Charles R. Crofton

Charles R. Crofton, of Garden City, New York, died at 84 on Oct. 22, 2025, three months after he fell and hit his head at his Nashville home. He died peacefully at Alive Hospice with family by his side.

Crofton graduated from the College of the Holy Cross in 1963, where he earned a B.S. in History. He continued his education with an M.B.A. in Finance from Adelphi University. While attending Holy Cross, he founded and published a national journal of student opinion, NEW GENERATION. The late Michael Novak, noted author and philosopher, was a key contributor.

Crofton considered NEW GENERATION to be his greatest accomplishment, proud of it because it challenged traditional Catholic ideas.

Crofton married Penny McCarthy in 1966 in Heinz Chapel at the University of Pittsburgh, where she was studying to earn a master's degree in History. A year later, Crofton joined the National Guard and served for six years.

His first employment was in the rice business, an industry in which his father Charles B. Crofton served as president of the New York Produce Exchange, and founded Crofton Grain Co.

Charles R. Crofton's next place of employment was Paine Webber, where he worked as a stock broker. He went on to Citibank, where he was an account manager in the investment department. In 1968, Crofton arrived at H.C. Wainwright & Co., and served as a senior analyst and wrote research reports in which he used graphics and outside editing, both innovative for the industry.

In 1972, Institutional Investor, a journal for professional money managers, brought attention to his work by including him on their 1972 All-America Research Team. It praised his "in-depth reports and the articulate way he presents his ideas." The article quoted a colleague who said, "If we were interested in builders at all, Charlie would definitely be one of the guys we'd call first."

In 1978, he began his association with William D. Witter, Inc., where he stayed for six years and served as a consultant and advisor on deals involving coal and real estate, among other industries. In spring of 1984, Crofton founded the investment firm Pinnacle Associates Ltd., with Tom Passios, his colleague at William D. Witter, Inc.

In April of 1987, Wall Street Computer Review interviewed Crofton about his love and use of financial software graphic programs to help with his work. The article, "Fundamentalist Calls PC a Pinnacle Career Move," highlighted their company, Pinnacle Associates, and shined a light on a financial software Crofton used, CD&M, created by his best friend and colleague George Cohen.

Today Pinnacle Associates Ltd. has more than $10 billion under management and eight offices. Crofton set up Pinnacle's initial office at Rockefeller Center in Midtown Manhattan and he named the firm. He resigned from the company in 1987 because he felt uncomfortable with the work environment. Crofton owned 23% of the company when he left.

He continued his career as a stock portfolio manager at Glickenhaus & Co. In his retirement, he invested in the biotech industry, which he continued to be interested in until his death.

Crofton resided in Montclair, N.J., Ridgefield, Conn., and New Canaan, Conn., before he retired to Nashville where three of his four children live. He was married to Penny for 59 years.

He loved to ride his scooter around New Canaan, get a latte at Starbucks, and buy records at the Gramophone Shop. He liked to read books and use his computer. He loved cigars and the music of Beethoven, and visited the composer's grave in Austria in 2001.

Crofton is survived by his brother John Crofton, his wife Penny, sons Christopher, Gregory and David, daughter Pamela, son-in-law David Dawson, and daughter-in-law Eiko Crofton.