A Birmingham, Alabama value firm founded in 2007 by C. T. Fitzpatrick after 17 years at Southeastern Asset Management.
Life story
C. T. Fitzpatrick earned a B.S. in corporate finance from the University of Alabama and an MBA in finance from Vanderbilt University's Owen Graduate School of Management, and holds the CFA designation. Little is publicly known about his birth year, family or childhood.
How they got started
Fitzpatrick spent 17 years as a principal and portfolio manager at Southeastern Asset Management in Memphis (the firm behind the Longleaf funds), during a period of strong results for that team.
In 2007 he founded Vulcan Value Partners, initially to manage his personal capital. The firm went on to run Large Cap, Small Cap, All Cap, Focus and Focus Plus strategies through managed accounts, mutual funds and private funds. In early 2022 it was reported to manage about $20 billion.
Investment style
Fitzpatrick sums up his philosophy this way: Vulcan does not look for cheap stocks; it looks for high-quality businesses with stable values and waits patiently for them to trade at a discount. Every purchase requires a margin of safety.
His definition of quality: generating free cash flow without consuming it for growth, a balance sheet whose free cash flow can cover debt maturities, and a durable competitive advantage. Portfolios look very different from the index and are concentrated in a few dozen companies.
Best decisions
From Southeastern to his own firm
Started with personal capital, the firm grew within about a decade and a half into an independent manager with five strategies and tens of billions of dollars. Detailed public information on specific investments and their outcomes is limited.
Biggest mistakes
Limited public information
We could not find detailed accounts of specific mistakes acknowledged by the firm in sources we were able to read. A concentrated portfolio can produce large swings in market downturns.
Today
In 2025 Fitzpatrick continues as CEO and CIO, and the firm keeps publishing quarterly investor letters. We did not find reliable recent figures for current assets under management.
What to learn from following the portfolio
- Vulcan buys quality companies when their price drops — a new position often means a stock the market dislikes but the firm considers high quality.
- That approach takes time: a discounted stock can stay cheap for a long while. 13F filings arrive 45 days late and show only US equities.
- Its emphasis on strong balance sheets and low debt fits halal screening well, but financial companies can still 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.