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.
November was a relatively quiet month with 48 funds seeing partial or complete manager changes. By far, the highest visibility changes come to Parnassus Endeavor (PFPWX), where Jerome Dodson, the firm’s founder, has decided that full of years and honors, it’s time to step aside. The fund’s long-term returns pretty much crush its peers: 12.8% per year over 15 years versus the peers’ 8.6% returns.
In addition, two star managers – Rajiv Rain and John Walthausen – have added co-managers this month.
| Ticker | Fund | Out with the old | In with the new | Dt |
| GIGAX | Aberdeen Emerging Markets Sustainable Leaders Fund | Bruce Stout, Jamie Cumming, Samantha Fitzpatrick, Martin Connaghan, and Dominic Byrne are no longer listed as portfolio managers for the fund. | Peter Taylor, David Smith, William Scholes, Danie Ng, and Fiona Manning will now manage the fund. | 11/20 |
| CWS | AdvisorShares Focused Equity ETF | Edward Elfenbein is no longer listed as a portfolio manager for the fund. | Dan Ahrens will now manage the fund. | 11/20 |
| AMPAX | American Beacon Mid-Cap Value Fund | Effective November 6, 2020, Brian Pratt of WEDGE Capital Management, L.L.P. no longer serves as a portfolio manager for the fund. | Andrew Rosenberg joins the other dozen managers on the team. | 11/20 |
| AVFIX | American Beacon Small Cap Value Fund | Effective December 31, 2020, John Harloe will no longer serve as a portfolio manager for the fund. | The other 19 managers remain. | 11/20 |
| CCAPX | Chiron Capital Allocation Fund | Effective on or around December 31, 2020, Grant Sarris will no longer serve as a portfolio manager for the fund. | Scott Sullivan, Brian Cho, and Ryan Caldwell will remain on the management team. | 11/20 |
| CSMOX | Chiron SMid Opportunities Fund | Effective on or around December 31, 2020, Grant Sarris will no longer serve as a portfolio manager for the fund. | Effective immediately, Pat Srinivas joins Scott Sullivan and Brian Cho on the management team. | 11/20 |
| DSCIX | Dana Epiphany ESG Small Cap Equity Fund | No one, but . . . | Ann Roberts joins David Stamm, Duane Roberts, and Michael Honkamp on the management team. | 11/20 |
| FIUTX | Delaware Equity Income Fund | Kristen Bartholdson, Nikhil Lalvani, and Robert Vogel are no longer listed as portfolio managers for the fund. | Scot Thompson and Benjamin Leung will now manage the fund. | 11/20 |
| DVEAX | Delaware Select Growth Fund | Jackson Square Partners is out as subadvisor, along with their ten-person management team. | W. Alexander Ely will now manage the fund. | 11/20 |
| DEUIX | Delaware U.S. Growth Fund | Christopher Bonavico will no longer serve as a portfolio manager for the fund. Daniel Prislin has announced his retirement at the end of 2021. | William Montana, Christopher Ericksen, and Jeffrey Van Harte will continue to manage the fund. | 11/20 |
| FWAFX | Fidelity Advisor Worldwide Fund | No one, but . . . | Andrew Sergeant joins Stephen DuFour and William Kennedy in managing the fund. | 11/20 |
| FWWFX | Fidelity Worldwide | No one, but . . . | Andrew Sergeant joins Stephen DuFour and William Kennedy in managing the fund. | 11/20 |
| FFIOX | FormulaFolios US Equity Fund | Derek Prusa is no longer listed as a portfolio manager for the fund. | Mark DiOrio joins Jason Wenk in managing the fund. | 11/20 |
| Various | Global X Funds (33 of them) | Chang Kim is no longer listed as a portfolio manager for the fund. | John Belanger and Vanessa Yang join Nam To, Wayne Xie, and Kimberly Chan on the management team. | 11/20 |
