Phocas Financial Corporation

William Schaff serves as founder, chief executive officer, and sole chief investment officer, acting as the single portfolio manager for the firm's concentrated equity strategy. Schaff previously managed the Janus US Small Company Fund and co-founded Bay Isle Financial, which was later acquired by Janus. No other named portfolio managers or co-CIOs appear in the firm's SEC filings.

Phocas operates a single long-only US small-cap value equity strategy. The portfolio is concentrated in roughly 35 to 50 names drawn from four primary sectors: financials, industrials, energy, and information technology. The firm targets companies with market capitalizations generally below $2 billion at time of purchase, emphasizing tangible book value, asset-backed businesses, and direct management engagement as core sourcing and diligence tools.

Phocas has historically operated a single investment strategy, available through a mutual fund and institutional separate accounts. The firm does not run hedge fund structures, private equity vehicles, side pockets, or philanthropic foundations. Its regulatory disclosures consistently report a single advisory business with no affiliated entities.

Phocas maintains a concentrated portfolio with low turnover, holding positions for multi-year periods that span full business cycles. The firm's absolute-value framework treats each equity holding as an ownership stake in a private business, with exit typically triggered by price-to-value convergence rather than short-term catalysts. This produces below-peer-average turnover and a portfolio that rarely exceeds 50 names.

The firm draws on Schaff's long-tenured network from Janus and Bay Isle, supplemented by industry-specific contacts and proprietary screening for statistically cheap companies. Management meetings and site visits are mandatory before any new position is initiated — a requirement that in practice acts as a capacity constraint and a moat against purely quantitative strategies. The firm is not known to rely on sell-side research or broker-driven idea generation.

Phocas Financial Corporation is an independent, employee-owned investment adviser with no known affiliation to a single family office or parent company. It does not disclose a wealth origin because it operates as a registered investment manager serving institutional and retail clients through public funds and separate accounts.

Phocas's stated core sectors are financials, industrials, energy, and information technology. By exclusion, the firm systematically avoids areas like biotechnology, early-stage pharmaceuticals, and most consumer-discretionary names that lack the tangible asset base required by its absolute-value discipline. The strategy does not invest in fixed income, commodities, or non-US equities.