Business Details
50 Years
experience
Your Trusted Partner for Family Investment Solutions
Founded in 1976, Saybrook Capital has built a legacy of delivering principled investment advisory services to successful families. Our firm is led by co-managing principals Scott Hirsch and Luke Babcock, who bring decades of combined experience from prestigious institutions like Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette and Brown Brothers, Harriman & Co. We specialize in crafting customized investment strategies that align with each family's unique objectives, emphasizing long-term growth, tax efficiency, and ethical considerations. Our team maintains direct relationships with clients, ensuring personalized service and transparent reporting across all financial holdings. With a philosophy rooted in value-oriented investing since the 1990s, we focus on high-quality companies with sustainable advantages while avoiding market speculation.Our approach to ethical investing integrates environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors without compromising financial performance. As a Registered Investment Adviser under the SEC, we uphold rigorous compliance standards and maintain client assets through trusted custodians. Our principals' academic backgrounds from institutions like Duke, Oxford, and Cambridge, combined with board service at organizations such as The Calhoun School and Peconic Landing, reflect our commitment to both professional excellence and community stewardship. Through four decades of market cycles, including successfully navigating the 2007-09 financial crisis, we have demonstrated resilience and adaptability while maintaining our core principles of integrity and client alignment.
Services
Investment Advisory
Portfolio Management
Ethical Investing
Family Office Services
Tax-Sensitive Strategies
Details
- Year established: 1976
Highlights and features
- We offer 40+ years of experience in family investment management since 1976
- Our principals maintain direct client relationships with personalized service
- We provide ethical investing options integrating ESG considerations
- Our transparent reporting covers all financial holdings with daily reconciliations
- We combine value-oriented investing with tax-efficient, long-term strategies
Associations and certifications
- Registered Investment Adviser (SEC)
Services
Investment Advisory
We provide customized investment counsel tailored to families' financial objectives. Our approach combines in-depth research with personalized strategies addressing asset allocation, tax efficiency, and intergenerational wealth transfer. Clients receive comprehensive reporting and direct access to managing principals for all investment decisions.
Portfolio Management
Our portfolio management focuses on long-term equity growth through undervalued companies with sustainable advantages. We construct diversified holdings of stocks, bonds, and alternatives while maintaining concentrated positions in businesses we thoroughly understand. Performance is measured against enduring value principles rather than short-term market fluctuations.
Ethical Investing
We implement customized portfolios addressing environmental, social, and governance concerns without compromising returns. Through fundamental research and proxy voting, we evaluate corporate leadership practices including sustainability efforts, labor relations, and community impact while maintaining financial discipline.
Family Office Services
Our family office services coordinate with legal and tax professionals to manage trusts, foundations, and profit-sharing plans. We assist with intergenerational transfers, serve as trustees, and provide consolidated reporting across all financial holdings to simplify complex wealth management needs.
Tax-Sensitive Strategies
We maximize after-tax returns through low-turnover investing, strategic tax lot management, and preservation of legacy holdings. Our approach emphasizes compounding growth over time while actively managing tax implications across individual accounts and family structures.
People
Luke M. Babcock
Co-Managing Principal
CFA charterholder with 20+ years at Saybrook, previously overseeing asset allocation at Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette. Serves on multiple community boards and graduated from Duke University in 1993 with degrees in History and Political Science.
Scott R. Hirsch
Co-Managing Principal
Established Argos Investment Counsel before merging with Saybrook. Former Mitchell Hutchins portfolio manager and Fulbright scholar with M.A. in International History from Cambridge University. Serves on several educational and corporate boards.
Questions
What services does Saybrook Capital offer?
We provide investment advisory services, portfolio management, ethical investing options, family office services, and tax-sensitive strategies for multigenerational families and their financial structures.
What investment philosophy guides Saybrook Capital?
Our Undervalued Growth approach focuses on high-quality companies with sustainable advantages, ethical management, and reasonable valuations, held for long-term compounding growth.
How does Saybrook handle ethical investing?
We customize portfolios with ESG considerations through fundamental research, management engagement, and proxy voting while maintaining financial performance standards.
Who manages client investments?
Co-managing principals Luke Babcock and Scott Hirsch make all investment decisions, supported by a dedicated team that maintains direct client relationships.
How are client assets protected?
Client investments are safeguarded at independent custodians with daily reconciliations. We maintain SEC registration as a Registered Investment Adviser with full transparency reporting.
What geographic areas do you serve?
While headquartered in New York City and Sag Harbor, we serve families nationwide through personalized investment solutions tailored to their specific needs.
