# Scharf Investments

Scharf Investments is a Bank / Wealth / Trust based in Los Gatos, United States.

## Overview

- **Organization type:** Bank / Wealth / Trust
- **Headquarters:** Los Gatos, United States
- **Region:** North America
- **Address:** 16450 Los Gatos Boulevard, Suite 207, Los Gatos, CA 95032, United States
- **Founded:** 1983
- **Assets under management:** $4.2B (per the firm, 2025)
- **Website:** scharfinvestments.com
- **LinkedIn:** https://www.linkedin.com/company/scharfinvestments

## Regulatory record

- **CRD number:** 105508
- **SEC file number:** 801-18799
- **Registration status:** Registered
- **Reports private funds:** No
- **IAPD record:** https://adviserinfo.sec.gov/firm/summary/105508

## About

Scharf Investments opened in 1983, founded by a team that believed downside protection is the core engine of compound returns. From offices in Los Gatos and Soquel, California, the firm operates as an independent registered investment advisor, serving institutions, trusts, family offices and individuals through separately managed accounts and pooled vehicles. The strategy is deliberately concentrated and benchmark-agnostic. Scharf buys companies when they trade at discounts on price-to-earnings, price-to-cash-flow and price-to-book measures, and only when earnings histories show resilience through downturns. The mandate spans large- and small-cap stocks, domestic and international markets, with no obligation to hug a style box. The firm structures access through mutual funds, SMAs and its proprietary ETFs — KAT and GKAT — which distill the same quality-value discipline into a traded wrapper. Geographic exposure regularly crosses North America, Europe and Asia. Scharf reports $4.2 billion in assets under management as of December 31, 2025, with a portfolio management team averaging 27 years of investment experience across full market cycles. The firm maintains a 28-year audited GIPS track record, unusually long for an independent manager of its size. Its ETF launch expanded the franchise into an adjacent vehicle, making the concentrated value methodology available to a broader audience. Scharf's architecture as an owner-operated, centralized investment team sets it apart from multi-strategy platforms. There is no sub-advisor delegation; every equity holding reflects the same proprietary screen and the same portfolio-manager judgment. The dual-office footprint in Northern California keeps the entire research and trading operation within a single decision-making loop, a structure more common among boutique hedge funds than traditional wealth managers.

## Offices

- Soquel, CA, United States

## Questions

### Who runs investment decisions at Scharf Investments?

The firm does not publicly name a single named CIO on its website. Scharf describes a portfolio management team averaging 27 years of experience that applies a proprietary quality-value screen. All investment decisions appear to flow through a centralized research and PM group operating from the Los Gatos and Soquel offices.

### What defines Scharf Investments' quality-value approach?

Scharf screens for three explicit factors: low valuation ratios (price-to-earnings, price-to-cash-flow, price-to-book), earnings stability that holds up in downturns, and a concentrated portfolio that avoids dilution of conviction. The firm explicitly markets itself as benchmark-agnostic, willing to own companies of any size or geography that pass the screen.

### Does Scharf Investments run ETFs, mutual funds, or both?

Scharf manages both. In addition to separately managed accounts, the firm runs mutual funds and two proprietary ETFs — tickers KAT and GKAT — which package its concentrated quality-value approach into exchange-traded formats accessible to a wider set of investors.

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Last updated: 2026-06-03T20:00:00.000Z

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