Asset management firm T. Rowe Price prides itself on the level of experience its portfolio managers have, with each averaging over 20 years of experience in investing. The management of the T. Rowe Price Blue Chip Growth ETF (TCHP), a fund that invests in large and mid-size blue-chip companies, has recently changed hands, and the new portfolio manager as of October, Paul Greene, discussed his experience and visions for the fund going forward in a paper for T. Rowe Price.
Greene initially began his professional career in mechanical engineering but was drawn to the potentials of investing and pivoted to pursue his self-described dream career by attaining an M.B.A. from Stanford. His work as an analyst began with T. Rowe Price, where he gained knowledge and experience investing in both private and public companies utilizing long-term strategies. Bringing his detail-oriented pragmatism from an engineering background, Greene learned the value of thorough analysis coupled with conviction.
In 2010, Greene joined the investment advisory committee for the Blue Chip Growth Fund because of the wealth of knowledge he already had on many of the securities that were contained in the fund, as well as his complementary investment approach to the one that the existing portfolio manager, Larry Puglia, utilized. Their styles both focus on details and low turnover while investing over long timelines, requiring patience and skill to identify companies with high performance opportunities and still ensure that the portfolio stays aligned with its strategies.
Greene moved on to become the portfolio manager of the Communications and Technology Fund in 2013, which gave him a chance to expand his knowledge into the technology sector and recognize the potentials contained within it. When Puglia announced his intentions to retire, Greene became the perfect option for his successor, and spent two years working with analysts to hone views on industries and expand his knowledge base further.
“These deep dives underscored for me just how much innovation and competitive pressures are forcing many companies, from consumer discretionary names to those in the industrials sector, to become technology firms,” Greene said.
Because of his background and experience within the technology sector, Greene is positioned well to lead the fund forward, but does not anticipate many changes to the fund itself from an investor’s perspective because his approach is so similar to his predecessor’s. Over the long term, Greene sees himself narrowing the focus of the fund slightly by potentially reducing the size a bit, carrying slightly fewer securities, but he believes that most of the changes would be within the smaller, marginal positions.
“I’m comfortable investing earlier in a company’s life cycle if our research suggests that its large addressable market and disruptive business model have the potential to exhibit strong free cash flow‐generating power over the long haul,” Greene explained, discussing his approach and slight differences in management style.
Greene has also signaled that should the opportunity arise, he sees great potential in investing in private companies, and it is a move he would be comfortable with, given his experience. For now though, he is focused on steering the fund through a period of high inflation and market frothiness while staying focused on the long term.
“Our patient strategy seeks to buy and hold high‐quality companies that we believe have the potential to compound value at an above‐average rate for an extended period. Near‐term fluctuations in the broader market or a particular stock can be painful, but these gyrations may also create longer‐term opportunities if we have conviction in a company’s underlying business fundamentals,” Greene explained regarding the outlook for TCHP.
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