A New York firm founded in 2003 by former Lazard star manager William von Mueffling, investing long-term in high-quality companies with durable moats.
Life story
William von Mueffling was born in Munich, Germany. His father, William Freiherr von Mueffling, was a German investment banker; his mother, Marsha Millard, is American. His maternal grandfather, Mark Millard, was a senior managing director at Shearson/American Express.
He attended the Hotchkiss School in Connecticut, then earned a B.A. from Columbia University in 1990 and an MBA from Columbia Business School in 1995.
How they got started
Von Mueffling worked for Deutsche Bank in France before joining Lazard, where he became a managing director at Lazard Asset Management and built its hedge fund business. His Lazard European Opportunities fund returned an annualized 58% from August 1998 to December 2002, and in 2002 his team generated roughly a quarter of Lazard Asset Management's revenue.
In early 2003 he left Lazard after a compensation dispute with management led by Bruce Wasserstein, and eight months later launched Cantillon Capital Management in New York, taking several team members and about $3 billion of hedge fund assets with him. Cantillon's assets peaked at $10 billion.
In June 2009 the firm closed its long/short hedge fund business, returning $3.5 billion to investors and keeping about $1 billion in the long-only strategy it had launched in 2005. That strategy grew in the following years, and by 2021 the firm managed about $14–15 billion.
Investment style
Von Mueffling describes his approach as closer to Buffett than to classic Graham-and-Dodd: rather than companies with cheap assets, he seeks businesses whose moats — durable competitive advantages — produce outsized margins and returns on capital, and tries to buy them below intrinsic value.
Since 2009 the firm has been long-only, investing in global equities from offices in New York and London. Its Cantillon Global Equity strategy is capacity-constrained and closed to new investors.
Best decisions
Results at Lazard (1998–2002)
The Lazard European Opportunities fund returned an annualized 58% from 1998 to 2002, making him one of the most prominent managers of his generation.
Going independent (2003)
The firm he founded after leaving Lazard grew quickly; according to Institutional Investor, Cantillon Europe gained about 26% in 2005. In 2007 New York magazine listed him among the hedge fund elite.
Switching to long-only
The hard 2009 decision to close the hedge fund and keep only the long-only strategy paid off: assets grew from about $1 billion to roughly $14–15 billion by 2021.
Biggest mistakes
The 2008–2009 crisis and the hedge fund's closure
In 2008 Cantillon held up better than many peers but still lost money in absolute terms, and the fund was down again in early 2009. Assets fell from a $10 billion peak to about $3.5 billion, and in June 2009 the firm shut its hedge fund business entirely.
Today
In 2025–2026 Cantillon operates from New York and London, serves only institutional investors, and its global equity strategy is closed to new capital. Von Mueffling remains founder and head of the firm; he sits on the Columbia Business School board of overseers and has served as executive producer of several documentaries.
What to learn from following the portfolio
- Cantillon invests long-term in a limited number of high-quality companies — long-held positions reflect its highest-conviction ideas.
- The portfolio is global; a 13F shows only US-listed shares with a 45-day lag, so European holdings may be invisible.
- Moat companies often include technology and consumer brands (which may be halal), but payment networks, financial exchanges and insurers also appear. Check each position's halal status in the Portfolio tab.
An introduction based on public sources — not investment advice. Spotted an error? Let us know.