Our Culture
Our culture is that of an extended family sharing a common dream, vision, mission and values that is driving us to build a small-cap investment management leader. The discipline of our investment philosophy, together with outstanding employees that have the passion of investing in small-cap stocks, give all of us the opportunity to produce outstanding investment performance results, which, in turn, translate into client and employee loyalty.
- Integrity and honesty
- Professionalism
- Respect
- Communication and trust
This culture creates an environment in which we enjoy working together to build a company that we can be proud of. Profit sharing and share ownership by the employees and professionals give us the freedom to drive our careers, make decisions in the best interests of our clients and take part in the continuous improvement of our business and benefit from the satisfaction of a job well done.
This culture creates an environment in which we enjoy working together to build a company that we can be proud of. Profit sharing and share ownership by the employees and professionals give us the freedom to drive our careers, make decisions in the best interests of our clients and take part in the continuous improvement of our business and benefit from the satisfaction of a job well done.
Why Van Berkom?
Our Founder
Son of Dutch immigrants, J. Sebastian van Berkom started his career in 1971 at the Bell Canada pension fund. Despite a brilliant career at this telecom giant and then at LRM Investment Management, his entrepreneurial instincts led him to become co-founder, in 1984, of Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc., which rapidly grew to billions in assets under management.
As a strong believer in the potential of small-cap equities, Sebastian eventually opted to focus solely on this particular asset class: in 1991, he founded Van Berkom and Associates Inc.
In the same spirit, Sebastian, over time, developed a model to ensure the sustainability of the firm, which he really takes seriously: a transition plan, which includes the progressive transfer of share ownership and organizational responsibilities to joining partners.
With the long-term success of the company thus assured, Sebastian’s interest in philanthropy grows: promoting education, funding research and contributing his time and talent to various organizations and foundations.
In the same spirit, Sebastian, over time, developed a model to ensure the sustainability of the firm, which he really takes seriously: a transition plan, which includes the progressive transfer of share ownership and organizational responsibilities to joining partners.
With the long-term success of the company thus assured, Sebastian’s interest in philanthropy grows: promoting education, funding research and contributing his time and talent to various organizations and foundations.
History
Van Berkom and Associates Inc. was founded in 1991 by J. Sebastian van Berkom and has always been 100% employee owned. The Canadian Small-Cap strategy was initially launched, then other small-cap strategies were added over the years, as well as a small-mid cap strategy, benefiting our institutional clients (pension funds, foundations and insurance companies).
Milestones in the company’s history:
Van Berkom Today
- Van Berkom concentrates 100% of its activities on Canadian, U.S., Greater China and Global small and mid capitalization equities.
- Van Berkom manages stock portfolios for large North American pension funds, corporations, foundations, and endowment funds.
- Van Berkom is 100% employee owned.