The 20 Rising Stars of Mutual Funds 2008 - (Page 12) decade, with more offices overseas beyond its existing one in New York and its affiliates in Bermuda and the United Kingdom. “I would hope we would have expanded our scope,” he said, adding that 10 years from now he sees himself still working at his current firm in the same office on that initiative. He believes that, in 10 years, global competition will have advanced to the point where it’s no longer sufficient to have an America-only or America-centric view of the world. Caldwell is a chartered financial analyst, a fellow of the Canadian Securities Institute and a member of the CFA Institute and the Toronto Society of Financial Analysts. He frequently serves as a financial commentator and sits on various charitable boards. Besides Caldwell Investment Management, he admires the strategies AIC uses in Canada, which is to look at exchanges as stocks. “We’ve extrapolated that idea,” he added, noting that his firm has been adding such stocks to its portfolios. that he was with Evergreen, the fund selected to was Barron’s Top 100 Mutual Funds, the annual rankings based on risk-adjusted returns. Prior to Evergreen, he was a portfolio manager in the capital management group of First Union National Bank for three years. He is a chartered financial analyst and a member of the CFA Institute. According to Cinnamond, a test for fund managers is not getting backed into certain sectors as a result of following the rest of the industry and doing things independently for clients. “The biggest challenge always is not being forced into the heard of Wall Street,” he said, citing the 1999 tech bubble as an example of where his firm steered clear of those stocks because their valuation was tough to gauge. He noted that his and his firm’s strategy has always been valuationbased, with a focus on good balance sheets and free cash flows. “I hope in 10 years the investment community is focused on absolute return,” he added. Cinnamond has spoken at the University of Florida’s Master of Finance Speaker Series and Stetson University’s Roland George Investment Program and regularly provides financial commentary on Bloomberg TV and on CNBC. He said he became interested in stocks by watching nightly business reports with his grandfather. The company he most admires is Oil Dry - the market leader in cat litter, with its well-branded Fresh Step product – which he described as a stable, familyrun business that provides a nice dividend. “It’s everything we like in a business,” he added. Cinnamond said his best boss would be either of his mentors, but he cited Travis in 3. ERIC CINNAMOND particular. “He gives us flexibility,” he said. “He questions our ideas but…he empowers all of the analysts here.” Cinnamond sees himself at Intrepid in 10 years, adding, “Once you become a fund manager, there is nowhere else to go unless you want to join a hedge fund.” 3. ERIC CINNAMOND Vice President and Portfolio Manager Intrepid Capital Funds, Jacksonville Beach, Fla. Age: 36 Education: Stetson University (B.B.A. in Finance); University of Florida (M.B.A.) Mentors: Nola Maddox Falcone, Former President, Co-CEO and Portfolio Manager, Evergreen Asset Management; Mark Travis, CEO, Intrepid Capital Funds Cinnamond has been with Intrepid Capital Funds, where he oversees the Intrepid Capital Small Cap Fund, since 1998. Prior to joining Intrepid, he was a small cap analyst at Evergreen Asset Management for two years, as well as co-manager of the Evergreen Small Cap Equity Income Fund. Each year 4. MICHAEL COFFEY Managing Director and Head of Retail Distribution MainStay Investments, New York Age: 39 Education: University of Notre Dame (B.S. in Science) Mentors: Christopher Blunt, Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, Life and Annuity Operations, New York Life Insurance Coffey has been in charge of all of MainStay’s funds across all channels since February 2007, as well as distribu- 12 MUTUAL FUND RISING STARS JANUARY 2008
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