Westfield Capital Management Review

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With almost tens of billions of dollars in assets under management (AUM), Westfield Capital Management primarily serves institutional clients and very wealthy individuals. The Boston-based, fee-only firm employs a sizable team of financial advisors who manage clients' accounts and build investment strategies. The firm does not offer financial planning.

Westfield Capital Management Background

Westfield Capital was founded in 1989. In 2009, employees, through WMS Management, bought the firm from Boston Private Financial Holdings, Inc., for approximately $30 million, ensuring that key personnel and their clients would stay put. Today, it is helmed by Will Muggia, who has been working at Westfield since 1994. He serves as president, CEO and chief investment officer (CIO), and is the principal investor of WMS Management, which is the sole managing member of WMS General Partner LLC, the general partner for Westfield.

The advisory team at Westfield includes five chartered financial analysts (CFAs).

Westfield Capital Management Client Types and Minimum Account Sizes

Westfield Capital works with high-net-worth individuals, a small number of individuals with less than high net worth, corporate pension and profit-sharing plans, Taft-Hartley plans, foundations, endowments, wrap fee and model delivery programs, municipalities, registered mutual funds, pooled investment vehicles, private investment funds, trust programs, sovereign funds, foreign funds such as UCITs and SICAVs, limited partnerships and other U.S. and non-U.S. institutions.

The firm’s minimums depend on the investment product but generally range from $500,000 to $10 million, but are subject to the discretion of the investment fund and the firm. That said, the firm may negotiate terms at its discretion. 

Services Offered by Westfield Capital Management

Westfield Capital offers investment management services to separate accounts, pooled investment vehicles, wrap fee programs as a sub-advisor and Unified Managed Account (UMA) programs sponsored by unaffiliated third parties. It generally works on a discretionary basis, where clients authorize it to make trades without prior approval, but also provides services on a non-discretionary basis.

Westfield Capital Management Investing Philosophy

While some client accounts are managed by an individual portfolio manager, the firm’s investment strategies (or products) are managed by committee.

These products primarily invest in publicly traded, exchange-listed domestic equity securities. They include:

• Large-Cap Growth Equity Strategy
• Small-Cap Growth Equity Strategy
• Small-/Mid-Cap Growth Equity Strategy
• Mid-Cap Growth Equity Strategy
• All-Cap Growth Equity Strategy 
• Dividend Growth Equity Strategy
• Sustainable Growth Equity Strategy
• Micro-Cap Strategy
• Select Growth Equity Strategy
• Disruptive Innovation Strategy
• Health Care Strategy

Here are the firm’s general guidelines for positions, sectors/industries, cash and equivalents and foreign investments:

• Position Limits 
  • Typically, initial equity positions are 0.50% to 2% of a portfolio, depending on the market capitalization of the product. No position will exceed the greater of either 5% of the portfolio or 2% more than the security’s benchmark weight, both valued at market.
  • Initially, equity positions in Dividend Growth Equity are typically 1.5% to 3%. They will usually not exceed 5% of the portfolio unless their weighting in the benchmark does so.   
  • Positions in Select Growth Equity will not exceed 10% of the portfolio. 
  • Disruptive Innovation and Health Care each have a 10% limit.
• Sector/Industry Limits 
  • Generally, sectors are limited to 20% of the portfolio or 2.5 times the benchmark weight, whichever is greater. (Select Growth Equity, Disruptive Innovation, Health Care and Micro Cap have no limits.) 
  • Dividend Growth Equity will generally limit industries to 25% of the portfolio. 
• Cash and Equivalents 
  • Generally, cash will not exceed 10% of portfolios, since they are to be fully invested at all times. (Select Growth Equity, Dividend Growth Equity, Disruptive Innovation, Health Care and Micro Cap have no limits.) 
• Foreign Investments 
  • Exposure to foreign markets is limited to 15% of the portfolio. (Select Growth Equity, Micro Cap, and Health Care have no limits) 
  • Dividend Growth Equity may hold up to 35%. 

Fees Under Westfield Capital Management

Like most firms, Westfield Capital collects management fees based on a percentage of the client’s assets under management (AUM). Though fees are subject to negotiation, they generally follow these tiered fee schedules per investment strategy:

What to Watch Out For

Westfield Capital Management had no legal or regulatory disclosures on its SEC-filed Form ADV.

Westfield Capital does not offer financial planning. So if you’re seeking general financial planning, this firm will likely not be a good fit. Try using SmartAsset’s free financial advisor matching tool to connect with advisors in your area who do offer financial planning.

Opening an Account With Westfield Capital Management

To contact Westfield Capital, call (617) 428-7100.

All information is accurate as of the writing of this article. 

Tips for Finding a Financial Advisor 

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• Ask how advisor candidates get paid. Those whose only compensation is the fees they collect from you will likely have fewer conflicts of interests than those who also receive commissions. That said, if any advisors say they are fiduciaries, that means they will work in your best interests.