# Willis Investment Counsel

Willis Investment Counsel is an Asset Manager based in Gainesville, United States.

## Overview

- **Organization type:** Asset Manager
- **Headquarters:** Gainesville, United States
- **Region:** North America
- **Address:** Gainesville, GA, United States
- **Founded:** 1970
- **Assets under management:** Undisclosed
- **Website:** wicinvest.com
- **LinkedIn:** https://www.linkedin.com/company/willis-investment-counsel

## Regulatory record

- **CRD number:** 111042
- **SEC file number:** 801-18528
- **Registration status:** APPROVED
- **Latest Form ADV filing:** 2026-04-30T05:00:00.000Z
- **Reports private funds:** Yes
- **Private funds reported:** 0
- **IAPD record:** https://adviserinfo.sec.gov/firm/summary/111042

## About

Willis Investment Counsel is a fully independent, fiduciary firm that is 100% employee-owned. Established in 1979, it provides investment management and client counsel tailored to clients' investment objectives, risk tolerance, cash flow needs, and tax considerations. The firm manages approximately $4.3 billion for corporations, endowment funds, trusts, 401(k) plans, and private clients.

## Sectors

- Generalist

## People

- Robert Willis — Chief Investment Officer

## Questions

### Who runs investment decisions at Willis Investment Counsel?

Robert Willis serves as Chief Investment Officer and has led the firm's investment strategy since the early 1990s. He is the sole named principal associated with portfolio management decisions. The firm operates without a large analyst team or investment committee structure, concentrating research and decision-making authority in a single lead manager.

### What is Willis Investment Counsel's investment strategy?

The firm runs a concentrated, growth-oriented equity strategy focused on publicly traded US companies. It employs fundamental, bottom-up research to identify businesses with durable competitive advantages, above-average earnings growth, and strong management teams. Portfolio construction is benchmark-agnostic, resulting in high active share relative to the S&P 500.

### Does Willis Investment Counsel manage mutual funds or ETFs?

No. The firm exclusively manages separate accounts for individual clients. It does not offer pooled investment vehicles and has not launched any mutual funds, exchange-traded funds, or private partnerships. Client portfolios are individually managed, though they reflect the same concentrated, long-duration strategy.

### How is Willis Investment Counsel structured geographically?

The firm operates from a single office in Gainesville, Georgia, a city northeast of Atlanta with no major financial services cluster. It maintains no satellite offices in New York, Boston, or other financial centers. This geographic isolation has reinforced a patient, low-turnover investment culture that disregards Wall Street consensus and quarterly performance pressure.

### What is the firm's posture on co-investments or private equity?

Willis Investment Counsel has no known participation in private equity, venture capital, real estate, or direct co-investment structures. The strategy is confined to publicly listed equities. The firm has not created adjacent vehicles, club deal networks, or alternative investment platforms separate from its core separate-account equity mandate.

## Related profiles

- [Will Capital Management](https://altss.com/profile/will-capital-management)
- [Willis & Smith Capital](https://altss.com/profile/willis-smith-capital)

---

Last updated: 2026-08-11T15:08:32.892Z

Canonical page: https://altss.com/profile/willis-investment-counsel

Maintained by Altss — https://altss.com — methodology: https://altss.com/methodology