According to John C. Bogle, no, the Wellington Fund did not have an uninterrupted history of conservative management. In his 2012 book, The Clash of the Cultures: Investment vs. Speculation, he identifies three periods: "the rise," (1929-1966), the "fall" (1967-1978), and the "resurrection" (1979-2012).That's something I've wondered (or assumed). Does the presumed steady-as-she-goes, everything in moderation culture of Wellington Management over the last century still apply? Those running Wellington and Wellesley these days might be young enough to be the great-grandchildren of Walter Morgan (who started the Wellington Fund in 1928)...
I will as well. 95 years of history means something. [...]
During the "fall" it didn't actually lose money but it did have mediocre returns and seriously underperform its competitors.
He attributed the "fall" to the Wellington Fund's adoption of an aggressive, go-go, speculative investment style.
Of course the whole story is complicated, because of the important detail that those managers who did that had been brought in by Bogle to spiff up and modernize the stodgy old Wellington fund. Bogle doesn't dodge this at all in his recountings, forthrightly taking personal responsibility.
In any case, in any actively managed fund, investors can't shirk the responsibility of paying attention to management changes.
Statistics: Posted by nisiprius — Sat Dec 28, 2024 2:36 pm — Replies 19 — Views 2097