- Gerald Tsai
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Gerald Tsai Jr. Born March 10, 1929
ShanghaiDied July 9, 2008 (aged 79)[1]
New York CityNationality United States Education Wesleyan University (1947–48), Boston University (B.A., M.A. 1949)[2] Occupation Investment management Employer Primerica, Fidelity Investments Known for Founder of Manhattan Fund Gerald Tsai Jr. (蔡至勇 Cai Zhiyong, March 10, 1929 – July 9, 2008)[1][3] was a financier and fund manager who pioneered the use of performance funds in money management during the 1950s and 1960s, and later turned a canning company into financial services giant Primerica. After starting Fidelity Investments' first publicly sold aggressive growth fund in 1958, the Fidelity Capital Fund, he later founded the investment management firm the Manhattan Fund, an aggressive growth fund, in 1965.
An early proponent of momentum investing, Tsai's specialty was concentrating his portfolios on narrow batches of glamour stocks, including Xerox and Polaroid Corporation, at a time when broad diversification was the prevailing wisdom.[4]
Contents
Early career
Tsai joined Fidelity Management and Research in 1952, and was named vice president in 1960.[5] By 1965, Tsai had sold his Fidelity stock and started the Manhattan Fund which won him widespread attention. When the fund first offered shares, a modest offering of 2.5 million shares quickly ballooned to a total of 27 million, bringing the fund $247 million in capital and representing what was at the time the biggest offering of an investment company. In 1968, he sold the fund for $27 million in stock to the CNA Financial Corporation, just as the fund's superior results were declining and as the bull market was starting to wane.[6] He remained with Tsai Management, the company he had founded to manage the Manhattan Fund, after the sale, and resigned in 1973.[7]
Primerica
Tsai became Vice Chairman of American Can Company - a former component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average - in 1982.[8] Tsai later gained control of the company. American Can was a container production and food packaging business, and Tsai orchestrated its shift toward the more lucrative financial services sector. In 1982 American Can bought Associated Madison Companies, a life insurance company. In 1997, Tsai purchased the financial firm Smith Barney for $475 million. By this time, the combined company had changed its name to Primerica to reflect its financial focus and Tsai was Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, making him the first Chinese-American to lead a Dow Jones Industrials company.[3] A year later, Primerica and Commercial Credit Group, headed by Sanford I. Weill were combined in a $1.65 billion deal. With 1.5 million shares, Tsai remained the largest shareholder and was named a director, while Weill ran the company. [9] Tsai received a golden parachute worth an estimated $40 million.[6]
Other business interests
Later in his life, Tsai re-entered the insurance industry, becoming Chief Executive Officer of the Delta Life Corporation.[10] In 1997, Tsai sold Delta Life to AmerUs Life Holdings for $185 million.[6] Tsai was on the Board of Directors of numerous companies including Apollo Investment Corporation, Rite Aid, Saks, United Rentals and Zenith Insurance Company.
Philanthropy
Tsai was a Trustee of Boston University from 1967 to 1977, and from 1988 to 2002. Tsai served as an honorary member of the board until his death.[11] The Tsai family donated $7.5 million to the university to fund the creation of the Tsai Performance Center and the Tsai Fitness Center.[12] Tsai was on the Board of Trustees of the NYU Langone Medical Center and provided funding for the Gerald Tsai Transpantation Unit. Tsai was also actively involved in philanthropy through the Gerald Tsai Foundation.
Death
Christopher Tsai, a hedge fund manager and president of Tsai Capital, told The New York Times that his father died in Manhattan of multiple organ failure on July 9, 2008.[1]
References
- ^ a b c "Virtuoso investor Gerald Tsai Jr. dies". UPI. 2008-07-11. http://www.upi.com/Business_News/2008/07/11/Virtuoso-investor-Gerald-Tsai-Jr-dies/UPI-95221215777629/. Retrieved 2010-08-24.
- ^ http://www.mfwire.com/common/artprint2007.asp?storyID=18787&wireid=2
- ^ a b Stelter, Brian (2008-07-11). "Gerald Tsai, Innovative Investor, Dies at 79". New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/11/business/11tsai.html. Retrieved 2010-08-23.
- ^ Charles D. Ellis, James R. Vertin. Wall Street People: True Stories of Today's Masters and Moguls. John Wiley and Sons, 2001, (pp. 159-162), ISBN 0471238090
- ^ "Fund Officer Elevated". New York Times. 1960-06-01. p. 55.
- ^ a b c Jerry Tsai's Smart Timing, Forbes
- ^ "Tsai Resigns as Fund Manager". New York Times. 1973-01-30. p. 45.
- ^ Lueck, Thomas J. (1984-05-08). "American Can's Revamping". New York Times. p. D1.
- ^ Cole, Robert J. (1988-08-30). "Leading Financiers Will Merge Companies in $1.65 Billion Deal". New York Times. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=940DEEDE1E39F933A0575BC0A96E948260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=all. Retrieved 2010-08-23.
- ^ Monica Langley. Tearing Down the Walls: How Sandy Weill Fought His Way to the Top of the Financial World. Simon and Schuster, 2004, (pp. 159-162), ISBN 0743247264]
- ^ BU Today
- ^ BU Today
External links
Categories:- American money managers
- Boston University alumni
- Wesleyan University alumni
- 1929 births
- 2008 deaths
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