About Shearwater Capital

Shearwater Capital was founded in 1999 by two physicians who were faculty members at the Washington University School of Medicine and classmates in the
Washington University Executive MBA program. The company was initiated to fill a market void of companies that offer a world class scientific approach to investing without exorbitant fees. While initially started for friends, family members and local physicians, the high quality of services has resulted in rapid growth of assets under management. Shearwater Capital is now a thriving investment advisory firm based in St. Louis, Missouri. The company is registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and serves physicians and their families throughout the United States.

Shearwater Capital offers broadly diversified portfolios tailored to each client's unique financial needs. Our approach, referred to as evidence-based investing, is grounded in scientific principles with an emphasis on tax-efficiency and low expenses. In designing client portfolios, we use funds from Dimensional Fund Advisors (DFA). The DFA family of no-load funds is not available directly to individuals, but is limited to institutional investors and a select group of financial advisory firms. Each DFA fund is designed to capture the returns of a specific asset class, unlike conventional index funds which merely replicate market indexes. DFA funds use innovative trading strategies and portfolio engineering to provide superior value.

Shearwater Capital is a fee-only investment advisory firm. We receive no incentives or payments from the companies whose securities we use for client accounts. We sell no in-house investment products and avoid all soft-dollar relationships that might influence our advice. We are therefore free to choose the best investment products for our clients in a completely objective manner. Most importantly, we strive to serve our clients as if they were friends or family members. One advantage of investing with a small firm is that the Chief Investment Officer, Dr. Jeff Brown, takes personal care of your portfolio. Dr. Brown, a Chartered Financial Analyst, hand-crafts each portfolio to meet the client's specific financial needs.

Our Team

Jeffrey J. Brown
Chief Investment Officer

Jeffrey J. Brown is chief investment officer of Shearwater Capital. He oversees all aspects of portfolio management for our clients. Dr. Brown co-founded Shearwater Capital while a student in the Executive MBA program at Washington University. He is also a professor of radiology at Washington University School of Medicine. Dr. Brown earned his undergraduate degree at the University of California, Irvine and his medical degree from the University of California, San Diego, where he also completed a radiology residency. His fellowship training in MRI was at the University of California, San Francisco. Dr. Brown received his MBA from Washington University. He is a Chartered Financial Analyst and a member of the CFA Society of St. Louis.

Jared Meese
Chief Compliance Officer

Jared Meese is the chief compliance officer for Shearwater Capital. Mr. Meese has an MBA with an emphasis in Finance, from Webster University. He received his undergraduate degree from Eastern Illinois University in Charleston. Mr. Meese previously was an Investment Representative with Edward Jones, and has served in various compliance related positions in both government and private industry.

Deborah M. Pate
Western Regional Representative

Dr. Deborah M. Pate is Shearwater Capital's western regional representative. In addition to her duties with Shearwater, she is a chiropractic radiologist in private practice. She earned her undergraduate degree at Stephen F. Austin University in Texas and her chiropractic degree from National College of Chiropractic in Lombard Illinois, where she also did her radiology residency. Dr. Pate did her fellowship training in osteoradiology at the University of California, San Diego. She completed the University of California, San Diego Financial Management program with a certified financial planner track in 2000.

Stella Fong
Webmaster

Stella Fong is responsible for the development and maintence of Shearwater Capital's website. Ms. Fong received a degree in Computer Engineering in 1989 from University of California, San Diego and a Web Development certification in 2001 from Rocky Mountain College in Montana.

Shearwater Capital's Form ADV Part 1 can be viewed online at the SEC by clicking here and entering Shearwater Capital.

Our Form ADV Part II can be seen by clicking here.

Charitable Giving

Shearwater Capital donates a percentage of its profits each year to Autism Speaks.