Hakan Castegren isn't stepping aside as portfolio manager of the Harbor International Fund any time soon, but Harbor still wants to be prepared for that eventual day. This week the Chicago-based fund firm named Northern Cross, LLC to co-sub-advise the fund alongside Castegren's own Northern Cross Investments. Northern Cross LLC principals Howard Appleby, Jean-Francois Ducrest, James LaTorre and Edward E. Wendell, Jr. are now portfolio managers along with Castegren.
(If you're confused by the co-sub-advisors' names' similarity, take a look at the full release below: it appears that the four North Cross, LLC principals have all worked with Castegren for some time.)
"Although Mr. Castegren has no current plans to become less active in managing the fund," the statement reads, "the Board [of Harbor Funds] believes it is in the best interests of fund shareholders to provide the framework for an orderly transition for such time when Mr. Castegren does elect to reduce his day-to-day involvement with the fund."
Castegren had managed the fund alone since its launch in 1987.
Harbor managed $31 billion on December 31, 2008.
Company Press Release
CHICAGO, Feb. 12 /PRNewswire/ -- The Board of Trustees of Harbor Funds has appointed Northern Cross, LLC as co-subadviser of the Harbor International Fund effective today. Northern Cross Investments Ltd, which is headed by Hakan Castegren, will continue to serve as co-subadviser of the fund. The co- subadvisers have worked together closely for a number of years. No change in the fund's investment strategies, policies, or guidelines will result from the appointment of Northern Cross, LLC as the fund's co-subadviser.
The four principals of Northern Cross LLC -- Edward E. Wendell, Jr., James LaTorre, CFA, Howard Appleby, CFA, and Jean-Francois Ducrest -- join Mr. Castegren as portfolio managers of the Harbor International Fund. The five portfolio managers will make investment decisions for the fund using a team approach.
Mr. Castegren has been the sole portfolio manager of the Harbor International Fund since its inception on December 29, 1987, and will continue to be actively involved in the management of the fund as a portfolio manager. The addition of the four principals of Northern Cross, LLC as portfolio managers of the fund provides for continuity in the management of the fund. Although Mr. Castegren has no current plans to become less active in managing the fund, the Board believes it is in the best interests of fund shareholders to provide the framework for an orderly transition for such time when Mr. Castegren does elect to reduce his day-to-day involvement with the fund.
Mr. Castegren has been supported throughout the life of the fund by the research and administrative professionals of Northern Cross LLC, who have provided various services to Mr. Castegren. Mr. Wendell has provided various investment research and administrative services in support of Mr. Castegren on the fund since the fund's inception. Mr. LaTorre has provided investment research support to Mr. Castegren since 1992. In addition, Mr. LaTorre served as the portfolio manager of the former Harbor International Fund II, which was launched in 1996 during a seven-year period when the Harbor International Fund was closed to new investors. Following the reopening of the Harbor International Fund in 2000, the Harbor International Fund II was merged into the Harbor International Fund in 2002. Mr. LaTorre holds the Chartered Financial Analyst designation.
As the Harbor International Fund continued to grow, Mr. Castegren added to the senior team providing investment analysis and research support. Mr. Appleby and Mr. Ducrest began working as research analysts directly in support of Mr. Castegren in 2002. Mr. Appleby has over 25 years of experience in the investment business in London, New York, and Boston. Immediately prior to working directly with Mr. Castegren, Mr. Appleby spent nine years at ABN- AMRO/North America as Managing Director, European Equity Research/Sales. Mr. Appleby holds the Chartered Financial Analyst designation. Mr. Ducrest has over 20 years of experience in the investment business in Paris, New York, and Boston. Mr. Ducrest worked for Cheuvreux de Virieu SA Paris and its affiliates, including Cheuvreux North America, for fourteen years. Immediately prior to working directly with Mr. Castegren, Mr. Ducrest was Senior Vice President/Principal of Cheuvreux North America (CAI Securities).
Mr. Wendell, Mr. LaTorre, Mr. Appleby and Mr. Ducrest formed Northern Cross LLC in 2003.
Mr. Castegren and the Northern Cross, LLC team of Mr. Wendell, Mr. LaTorre, Mr. Appleby, and Mr. Ducrest were jointly named Morningstar 2007 Fund Managers of the Year, International. Mr. Castegren was also named a Morningstar Manager of the Year for 1996. The Fund Manager of the Year award winners are chosen based on Morningstar's proprietary research and in-depth evaluation by its fund analysts of managers' performance and alignment of interests with shareholders.
The Harbor Funds' lineup of actively managed no-load mutual funds, including the Harbor International Fund, had combined net assets of $31 billion as of December 31, 2008. Each Harbor fund is managed by an institutional investment firm chosen by Harbor Capital Advisors, Inc., the Harbor Funds' investment adviser, because of each investment firm's experience in a specific asset class.
Investors should consider the investment objectives, risks, fees, and expenses carefully before investing. Visit the Harbor Funds web site at www.harborfunds.com or call 1-800-422-1050 for a prospectus, which contains this and other information about the Fund. Read the prospectus carefully before investing.
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