Longtime fundster Dave Basten, founder, president and chief investment officer of API Funds, just brought on his former mentee, J. Dale Harvey, to be a PM of the Yorktown Mid Cap Fund.

J. Dale Harvey Poplar Forest Capital Chairman & CEO

As the Basten's story goes, Harvey appeared in his office when he was 14 years old. He came along, sans parents, and asked numerous questions about the asset management industry. For hours, Basten explained concepts to Harvey, to which he responded positively, and it was clear to Basten that he was grasping the information.

"Dale Harvey came into my office unknowing anything about anything, but he wanted to know," Basten tells MFWire. "I knew there was something special about this guy; he was exceptional."

From there, the mentor-mentee relationship grew. Harvey eventually went on to study business at UVA, later obtaining an MBA from Harvard and starting his own firm, Poplar Forest Capital. Now, the pair is teaming up to run a fund!

As of February 13, Harvey is heading up the Yorktown Mid Cap Fund, which seeks long term capital appreciation and focuses on value investing. Unlike Basten who employs a passive aggressive, diversified investing style, Harvey uses a contrarian approach.

Yorktown Management & Research Company, Inc is the investment advisor for the fund. API Funds serves a transfer agent for the fund.

As of now, their main focus for the new fund is on raising $30 million so the fund can gain access to major distribution platforms. In the future, though, another joint venture seems possible to Basten.

"It's a big business," Basten says. "[And] there's no one else I'd rather work with."  

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