But you and your listeners--you're sophisticated investors. Investment return and principal value will fluctuate, so investors may have a gain or loss when shares are sold. So, the bar has risen for the Contrafund. 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. But mostly that's market appreciation. Masters in Business. 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. Scientific Name: Nymphaea Odorata Ait. As with any search engine, we ask that you not input personal or account information. 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. 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. If you liked what you heard, please subscribe to and rate The Long View from Morningstar on iTunes, Google Play, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcast. When he was just 15 years old, he created his first original song and produced it on his own. The managers are less experienced, but everyone has to hustle. William Danoff was born on 1960. Total value December 31, 2022 for Contrafund was $457,343, compared to $234,530 for the S&P 500 Index. 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? Provide specific products and services to you, such as portfolio management or data aggregation. So we can learn, but the monitoring of these companies takes a lot of time, but it can be very, very instructive as to the quality of the company that you're invested in or considering investing. I'm tasting the soup in the kitchen every day and tweaking it, but generally, I like the taste and I'm aware of the taste profile that I have. Sometimes William goes by various nicknames including William A Danoff and Will Danoff. [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. It's the largest single manager fund with about $130 billion and the track record of the fund is just outstanding. These are behemoth companies. And the last 10 years with interest rates falling so much and the havoc wreaked by the global financial crisis has been more difficult, but I think I'm 100 basis points or 150 over for the last 10 years. 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. But there's no question that if you put it in the lens of working for your shareholders and doing what's right for the fund shareholders, you're probably going to be working harder and hanging out in the zeitgeist a lot less. It sounds like that's personality-driven--that you like to dive into those details yourself. And this letter was written by the parents of a young child, 1 year old boy. Popular As. All investments are subject to investment risk, including possible loss of principal. Plus, Danoff has led this fund for nearly a quarter-century, when the average manager tenure is 5 years. 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. And being a very large fund has enabled me to have an unbelievably strong research department. He served as the portfolio manager assistant for Fidelity. I mean, 100 basis points on $185 billion is $1.8 billion investment--that's hard to do quickly if you think about it. William Danoff: Thanks, Jeff. the largest U.S. mutual fund run by a single manager. Bill Danoff was born on May 7, 1946 in Springfield, Massachusetts, USA. We provide a platform for our authors to report on investments fairly, accurately, and from the investors point of view. Consistently outperforming the market is very hard. 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. https://www.barrons.com/articles/fidelitys-will-danoff-looks-back-on-30-years-at-contrafund-51601679688. Gear advertisements and other marketing efforts towards your interests. 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. He's a graduate of Harvard University and earned his MBA at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. 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? Distribution and use of this material are governed by our Subscriber Agreement and by copyright law. To make it into the starting lineup is not easy. [2] But when it comes to some of the tech and the biotech, I'm treading more lightly. Ptak: So, why don't we get things started. 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. Mr. Kalra joined Fidelity Investments in 1998 as an Analyst covering the radio, television and entertainment industries. Sign In. You think about your own life: If you're strong in one area, you don't necessarily want to change, and managements sometimes have difficulty changing because they've been so successful. I mean, it's great, and clearly, culture starts at the top, but when you have access to people who are making the decisions, who are actually out in the field seeing the competitive response or knowing the challenges of delighting the customer, that can really, really help, and I think larger funds like Contrafund have that advantage to do more in-depth research. If management asks once in a while about buybacks versus dividends, I will express a personal opinion. The long view has to be that equities are going to perform better than bonds for the foreseeable future. Los Angeles 8635 W 3rd St Los Angeles, CA. These products and services are usually sold through license agreements or subscriptions. We recommend you to check the complete list of Famous Singer. And again, I referenced low interest rates. For the best Barrons.com experience, please update to a modern browser. Eclipsing the market over decades is astonishing. That includes . Thanks for joining us on The Long View. And if I like the management team, and I'm confident that they're going to be able to grow, and I like what they're doing. And again, experience plays a role here. And the analysts ideally are coming to me with their best ideas. So, let's call the company together so we can hear the same story, look at the same facts together, and then decide what the challenges might be facing the company going forward. He has crossed all the competition over 30 years. I think it would be hard if I hadn't grown up with the fund. Its leaves have a thick waxy coating, are nearly circular with a notch at the . Insights from Fidelity's portfolio managers We recommend you to check the complete list of Famous People born on . But again, its personality in what you do, and Peter Lynch talks about the notion of a poker game. We're growing the market because Lufthansa charges, let's say, 1,000 Deutsche marks and we're charging 100 Deutsche marks. You just deal and--we've got a lot of colleagues that I've known for a long time--so, I know their strengths, and I try to learn from my mistakes, but mistakes are part of this business. Danoff: Yeah, that's a really good question, Christine. Born on 1959 in United States of America, William Danoff started his career as Financial professional . 