Ralph Wanger

Ralph Wanger is the former chief investment officer and president of Wanger Asset Management, the company that he founded in 1992 after resigning from Harris Associates and taking the Acorn Fund with him. He managed the Acorn Fund from its inception in June 1970 through September 30, 2003, when he announced his retirement. Mr. Wanger remains affiliated with the firm as an active trustee of the Columbia Acorn Trust, Wanger Advisors Trust and Wanger Investment Company PLC. Mr. Wanger also serves on three Chicago-area boards including the Museum of Science and Industry, the Illinois Institute of Technology, and the Jewish Federation.

Since 1970, when he began managing the Acorn Fund, assets of the Fund have grown from $8 million to $20 billion. Mr. Wanger has been featured in Barron's, The Chicago Tribune, Chicago Sun-Times, Forbes, Fortune, Kiplinger's, The Los Angeles Times, Money, Newsweek, The New York Times, SmartMoney, USA Today, The Wall Street Journal, and Worth Magazine. Mr. Wanger has written a book on investments, A Zebra in Lion Country: Ralph Wanger’s Guide to Investment Survival.

On June 26, 2003, Morningstar, Inc. presented its first Fund Manager Lifetime Achievement Award to Mr. Wanger. Morningstar’s Fund Manager Lifetime Achievement Award recognizes mutual fund managers who throughout their careers have delivered outstanding long-term performance, aligned their interests with shareholders, demonstrated the courage to differ from consensus, and shown the ability to adapt to changes in the industry.

In a USA Today national survey, professional money managers voted for the investment professional whom they would most like to manage their money—Wanger was #1. He has made many appearances on CNBC and has been a guest on Louis Rukeyser's Wall Street Week. In 1999, a group of academics used advanced statistical techniques to see if any active portfolio managers had beaten the market by skill rather than short-term luck. Only five managers passed the test and of the five, the only team still managing portfolios was Wanger and Chuck McQuaid of the Columbia Acorn Fund. (New York Times, 10/99.) At year-end 1999, USA Today named Mr. Wanger one of five "Fund Managers of the Decade."
Mr. Wanger is in demand as a speaker. He has been a featured speaker at Morningstar events, Worth seminars, the NAIC, AAII, ICI and numerous analyst societies. Mr. Wanger earned a BS and MS from M.I.T., and is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA).