Blue Harbour Group
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Investment management |
| Founded | 2004 |
| Founder | Clifton "Cliff" Robbins |
| Defunct | 2020 |
| Fate | Dissolved to form family office |
| Headquarters | Greenwich, Connecticut , United States |
Key people | Cliff Robbins (CEO), Peter Carlin (Managing Director), Robb LeMasters (Managing Director), Todd Marcy (Managing Director), David Silverman (Managing Director) |
| Products | Blue Harbour Strategic Value Partners fund (long-short), Blue Harbour Active Ownership Partners fund (long-only) |
Blue Harbour Group was a U.S.-based investment firm that managed assets on behalf of pension funds, endowments, sovereign wealth funds, labor unions, and various institutional clients. The company's main office was located in Greenwich, Connecticut.
The firm integrated an Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) framework within its investment methodology and was committed as a signatory to the United Nations Principles for Responsible Investment.
History
Established in 2004 by Clifton Robbins (commonly known as Cliff Robbins), who previously held partnership roles at private equity firms KKR and General Atlantic, Blue Harbour oversaw assets exceeding $2.2 billion as of June 2019. Its investment capital was primarily allocated through two vehicles: the long-short Blue Harbour Strategic Value Partners fund and the long-only Blue Harbour Active Ownership Partners fund. The leadership team featured CEO Cliff Robbins alongside Managing Directors Peter Carlin, Robb LeMasters, Todd Marcy, and David Silverman.
On February 28, 2020, Robbins declared the decision to dissolve Blue Harbour Group—then managing $2 billion in assets—to transition into a family office structure. Investors were notified about plans to return all invested capital within that year and to systematically close the firm’s funds.
Investment strategy
Blue Harbour focused on acquiring positions in publicly listed companies led by management teams dedicated to enhancing shareholder returns. The firm concentrated on undervalued small-cap and mid-cap enterprises within North America.
Awards
In 2013, Business Insider included Blue Harbour Strategic Value Partners among “The 30 Hedge Funds That Crushed Wall Street.” The company received Hedgeweek’s 2016 "Best U.S. Activist Hedge Fund Manager" accolade and was honored as "Activist Hedge Fund Manager of the Year" in 2017 by Institutional Investor's Hedge Fund Industry Awards.