Donald Smith & Co., Inc. (New York)


Donald Smith & Co., Inc. is a large advisory firm based in New York. It manages $2.88 billion of regulatory assets for 32 client accounts. It has been registered with the SEC as an adviser since 2016.

Donald Smith & Co. provides portfolio management for individuals and small businesses, portfolio management for investment companies, portfolio management for pooled investment vehicles, and portfolio management for businesses and institutional clients. It doesn't provide financial planning services to its clients. On top of advisory services, the firm doesn't engage in other business activities.

Donald Smith & Co.: assets under management

The assets under management (AUM) of Donald Smith & Co., Inc. is $2.88 billion, all of which is managed in discretionary accounts. The firm's AUM has gone down by -36% since the beginning of its operation, and $119.86 million of the total AUM is attributable to clients outside of the United States.

The firm manages $2.88 billion in discretionary accounts. On average, the discretionary accounts where all decisions are made on behalf of the client hold $89.94 million each.
Donald Smith & Co. has custody of $332.83 million in cash and securities for 3 clients in total but doesn’t act as a qualified custodian.

Investments

The firm invests in exchange traded securities the most. They account for 92% of the total AUM. The second-largest asset type is cash and cash equivalents, which make up 8% of the firm’s portfolio.

Fees & Commissions

The advisory firm has several streams of revenue. Clients pay Donald Smith & Co., Inc. for their services and products based on a percentage of assets under management and performance-based fees. The adviser charges an additional fee when a set benchmark is outperformed. These fees don’t include brokerage commissions, interest, taxes, and other account expenses.

What kind of clients Donald Smith & Co. serves?

The firm provides services to insurance companies, investment companies, charitable organizations, high net worth individuals, pooled investment vehicles, corporations or other businesses, pension and profit sharing plans, and state or municipal government entities. The largest group of clients of Donald Smith & Co. is investment companies with 1 clients and $1.33 billion of assets under management. Among the 7 most similar advisory firms, Donald Smith & Co. has the highest percentage of investment companies out of all clients.

The amount of regulatory assets under management is $2.88 billion for 21 clients that can include trusts, estates, and 401(k) plans and IRAs of individuals and their family members. 4% of the firm’s clients are foreign persons or businesses.

Donald Smith & Co. also advises several private funds. Namely, three hedge funds. The minimum investment commitment required of non-related persons is $1,000,000 for each fund.

Careers at Donald Smith & Co., Inc.

The company employs 10 people that are either part- or full-time employees. 60 percent of the employees work as investment advisers or researchers. No employees are registered as investment adviser representatives with the state securities authorities.

There isn’t anyone with the role of looking for and bringing in new clients on behalf of the firm. The firm compensates employees in addition to the salary for bringing in new clients. Employees don’t receive compensation from other entities for client referrals.

Direct owners and executive officers


Name Entity Date acquired Ownership Employer ID
Donald Gene Smith President, shareholder 1 Apr 1980 Other 4333499
Richard Lawrence Greenberg Senior vice president, director of research, shareholder 1 Jan 2004 Other 4878855
Donald G. Smith 2004 Grat Shareholder 1 Jan 2004 75% - 100% 13-7437724
Richard L. Greenberg Senior vice president, director of research, shareholder 1 Jan 2004 Other 4878855
Ann Elizabeth Cianfrone Chief compliance officer, chief administrative officer 1 Jan 2013 Other 6176985
Ann Elizabeth Hogan Chief compliance officer, chief administrative officer 1 Jan 2013 Other 6176985
John David Piermont Research analyst, shareholder 1 Jan 2017 Other 4772212

Indirect Owners

The SEC currently registers 6 indirect owners.

Name Entity Date acquired Ownership Employer ID
Jon Edward Hartsel Portfolio manager, research analyst, shareholder 1 Jan 2004 Other 3256219
Kamal Shah Macro analyst, trader, shareholder 1 Jan 2004 Other 3120760
Laura Winner Beneficiary owner 1 Jan 2004 25% - 50% 7099854
Paula Smith Trustee 1 Jan 2004 Other 7099855
Julie Smith Beneficiary owner 1 Jan 2004 25% - 50% 7099856
Afsaneh Akhtari Beneficiary owner 1 Jul 2017 25% - 50% 7099624

Based in New York

The principal office where Donald Smith & Co., Inc. performs its advisory services is located at 152 W. 57 Th Street, New York, NY 10019, which is also the mailing address of the firm. It doesn’t run an office outside of the United States.

You can reach the main office by calling the phone number 212-284-0990 or by fax 212-284-0998. The normal business hours are 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. on Monday - Friday. You can find more information about the New York firm at donaldsmithandco.com.