Cover:Best Managers You Never Heard Of
PLANSPONSOR's "Best Managers You Never
Heard Of," the class of 2009, includes several of the
unconventional sort and, contrary to what Lord Keynes might
have predicted, they all have a client following. So far,
their reputations are intact.
Photography by Brian Harkin
"For it is the essence of his behavior that he should
be eccentric, unconventional and rash in the eyes of
average opinion," wrote John Maynard Keynes, in
discussing styles of investment management in
The General Theory of Money, Employment and
Interest
If he is successful, that will only confirm the
general belief in his rashness; and if…he is
unsuccessful,…he will not receive much mercy. Worldly
wisdom teaches that it is better for reputation to fail
conventionally than to succeed unconventionally.
PLANSPONSOR
's "Best Managers You Never Heard Of," the
class of 2009, includes several of the unconventional sort
and, contrary to what Lord Keynes might have predicted,
they all have a client following. So far, their reputations
are intact.
Our goal in this annual feature is to identify a few
managers that combine a solid track record with the high
expectations of young, entrepreneurial firms. Drawn from
the eVestment Alliance database, candidates are screened on
the size of asset base, year of founding, and performance
against a benchmark (this year's group are all equity
managers). We also check their bona fides with our contacts
in the consulting world.
Alumni News
The Best Managers class of 2008 had a mixed year. Bedlam
Asset Management's Global Equity strategy beat the MSCI
ACWI index by 5.5% for calendar 2008. Ranger Capital had a
good year with its Small Cap Select product (4.2% over the
Russell 2000 Growth index) but came in well short of
benchmarks on its other strategies. Security Global
Investors had a success with its Global Long Only Equity
account, at 3.6% over the MSCI World index, and more or
less broke even with its Large Cap Growth and Value
Concentrated strategies. (All results are taken from the
eVestment Alliance database and are presented before
fees.)
John Keefe
editors@plansponsor.com