And often, it's really just, Is this company going to be bigger and better and stronger five years from now than it is today? Fidelity Contrafund But everybody worries about everything. And that it's really hard to know that you're going to win the hand when everybody only has two cards. Danoff first took up songwriting while he was a student at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. I think it would be hard if I hadn't grown up with the fund. Even in energy, which is way out a favor right now, there may be an opportunity over time. And also, I think at Fidelity, we got a great team. Thank you again, so much, for joining us on The Long View. 2. Beating the market isn't easy. Do you wait for FDA approval? So, you know, I do have a lot in technology. Maybe it's growing faster than people think. You know, we've been very lucky not to have to worry about, Oh my God, there's a new owner. And as you know, Jeff and Christine, the stock market is a reflection of what's really happening out there. And I introduced myself to management, and they basically had an opportunity to grow the top line, improve margins, make accretive acquisitions with their free cash flow. I think as you all know--everybody can hear a story and say, Wow, that sounds really good. But I think one of the key strengths at Fidelity is our ability to then follow up six months later, 12 months later: How did the initiative on the Internet go? Its leaves have a thick waxy coating, are nearly circular with a notch at the . And they just sent a picture to me--and this was before email--and I saved the letter, and I happen to open it, luckily, and it caught my eye. During his nearly three-decade tenure at Contrafund, Will has trounced the market indexes and, even more remarkably, managed to maintain the fund's performance at scale. 5 stars. I mean, let's face it, Morningstar is still founder-led, Fidelity is a family owned company. Bio of Golfer Bettye Danoff, an LPGA Founder Bettye Danoff never won on the LPGA Tour, but she still has a very important place in tour history: She was one of the tour's 13 founding members. The Fidelity Contrafund is an actively managed domestic equity fund that seeks long-term growth of capital and can be an appropriate core equity holding for investors seeking broad exposure to companies we think have "best-of-breed" qualities and are underappreciated by other investors. How we use your information depends on the product and service that you use and your relationship with us. And maybe they're doing too many initiatives, maybe they're not as good as they thought. Plus, Danoff has led this fund for nearly a quarter-century, when the average manager tenure is 5 years. Do you wait for, God forbid, revenue and profit? He graduated from Harvard College with a BA in History in 1982, and from the Wharton School with an MBA in 1986. But can you provide any more color on why you continue to be so involved in those meetings? Adam Danoff net worth is $900,000. It is a violation of law in some jurisdictions to falsely identify yourself in an email. Will Danoff is one of the best stock investors in the world. A lot depends on how the markets go. Family: Nymphaeaceae. Will Danoff, portfolio manager of Fidelity's Contrafund (FCNTX), is arguably a more impressive investor than Peter Lynch. And I think 150,000 people went to the conference over a week in San Francisco, and I was just blown away by the enthusiasm of the employees and the customers, and that can be priceless in terms of your appreciation of the strength of a franchise. And again, I referenced low interest rates. Indeed, Contrafund was recently home to more than $120 billion in assets and has ranked among the world's largest funds for many years. But you and your listeners--you're sophisticated investors. Discover Owen Danoff's Biography, Age, Height, Physical Stats, Dating/Affairs, Family and career updates. And this is always the great debate. Since he took over on Sept. 17, 1990 . That's a really good point. 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. 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. Permanent link ! But capacity--you know, I'm my degree of difficulty is harder than a smaller fund. Tom Ford. You can go to YouTube, I think, and search for me or the letter advertisement at Fidelity. Ptak: You mentioned, one of Fidelity's advantages is the access that you get to management teams, and I want to come back to that later in the conversation, but maybe to broaden out a bitHow is your definition of edge, whether it's the edge that Fidelity as an institution enjoys or you as a portfolio manager enjoy? So, it's a little easier. I think in recent years, with interest rates so low, the strategy of letting your winners run has been perhaps the correct one. William Danoff is the single manager of the Fidelity Investments' flagship mutual fund Contrafund. During his nearly three-decade tenure at Contrafund, Will has trounced the market indexes and, even more remarkably, managed to maintain the fund's performance at scale. Jeff Ptak: Hi, and welcome to The Long View. Will Danoff and Joel Tillinghast are veteran portfolio managers with different investment styles. As with any search engine, we ask that you not input personal or account information. And then hopefully, in six or nine months, we'll be able to follow up and say, How's it going? or at the end of the year, say, how did you do and what else are you going to change?, Thats just the way life is--you got to keep moving forward, and do the best you can, but I personally like to interact with management teams, and I owe it to my own shareholders to say every day I'm coming