Capital Southwest’s Differentiated Approach

We provide a platform that enables successful operators to build businesses at their desired pace and on their terms — not the other way around. Our investment approach is distinctive because we:

• Provide long–term, patient capital for sustained growth. Capital Southwest’s public ownership structure eliminates the pressure to exit our investments in the five to seven year timeframe typical of most venture capital and private equity partnerships. A third of our active investments have been held continuously for over 20 years.
• Leave control with current owners. We find that the best recipe for success is a committed management team with significant ownership. Over half of our active portfolio companies are minority holdings. When operating control and ownership control remain with the management team, they have the flexibility to execute plans that serve customers, employees and shareholders well for the long term.
• Have a time–tested business model. Many investment firms are first or second time funds — in other words, relatively unproven managers with unproven models. In contrast, Capital Southwest has partnered with over 160 companies to achieve superior returns for owners, management teams and investors for nearly half a century.
• Always have funds to invest. Our significant capital base enables us to fund your business today and in the future, should the need arise. Since we take our responsibility as partners seriously, we have provided follow–on financing for a number of our portfolio companies, often years after our initial investment. Our initial equity investment size presently ranges from $2 million to $20 million.