About Us
CCM Overview
Founded by Steven Check in 1987, Check Capital Management is an award-winning asset management firm that’s based in Southern California and serves clients throughout the U.S. CCM has developed long-term, productive relationships with these investors by helping them to protect and grow their assets.
Never forgetting that the firm handles other people’s money (as well as its own), Check Capital has a culture of avoiding losses. Therefore, its investment philosophy centers around owning shares of exceptional businesses — but only when those companies are selling at bargain prices.
Profit-Based Fee
Often investors say, “Find me a money manager that only makes money when I make money.” Check Capital offers a management fee choice that addresses this statement. Our fee is 10% of the account profits, with no minimum fee. This arrangement is available only to “Qualified Clients” (see the FAQ section).
The vast majority of our clients have elected to pay us a profit-based fee rather than a fee based simply on account size.
Investment Philosophy
Check Capital Management is value-oriented investment manager. We attempt to make genuinely long-term investments in companies that we believe are undervalued and own them until that value is realized. Quality being a major factor in valuation, we generally own excellent companies – industry leaders with favorable economics – capable of growing earnings for decades. Most of our companies are run by owner-operators with significant personal stakes in the business. We believe this alignment of interest creates better outcomes for shareholders over time.
Applying our business-owner mentality to the stock market – with a focus on long-term cashflows over near-term stock price fluctuations – results in a concentrated portfolio (12 to 20 holdings) of thoroughly-researched, competitively advantaged companies that we typically own for long periods of time. Our average holding is well-over five years.
Client Testimonials
Customer satisfaction is a primary goal for our company. To that end, we are passionate about meeting and surpassing the expectations of our varied clientele. But don’t take our word for it, read what our customers have to say.
My experience with Check Capital has been very positive in all respects. I like the investment philosophy, one that concentrates on a select number of stocks picking leading companies
Check Capital are the guardians of our financial wellbeing. Their goals, as I see them, are to deliver their clients the best possible return on investment with the slightest amount of risk.
Having self-managed my portfolio for over 30 years, as it grew, I realized that I should diversify the managers of the portfolio, just as it’s well-known that everyone should diversify the investments themselves.
Check looks to invest in companies with solid fundamentals, valuing them, buying and selling them, according to their worth rather than day to day dynamics of the markets.
After 25 years of hard work, prudence, and the creation of my wealth, I decided to share the responsibility of protecting and nurturing my investments. I found Steve Check.
What attracted me to Check Capital five years ago was its strategy of finding and investing for the long term in a manageable number of well run, well established companies available at attractive share prices.
In my eight years with Check Capital, I have enjoyed financial peace of mind. I feel confident my accounts are being managed with professional expertise and personal attention.
My experience with Check Capital has been very positive in all respects. I like the investment philosophy, one that concentrates on a select number of stocks picking leading companies
Check Capital are the guardians of our financial wellbeing. Their goals, as I see them, are to deliver their clients the best possible return on investment with the slightest amount of risk.
Having self-managed my portfolio for over 30 years, as it grew, I realized that I should diversify the managers of the portfolio, just as it’s well-known that everyone should diversify the investments themselves.
Check looks to invest in companies with solid fundamentals, valuing them, buying and selling them, according to their worth rather than day to day dynamics of the markets.
After 25 years of hard work, prudence, and the creation of my wealth, I decided to share the responsibility of protecting and nurturing my investments. I found Steve Check.
What attracted me to Check Capital five years ago was its strategy of finding and investing for the long term in a manageable number of well run, well established companies available at attractive share prices.
Check Capital Management is located in Costa Mesa, California, and serves over 1,150 clients in 41 states across the U.S.
Frequently Asked Questions
-
Check Capital Management (CCM) has been an SEC-registered investment advisor since 1987.
-
As of March 31, 2024, CCM manages approximately $1.9 billion for 1168 clients.
-
While we continue to refine our methodology, CCM’s basic investment principles have never changed: We seek to buy the stocks of remarkable businesses at attractive prices. Most holdings in the Quality Growth Program are multinational companies with long operating histories. Furthermore, many of the stocks we own pay a dividend that has been raised consistently over a period of decades.
-
Check Capital Management has 12 full-time employees. Steven Check and Ryan Kinney conduct research on companies being considered for investment. The ten other employees include a compliance officer/trader, six relationship officers, and three staff members who assist clients with a variety of administrative needs. For more about the people who comprise CCM, see the “Meet Our Team” page.
-
We begin by talking to you about your financial circumstances and preferences. Once those have been determined, we can create a complimentary retirement plan based on your specific needs and goals. CCM recommends you place the money that you wish to invest over the longer term in stocks. For near-term needs such as living expenses, bonds usually prove to be the best choice. As per our Two-Bucket Approach (see the “Investment Programs” section of this website), we advise that you be careful in estimating your more immediate money requirements so as to avoid making stock investments that you’re forced to sell prematurely.
-
CCM strives to help clients avoid permanent loss of capital. This is done by: 1) owning stocks of well-established, high-quality growth firms (“blue chips”), and 2) buying these stocks at a sensible time, i.e., when we believe they’re considerably underpriced. Although prices may fluctuate greatly during volatile markets, stocks eventually reflect the business prospects of the underlying companies. CCM maintains a consistent and logical approach during all phases of the investment cycle. Thus, regardless of “the state of the economy”, we only buy in response to diligent analysis and never sell in panic.
-
Check Capital doesn’t serve as a custodian of client funds. Accounts are held at a major, independent stockbrokerage firm. (We can recommend one or you can specify the firm you prefer.) You retain full and immediate online access to your account(s).
-
The Securities and Exchange Commission defines Qualified Clients as
a) those whose net worth is at least $2.2 million (exclusive of their equity in their primary residence), or
b) clients who have at least $1.1 million with the investment manager.
Note: Our minimum for managing assets is $500,000, so a client can engage with us using our profit-based fee if they qualify under the “net worth” requirement (b) above).