Our History — Watts Capital

Watts Capital represents the desire of our founder Tom Watts to combine his deep knowledge of the financial markets with his desire to have a positive impact on the lives of individuals.

The Beginnings

Tom’s love of investing began in fifth grade, when his parents encouraged him to meet with their stock broker. On the broker’s advice, Tom bought his first stock, Standard Oil of California. He dutifully checked the price of the stock in the Wall Street Journal every day, watching his investment appreciate, and occasionally decline, with the events in the news.

Over time, Tom added more money and more stocks to his portfolio. In college, he explored riskier investing alternatives, including options and penny stocks, learning from experience what risks to avoid. After graduating from Stanford University and Harvard Business School, Tom became a stock analyst, following high-flying stocks in the telecom and Internet sectors. The Internet boom saw the pinnacle and fall of those stocks, and made real the risks associated with booms and busts.

A Focus on Helping Others

In 2002, Tom’s aging parents asked him to take over management of their retirement assets. His objective for his parents was to ensure that they achieved their financial goals regardless of market conditions. Tom’s interests shifted toward risk management and how to achieve consistent portfolio returns without the major drawdowns that can happen in times of market disruption.

Over the next few years, Tom refined his portfolio management skills using his parents' retirement money, his own money, and increasingly the money of friends and other family members. He also began to manage non-investment aspects of his parents’ lives, ranging from financial planning, tax planning, insurance, trust & estate planning and healthcare. He found having a positive impact on people’s lives gratifying.

Scaling His Investment Approach

When his clients’ portfolios sailed through the economic crisis of 2008 with limited impact, validating his portfolio management approach, Tom founded Watts Capital to bring his approach to portfolio and financial management to a larger audience.

Today, Watts Capital delivers to its clients the same wealth management approach that Tom uses for his own family, yet tailored to each client’s needs. Watts Capital's #1 goal is to ensure that each client achieves their financial goals.