The investment landscape has undergone significant changes over the past 50 years. From stagflation and the dot-com boom to the rise of artificial intelligence, market cycles have tested even the most disciplined strategies. Yet, through it all, one philosophy has remained constant: the pursuit of quality growth.
As William Blair celebrates the 300th edition of its Current Better Values (CBV) list with the release of the short documentary film, An Investment Philosophy in Motion, the firm reflects on how technology and innovation have not only shaped the companies selected but also the research process itself.
A Legacy of Forward Thinking
Founded in 1935 during the Great Depression, William Blair established its research philosophy on identifying quality growth companies early in their life cycles. This belief—that client success drives firm success—led to the 1976 launch of the Current Better Values list. At a time when small-cap stocks were largely overlooked, the Current Better Values list served as a declaration that rigorous research matters.
The list was designed to identify emerging growth ideas with long-term potential. While the listed companies have changed dramatically over the years, the criteria have remained consistent: analysts look for deep competitive moats, healthy earnings growth, and catalysts that will propel valuation expansion. Increasingly, those catalysts are rooted in technology across all sectors.
Innovation Across Industries
The influence of technology extends far beyond traditional software and hardware companies. Today, it is the driving force behind value creation in healthcare, consumer services, and industrials.
In the biotechnology sector, the Current Better Values framework highlights companies addressing unmet medical needs, enabling analysts to discern development-stage names that are true innovators in their fields. These companies are not merely improving existing treatments but are often pioneering entirely new therapeutic waves. Similarly, residential and commercial services now rely on scalable, tech-enabled business models with recurring revenue streams and strong retention. Analysts focus on identifying the inflection point where intrinsic value exceeds the current trading price.
Our analysts believe that as artificial intelligence continues to revolutionize the market, the composition of the Current Better Values list will evolve in tandem. Macroeconomic factors also play a crucial role in this evolution. While the Current Better Values process considers a mosaic of factors, such as earnings growth, valuations, and shifting macroeconomic conditions, it actively seeks to neutralize cyclicality by prioritizing growth over value and longer-term structural trends over fads. This approach favors companies that leverage innovation to remain resilient, even during economic downturns.
Research in a Digital Age
Technology has also transformed research. With public company counts declining nearly 50% over three decades and Regulation Fair Disclosure leveling access to information, analysts must look to private capital markets for early signals. Understanding private companies, which often become disruptors of tomorrow, provides early insights into the trends that should eventually impact public markets. And by becoming early experts in a company’s lifecycle, William Blair’s equity research analysts can better identify the secular winners that will endure over time.
Current Better Values is more than a collection of stock picks; it is a testament to a 50-year legacy of insight, curiosity, and conviction. As technology continues to redefine how we live, work, eat, heal, and travel, disciplined research will remain essential to identifying enduring winners. The principles of quality growth should remain as relevant for the next 300 editions as they were for the first.