14
Artisan Global Value to Close
Our Morningstar Fund Manager of the Year winners
are closing their fund in February.
Artisan Global
Value
ARTGX
is set to close to new investors on Feb.
14
. Managers David Samra and Dan O’Keefe have
done an outstanding job there. Although the fund has
just $
1
.
5
billion in assets, they run a few billion
more in separate accounts as well as the $
11
billion
in
Artisan International Value
ARTKX
.
Primecap Fund Closed
Primecap Odyssey Aggressive Growth
POAGX
closed to new investors as of Jan.
20
. The fund
took in $
2
billion in assets last year, and the closing
is a welcome development.
The fund was the only one in the Primecap stable that
has most of its assets in small- and mid-cap stocks,
and it has made the most of that advantage to deliver
stellar returns. We rate it Gold.
Final Data for Buy the Unloved
As promised, here’s an update on which cate-
gories are unloved and loved, with final
2013
fund
flow totals.
The most loved categories are foreign large-blend,
diversified emerging-markets, and large-blend.
The unloved are large-growth, commodities, and
precious metals.
PIMCO Heir Apparent Departs
PIMCO
announced that
CEO
and co-chief investment
officer Mohamed El-Erian will be stepping down
from those roles and departing
PIMCO
in mid-March
2014
. Notably, El-Erian plans to stay on as a member
of parent company Allianz’s International Executive
Committee and to advise that firm’s Board of Manage-
ment on global economic and policy issues.
The impact of El-Erian’s departure isn’t likely to be
game-changing in the short term. He has served as a
Fund Manager Changes
Fund News
Fidelity Dividend Growth FDGFX
Impact: Negative 01-01-14
Ramona Persaud is replacing Larry Rakers on the fund. Rakers is moving to Fidelity’s asset-allocation group.
|
Our Take: Rakers’ strong track record and Persaud’s short record make this a negative change. We have
lowered our rating to Neutral becuase of Persaud’s brief record. However, one positive is that Persaud is likely
to follow a true dividend growth strategy whereas Rakers was a wide-ranging investor with a penchant for
cyclical stocks. The move may be a logical extension of Fidelity’s effort to make its Equity Income funds actu-
ally focus on dividends for a change. Vanguard and T. Rowe Price run dividend growth strategies that have
produced excellent risk-adjusted returns.
Franklin Income FKINX
Impact: Neutral 01-27-14
Charles Johnson is no longer a named manager.
|
Our Take: Johnson hasn't been involved on a day-to-day
basis at the fund for a long time, so we're happy to see Franklin acknowledge reality. This doesn't have much
effect on the fund, and we are maintaining our Bronze rating.
Harbor International HAINX
Impact: Neutral 06-30-14
Ted Wendell will step down as comanager. Howard Appleby, Jean-Francois Ducrest, and James LaTorre
will continue to run the fund.
|
Our Take: Wendell’s retirement isn’t a surprise, and we have faith in the three
remaining managers to keep the fund on course. We have retained our Gold rating.
PIMCO Eqs Pathfinder PTHDX
Impact: Negative 01-29-14
Comanager Charles Lahr left PIMCO. Comanager Anne Gudefin will now fly solo.
|
Our Take: Both Gudefin
and Lahr have plenty of experience and a strong record, so there’s nothing to panic about. Still, it’s a
loss to see Lahr go. The fund is supported by just four analysts, so it was already a pretty lean operation
to begin with. We have placed the fund Under Review.
PIMCO Global Multi Asset PGMDX
Impact: Negative 03-01-14
Mohamed El-Erian is leaving PIMCO. Mihir Worah will take his place as lead manager. Worah runs inflation-
protection strategies for PIMCO.
|
Our Take: Losing the heir apparent to Bill Gross is a blow for all of PIMCO,
including this fund. Although Worah is mostly a bond manager, he has other experts on stocks and tail-risk
hedging who will help with the fund. Given the fund’s disappointing record, it will be interesting to see if
Worah makes changes to its strategy. We have placed the fund’s rating Under Review.
Selected American SLADX/Davis NY Venture NYVTX/Clipper CFIMX
Impact: Negative 12-17-13
Longtime comanager Ken Feinberg has been removed and was replaced by analyst Danton Goei. Goei had
been regarded as the firm’s top analyst.
|
Our Take: This was a surprise, and we are disappointed to see a key
contributor leave. We have downgraded the funds to Bronze as a result. The change may also result in a
drop in financials exposure, as Feinberg was a big fan of financials whereas Goei has had greater interest in
other sectors.
T. Rowe Price Growth Stock PRGFX
Impact: Negative 01-16-14
Rob Bartolo resigned and was replaced by Joe Fath. Fath served as an associate portfolio manager on
T. Rowe Price Institutional Large Cap Growth TRLGX.
|
Our Take: Fath has a decent record as an associate
portfolio manager, but it isn’t the same as having the final say on a portfolio. In addition, we want to see
what process tweaks are in the works. We have lowered our rating to Neutral from Bronze.
T. Rowe Price International Bond RPIBX
Impact: Neutral 01-01-14
Ian Kelson has stepped down, and Arif Husain has replaced him. Husain joined T. Rowe Price in August
2013 as head of international fixed income. Prior to T. Rowe Price, he was a director of European fixed
income at AllianceBernstein.
|
Our Take: The fund has struggled of late, so we’re not too bothered about a
change at the helm. We’ll be watching for any strategy changes. We are keeping the fund at Neutral.
