First Manhattan

First Manhattan (FM) is a wealth management firm founded in 1964 by a group of financial industry executives led by the late David "Sandy" Gottesman. FM remains independently owned and operated, with operating subsidiaries that include an SEC-registered investment adviser and a broker-dealer registered with FINRA. FM is currently led by Zac Wydra, CEO and Portfolio Manager, and Alvaro Spinola, CFO/COO.

FM is based in New York City.

Background
FM provides investment advisory and wealth planning services to high-net-worth individuals, as well as to partnerships, trusts, retirement accounts, and institutional clients. The firm manages investments on a fully discretionary basis for accounts ranging from under $1 million to over $100 million. The firm currently manages in excess of $31 billion, utilizing a research-driven, long-term, value-oriented investment approach.

The firm's clients are significant owners of Berkshire Hathaway stock, and the firm has established a reputation for utilizing investing strategies similar to that espoused by Warren Buffett. The firm's founder, David Gottesman, was an early investor in Berkshire Hathaway and maintained a long-standing friendship with Buffett. The firm's investment approach is to establish long term positions in portfolio companies, most often relying on fundamental analysis and targeting value in the public equity and fixed-income markets of the United States.

Leadership
David Gottesman founded the firm in 1964. Mr. Gottesman was a member of the Board of Directors of Berkshire Hathaway, Inc. He was a director of the Securities Industry Association. Mr. Gottesman passed on September 28, 2022, at the age of 96.

Robert Gottesman, David Gottesman's son, joined First Manhattan in 1987 and is currently the firm's Executive Chairman and a Portfolio Manager.

The firm's Management Committee, led by CEO Zac Wydra and CFO/COO Alvaro Spinola, is responsible for the management and day-to-day operations of the firm.

Recent Developments
The firm launched an exchange-traded fund, FMC Excelsior Focus Equity ETF (ticker: FMCX), an actively managed ETF that invests in First Manhattan's highest-conviction ideas driven by its rigorous, fundamentals-based research. Himayani Puri is the Portfolio Manager for FMCX and a Partner and the Head of Research at FM.

Additionally, MRJ Capital, a $168M AUM registered investment adviser founded by Matt Greenberg, joined First Manhattan in March 2022.