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CHASE INVESTMENT COUNSEL CORPORATION
Derwood Chase Jr. founded Chase Investment Counsel in 1932; the Charlottesville firm runs concentrated, tax-efficient equity portfolios for HNW clients.
CHASE INVESTMENT COUNSEL CORPORATION
Chase Investment Counsel Corporation was established in 1932 by Derwood S. Chase Jr. in Charlottesville, Virginia. For over ninety years, the firm has operated as an independent, employee-owned investment adviser, making it one of the oldest continuously run advisory shops in the United States. The firm's longevity is rooted in a direct, high-conviction equity philosophy that has persisted through multiple market cycles without pivoting to trend-chasing or asset-gathering for its own sake. The firm manages concentrated domestic equity portfolios, emphasizing large-cap growth stocks with durable competitive advantages. Its strategy centers on a bottom-up fundamental research process targeting high-quality companies with consistent earnings growth, strong balance sheets, and shareholder-oriented management. Typical holdings have historically included blue-chip names such as Microsoft and Apple. The approach is benchmark-agnostic, often resulting in portfolios of 25 to 35 names with low turnover. The firm serves high-net-worth individuals, families, and institutional clients from its single office in Charlottesville, and has historically taken a national client footprint through referrals rather than marketing campaigns. Chase Investment Counsel remains intentionally small in team size, with a lean structure that keeps portfolio managers directly engaged with client relationships. The firm has not launched adjacent vehicles, private funds, or philanthropic arms, maintaining a singular focus on its core equity discipline. In recent years, ownership has transitioned to the next generation of leadership, including President Derwood S. Chase III, ensuring continuity of the family-named firm's investment philosophy. Structural differentiator: The firm's competitive edge is temporal. Running a concentrated, low-turnover equity strategy for over ninety years with no style drift and no product proliferation creates a governance and succession track record that few firms under $5 billion can match. The continuity — three generations of Chase family involvement alongside long-tenured analysts — functions as a cultural lock on the process, making the firm's output unusually predictable for allocators.
General information
Firm type
Asset Manager
Year founded
1932
AUM
$2B – $4B (Altss estimate)
Location
Region
North America
Country
United States
City
Charlottesville
Corporate office
Charlottesville, VA, United States
Principals
Derwood S. Chase Jr.
Founder
Sector focus
Frequently asked questions
Who runs investment decisions at Chase Investment Counsel?
Portfolio management is led by the firm's senior investment committee, which includes third-generation family member Derwood S. Chase III and long-tenured principals. The process relies on a bottom-up, team-based research approach rather than a star-manager model. Decision-making authority for individual portfolios rests with the portfolio managers directly assigned to each client relationship.
How does Chase Investment Counsel source investment ideas?
The firm uses a proprietary fundamental screening process focused on identifying large-cap companies with consistent above-average earnings and revenue growth. Idea generation is internally driven, drawing on financial statement analysis, management quality assessment, and industry positioning. The firm does not rely on sell-side research or external idea generation platforms as primary inputs.
What is the firm's typical portfolio concentration and turnover?
Chase Investment Counsel runs concentrated portfolios typically holding between 25 and 35 individual equity positions. Annual turnover is deliberately low — often below 20 percent — reflecting a long-horizon philosophy. This structure is designed for tax efficiency, a priority for the high-net-worth families that constitute the client base.
Does the firm offer products beyond large-cap US equities?
No. The firm has maintained a single-strategy focus on large-cap US growth equities since its founding. It does not offer fixed-income, international, small-cap, or alternative investment strategies. This singular focus is a deliberate structural choice, not a gap in coverage.
How is the firm owned, and what is the succession plan?
Chase Investment Counsel is employee-owned and independent. Ownership has transitioned across generations, with Derwood S. Chase III representing the third generation of family leadership. The firm's succession architecture embeds equity ownership among senior professionals, a structure that aligns multi-decade employee tenure with client portfolio horizons.
What client types does the firm serve?
The firm primarily manages separate accounts for high-net-worth individuals, multi-generational families, and a limited number of institutional clients such as endowments and foundations. It does not operate mutual funds, ETFs, or commingled vehicles, maintaining a direct account-by-account management model.
What is the firm's geographic footprint?
Chase Investment Counsel operates from a single headquarters in Charlottesville, Virginia. The firm has maintained this single-office structure since its founding. Its client base is national, historically built through professional and personal referral networks rather than through a distributed advisor sales force.
Profile maintained by Altss using OSINT (open-source intelligence), regulatory filings, licensed data partners, and verified direct submissions. Read the methodology. Last updated: . Continuous refresh with full update cycles at least every 30 days.
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