Bill Nygren

Bill Nygren is a portfolio manager and CIO at Harris Associates, the Chicago-based investment adviser to the Oakmark family of mutual funds. He has managed the Oakmark Fund (large-cap value) since 2000 and co-manages the Oakmark Select Fund (concentrated large-cap value, ~20 holdings) since 1996. He joined Harris Associates in 1983 as an analyst right out of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he earned his BS in accounting and an MS in Finance. He became a CFA charterholder and has spent his entire 40+ year career at the firm, rising from analyst to CIO. He is one of the most respected value fund managers in the US mutual fund industry. Oakmark Funds (Harris Associates) manages approximately $90-100 billion in total AUM across multiple strategies. Nygren is known for his distinctive twist on value investing: rather than buying statistically cheap stocks (low P/B or P/E), he focuses on companies whose intrinsic value per share is growing, which he calls 'growing value.' He was named Morningstar's Domestic Equity Fund Manager of the Year in 2001 and has been a consistent top-decile performer over multi-decade periods. He is a thoughtful, articulate communicator through Oakmark's quarterly commentaries.

Strong long-term track record. The Oakmark Select Fund (concentrated) has returned approximately 11-12% annualized since inception in 1996, beating the S&P 500 over most long-term measurement periods. The Oakmark Fund has returned approximately 11-12% annualized since Nygren took over in 2000, also outperforming its benchmark. Nygren won Morningstar's Domestic Equity Fund Manager of the Year in 2001. He has shown particular skill during periods of market stress -- he was heavily concentrated in technology and financials during periods when they were out of favor, and his patience was rewarded. He suffered significant underperformance in 2007-2009 (financial crisis) due to heavy exposure to financial stocks (Washington Mutual was a notable loss), but recovered strongly afterward. The 2020-2025 period has been very good as his tech-forward value approach aligned well with market leadership. His long-term alpha generation is genuine and statistically significant over the 25+ year period. He consistently outperforms the Russell 1000 Value index, partly because he owns higher-quality businesses than the typical value index constituent.

Recent top holdings include Alphabet (Google), Meta Platforms, Amazon, Capital One Financial, Corebridge Financial, Charter Communications, General Motors, APA Corporation, Ally Financial, EOG Resources, and various financial companies. Nygren has notably been willing to own Big Tech names within a value framework -- he was early to recognize that Alphabet trading at 15x earnings was a 'value stock' despite its growth profile. Historical notable positions include eBay, Apple (bought early in his value framework), Bank of America, and various financial sector names. The portfolio typically has meaningful exposure to financials (25-30%), technology (20-30%), and communication services (10-15%).

Bill Nygren is highly relevant to our approach. His 'growing value' philosophy -- buying businesses at a discount to intrinsic value where that intrinsic value is itself growing -- is very well aligned with our focus on 'fundamentally great companies with secular tailwinds' bought at reasonable or discounted prices. His concentrated vehicle (Oakmark Select) matches our preference for few, high-conviction positions. His long-only, no-leverage structure matches ours. His willingness to own technology companies within a value framework aligns with our AGI thesis -- if Meta or Alphabet is an AGI beneficiary trading at a discount, Nygren would own it (and does). His focus on management quality and capital allocation aligns with our management assessment framework. His weaknesses relative to our approach: (1) he manages a mutual fund, so he is constrained by flows and redemptions in ways we are not; (2) his concentration is moderate even in Select (20 positions vs our ideal of 5-10); (3) his holding period (3-5 years) is somewhat shorter than our ideal (5-10+); (4) he does not explicitly think about AGI or technology disruption in the way we do. His quarterly commentaries are excellent reading material for developing our own investment thinking.