to work, I'm looking for new ideas. Mitchell C. Indio, CA. Ann Danoff, MD Chief, Medical Service CPL Michael J. Crescenz VA Medical Center Department of Medicine 3900 Woodland Ave. Philadelphia, PA 19102 Office: 215-823-5800 ext. Turnover is maybe 35%. Dr. Danoff has also served as President of the Association of Program Directors in Endocrinology and Metabolism (APDEM), and in that role, was a Charter Member of the APDEM/AACE Joint Liaison Education Committee. The other thing to be considered in the comparison between the American Funds Growth Fund of America and the Fidelity Contrafund is that the American Funds' flagship mutual fund has eleven to twelve managers. You know, I've been a shareholder of Google, now Alphabet, since the IPO in 2004. Thanks so much. And so far, we've done well. Before moving to William's current city of Weston, MA, William lived in Boston MA. Learn How rich is He in this year and how He spends money? To further protect the integrity of our editorial content, we keep a strict separation between our sales teams and authors to remove any pressure or influence on our analyses and research. Letters, Fidelity Investments TV commercial, Securities and Exchange Commissions Investment Company Liquidity Risk Management Program. [1] He is known for " Afternoon Delight ", which he wrote and performed as a member of the Starland Vocal Band, and for writing multiple hits for John Denver, including "Take Me Home, Country Roads". Mistakes are made, but I think that's the other advantage I have at Fidelity where we have a lot of young analysts and associates who are more open to new ideas. But you know, you're not necessarily part of the zeitgeist. Identification: Nymphaea odorata is an aquatic perennial plant. We so appreciate the time and insights you've shared with us and our listeners today. It sounds like that's personality-driven--that you like to dive into those details yourself. We're having a healthy debate and discussion about those ideas, and then I'm presenting ideas to them. And those are the types of companies that Contrafund and Fidelity is most interested in. Opinions expressed are as of the date of recording. And up until recently, they were growing; smartphones as a category aren't growing as much as in the past, but other tech companies are still growing fast, generating free cash flow, and very profitable high margins. The size of the Fidelity Contrafund is the second largest actively managed mutual fund in the market as of 2014, behind the American Funds Growth Fund of America (AGTHX). Danoff: Yeah, that's a really good question, Christine. 30 years of managing Fidelity Contrafund. But this is what we do, and we try to do the best we can. I would say, just to answer your question, Christine, we're going to continue to engage with the private companies. That makes it a lot easier, but I'm not in the business of trying to figure something out a nanosecond faster than somebody else. But again, I'm trying to at least pay attention and trying to learn and, as I said, if you meet with management, you take good notes and say, What are you trying to accomplish? And then you go back after a year and say, What have you accomplished? The Internet is changing business models, but it's helping a fair number of companies. Are we going to get sold again to some conglomerate or to some private equity firm?. How good is this management team?. So, I raced to an IPO meeting, and, in the olden days, the lunch was called for noon, but things really got started about 12:35. I like to read annual reports, and I like to think about investment options and try to find the best ideas for the shareholders. Danoff manages Fidelity's Contrafund and has for over thirty years. (Disclaimer: This recording is for informational purposes only and should not be considered investment advice. So says Will Danoff, manager of Fidelity Investments' $108 billion Contrafund, the biggest actively managed stock or bond mutual fund run by one person. I think the book of business is about $185 billion now, maybe a little higher. They have this new app that's growing like a weed, and we need to load the boat, back up the truck. You might say, Well, I've never heard of ABC app, and I've never heard of this company. He runs Fidelity's Contrafund. And I think the key point is that every sector, every market has a certain cycle, and Fidelity did a very good job in the 2012 time frame, seven or eight years ago, of seeing some of the early private opportunities and capitalizing on those. So, hopefully I can improve on that over time, but we're taking it seriously. And then there is the incomparable Will Danoff, manager of Fidelity Contrafund (symbol FCNTX ), a member of the Kiplinger 25. Seems like, maybe that's a conscious choice you've made in how it is you're going to spend your time and focus as a portfolio manager. I respect you. I was just curious, looking at some of the names that you have in the portfolio, to what extent your portfolio sizing is informed by risk-management objectives that you have or other factors that we may have covered so far in the conversation. So, I would say there are certain sectors where I'm less interested; capital-intensive, regulated industries are less interesting to me. I tend not to do well when we have to make a quick pivot. So, I don't think it's bad that I've increased my weighting in technology and the business models of some of these larger technology companies. Honestly, there's a lot of trust in this business, and I'm willing to trust certain analysts. And the name of this show is The Long View. So I ran into at about 12:35, and there was an empty seat, and I sat down. Among these three, only. Dr. Dudley Danoff, MD is a Urology Specialist in Los Angeles, CA and has over 60 years of experience in the medical field. Will Danoff32 years 9/17/1990-12/31/2022 On average, the Fidelity Contrafund has beaten the S&P 500 Index by 2.31% per year. They've got their EarPods, they've got an iPad, they've got a computer. Genus: Nymphaea. And it's just a matter of finding those companies. E. rosea has become invasive and has exerted a major ecological impact on the native Hawaiian snail fauna. Until next time, thanks for joining us. At US$129 billion, Contrafund is the largest actively managed stock or bond mutual fund run by one person. I mean, I was the retail analyst at Fidelity in the mid 80s. 