James P Barrow is to pass the portfolio management responsibilities for the USD45.7 billion Vanguard Windsor II Fund and the USD1.1 billion Diversified Value Portfolio of the Vanguard Variable Insurance Fund (VVIF) to Jeff G Fahrenbruch and David W Ganucheau, effective 1 January, 2016.
Fahrenbruch and Ganucheau have served on the portfolio management team of the Windsor II Fund and VVIF-Diversified Value Portfolio since 2013.
Barrow, who is a founding partner and executive director of Barrow, Hanley, Mewhinney & Strauss, LLC, has managed the Windsor II Fund since its inception in 1985 and is one of Vanguard’s longest tenured portfolio managers. Barrow will remain actively involved in the firm’s investment activities and will continue to serve as a portfolio manager of the USD9.5 billion Vanguard Selected Value Fund. Barrow, Hanley manages approximately 60 per cent of both funds.
“Jim Barrow embodies what Vanguard values in a portfolio manager – a clear approach executed with conviction, discipline, and patience, along with a commitment to delivering results to investors over the long term,” says Vanguard Chairman Bill McNabb (pictured). “Jim is a brilliant investor and is a true partner in every sense of the word. I wish to thank him for his stewardship of our clients’ assets and for playing an integral part in the success of Windsor II over three decades.”
The Windsor II Fund is a large-capitalisation value fund that benefits from the oversight of five investment advisors. Barrow, Hanley will continue to use in-depth fundamental research and valuation forecasts in managing its portion of the fund, seeking stocks that offer strong fundamentals and price appreciation potential, with below-average price-to-earnings and price-to-book value ratios, and above-average current yield.
The Windsor fund’s overall investment strategy, philosophy, and portfolio management process remain the same. In addition, there will be no changes to the allocation of the fund’s assets among its advisors.
Barrow’s successors represent the next generation of investment professionals at Barrow, Hanley, a Dallas-based investment management firm known for its commitment to value investing. Fahrenbruch is a managing director of Barrow, Hanley and has managed the Windsor II Fund and VVIF-Diversified Value Portfolio since 2013. He joined the firm in 2002 and previously served as an equity analyst at Westwood Holdings Group. Fahrenbruch, who has 18 years of experience in the investment industry, serves on the Board of Directors and the Strategic Advisory Board of the CFA Society of Dallas-Fort Worth. He earned a BBA in Finance with highest honors from the University of Texas, where he also served as an analyst on the MBA Investment Fund, LLC.
Ganucheau also serves as a managing director of Barrow, Hanley and has managed the Windsor II Fund and VVIF-Diversified Value Portfolio since 2013. Ganucheau joined the firm as an equity analyst in 2004. He previously was a portfolio manager and analyst for Clover Partners, LP. His 19-year career in the investment management industry includes serving as an analyst at GSB Investment Management. Ganucheau graduated from Southern Methodist University with a BBA in accounting, and is a member of the CFA Society of Dallas-Fort Worth.
