The 20 Rising Stars of Mutual Funds 2008 - (Page 25) dom at times, he said. That is a trait of the company he most admires and also a stock in the fund’s portfolio, Progressive Insurance. He noted that the company has deliberately implemented a practice of having lower rates of returns to drive down margins, which has resulted in growth. Vallecillo calls Ross his best boss, crediting him with executing an investment process for the portfolio. “He gave me opportunities to learn a lot about the business,” he said. 20. JASON WEINER Vice President and Portfolio Manager Fidelity Investments, Boston Age: 38 Education: Swarthmore College (B.A. in Political Science) Mentors: Arieh Coll, Portfolio Manager, Eaton Vance; Will Danoff, Portfolio Manager, Fidelity Investments Weiner is the manager for the Fidelity Growth Discovery Fund, Advisor Equity Growth Fund and the VIP: Growth Portfolio, overseeing a combined $16 billion in assets. He began his career in mutual funds in Fidelity’s equity research department in 1991 and, throughout his career, has followed the retail, technology, air transportation, business services, biotechnology, retail office products, personal computers and computer workstation industries. Weiner managed the Fidelity Select Air Transportation Portfolio from 1994 to 1996, the Fidelity Select Computers Portfolio from 1996 to 1997, the Fidelity Export and Multinational Fund from 1997 to 1998, the VIP Contrafund Portfolio in 1998, the Fidelity Discovery Fund from 1998 to 2000 and the Fidelity OTC Portfolio from 2000 to 2003. He assumed responsibility for the Advisor Equity Growth Fund and VIP: 20. JASON WEINER Growth Portfolio in 2006 and was named associate portfolio manager for VIP Contrafund Portfolio that year. A chartered financial analyst, Weiner read about Fidelity and Peter Lynch in college, which is how he became interested in the industry. He said his biggest challenge is “getting into the heart of the matter” with managing a portfolio. “You’re presented with so much information,” he added. Making a calculation and choosing a relatively small number of investments also are challenges, but the most important thing he does is bring value to investors. Weiner’s best boss is the only boss he ever had—the Johnson family – which he called a “very good family to work for.” He also credits his other mentors for inspiring him. “The nice thing about Fidelity is that there are a lot of mentors,” he said. Weiner believes the industry will remain strong over the next decade, with the bigger companies still playing a key role. “The good companies that are still around are still our biggest competitors,” he said. Weiner admires a lot of companies, but he pointed to Cisco as one with a “fabulous track record” and to Berkshire Hathaway under Warren Buffet. i “THE NICE THING ABOUT FIDELITY IS THAT THERE ARE A LOT OF MENTORS.” —JASON WEINER MUTUAL FUND RISING STARS 25 JANUARY 2008
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