About Us

Ockham Research was founded by Marsh Douthat and Christian Ward in March of 2006.  As a spinout from Financial Market Management, Inc., Ockham Research is the independent research branch of Mr. Douthat's portfolio management firm Financial Market Management, Inc.  Originally founded in 1992, FMMI is a long term value investment firm which utilizes Mr. Douthat's own financial research as its prevailing methodology.  FMMI continues today managing assets utilizing the Ockham methodology.

Mr. Douthat held the position of Director of Research and chief employee benefits portfolio manager for a multi-billion dollar bank trust department. He also served as the President/CEO of a privately held manufacturing/distribution company, and as Executive Vice President of Marketing at the investment advisory firm of Davis, Weaver & Mendel, Inc. He has served on corporate, church, and community boards and was elected to the Young Presidents Organization (Kansas City) in the early 1980’s.

Mr. Douthat utilized his 30-plus years of experience in the investment arena as well as a lifelong pursuit of understanding the financial markets to arrive upon a superior approach to value investing. His methodology is closely tied to that of Benjamin Graham, also known as “The Father of Modern Securities Analysis”.

Sadly, Mr. Douthat was diagnosed with ALS/Lou Gehrig’s disease in fall of 2005. While the awful disease devastated his body, his mind remained acute, curious, and enduring.  Mr. Douthat continued to work daily to prolong and preserve his life’s work.  Working closely with Mr. Ward each day, Marsh's research was conceptualized and solidified into Ockham Research.

Mr. Ward previously worked as Managing Director at the Bank of New York and as Director of Research for BNY Jaywalk, Inc. He co-founded Jaywalk Incorporated in 1999 and was acting CEO prior to its acquisition by The Bank of New York in 2002. Mr. Ward was also the architect of the Independent Research Meritocracy™, which was one of the most successful solutions for the fulfillment of the Global Research Analyst Settlement of 2003 by participating broker-dealers.

Messrs Douthat and Ward began their working relationship in 1999, when Mr. Ward’s firm, BNY Jaywalk, began analyzing and auditing Mr. Douthat’s research and recommendation track record.  Mr. Douthat’s research consistently performed well in any market environment, which caught the attention of Mr. Ward year after year.

Prior to BNY Jaywalk, Mr. Ward worked for The Robinson Humphrey Company in Atlanta, Georgia, as a corporate finance analyst covering primarily the healthcare industry. He also served as an institutional salesman for the soft dollar and electronic trading divisions. Mr. Ward received a B.S. in finance, cum laude, from the University of Florida and has been a frequent speaker at industry conferences on independent research, the Global Research Analyst Settlement, and the performance analysis of various research methodologies.