| GJRTX | Goldman Sachs Absolute Return Tracker Fund | Effective immediately, Matthew Schwab will no longer serve as a portfolio manager for the fund. | Oliver Bunn and Federico Gilly will continue to manage the fund. | 11/20 |
| GDAFX | Goldman Sachs Alternative Premia Fund | Effective immediately, Matthew Schwab will no longer serve as a portfolio manager for the fund. | Federico Gilly and James Park continue to serve as portfolio managers for the fund. | 11/20 |
| GDEAX | Goldman Sachs Defensive Equity Fund | Effective immediately, Matthew Schwab will no longer serve as a portfolio manager for the fund. | Federico Gilly and Jorge Murillo continue to serve as portfolio managers for the fund. | 11/20 |
| GSYAX | Goldman Sachs Imprint Emerging Markets Opportunity Fund | Jamieson Odell and Lee Gao are no longer listed as portfolio managers for the fund. | Hiren Dasani and Basak Yavus will now manage the fund. | 11/20 |
| SFAFX | Goldman Sachs Strategic Factor Allocation Fund | Effective immediately, Matthew Schwab will no longer serve as a portfolio manager for the fund. | Federico Gilly, John Landers, and Nishank Modi will now manage the fund. | 11/20 |
| GQRPX | GQG Partners Global Quality Equity Fund | No one, but . . . | James Anders joins Rajiv Jain in managing the fund. | 11/20 |
| MXLSX | Great-West Loomis Sayles Small Cap Value | No one, but . . . | Ryan Thomes and Judd Peters join Jeffrey Schwartz and Joseph Gatz on the management team. | 11/20 |
| various | Harbor Target Retirement Income Fund, Harbor Target Retirement 2020 Fund, Harbor Target Retirement 2025 Fund, Harbor Target Retirement 2030 Fund, Harbor Target Retirement 2035 Fund, Harbor Target Retirement 2040 Fund, Harbor Target Retirement 2045 Fund, Harbor Target Retirement 2050 Fund, Harbor Target Retirement 2055 Fund and Harbor Target Retirement 2060 Fund | Brian L. Collins and Linda M. Molenda will no longer serve as portfolio managers of the Target Retirement Funds effective at the close of business on November 13, 2020 and December 31, 2020, respectively. | Matthew Pallai joins Paul Herbert in managing the funds. | 11/20 |
| HLDIX | Hartford Emerging Markets Local Debt Fund | James Valone announced his plan to retire, and effective December 31, 2021, he will no longer serve as a portfolio manager to the fund. | Michael Henry and Kevin Murphy will continue to manage the fund. | 11/20 |
| OPGIX | Invesco Global Opportunity Fund | No one, but . . . | Maire Lane joins Frank Jennings in managing the fund. | 11/20 |
| VSQAX | Invesco MSCI World SRI Index Fund | Glen Murphy will no longer serve as a portfolio manager for the fund. | Daniel Tsai joins Ahmadreza Vafaeimehr, Su-Jin Fabian, Nils Huter, and Robert Nakouzi on the management team. | 11/20 |
| JOCIX | JOHCM Credit Income Fund | Lale Topcuoglu is no longer listed as a portfolio manager for the fund. | Adam Gittes joins Giorgio Caputo in managing the fund. | 11/20 |
| JOFIX | JOHCM Global Income Builder Fund | Lale Topcuoglu is no longer listed as a portfolio manager for the fund. | Adam Gittes joins Giorgio Caputo and Robert Hordon in managing the fund. | 11/20 |
| GAOAX | JPMorgan Global Allocation Fund | No one, but . . . | Michael Feser and Philip Camporeale join Eric Bernbaum, Grace Koo, and Jeffrey Geller on the management team. | 11/20 |
| JIHAX | JPMorgan International Hedged Equity Fund | Demetris Georghiou will no longer serve as a portfolio manager for the fund. | Piera Grassi, Nicholas Farserotu, and Winnie Cheung join Hamilton Reiner in managing the fund. | 11/20 |
| JPEAX | JPMorgan Tax Aware Equity Fund | No one, but . . . | Laura Huang joins Susan Bao in managing the fund. | 11/20 |
