30 September 2013
Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Artisan Partners announced today that Matthew H. Kamm and Craigh A. Cepukenas have been named portfolio managers across all of the portfolios managed by the Artisan Partners Growth Team. The team manages the Artisan Global Opportunities, U.S. Mid-Cap Growth and U.S. Small-Cap Growth strategies. Mr. Kamm has been portfolio manager on the Artisan U.S. Mid-Cap Growth strategy and associate portfolio manager on the Global Opportunities and U.S. Small-Cap Growth strategies. Mr. Cepukenas has been portfolio manager for the Artisan U.S. Small-Cap Growth strategy. Andrew C. Stephens and James D. Hamel will continue as portfolio managers and Jason L. White will continue as associate portfolio manager for each of the three portfolios.
Mr. Stephens, founding member of the Artisan Partners Growth team said, ‘‘Matt and Craigh have proven themselves as portfolio managers on our U.S. Mid-Cap Growth and U.S. Small-Cap Growth strategies, respectively. They have also made significant contributions to our broader research process and have been invaluable in grooming our younger talent. Their promotion to portfolio manager across all of our strategies formalizes our confidence in the breadth of their capabilities.’’
Coincident with the promotions of Mr. Kamm and Mr. Cepukenas the team has formalized the role of lead portfolio manager on each of its strategies. As the team’s investment capabilities have increased it has found it useful to have a designated point person for client interactions and the operational and compliance- related elements of portfolio management.
The investing marketplace has long looked to Mr. Hamel as the leader of the Artisan Global Opportunities strategy and Mr. Cepukenas as the lead of Artisan’s U.S. Small-Cap Growth strategy. Since the inception of Global Opportunities in 2007, Mr. Hamel has been responsible for overall leadership of the portfolio and has served as the lead for client interactions. Mr. Cepukenas has served in the same capacity for U.S. Small-Cap Growth since 2009. Their roles have been formalized with the designation of lead portfolio manager. In the case of Artisan U.S. Mid-Cap Growth, the multi-year evolution of Mr. Kamm’s role has included increased leadership responsibility, alongside Mr. Stephens and Mr. Hamel, to the point where it is now appropriate to more formally recognize his position by designating him as lead portfolio manager.
Referring to the lead portfolio manager appointments, Mr. Stephens said, ‘‘The designation of lead portfolio managers reflects the evolution of the roles and responsibilities on each portfolio. As depth and leadership have broadened on the team, we have looked to a leader to provide daily portfolio oversight and make sure that the convictions of the team are reflected in each portfolio. These titles recognize the leadership of Matt, Craigh and Jim.’’
The team will continue to work in a highly-collaborative manner and each of the strategies will be managed according to the same investment philosophy and process the team has employed since inception.
