Successful investing is a long-term voyage where calm seas can turn stormy in the blink of an eye. We understand markets can be scary and financial products are complex and confusing. We will be by your side to teach and guide you every step of the way. Over the decades, we have navigated through numerous bull and bear markets, bubbles, crashes and economic booms and busts. We have watched many investment fads come and go. Through it all, our guiding principle has been we do only one thing — manage wealth — and we manage the wealth of our clients with the same care and passion as we manage our own.
David M. Kirr, CFA and Terry B. Marbach, CFA worked together at Irwin Management Company, which managed the investments of the family of Cummins Engine Company founder J. Irwin Miller. When the family decided to cease investing in stocks during a bear market in the 1970s, David and Terry needed to find another way to pursue their shared passion for discovering undervalued securities. They founded the predecessor to Kirr, Marbach & Company, LLC (KM) on May 1, 1975 with great hopes and dreams, but no clients.
Our Investment Style and Strategy
We have remained true to our value discipline during good times for value and, more importantly, when value has been out of favor. When researching a stock, we evaluate it as if we were going to own the entire business for 5-10 years. We look for companies with solid business prospects, sound financial structures and strong, shareholder-oriented management teams whose stocks are selling at a significant discount to what we think the business is worth.
The stocks we find attractive are typically out of favor with “the Street.” We have also had success investing in spin-offs, post-bankruptcy reorganizations and other corporate restructurings. Our approach can be characterized as “buying straw hats in the winter.”
