From today's WSJ online:June 28, 2000 Personalized E-Mail
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TIP SHEET: Eaton Vance Info Age Tops In Risk-Return
By JOHN SHIPMAN
NEW YORK -- Duncan Richardson has an inside joke with his team. After serving as an officer on a nuclear submarine, he can claim the dubious distinction of being the fund manager who has spent the most time underwater.
All kidding aside, the performance of the Eaton Vance Information Age Fund has been sailing a steady course under the management of Richardson and co-manager Jacob Rees-Moog of Lloyd George Management since its inception in 1995.
The fund seeks long-term capital growth by investing in companies that create, process and distribute information. Richardson said he and Rees-Moog, who is based in London, can make their picks with "no hard and fast rules" in terms of a company's size or location.
In the last three years, Information Age has returned 32.7%, which puts it near the top of the 119 "world stock" funds - excluding multiple share classes - tracked by Morningstar. So far in 2000, the fund has lost 1.4%, which Morningstar says puts it in the midrange of its category.
But as measured by the Sharpe Ratio, a measure of risk-adjusted return on investment, Information Age has excelled in balancing risks and rewards.
For the three years ended May 31, it had a Sharpe Ratio of 1.09, which Morningstar said is the highest ranking for world stock funds, whose average Sharpe Ratio is 0.44.
Richardson said success in managing risk and return has come from thorough research; the structure of the fund, whose holdings are evenly divided among domestic and international companies; and the ability to invest globally in any information-driven industry.
"No unnecessary risks" is a mantra of Richardson and his team. "Growth investing doesn't need to be an extreme sport," he said.
Also part of his investment strategy is the discipline to sell early in a stock's downturn and to keep an eye on the valuations of the fund's holdings.
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Also on Richardson's radar screen is Transkaryotic Therapies Inc. (TKTX) which is currently involved in patent litigation with Amgen Inc. (AMGN). He said he's encouraged that the resolution, expected sometime in the fall, will be favorable for Transkaryotic, which "could be explosive on the upside."
The stock, which plunged to a 52-week low of 22 1/2 on May 26 from a high of 87 on March 3, recently traded at 35 7/8.
- John Shipman; Dow Jones Newswires; 201-938-5171
Copyright ¸ 2000 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
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