In business for a half century, GW&K Investment Management is a fee-only firm headquartered in Boston. The firm offers investment advisory services to tens of thousands of clients, including both individual and institutional clients. GW&K specializes in active equity and fixed-income investment solutions, and it incorporates equity, municipal bond and taxable bond strategies in its investment process.
GW&K Investment Management Background
The firm was founded in 1974, and in 2008 it became a partner of Affiliated Managers Group, Inc, a publicly-traded global asset management company. In addition to its municipal bond strategies, the firm employs small-cap and small/mid-cap and core fixed-income investment approaches, among others. GW&K manages wrap accounts, and it also participates in certain sub-advisory agreements.
GW&K Investment Management Client Types and Minimum Account Sizes
GW&K works with private and high-net-worth clients, as well as estates, pension and profit-sharing plans, charitable foundations, endowments, corporations, private funds, mutual funds, UCITS funds, collective trusts and other entities.
The firm's minimum account size varies by asset class and GW&K strategy. For advisory services the firm provides to wrap fee programs, or for sub-advisory services it offers to pooled investment vehicles, the relevant program or fund sponsor determines the minimum.
Services Offered by GW&K Investment Management
GW&K offers the following advisory services:
- Portfolio management
- Investment strategies
- Domestic equity
- Equity Dividend Plus
- Diversified Equity
- Small/Mid-Cap Core
- Small/Mid-Cap Growth
- Small-Cap Value
- Small-Cap Core
- Small-Cap Growth
- Global equity
- Global Small-Cap
- International Small-Cap
- Taxable bond
- Short-Term Taxable Bond
- Intermediate Taxable Bond
- Core Bond
- Core Bond ESG
- Enhanced Core Bond
- Enhanced Core Bond ESG
- Total Return Bond
- Corporate Bond Opportunities
- Short-Term Focused High Income
- Municipal bond
- Municipal Bond
- Municipal Bond ESG
- Municipal Bond Plus
- Enhanced Yield Municipal Bond
- Short-Term Municipal Bond
- 2-8 Year Active Municipal Bond
- 2-8 Year Active Municipal Bond ESG
- Domestic equity
- Private client wealth advisory
- Financial planning
- Asset allocation recommendations
- Lifestyle and wealth planning consultation
GW&K Investment Management Philosophy
GW&K Investment Management follows a fundamentally driven, research-intensive investment philosophy that seeks to uncover the intrinsic value of securities through deep analysis. The firm combines bottom-up security selection with top-down macroeconomic, industry, and policy insights to guide portfolio construction.
Strategies are tailored to client objectives and risk profiles, with a focus on long-term performance. GW&K also integrates environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors into select strategies, guided by an internal ESG committee that oversees implementation and ongoing evaluation.
GW&K Investment Management Fees
For investment advisory services for individual clients, GW&K earns 1.00% for equity strategies and 0.65% for fixed-income strategies. GW&K fee rates vary per account size and investment strategy. The firm’s standard fee schedules are negotiable, and its fees are usually billed quarterly in advance or in arrears.
GW&K additionally receives performance-based fees for its investment management. The fees are based on a percentage of the net profits being managed.
What to Watch Out For
This firm has no disclosures on its SEC record.
The firm acknowledges that its performance-based accounts can create a potential conflict of interest. This is in relation to the fact that it could incentivize advisors to take increased risks that might not be taken within standard advisor arragements. That said, the firm has a fiduciary duty to put clients' best interests first.
However, as a fee-only firm, GW&K and its advisors do not receive sales commissions or other compensation associated with third-party products and services.
Opening an Account With GW&K Investment Management
If you’re interested in opening an account, you can reach out to an advisor through the firm’s contact page. You can also call the firm’s main office at (617) 236-8900.
All information is accurate as of the writing of this article.
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