# SouthernSun Asset Management

SouthernSun Asset Management is an Asset Manager based in Memphis, United States.

## Overview

- **Organization type:** Asset Manager
- **Headquarters:** Memphis, United States
- **Region:** North America
- **Address:** Memphis, TN, United States
- **Founded:** 1989
- **Assets under management:** Undisclosed
- **Website:** southernsunam.com
- **LinkedIn:** https://www.linkedin.com/company/southernsun-asset-management

## Regulatory record

- **CRD number:** 154572
- **SEC file number:** 801-71849
- **Registration status:** Registered
- **Reports private funds:** Yes
- **IAPD record:** https://adviserinfo.sec.gov/firm/summary/154572

## About

SOUTHERNSUN ASSET MANAGEMENT LLC is an SEC-registered investment adviser in MEMPHIS, TN, registered since 2010. The firm manages approximately $749 million in assets. It has 15 employees and 15 investment advisers.

## Sectors

- Industrials
- Financial Services
- Consumer
- Energy
- Materials

## People

- Michael Cook — Founder and Chief Executive Officer
- Phillip Cook — President and Chief Investment Officer

## Questions

### Who runs investment decisions at SouthernSun?

Phillip Cook serves as President and Chief Investment Officer, overseeing all portfolio management. He leads the investment team in executing the firm's concentrated, fundamental value strategy. Founder Michael Cook remains involved as CEO, providing continuity rooted in the firm's 1989 founding principles.

### What is SouthernSun's investment strategy?

SouthernSun employs a concentrated, long-only value-equity strategy focused on small- and mid-cap companies. The team builds portfolios of 20–35 names through rigorous bottom-up research, seeking businesses with strong balance sheets and durable moats trading below intrinsic value. The firm is benchmark-agnostic and maintains a low-turnover approach.

### Why is SouthernSun headquartered in Memphis?

The firm was founded in Memphis by Michael Cook and has intentionally remained there to maintain distance from Wall Street consensus-thinking. This geographic isolation supports the firm's patient, independent research culture. For allocators, the location is viewed as reinforcing rather than limiting the strategy's contrarian bent.

### How is SouthernSun structured in terms of ownership and succession?

SouthernSun is a privately held, founder-led firm with a defined family succession. Founder Michael Cook transitioned the CIO role to his son, Phillip Cook, creating a rare multi-generational governance structure. This arrangement aims to preserve investment philosophy continuity without the disruption of external executive turnover.

### Does SouthernSun participate in fund commitments or only direct securities?

The firm invests directly in publicly traded equities through its separately managed accounts and proprietary mutual funds. It does not operate as a fund-of-funds or allocate to external private-market managers. The strategy is purely long-only, concentrated public equity.

### Which sectors does SouthernSun explicitly avoid?

SouthernSun's mandate centers on tangible, asset-intensive businesses in industrials, materials, financials, and consumer sectors. The firm has historically avoided speculative technology, pre-revenue biotech, and high-beta, concept-driven names that do not fit its disciplined valuation framework. The CIO has publicly articulated a preference for capital-cycle-exposed sectors where deep value can be analytically mined.

## Related profiles

- [Southern Management Corporation](https://altss.com/profile/southern-management-corporation)
- [Southgate Capital Partners](https://altss.com/profile/southgate-capital-partners)

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

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