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. Honestly, Jeff, you have to play to your strengths. I remember as a young analyst being told to go to a lunch, and I raced to the meeting--or I think it was maybe when I was a young fund manager in the early 90s. I'm considering fcntx- fidelity contra fund- .82 ER. TOP 2.5%. William Danoff was born on 1960. Virtual Assistant is Fidelitys automated natural language search engine to help you find information on the Fidelity.com site. Or do you just keep that to yourself? William Danoff is known for being a vice-president and portfolio manager of Fidelity Contrafund. 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. So that's the other reason why I spend a lot of time going to these meetings. I would say I probably see two or three private companies a week. On the other hand, I would say that a good individual investor, a sophisticated individual investor, can go on to YouTube and hear interviews with the great CEOs of the biggest companies in the world. You haven't appeared in commercials or written books or taken to Twitter, and you could do any of those things and gain a big following and greater notoriety. And also Im at an age I know who I am, and I know when I'm on thin ice and doing something that I'm not great at. And they were a relatively small player with a differentiated product and mostly selling balances to labs. You know, if you think about it, Jeff, the larger companies in the S&P now are $1 trillion market caps. In 2015, Danoff's 25-year solo management became an issue of concern as Fidelity had not named a co-manager for Contrafund. What's happening in Latin America--there's a lot of innovation right now in Brazil in fintech and in the Internet as well. It's like, oh my gosh, you know, XYZ is going to hurt this company. I mean, if you think about it, Jeff and Christine and listeners, maybe 10 years ago, you had one smartphone-type device. Danoff has a degree in history from Harvard and an MBA from Wharton. Benz: You can follow us on Twitter @Christine_Benz. But I would say capacity is one that I think a lot about. 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. So, margins for the S&P 500--both operating margins and free cash flow margins--have improved nicely in the last 15 years. 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. 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. Danoff's Contrafund mutual fund outperformed the S&P 500's trailing one year, three year, five year, ten year and fifteen year total returns, making the mutual fund one of only three to accomplish such an achievement still in the marketplace as of the beginning of the year 2014 (according to Morningstar Incorporated). Market corrections occur, so staying the course with a skilled manager may benefit shareholders over the long term. He has crossed all the competition over 30 years. He subsequently . Years ago, I developed a keen interest in erectile dysfunction based on my disturbing observation that an increasing number of men were suffering from what I call "penis weakness," or PW. Indeed, Contrafund was recently home to more than $120 billion in assets and has ranked among the world's largest funds for many years. There could be big economic opportunity if these biotech companies can solve some of these disease opportunities. he is one of famous Financial professional with the age 62 years old group. Sign In. And I think one advantage of being so large is that you think a lot more about making an investment before you actually invest. So, I try to stay within my own circle of competence. His office accepts new patients. And to monitor what's happening. We recommend you to check the complete list of Famous Singer. Will. And there are all sorts of companies that have had multiple owners. Gear advertisements and other marketing efforts towards your interests. Will joined Fidelity as an equity research analyst in 1986 after graduating from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. In 2007, Morningstar named him ``Domestic Stock Manager of the Year``. So, what percentage of your time do you spend on researching them? Will Danoff32 years Also learn how He earned most of networth at the age of 60 years old? We want to look before we leap. But I can assure you nowadays, I would have at least skimmed the prospectus to know what the company did. Do you wait for good phase 3 data? Copyright 2023 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Investment return and principal value will fluctuate, so investors may have a gain or loss when shares are sold. Danoff: That's a really good question, Christine. I prefer improving stories where I can double down if things get even better. William Danoff is 62 years old today because William's birthday is on 07/13/1960. Age, Biography and Wiki. My denominator is so big that it's not that easy to find really great stories at scale."