Peter Thompson founded Coho Partners, Ltd. in 1999, having spent the previous 16 years doing institutional stock research and portfolio management at two prior firms. Rick Wayne, head of high net worth investing, joined Coho in 2004 and brought clients and assets to a small, yet growing firm. With the additional revenue generated from these clients, Coho hired Brian Kramp, a portfolio manager and research analyst. He and Peter partnered to provide equity research and portfolio management for all institutional portfolios.
At the inception of the firm, Peter made no attempt to solicit clients from his prior firm and as a result, growth came slowly based primarily on word of mouth introductions. In 2009, Glenn Dever joined the firm. He had the dual role to manage the non-investment aspects of the firm and to begin the process of introducing the firm to prospective investors.
In 2009, Coho became 100 percent employee owned by repurchasing the outstanding shares from an early silent investor. Initially, Peter, Rick, Brian and Glenn held 100 percent of the ownership, but in conjunction with their long term plan, other employees have become shareholders over time. Coho has made the strategic decision to remain a focused, employee owned firm for the foreseeable future. The firm has and will continue to add talented investment and client service professionals to accommodate client needs as the firm grows over time.