Morningstar’s criticism re management turnover at Maning & Napier

hank

EXDAX is on my watchlist. Should a couple small spec bets I made today pay off in coming weeks or months I’d move the proceeds into it - and possibly more. It’s hard to find relatively successful funds with a 20/80 (equity / fixed income) mix as this one carries. In the past I’ve invested with Manning & Napier with good results. The criticism of the firm’s management (turnover) has me concerned. It sure sounds like a mass upheaval at the firm. Should I be concerned? Anybody have more knowledge of the issues at M&N or threat they pose to their funds’ performance?

Re Morningstar’s neutral rating & subsequent “analysis” …

- They lead by mentioning “a third wave of departures” within a nine year period.

- Then add, “(More recently) Ebrahim Busheri, then-CIO of Manning & Napier and a veteran manager of these portfolios, left Manning & Napier in early 2023. That move kicked off a series of departures, including two other longtime managers of the series, Christian Andreach and Marc Tommasi, in mid-2023 and January 2024, as well as several senior analysts. And the team has cumulatively seen a lot of turnover for a relatively small group; other waves of turnover occurred in 2015-17 and 2019.”

MikeM

Manning & Napier was bought out by Callodine Group LLC in the middle of 2022. I'm only guessing, but possibly the acquistion didn't go well or sit well with Manning & Napier fund annalists and managers. Just a guess.

Manning & Napier was a great but very small boutique bond investment firm in Fairport NY, a very nice suburb of Rochester. It went public about 10 years ago, which may or may not corollate to the other turnover mentioned in your post.

hank

Thanks @MikeM / I don’t think M* mentions the buyout. Explains a lot.

yogibearbull

M* under People for EXDAX says this:

Privately owned for decades, the firm went public in 2011. Following a period of outflows and two waves of personnel turnover, the firm appeared to stabilize in 2020 when cofounder Bill Manning sold his ownership stake back to the firm. But in October 2022, Callodine Group--a hands-off asset manager founded in 2018 by former Fidelity fund manager James Morrow--acquired the firm at a 41% premium and returned it to private ownership. In the wake of this news, Ebrahim Busheri, who served as head of investments, announced his departure and a couple of analysts left. Still, this acquisition means the firm won’t face public-markets ire, and Morrow, who has roots and resources in upstate New York, sees himself as a long-term holder of the firm.

hank

Thanks @yogibearbull. Encouraging to hear. I’ll have to do some additional research before buying if / when. I guess the ETF craze popularity has really thrown a wrench into the workings of smaller OEF providers. (larger ones as well)

FD1000

Why look at EXDAX when ICMUX performance for 1-3-5 years is so much better with a lower SD.
ICMUX doubled EXDAX for 1 year and more than doubled for 5 years.

equalizer

ICMUX is in 1% percentile rank for 1,3 and probably 5 year. What are they getting right that Vanguard with tens of Billions in bond management gets 0% over 10 years?


How the Largest Bond Funds Did in 2024
https://www.morningstar.com/bonds/how-largest-bond-funds-did-2024

hank

Thanks for all the comments. I’ve edited the thread’s caption slightly since I am no longer considering the Manning & Napier fund that prompted my inquiry.

Regarding my other comments in the thread -

There were a couple different spec plays I took on between late December and around mid-January. The first wager on FLO & NSRGY failed (again) and I lost a little. That money was applied to a second larger spec play - a basket of CEFs - which paid off quite well as I accumulated (ultimately 4) CEFs just as the 10-year Treasury neared 4.8%, rode the 10-year down to around 4.54% and then bailed out (8-10 days later) before rates again spiked. As I’d posted earlier in the B/S thread, falling rates help leveraged CEFs. All-in-all the spec plays (+ - 15% of portfolio) over a roughly 20 day period netted a small 5-7% gain. In the end, I ended up with 0 spec plays and a new long-term slug of money in GAA - a conservative fund not considered “speculative.”

How this all relates to EXDAX? It was one of several “homes” being considered in late December for the spec money that was then in play.

@FD1000 - I did not respond to your bond fund suggestion because the OP referenced a 20/80 type of fund and was intended to pertain primarily to M&N’s management team & reported management turnover.