Net Guru Steve Harmon Leaves Zero Gravity Internet Fund
by Christopher J. Traulsen | 06:52 PM | 10-27-00 | E-mail Article to a Friend
Zero Gravity Internet fund M$-CBJB has lost comanager and firm founder Steve Harmon. The firm removed his name from the fund's prospectus this week, and plans to announce his departure from the firm in a press release on Monday.
The loss is a blow to the fund, as many of its shareholders likely bought it because of Harmon, one of the Net set's leading soothsayers. After getting his start as an Internet analyst first at Jupiter Communications, then at Mecklermedia, he founded e-harmon.com (now called Zero Gravity Internet Group), which attracted considerable investments from such Internet luminaries as Hummer Winblad Venture Partners and Netscape cofounder Marc Andreessen.
Harmon had less involvement in the day-to-day operations of the fund than comanagers Lisa Cavallari, Randy Chin, and Patrick Wong. In an interview with Morningstar in early October, the comanagers said Harmon's role at the time was to provide thematic perspective on trends in the Internet sector, while they did the stock-picking. The type of perspective provided by Harmon can be critical for an Internet fund, however, as the emerging trends and disruptive technologies can make or break an Internet portfolio.
The firm declined to elaborate on the reasons for Harmon's departure, other than to say that the decision was mutual. Harmon did not return calls seeking comment in time for this story. |
