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2022 Asset Manager of the Year
Large Cap Equity Manager of the Year
Wakefield Asset Management
Wakefield Large Cap Equity
ts concentrated, quantitative strategy
Iled Wakefield Asset Management’s
top-flight large-cap equity team to a
strong 2021, when the portfolio returned
roughly 35% and beat the Russell 1000
Index by about 9% and winning in the
Large Cap Equity category.
As Envestnet analysts noted, the firm
uses a disciplined approach to take advan-
tage of earnings surprises and mispric-
ings, identifying companies most likely to
exceed consensus earnings estimates. The
strategy has achieved an approximately
10% earnings beat rate over the market
over 20 years, according to Envestnet,
which noted the portfolio rebounded last
year following a difficult 2020 marked by
mega-tech stock dominance.
“We’re a little different than most Wall
Street or investment firms. We are struc-
tured in a way where we actually are not
saying we’re necessarily the smartest
people out there, but we think we have G. Todd Gervasini
the most rigid discipline, best process. So The industry can be very humbling,
rather than calling up, talking to CEOs or Title: Manager he noted. “You can be all the way on top
CFOs about how their company is doing, Years with firm: 19 and all the way on the bottom within a
we look under the hood at hard underly- year. Figuring out what your philosophy
ing data,” Managing Partner and CIO G. Years in financial services: 28 is, what your process is and having a
Todd Gervasini told Investment Advisor. high conviction to that process is really,
“We then rank those stocks based Investment/asset class (for really the key, whether you are a stock-
on that. [Next] we overlay that with a winning category): Large Cap Equity broker, a financial advisor, a planner or
model … that predicts institutional and an asset manager.”
retail investor behavior in terms of how Asset management firm: A good idea or concept doesn’t always
supportive they will be of those stocks Wakefield Asset Management work in your favor, he said, but it can
or not. Lastly, we couple that with a Year firm founded: 2003 hurt you when it is changed in “the
very disciplined portfolio construction Number of employees: 10 middle of the game,” he said. “You have
process, which sounds boring, but con- to see it all the way through. And that’s
trolling your position sizes and sector AUM as of April 30, 2022: very difficult to do during certain mar-
controls leads to a lot of great results for $864,641,910 ket environments. We’re in one of those
us from time to time.” right now [in mid-May]. So I think it’s
The discipline has worked well for the 25-year-old portfolio, staying with your core philosophy and maintaining that North
which has outperformed the S&P 500, Gervasini said. It helps Star, whatever that is for you,” Gervasini added.
put Wakefield in a position where they “avoid the irrational Gervasini’s portfolio has now won Asset Manager of the
exuberance on the upside and avoid the irrational pessimism Year in the Large Cap Equity category twice — previously
on the downside,” he added. “So it really helps us in both the in 2018. ”It means a great deal to us,” Gervasini said. “It’s an
bull and the bear markets. And so far last year, and this year, affirmation of the work that our team is doing and kind of
it’s been great.” motivates us to do well.” — Dinah Wisenberg Brin
26 INVESTMENT ADVISOR JULY/AUGUST 2022 | ThinkAdvisor.com