| MFCPX | M Capital Appreciation Fund | Effective December 31, 2020, Michael Cavarretta will be retiring as a portfolio manager for the fund. | Andrew Bennett and Peter Kuechle will continue to manage the fund. | 11/20 |
| MMAAX | MassMutual Select Growth Opportunities Fund | Christopher Bonavico will no longer serve as a portfolio manager for the fund. Daniel Prislin has announced his retirement at the end of 2021. | The other eight managers remain. | 11/20 |
| MEMQX | Mercer Emerging Markets Equity Fund | John Birkhold will no longer serve as a portfolio manager for the fund. | The other 14 managers remain. | 11/20 |
| FOOLX | Motley Fool Global Opportunities Fund | Charles Travers and David Meier will no longer serve as portfolio managers to the fund. | Michael Olsen joins Nathan Weisshaar, William Barker, Bryan Hinmon, and Anthony Arsta on the management team. | 11/20 |
| TMFGX | Motley Fool Mid-Cap Growth Fund | Charles Travers and David Meier will no longer serve as portfolio managers to the fund. | Nathan Weisshaar, William Barker, Bryan Hinmon, and Anthony Arsta remain on the management team, with Mr. Hinmon becoming the lead portfolio manager. | 11/20 |
| PFPWX | Parnassus Endeavor Fund | Effective as of December 31, 2020, Jerome Dodson will no longer serve as a portfolio manager of the fund. Mr. Dodson will continue as the Chairman of Parnassus Investments. | As of January 1, 2021, Billy Hwan will be the sole portfolio manager of the fund. | 11/20 |
| SPGEX | Symmetry Panoramic Global Equity Fund | Dana D’Auria is no longer listed as a portfolio manager for the fund. | Lukax Smart, Jed Fogdall, and Joel Schneider join Patrick Sweeny, Philip McDonald, John McDermott, David Connelly, and Rebecca Cioban on the management team. | 11/20 |
| SPUSX | Symmetry Panoramic US Equit Fund | Dana D’Auria is no longer listed as a portfolio manager for the fund. | Lukax Smart, Jed Fogdall, and Joel Schneider join Patrick Sweeny, Philip McDonald, John McDermott, David Connelly, and Rebecca Cioban on the management team. | 11/20 |
| TEDMX | Templeton Developing Markets | No one, but . . . | Andrew Ness joins Chetan Sehgal in managing the fund. | 11/20 |
| TSALX | TIAA-CREF Lifestyle Aggressive Growth Fund | No one, but . . . | Steve Sedmak joins Hans Erickson and John Cunniff in managing the fund. | 11/20 |
| TSCLX | TIAA-CREF Lifestyle Conservative Fund | No one, but . . . | Steve Sedmak joins Hans Erickson and John Cunniff in managing the fund. | 11/20 |
| TSGLX | TIAA-CREF Lifestyle Growth Fund | No one, but . . . | Steve Sedmak joins Hans Erickson and John Cunniff in managing the fund. | 11/20 |
| TSILX | TIAA-CREF Lifestyle Income Fund | No one, but . . . | Steve Sedmak joins Hans Erickson and John Cunniff in managing the fund. | 11/20 |
| TSMLX | TIAA-CREF Lifestyle Moderate Fund | No one, but . . . | Steve Sedmak joins Hans Erickson and John Cunniff in managing the fund. | 11/20 |
| TIMRX | TIAA-CREF Managed Allocation Fund | No one, but . . . | Steve Sedmak joins Hans Erickson and John Cunniff in managing the fund. | 11/20 |
| TLISX | TIAA-CREF Quant International Small-Cap Equity Fund | Steven Rossiello and Antonio Ramos will no longer serve as portfolio managers for the fund. | Max Kozlov now manages the fund. | 11/20 |
| WSCVX | Walthausen Small Cap Value Fund | No one, but . . . | DeForest Hinman joins John Walthausen and Gerard Heffernan in managing the fund. | 11/20 |
| WBSIX | William Blair Small Cap Growth I | No one, but . . . | Mark Thompson joins Ward Sexton and Michael Balkin in managing the fund. | 11/20 |
