(also called: Fragrant Waterlily) Classification: Phylum or Division: Magnoliophyta. Ami Kuan Danoff has held many leadership roles in finance, including vice president at Putnam Investments, but most recently has dedicated her time to philanthropic endeavors. ! Our authors can publish views that we may or may not agree with, but they show their work, distinguish facts from opinions, and make sure their analysis is clear and in no way misleading or deceptive. Do you have kind of a too hard pile--either types of companies or maybe industries that you just say, This has not historically worked out well for me. I can learn from you, you can learn from me, we can both learn from the management team, and then decide, do we buy, do we sell? Ptak: I wanted to shift gears if we can and talk about one of the other dimensions that you're responsible for, which is portfolio construction, but I wanted to zero in on capacity, which I'm sure is a question you never tire of answering. But I would say one of the keys to being a successful investor is to cast as wide a net as possible, and Fidelity enables me to cast a very wide net. But partly, it's just this opportunity. William Danoff (born 1959-60) is a vice-president and portfolio manager of Fidelity Contrafund, since 1990. And we talked about the long view. Joel Tillinghast, who's the great manager of the Low-Priced Stock fund, and I have done very well here at Fidelity. He's a graduate of Harvard University and earned his MBA at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. Mitch H Danoff, Mithcell H Danoff, Mitchell N Danoff, Mitchell H Danoff and Mitch Danoff are some of the alias or nicknames that Mitchell has used. Do we decide to buy another company or one of their customers or one of their suppliers? And if you do that every day, for 29 or 30 years over time you gain some expertise and hopefully you improve your batting average and add value to the shareholders. 5 stars. And I think that probably partly explains why I haven't been as active on social media. I mean, when Facebook went public, they were--and Google, they were--both nicely profitable, growing companies. The band recorded for John Denver's Windsong label. A lot depends on how the markets go. For non-personal use or to order multiple copies, please contact Dow Jones Reprints at 1-800-843-0008 or visit www.djreprints.com. This has been a lot of fun. And, you know, if you go to a company for five or six years, two times a year, and visit with three different executives--I probably have met the top 50 executives at Google. Over that time, the fund has returned 13.7% a year, on average, beating the And I'm not sure that closing the fund is the right strategy for the shareholders, but we think about it. But he very articulately explained to me in very basic terms: One plane type to keep expenses low, going to secondary airports where the airport embraced Ryanair so they gave them low-cost gates, and they gave them the operating flexibility that they wanted so they can turn their planes faster. Identification: Nymphaea odorata is an aquatic perennial plant. I like to read annual reports, and I like to think about investment options and try to find the best ideas for the shareholders. How good is this management team?. People ask a lot about when do you sell a stock--and you sell a stock when the earnings growth slows, often due to intensified competition. Already a member? Learn How rich is He in this year and how He spends money? Why is that one trading at such a discount to the group? And the analysts might say, Well, they just lost their largest customer or they've got a big business into Mexico and Mexico's into a recession, or Trump wants to build a wall and therefore the Mexican business is falling off a cliff. And I usually say, That's not the type of company I'm interested in. If management asks once in a while about buybacks versus dividends, I will express a personal opinion. And I introduced myself to the person to my left, who turned out to be the CEO of the company. And that would be a special business that delights their customer, owner/operator, free cash flow generative, high return. Danoff: That's a really good question, Jeff. But that's what my business really is: trying to identify great management teams and great companies and then just let them do the hard work. Christine Benz: And I'm Christine Benz, director of personal finance for Morningstar, Inc. Ptak: Our guest this week is Will Danoff. the largest U.S. mutual fund run by a single manager. I tend not to do well when we have to make a quick pivot. And I've been with the Contrafund for 29, almost 30 years. What are they going to be doing? You know, what I've seen over time is the fund managers and the funds that do a really good job for the shareholders are those managers who are hustling. But privates are, again--if you pick the right entrepreneur and you pick the right opportunity, and you have the expertise-- But they tend to be more time intensive, the companies tend to be less mature, management teams tend to be a little less mature. But, you know, every CEO has now become a CTO because the cloud is forcing every company to think about technology. Masters in Business. Danoff: That's a really good question, Christine. On average, the Fidelity Contrafund has beaten the S&P 500 Index by 2.31% per year. I've invested less over the last year or two than I feel like I did earlier on. And there are all sorts of companies that have had multiple owners. They live in Weston, Massachusetts, and are the parents of Amelia Danoff, a member of the University's Class of 2023, who is concentrating in Italian. And they were a relatively small player with a differentiated product and mostly selling balances to labs. Dr. Dudley Danoff, MD is a Urology Specialist in Los Angeles, CA and has over 60 years of experience in the medical field. But capacity--you know, I'm my degree of difficulty is harder than a smaller fund. When you look back over a 20-year time horizon, you just see a pattern that you want to replicate going forward. But, you see, it was a high return on investment in a business, and they've been able to grow without issuing equity, and their per-share earnings have grown, and they've delighted their customers and done just phenomenal jobs. But everybody worries about everything. Fidelity Contrafund's longtime star manager on why he runs money, how his definition of "edge" has evolved, the best way to engage with analysts and company management, and more. Fidelity Brokerage Services LLC, Member NYSE, SIPC, 900 Salem Street, Smithfield, RI 02917, (Separate multiple email addresses with commas). So, I remember the early days of companies like Costco, and management has experimented with new ideas, but generally speaking, they're close to their customers, they had a great value proposition. [5] Should Danoff retire or become incapacitated without a co-manager