Fund managers matter, sometimes more than others. As more teams adopt the mantra, “we’re a team,” if only as window-dressing, more than more manager changes are reduced to “one cog out, one cog in.” Nonetheless, we know that losing funds with new managers tend to outperform losing funds that hold onto their teams, while the opposite is true for winning funds. Strong funds with stable teams and stable assets outperform strong funds facing instability (Bessler et al., 2010). Because of the great volatility of their asset class, equity managers matter rather more than fixed-income investors.

January and February saw changes that affected about 134 funds. Among the most eye-catching:

The venerable Dan Fuss steps aside from his responsibilities at a slug of Loomis Sayles funds on March 1, 2021, the 45^th anniversary of his arrival at the firm. Mr. Fuss received Morningstar’s Outstanding Portfolio Manager award in 2019 and was the Morningstar Fixed-Income Manager of the Year in 2009, a Navy veteran (1955-59), former manager of Yale’s endowment,  member of the Fixed Income Analysts Society’s Hall of Fame and the architect of Loomis, Sayle’s multi-sector investing strategy. He’s made a difference in the world.

On October 1, 2021, Larry J. Puglia is slated to step down from T. Rowe Price Blue Chip Growth after 28 years at the helm. In answer to a reader’s question, I noted, “TRP handles manager changes better than anyone in the industry. Even superstars who depart suddenly, which is incredibly rare, are replaced by folks who scarcely miss a beat. Generally strong internal culture, widely accepted discipline, and 12-month hand-over periods. A striking example is Health Sciences, where Kris Jenner was so good that he was seen as irreplaceable; then he left on atypically short notice to run a hedge fund, and his successors turned Jenner’s five-star fund into … well, a five-star fund. Not quite as eye-watering but five stars.” I wish Mr. Puglia, after decades of successfully steering a near $100 billion fund, a happy retirement. I have faith that his successor will do him proud.

One of the names above the door, William Browne, has stepped aside after nearly 50 years at the firm and 28 years managing Tweedy, Browne Global Value, and Tweedy, Browne Value. The Browne family joined forces with Bill Tweedy in 1945.  (I rather like the fact that his MBA is from Trinity College, Dublin, which has an incredibly cool library and a freakish formal name: the College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth). A long-tenured team remains in place with each fund.

Speaking of “the name above the door,” 361 Capital has stepped away from managing the 361 long/short funds.