Ex-NFL Quarterback Makes Mark as Money Manager
Jan. 25 -- Eugene Profit likes to win.
Whether it's playing professional football as a quarterback forthe New England Patriots or managing money, performance is allthat he strives for.
And though the $104 million he manages may be smallcompared with some investment firms, that attitude has helpedthe Profit Value Fund rank third of the 428 large-cap valuefunds tracked by research firm Lipper Inc. for three-yearperformance.
Profit is up more than 7.7 percent year to date,and that's attracting the attention of pension fund managersand investment advisers across the country.
Ignore the Momentum Plays
"He's using the same fortitude that drove him to theNational Football League in his current career in battling morerecognized money managers." said Brent Williams, who playedfootball with Profit for the Patriots from 1986 to 1989.
Williams, now vice president of the private client group atMerrill Lynch, said money management was a topic of discussioneven when both were rookie players — though it was a definitesecond to their love of their game.
Fast forward 12 years and Profit, 36, who also played oneseason with the Washington Redskins, is buying such diversestocks such as corporate software maker Compuware Corp. up 104 percent this year, drug maker Merck & Co., down 12 percent in 2001, and asset management companyFranklin Resources Inc., up 5 percent.
The wide range of companies in Profit's portfolio isindicative of his strategy to ignore the momentum plays and buystocks that he believes will move higher because of theirindustry position and company management, colleagues said.
Profit looks at the usual fundamental analysis associatedwith value investing such as a stock's price to earnings growthratio, return on equity and price to earnings multiple relativeto the market.
Savvy and Visionary Management Is Key
But he also buys fast-growing tech companies because hebelieves you can't value those by traditional measures. Savvyand visionary management also is key, he says.
