For perspective on the amazing growth that the mutual fund industry has enjoyed in recent years, consider that when James S. Riepe joined T. Rowe Price in 1981 the firm had a modest $13 billion under management. Today, as the 62-year-old Riepe retires, the Baltimore money manager has about $260 billion under management.
It's also testament to Riepe's management acumen, Barron's recently reported.
"He's been a terrific leader for the industry," said John C. "Jack" Bogle, founder and former chairman of the
During the mutual fund scandal two years ago, T. Rowe Price - unimplicated on the charges of market timing and late trading that plagued other large firms - earned a reputation for integrity and reliability. Since then, Since the scandals of 2003, T. Rowe's stock price has risen steadily, from about $28 at the beginning of 2003 to $74.50 per share this week.
"Jim has been a major part of that," Bogle added.
Following the scandal in early 2004, Riepe testified before the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs. In a presentation titled "Understanding the Fund Industry from the Investor's Perspective," Riepe testified about best practices in the aftermath of the scandals.
Don Phillips, managing director for the investment research firm
"You did have people who, in defending the industry's worst practices, made no sense from an investor point of view," Phillips said. "Jim Riepe and T. Rowe Price never made those kinds of comments."
Although they did not always agree, and sometimes engaged in public debates about the future of mutual funds, Riepe credits Bogle for his performance and perspective.
"I learned a lot about the values and kind of approach tat culminated in Vanguard, and the need for integrity and thinking about investors," Riepe said.
Riepe will work as a consultant for the firm.
The staff of Money Management Executive ("MME") has prepared these capsule summaries based on reports published by the news sources to which they are attributed. Those news sources are not associated with MME, and have not prepared, sponsored, endorsed, or approved these summaries.