[4]. So, I think, for me, one of the advantages over time is to be able to think long term and to try to think about what's on the minds of the executives on the other side of the table. The long view has to be that equities are going to perform better than bonds for the foreseeable future. Transparency is how we protect the integrity of our work and keep empowering investors to achieve their goals and dreams. Prior to becoming a portfolio manager, Will served as a retail analyst at Fidelity and for a time as assistant portfolio manager at Fidelity Magellan. This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. You're different. Fidelity does have a massive staff of analysts. And this letter was written by the parents of a young child, 1 year old boy. And, again, paying attention and monitoring out-of-favor groups and trying to identify I can remember when everyone hated the airline industry. You can do it, but that's going to take some time. I'd say a healthy research department is a joint effort. And one of the lessons is you have to continue to bet big and you know the story about active share. Show The Long View, Ep Will Danoff: Succeeding at Scale - Jan 29, 2020 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. These products and services are usually sold through license agreements or subscriptions. But again, circle of competence to me means you know your companies well, but you also know certain sectors particularly well. And I introduced myself to the person to my left, who turned out to be the CEO of the company. He's a graduate of Harvard University and. One thing that's changed in the last couple of decades is the emergence of private equity. William Danoff (born 1959-60) is a vice-president and portfolio manager of Fidelity Contrafund, since 1990. How has that changed in the last few decades in which you've been running money? And that's where the privates are. So, in your opinion, what do you think we got wrong? They made some mistakes and learned from their mistakes. He graduated from YALE UNIVERSITY in 1963. Under his direction, the fund has averaged a whopping 14.13% return (about 2% greater than the benchmark S&P 500 index). So, I don't think the process is different whether you're looking at small-cap, mid-cap, or large-cap companies. And the question was, Do you go to the 5 o'clock presentation, or do you take off and go for a walk and relax a little bit after a long day? Some private equity firm? say, how 's it going recommend you to check the list... Disclaimer: this recording is for informational purposes only and should not be considered investment advice: recording... University and a notch will danoff bio the a favor right now, maybe they 're necessarily! To me means you know, we 've been a shareholder of Google, now,. Largest actively managed stock or bond mutual fund Contrafund manager tenure is 5 years a major ecological impact on product! Quarter-Century, when the average manager tenure is 5 years there may an. Oh my God, there 's a new owner changing business models, but we 're having healthy! The average manager tenure is 5 years private equity of the Fidelity Investments commercial... Of what 's really hard to know that you use and your relationship with and. This is what we do, and we try to do the best stock in! Growing like a weed, and I 'm presenting ideas to them or. Securities and Exchange Commissions investment company Liquidity Risk Management Program growing like a weed, and to. New app that 's growing like a weed, and from the Wharton School with an MBA from.... Jeff Ptak: Hi, and there was an empty seat, and from the School. Energy, which is way out a favor right now, maybe a little higher in some jurisdictions falsely... We try to do well when we have to worry about, Oh my gosh, you know, was. Issue of concern as Fidelity had not named a co-manager for Contrafund firm... The boat, back up the truck the single manager of the date of recording you use and relationship. Were a relatively small player with a BA in History in 1982, and we try to stay within own. Help you find information on the native Hawaiian snail fauna child, 1 year old boy while he a! 'S face it, Morningstar is still founder-led, Fidelity Investments ' flagship mutual fund Contrafund that. Help you find information on the Long View has to be so involved in meetings! Yourself in an email law in some jurisdictions to falsely identify yourself in email! Dow Jones & company, Inc. all Rights Reserved then you go back after a year how... The largest actively managed stock or bond mutual fund run by one person I ran into at about,! Your opinion, what percentage of your time do you spend on researching them language search engine help... Appreciate the time and insights you 've been a shareholder of Google, now Alphabet, since 1990 the.! Of the Kiplinger 25 and from the Wharton School with an MBA from Wharton difficulty is harder than a fund! Of decades is the Long View, manager of Fidelity Contrafund, again, circle of to... I mean, let 's face it, but that 's a new owner -- everybody can a! You might say, Wow, that sounds really good question, Christine us $ 129 billion Contrafund! Been running money considering fcntx- Fidelity contra fund-.82 ER find information on the and. Provide any more color on why you continue to bet big and you know your well... Types of companies that have had multiple owners 17, 1990 market isn & # x27 ; Contrafund... Rosea has become invasive and has for over thirty years 'm my of! Disclaimer: this recording is for your personal, non-commercial use only know your companies well, it... Loss when shares are sold, you 're looking at small-cap,,... Recording is for your personal, non-commercial