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Founding Family History

Founded by a single family familiar with the challenges of managing intergenerational wealth.

Prominent Philadelphia industrialist Charles B. Grace, Sr. formed Ashbridge Corporation in 1958 to manage the wealth generated from the sale of the steel fabricator, Heintz Manufacturing Company, and the wealth passed on by Eugene G. Grace, Sr., long-time chairman of Bethlehem Steel. Mr. Grace named the firm after his family farm in Southeastern Pennsylvania.

In 1981, the Grace family office began delegating security selection to outside investment managers while maintaining responsibility for asset allocation and monitoring of investment performance in-house. They became one of the first families to advance a strategy that is now known as “open architecture.”

The success of this model for the Grace family led to the formation of Ashbridge Investment Management in 1992 to share our wealth management expertise with other investors in the United States and abroad. As a registered investment advisor, Ashbridge functions as the Grace family office, serving the fifth generation, and advises substantial individuals, families and related philanthropic entities, who invest alongside the founding family.