Ruane, Cunniff & Goldfarb, based in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
, is the investment firm founded in 1969 by
William J. Ruane, Richard T. Cunniff and
Robert Goldfarb.
Ruane, Cunniff & Goldfarb is best known as the investment advisor and distributor of the
Sequoia Fund (SEQUX). For a long time after its inception in 1970 the Sequoia Fund recorded one of the best long-term track records on
Wall Street.
Ruane, Cunniff & Goldfarb manages $19 billion in assets across the Sequoia Fund, hedge fund partnerships (Acacia Partners and Wishbone Partners), and separately managed accounts.
Management
After Robert Goldfarb retired David Poppe became the CEO, and the sole portfolio manager of the Sequoia Fund, until his retirement in Oct 2018.
[.] After Poppe stepped down, a five-person investment committee manages the Sequoia Fund.
Sequoia Fund
The history of the Sequoia Fund traces its roots to Bill Ruane's lifelong friendship with
Warren Buffett
Warren Edward Buffett ( ; born August 30, 1930) is an American business magnate, investor, and philanthropist. He is currently the chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway. He is one of the most successful investors in the world and has a net ...
. Bill Ruane first met Buffett at a value investing seminar taught by
Benjamin Graham at
Columbia University
Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...
in 1950. When Buffett closed his investment partnership in 1969, he advised his clients to invest with Ruane in the Sequoia Fund. In 1970, William J. Ruane and Richard T. Cunniff founded the Sequoia Fund to take on Buffett's former investors. Robert Goldfarb joined the firm in 1971.
In
The Superinvestors of Graham-and-Doddsville, Buffett wrote, "When I wound up the Buffett Partnership, I asked Bill Ruane if he would set up a fund to handle all of our partners, so he set up the Sequoia Fund. Bill was the only person I recommended to my partners." During his search for a candidate to succeed him as chief investment officer of
Berkshire Hathaway
Berkshire Hathaway Inc. () is an American multinational conglomerate holding company headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, United States. Its main business and source of capital is insurance, from which it invests the float (the retained premiu ...
, Buffett said, "I'm looking for another Bill Ruane."
In the 45-year period from its inception in 1970 to 2015, the Sequoia Fund earned an annualized return of 14.65% versus the S&P 500's annualized return of 10.93%. According to
Morningstar, Sequoia Fund outperformed its large-cap blend-category peers in 332 of the 333 rolling 10-year periods dating back to its 1970 start. The fund closed to new investment in 1982 and reopened 26 years later in 2008. In 2010, Morningstar named co-managers Robert Goldfarb and David M. Poppe Domestic-Stock Fund Managers of the Year in recognition of the excellent long-term performance of the Sequoia Fund. In 2013, the Sequoia Fund again closed to new investors. In April 2016 and after a sharp loss on
Valeant Pharmaceuticals
Bausch Health Companies Inc. (formerly Valeant Pharmaceuticals International, Inc.) is a Canadian multinational specialty pharmaceutical company based in Laval, Quebec, Canada. It develops, manufactures and markets pharmaceutical products and ...
, the Fund indicated it was reopening to new investors.
In 2016, the fund lost $1.26 billion in a single day when Valeant Pharmaceuticals stock, which made up 19% of Sequoia Fund holdings, lost a significant portion of its value.
Goldfarb and Poppe responded by saying that their "credibility as investors has been damaged by this saga."
[ The Valeant Pharmaceuticals position accounted for over 30% of Sequoia Fund's assets in mid-2015, and declined 87% from a high of $265.52 in August 2015 to $33.43 in March 2016.][ Over this time period Sequoia fell by 22%, performing worse than 99% of rival funds. At one point, over 30 percent of the fund's assets was invested in Valeant.]
References
External links
Official web site
of Sequoia Fund
Bloomberg overview
of Sequoia Fund
Morningstar overview
of Sequoia Fund
Yahoo Finance overview
of Sequoia Fund
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1969 establishments in New York City
American companies established in 1969
Financial services companies established in 1969
Ruane, Cunniff, and Goldfarb
Companies based in New York City