or succession plan, Contrafund might face major redemptions from shareholders and lose its position in many large retirement plans which typically require at least three years of manager tenure. And so that's sort of what I do well, I think, is to try to ask for a call with the management team. By using this service, you agree to input your real email address and only send it to people you know. I think they're managing their size very, very well. The private market has grown and, one could argue, became very overheated, let's say, in the 2017-2018 time horizon. Such opinions are subject to change. And, again, paying attention and monitoring out-of-favor groups and trying to identify I can remember when everyone hated the airline industry. S&P 500 [2] Contents 1 Education and early career 2 Fidelity Contrafund 3 See also 4 References Education and early career [ edit] We also respect individual opinionsthey represent the unvarnished thinking of our people and exacting analysis of our research processes. So, I find that to really engage one as an investor, you need to engage with managements and then also to engage with analysts and other fund managers you have to be an analyst. As with any search engine, we ask that you not input personal or account information. Life: Fidelity Contrafund 12.19%, S&P 500 Index not applicable. William Danoff (born 195960) is known for being a vice-president and portfolio manager of Fidelity Contrafund. William Danoff is the single manager of the Fidelity Investments' flagship mutual fund Contrafund. As of July 2018, the fund has continued its outperformance over the S&P 500. And it was again, it was a Friday afternoon, maybe in the summer, and there weren't that many people there. But it's when you get a second king that you want to bet more. So, I try to stay within my own circle of competence. The Fidelity Contrafund is a large-cap growth fund with $139 billion in . We're seeing the new management teams when they come to Boston to tell us how excited they are to take over the company, and finding new ideas then raises the bar for your existing positions. You've always been different in your approach. And I'd say that we have meetings with these managements just like the other large institutions. Stock values fluctuate in response to the activities of individual companies, and general market and economic conditions. Benchmark returns include reinvestment of capital gains and dividends, if any, but do not reflect any fees or expenses. Danoff received 46,154 Alibaba shares that cost $3,432, or 7 cents apiece, according to an annual report filed by his family's private charitable foundation. He is affiliated with Cedars - Sinai Medical Center. Taffy Nivert. Fidelity Contrafund versus the S&P 500 index over five periods: 1 year, 3 years, 5 years, 10 years, and life of the portfolio. And then, as we talked about earlier, being so big gives me perhaps slightly better access to key decision-makers than a lot of sophisticated smaller investors would. Dudley S. Danoff, MD. His name is Will Danoff. And in talking to company management--what do you think you get from that experience? For Canadian investors, Will and Joel co-manage Fidelity Global Growth and Value Class. Often, that executive will figure out what they want to do for six months. But I think I can do it. I do think there are owner/operator management teams that tend to do the right thing over time. Discover William Danoff's Biography, Age, Height, Physical Stats, Dating/Affairs, Family and career updates. The older mind is not as nimble as the younger mind. And that's one of the reasons I think the stock market has done well and my guess is will continue to do well. Before moving to William's current city of Weston, MA, William lived in Boston MA. Excited to be here. And, you know, hopefully with barriers to entry, I mean, one of the competitive issues for Costco and other traditional retailers is just the emergence of the Internet. Insights from Fidelity's portfolio managers And also, I think at Fidelity, we got a great team. Even in energy, which is way out a favor right now, there may be an opportunity over time. 5 years: Fidelity Contrafund 8.52%, S&P 500 Index 9.42%. For the best Barrons.com experience, please update to a modern browser. Sep.17 -- Will Danoff, who as manager of Fidelity's Contrafund has beaten the S&P 500 for three decades, makes the case for active management in the era of E. And if it is, I tend to go to a meeting or two--probably go to more meetings--because I say maybe I'll learn something by going to a meeting. And I think as human beings, it's a lot easier to do the latter. [1] At US $129 billion, Contrafund is the largest actively managed stock or bond mutual fund run by one person. How has that changed in the last few decades in which you've been running money? Even Fidelity's $230 Billion Star Manager Has Robinhood Anxiety. Are you content to really to try to hit for average, come what may? So therefore, you are trusting management teams and experts in certain industries to guide you, and hopefully I'll understand the financial ramifications if the company is successful, and I can make an assessment if I think the scientists or the technologists are going to be able to execute on their plan, and every industry is a little cyclical. Age, Biography and Wiki. So, I look at the fund. On the other hand, you do have to find the right balance in life. He served as portfolio assistant for the Magellan Fund. [1] At US $129 billion, Contrafund is the largest actively managed stock or bond mutual fund run by one person.[2]. So, this idea of investing in unprofitable companies that are less mature may be, again, part of a cycle. You can't necessarily call your trader and say buy $1 billion worth of company XYZ. I feel really lucky to be here. That has been a change over the last couple of years. I mean Fidelity is an unbelievable organization. It is not possible to invest in an index. Will runs a number of Fidelity equity strategies, best known of which is Fidelity Contrafund, a mutual fund he has been managing since September 1990. https://www.barrons.com/articles/fidelitys-will-danoff-looks-back-on-30-years-at-contrafund-51601679688. Maintaining independence and editorial freedom is essential to our mission of empowering investor success. But capacity is what it is--that was a decision that I didn't make. And so, one has to be very careful. So that idea and global markets that enable continued growth--so that's a very sweet combination for shareholders: low capital intensity, high margins, and growth. Capacity is what it is not possible to invest in an Index visit www.djreprints.com individual companies and... You get from that experience like I did n't make call your trader and say buy $ billion... N'T that many people there think the stock market has done well and guess! 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