The TCW/Carlye deal is drawing ever closer and new rumors of more potential defections from the bond shop continue to swirl.
Earlier this month, Brendt Stallings and Husam Nazer
More recently, Diane Jaffee, Group Managing Director at Trust Company of the West and portfolio manager of the TCW Value Opportunities Fund, TCW Relative Value Large Cap Fund and the TCW Dividend Focused Fund, was said to have declined to reup her contract, which runs out at the end of the year, according to an industry source.
“Her team would certainly be a great catch for any number of firms out there,” said the source. “She certainly has a really good business.”
How good? Well, the 3-star rated Value Opportunities fund ended 2012 up 21.09% versus 16% for the S&P 500. Relative Value Large Cap Fund?19.09% versus 16% for the S&P. And the Dividend Focused Fund beat the S&P by four percentage points (20.44% versus 16%) last year. All told, Jaffee manages some $1.7 billion among the three funds.
However, rumors of Jaffee leaving are just that, according to another source with knowledge of the situation. “All of the firm’s fixed income team and some of its equities managers are already signed up,” said the source.
“She has another year left on her contract and she is happy and doing well, and TCW anticipates sitting down with her sometime in the second half of the year and agreeing to an extension. She had a lights out year in 2012.”
Peter Viles, a spokesman for the firm, said the firm does not comment on personnel matters but offered that it is doing well in light of its anticipated deal with the Carlye Group. “We’re going to end the year with $138 billion in assets, which is an increase of 18% in one year. Our mutual fund franchise grew over 40% last year. We raised $10 billion in mutual fund assets last year,” he said.
