We are convinced that collaboration produces the best outcomes—for our clients, our colleagues and our community.
Part of our DNA is our client-first culture—our mission is to make a material, positive difference in the lives of our clients—and we are focused on putting clients first, always.
Part of it is our ownership structure and ownership mindset—every one of our fulltime colleagues is an equity owner.
Part of it is our purpose—to raise the future for and with our clients, our colleagues and our communities—we think a lot about how we can best impact and take care of all of our stakeholders.
Part of it is our commitment to humility—knowing that we don’t have all the answers, listening more than talking, searching for new and better solutions, celebrating learning and curiosity—because we believe this produces the best results for clients.
Part of it is our commitment to each other; to understand what it feels like to be in other people's shoes.
We use “the Four Cs” as a framework to reflect our DNA:
Client First. Colleague Driven. Community Focused. Culture Led.
We focus on clients, always. We take care of each other. We find material ways to help our communities thrive. And we strive to invest in, nurture and cultivate a culture that can support a special focus on the first three.
The "Team" Thing
Teamwork is simply the Brown Advisory way.
We believe that teams are the surest way to think through complex challenges, develop creative solutions and deliver optimal outcomes.
We support our clients with teams—incorporating portfolio managers, strategic advisors and client service team members. We include colleagues of all experience levels on teams, and we ask everyone to share their points of view and to listen to others’ points of view. We make decisions—for clients and for our business—as teams.
Each of our teams matters, whether they are evaluating stocks in equity research, processing trades, reviewing trust documents, helping colleagues understand benefits or deploying a new technology application. All of our teams contribute in meaningful ways to our clients’ success.
Equity research colleagues in Austin debate the opportunities for a consumer company.
Colleagues gather for morning meeting in our Baltimore office.
Morning Meeting Mindset
Fundamental to Brown Advisory is our morning meeting mindset. Four days a week, the entire firm gathers to listen to our investment teams discuss topics that are influencing their investment thinking—from macro issues, such as asset allocation and consumer trends, to deep dives into private real estate investment opportunities and engagement with management teams around sustainable business practices. These meetings bring us together physically—each office gathers in person, and we are all connected via video—and also emotionally and intellectually.
Investing in Our People
Bringing together a variety of experiences, backgrounds and thinking is essential to serving our clients and fulfilling our mission to make a material and positive difference in their lives.
Simply put, we cannot provide the first-rate performance, advice, and service that our clients deserve without a long-term commitment to investing in our colleagues. A critical piece of this investment is our belief in creating a respectful and caring environment that helps our colleagues contribute at the highest level and reach their potential.
Colleague Resource Groups
- Asian and Pacific Islander
- Black and African American
- Hispanic and Latino
- LGBTQ+
- Military and First Responders
- Parents and Caregivers
- Women
Our voluntary, colleague-led colleague resource groups (CRGs) support our colleague experience by providing opportunities for community, connection and shared learning.
The CRGs actively partner with a wide variety of community organizations. These partnerships serve as important tools for expanding the firm's network and broadening the aperture for our recruiting efforts.
Culture of Learning
While the morning meeting is an essential part of our culture of learning, it extends far beyond. Our culture of learning means learning from each other. It means listening more than talking when we meet with clients. We place enormous value on curiosity and continuous learning. This value is ubiquitous across the firm and shows up in big and small ways: book clubs hosted by our Global Leaders equity team and our women’s colleague resource group, behavioral coaching to challenge and support our investment team’s process, firm-funded education, and “lunch and learns” to meet with community leaders and explore the work nonprofits and charities are doing.
Challenging and collaborating with our colleagues at a strategic planning session.
“Each and every one of us must consider what it feels like to be in other people’s shoes and ask:
How can we make others comfortable working in the Brown Advisory environment?
How can we make sure everyone is treated fairly and with respect?”
MIKE HANKIN
CO-CEO AND PARTNER