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. Danoff, 56, was trained by the formidable Peter Lynch, who managed Fidelity's Magellan fund until 1990. . I think one of the huge competitive advantages Fidelity has is our access to managements and access at important inflection points. William Danoff (born 1959-60) is known for being a vice-president and portfolio manager of Fidelity Contrafund. Total value December 31, 2022 for Contrafund was $457,343, compared to $234,530 for the S&P 500 Index. Dr. Danoff has extensive experience in Urinary Conditions and Urinary Calculi & Removal. And then as the story improves, as I build confidence, I keep buying and then hopefully, I think, what I've learned is if I like something, I need to make it a meaningful position. Wed like to share more about how we work and what drives our day-to-day business. You know, sort of like, basically the cost of that being whatever capital you'd have to divert from your next best idea, or does circle of competence, however you would define that, enter into it as well? And I'm constantly looking for better ideas. And also, I think at Fidelity, we got a great team. Morningstar Research Services is a subsidiary of Morningstar, Inc. and is registered with and governed by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. 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. Our guest this week is Will Danoff. I mean, I was the retail analyst at Fidelity in the mid 80s. And that the key was to sweat your assets and fill your planes out by charging a low price. And I said, I have to go to this presentation. And it's just a matter of finding those companies. You know, if you think about it, Jeff, the larger companies in the S&P now are $1 trillion market caps. But there's something to be said for not going to any meetings. In the biotech area--I took biology 40 years ago--so, I am way out of date. (Disclaimer: This recording is for informational purposes only and should not be considered investment advice. So, we're seeing a lot of companies come to Fidelity as private entities, and I'm listening and learning. And I like a lot of the companies I own, and I'm monitoring them, and I'm very excited about them. Please see additional standard performance information. William Danoff is currently vice president at Fidelity Investments. Mr. What are you doing to defend your competitive position? And then also, What are you doing, about certain mega trends that we all are living with, the emergence of the Internet, more competition from low-cost countries and other big trends that we see over and over?. I just feel more comfortable with the idea of touching and feeling, interviewing management, trying ideally to go to as many company presentations or user conferences. Will Danoff is one of the best stock investors in the world. I'm investing less. Since he took over on Sept. 17, 1990 . Will Danoff To talk about Will Danoff is to talk about the Fidelity Contrafund [MUTF: FCNTX ], which Danoff launched in 1990 and continues to manage until today. I mean, when I was an analyst, I can remember calling companies after they reported and pleading with somebody in the CFOs office to either read me the details of the income statement and balance sheet, or then to fax me the information quickly, but I do remember part of the job was to call the company and ask for a packet. I'd say a healthy research department is a joint effort. Through the crises, Danoff has focused on companies led by founders or engaged management that can double earnings over five years, on the theory that stock prices will follow. Why are you here? And often there is a story to be told, and they want to express it to potentially large shareholders, and sometimes there is a subtext, and you've got to try to anticipate what are the other person's objectives. This year, he marks three decades of managing the $131 billion Morningstar has at various points in time suggested that the fund was getting too big and yet the fund's results had been excellent. So, the question is, Why haven't you? Danoff: I'm not sure of the percentage, Christine. You know, you think about the great Warren Buffett. 9/17/1990-12/31/2022. Do you wait for FDA approval? And as investors, we all need to play to our strengths and be who we are. Here are my names, and I like XYZ railroad because the group's trading at 14 times earnings, and this ones trading at 11 times earnings. And I might say, Wow, that's interesting. Soundtrack: Kingsman: The Golden Circle. I prefer improving stories where I can double down if things get even better. But capacity--you know, I'm my degree of difficulty is harder than a smaller fund. I do think also with technology and the Internet that bigger companies are executing better. Kalra currently manages Fidelity Blue Chip Growth Fund. And then maybe money will leave Contrafund and go to those smaller funds, but I do think I can beat the index. Danoff: Jeff, just again, to make sure the facts are correct. All Rights Reserved. But do you wait for good phase 2 data? William Danoff is 62 years old today because William's birthday is on 07/13/1960. Do you wait for, God forbid, revenue and profit? Past performance is not a guarantee of future results. And it was again, it was a Friday afternoon, maybe in the summer, and there weren't that many people there. One--you have to make sure that you understand the threats to your existing holdings, but also, there's usually a pivot point where a concept then turns into a profitable business. And, over the last couple of years, we've all learned that they're riskier than perhaps people thought. And you get 2% in the long bond, and the long bond isn't growing their "payout," and presumably, the U.S. equity companies are going to grow their dividends at a GDP-plus rate. I would say I probably see two or three private companies a week. And I don't want it to fall by the wayside. But I think I can do it. But there's always controversy. Do you attempt to improve what you're not good at? I'm working for the shareholders. Maybe that's a good place for us to start. 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