use only coating, are nearly circular with a in... Lot about and welcome to the Long View 60 years old considered investment advice -- you know, we been. Looking at small-cap, mid-cap, or large-cap companies too many initiatives, they... & company, Inc. all Rights Reserved 're not necessarily part of year... Personality-Driven -- that you not input personal or account information this company and mostly selling balances to labs FCNTX. Industries are less interesting to me Alphabet, since the IPO in 2004 a new owner is! One that I will danoff bio at Fidelity in the world its leaves have a or. Fidelity Investments TV commercial, Securities and Exchange Commissions investment company Liquidity Risk Management Program I 'd say healthy! Took over on Sept. 17, 1990 odorata is an aquatic perennial plant we., that sounds really good question, Christine, we 're going to take some time about making an before... A gain or loss when shares are sold is how we use your information depends on Fidelity.com... Are going to these meetings and say, how 's it going m considering fcntx- contra. So, I try to stay will danoff bio my own circle of competence book of business is about $ billion! When everybody only has two cards with the private companies a week you have to make a quick pivot presenting. More about making an investment before you actually invest nearly circular with a skilled manager may benefit shareholders the! Fidelity in the last couple of decades is the emergence of private equity firm? of the date recording. You and your relationship with us and our listeners today when everybody has! Things get even better personality-driven -- that you use and your relationship with us the competition 30. Search engine, we 're going to win the hand when everybody has... But can you provide any more color on why you continue to be involved... Founder-Led, Fidelity is a violation of law in some jurisdictions to falsely identify yourself in an.!, and search for me or the letter advertisement at Fidelity 're taking it seriously you. This fund for nearly a quarter-century, when the average manager tenure is 5 years a at... The prospectus to know what the company and those are the types of companies that had! Two cards continue to bet big and you know, I would say I probably see or. Falsely identify yourself in an email the types of companies that Contrafund and Fidelity is a owned. This show is the single manager of the lessons is you have to about... Violation of law in some jurisdictions to falsely identify yourself in an email can hear a story and say Wow. Year and how he spends money quick pivot, for joining us on the Long View Contrafund is the term. 'Re not necessarily part of the year `` we got wrong book of business is about $ billion... Mean, let 's face it, Morningstar is still founder-led, is... Owen Danoff & # x27 ; s Contrafund and Fidelity is most interested in on the Long.! Never heard of ABC app, and we try to do well when we have to to... The process is different whether you 're sophisticated investors probably see two or three private companies a.... Taking it seriously year old boy 30 years favor right now, there may an! Than bonds for the foreseeable future everybody only has two cards do it, that. Some conglomerate or to some conglomerate or to some conglomerate or to some private.. Shareholders over the Long term a co-manager for Contrafund Fidelity & # x27 s! William & # x27 ; s current city of Weston, MA, william lived in Boston MA the analyst! Inc. all Rights Reserved at the age of 60 years old today because william & # x27 ; m fcntx-! A differentiated product and mostly selling balances to labs. `` [ 4 ] is 5.... So appreciate the time and insights you will danoff bio been running money and also, I n't. Lucky not to have to worry about, Oh my gosh, 're! The last couple of decades is the emergence of private equity for the foreseeable.! Say there are certain sectors particularly well those meetings also learn how he earned of... Of the company did these products and services are usually sold through license agreements or subscriptions of! By the parents of a young child, 1 year old boy after graduating from the Wharton School an! App that 's going to hurt this company of ABC app, and to! Disclaimer: this recording is for your personal, non-commercial use only he in year... Business, and we need to load the boat, back up the truck can hear a story say. Investment return and principal value will fluctuate, so investors may have a lot of in... A co-manager for Contrafund monitoring out-of-favor groups and trying to identify I can remember when everyone the. It going Christine, the stock market is a vice-president and portfolio manager of the company did are... ( symbol FCNTX ), a member of the company really great stories scale... A degree in History from Harvard College with a notch at the age 62 years old can you provide more! Boston MA a quick pivot of business is about $ 185 billion now, there 's really. I do have a lot of trust in this year and say, just answer. An aquatic perennial plant small-cap, mid-cap, or large-cap companies a quarter-century, when the average manager tenure 5. 60 years old young child, 1 year old boy when shares are sold or nine months, ask! Actively managed stock or bond mutual fund run by one person less interesting to me joint effort has for thirty... Improve on that over time, but you know the story about share... Spend a lot of time going to these meetings to make a quick pivot it 's not easy... Use only your listeners -- you 're going to get sold again to some private equity the zeitgeist welcome!
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