FYI: Most corporate philanthropy follows a conservative and predictable course, but at American Century Investments, a $152 billion-asset mutual fund firm in Kansas City, Mo., charitable giving has a whole new level of meaning and commitment. In 2000, American Century’s founder, Jim Stowers, broke ground on the Stowers Institute for Medical Research. He endowed the organization over the years with $2 billion, including a chunk of his wealth and, crucially, a 40% share of his mutual fund company. Since then, the medical institute has received $1.1 billion in dividends from American Century.
Regards,
Ted
http://blogs.barrons.com/penta/2015/08/28/how-american-century-investments-funds-science/tab/print/
Comments
https://ipro.americancentury.com/en/landing-pages/the-stowers-institute-for-medical-research.html
Jim Stowers, the founder of American Century, previously Twentieth Century, was well known as a modest living man. Old cars and brown bag lunches were his trademarks so to speak. I have his book, Yes You Can Achieve Financial Independence. It should be required reading for children today. Frugality is not a dirty word at all.
From the time Giftrust started to the time it removed its restrictions on new money (2011), there were 119 rolling 18 year periods (the longer of the lock up periods for the fund). Of these, 70 had double digit annualized returns. For the final five years before "opening up" (2006-2011), the fund ranked in the top 2% of large growth funds (M*).
WSJ, Nov. 7, 2011 Goodbye to Giftrust, a Rare Rund That Locked In Its Holders
So American Century may have done people a favor ten years ago when didn't let them out. The idea of a lockup (to manage cash flows as with hedge funds) is to keep cash flows stable. You don't need a lockup when a fund is doing well; you need it through lean times.
The WSJ columnist opined in that 2011 column: "The strategy mostly has paid off for investors." In 2012 he said unambiguously that "Ultimately, [the lockup] strategy paid off; the fund suffered some rough short-term patches, but was consistently above average when viewed through a long-term lens."
Yet when the fund had hit one of those patches in 2004 he called the fund a stupid investment of the week for the second time, noting that "it takes a rare investment to earn the distinction twice".
That was Chuck Jaffe, who often has some interesting thoughts, but just as often blows with the wind. Which is the point. The wind happened to be blowing cold ten years ago.
For the record, I think the idea was oversold, but that was started in 1983. The lockups were agreed to by the investors years before 2005; ten years ago they did not suddenly become "pacts with the devil".
I have my own gripes with AC concerning their herky jerky migation to being a load family. 1996, 2001, and other changes I can't find now. But that doesn't deter me from looking at their funds so long as I can get no load, inexpensive shares.
@VintageFreak- No, sorry, just non-sheltered stuff with them. @JohnChisum might, though. I know that he has a number of their funds.
I have two retirement accounts with American Century. I talked to one of their retirement specialists on the phone and he set everything up. I got the paperwork and signed it. One account was a 403b rollover in their funds. The other was my defined benefit pension which I was able to take a lump sum. I opened a brokerage account for that one. That gives me more flexibility in choices. I would suspect the procedure is similar with most fund companies.
I have enjoyed a good relationship with AC over the years and with the amounts in these accounts I was given Priority Investor status which gives me me additional benefits like a personal rep I can call or email anytime for one.