS-compliant composite reporting verified for periods from September 30, 2001 through December 31, 2025.

Name

Cornerstone Investment Partners

Legal name

Cornerstone Investment Partners

Website

https://cornerstone-ip.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1987

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Cornerstone Investment Partners is an employee-owned, Atlanta-based registered investment advisor that manages approximately $2.65 billion in concentrated value-equity strategies for institutional clients, family offices, and high-net-worth individuals using a proprietary Fair Value Model developed over 30+ years.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Atlanta

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

Revenue model

1. Investment Management Fees: The firm earns management fees based on assets under management across various institutional investment strategies. Fee schedules vary by strategy, with tiered pricing typically ranging from 0.35% to 1.00% depending on strategy type and AUM level

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Cornerstone Investment Partners is an employee-owned registered investment advisor that manages active equity portfolios for institutional clients using a proprietary Fair Value Model. The firm offers a platform of value-oriented strategies spanning Large Cap, All Cap, Small/SMID Cap, and Asset Allocation, plus customized mandates, with portfolios ranging from 30 to 250 securities.

Product overview

Cornerstone Investment Partners is an employee-owned registered investment advisor offering a platform of proprietary equity investment strategies spanning Large Cap, All Cap, Small/SMID Cap, and Asset Allocation categories. The firm's offerings include Concentrated 30, Value 50, and Domestic Ultra Concentrated (Large Cap); All Cap 40 and Yield (All Cap); Opportunistic Small Cap Value, Opportunistic SMID Cap Value, and Diversified Small Cap Core (Small/SMID); Compass for asset allocation; and Client Specific Mandates for customized solutions. All strategies are grounded in the firm's proprietary Fair Value Model and share a unified investment philosophy focused on identifying undervalued stocks by exploiting the volatility between stock prices and underlying fundamentals.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Concentrated 30 Large cap value equity strategy comprising approximately 30 securities, benchmarked against the Russell 1000 Value Index. Position sizes typically range from 2% to 6% per holding, with sector weights constrained to 0-30%. Designed for institutional clients seeking concentrated large cap value exposure.
• Value 50 Large cap value equity strategy comprising approximately 50 securities, equal-weighted with positions starting at 2% and a maximum of 5%, benchmarked against the Russell 1000 Value Index. Targets institutional clients seeking diversified large cap value exposure.
• Domestic Ultra Concentrated Concentrated large cap strategy of 5-15 securities selected from an 800-stock universe. Position sizes range from 1% to 30% based on upside opportunity and risk profile, benchmarked against the Russell 3000 Index. Designed for institutional clients seeking high-conviction large cap exposure.
• All Cap 40 All cap equity strategy comprising 40 securities selected from a 3,000-stock universe, with positions typically constrained at 5%, benchmarked against the Russell 3000 Value Index. Targets institutional clients seeking diversified all cap value exposure.
• Yield Income-focused equity strategy targeting approximately 30 stocks with a 30% yield premium to the S&P 500. Position sizes start at 2% with a maximum of 6%, benchmarked against the Russell 1000 Value Index. Designed for institutional clients seeking yield-oriented large cap exposure.
• Opportunistic Small Cap Value Small cap value strategy comprising 50-70 securities with capitalizations between $250M and $3B, benchmarked against the Russell 2000 Value Index. Targets institutional clients seeking small cap value exposure.
• Opportunistic SMID Cap Value SMID cap value strategy comprising 50-100 securities with capitalizations between $250M and $10B, benchmarked against the Russell 2500 Value Index. Targets institutional clients seeking small/mid cap value exposure.
• Diversified Small Cap Core Diversified small cap strategy comprising 230-250 securities with capitalizations between $250M and $3B, focused on high-quality companies with improving fundamentals, benchmarked against the Russell 2000 Index. Targets institutional clients seeking broadly diversified small cap exposure.
• Compass Dynamic asset allocation strategy combining stocks and bonds, utilizing the Concentrated 30 equity portfolio with active bond allocation. Designed to deliver risk-adjusted returns versus a passive 60/40 equity/bond portfolio, with equity allocation ranging from 40-80%. Targets institutional clients seeking balanced equity/fixed income exposure.
• Client Specific Mandates Customized investment mandates combining Cornerstone strategies with specific market cap exposure requirements and cash overlay features. Designed for institutional clients with tailored constraints or specific mandate requirements.

Named customers1 record

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Trees AtlantaminorOthersCommunity service partnership - Beltline Cleanup volunteer program with Trees Atlanta organization

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Cooke & Bieler: Private, employee-owned value equity manager with concentrated Large/Mid/Small Cap strategies for institutional clients. Highly comparable in size, ownership structure, and value-oriented process.
• Dalton Investments: Employee-owned value equity manager running concentrated global and U.S. value strategies for institutional clients. Comparable on philosophy, concentrated portfolios, and ownership structure.
• Ariel Investments: Employee-owned active value equity manager with a focus on U.S. small/mid- and large-cap value strategies for institutional and individual investors. Comparable to Cornerstone in philosophy, employee-ownership, and institutional tilt.
• Glenmede Investment Management: Employee-owned RIA offering multi-strategy equity (including value) and asset allocation solutions to institutional and private wealth clients. Comparable in ownership, multi-strategy platform, and institutional focus.
• Pzena Investment Management: Public active value equity manager running concentrated Large/Mid/Small Cap value strategies for institutional clients. Closely comparable to Cornerstone on philosophy (deep value), client base (institutional), and concentrated portfolio construction.
• Westwood Holdings Group: Public asset manager specializing in value-oriented U.S. Large Cap and SMID strategies for institutional clients. Comparable in product mix and value-style approach.
• Royce Investment Partners: Long-tenured small-cap equity specialist (a subset of Westwood) running value and core small-cap strategies. Direct comparable to Cornerstone's Opportunistic Small Cap Value and Diversified Small Cap Core products.
• Eagle Asset Management: Multi-strategy U.S. equity and fixed-income manager including value-oriented Large/Mid/Small Cap strategies for institutional clients. Comparable platform breadth and institutional GTM.

Broad incumbents

• Artisan Partners: Large public active asset manager offering multiple U.S. equity (including value) and multi-asset strategies. Overlapping product universe at substantially greater scale.
• Brandywine Global Investment Management: Multi-strategy active manager with value-oriented equity and asset allocation capabilities. Most directly comparable to Cornerstone's Compass asset allocation and value equity offerings, though broader in scope.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/CornerstoneIP

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles12 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A

Investments7 records

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

Frequently asked questions about Cornerstone Investment Partners