Larry Puglia and the T. Rowe Price Blue Chip Growth Fund

Abstract

Set in late 2016, this case recounts the remarkable performance record of Blue Chip Growth Fund (BCGF), a mutual fund managed by Larry Puglia at T. Rowe Price, Inc. The case describes the investment style of Puglia, whose record with BCGF had on average outperformed the S&P 500 since the inception of the fund in 1993. The tasks for the student are to assess the performance of the fund, consider the sources of its success, and decide on the sustainability of Puglia's performance. Consistent with the introductory nature of the case, the analysis requires no numerical calculations. The instructor should not be deceived, however: the absorption of capital-market background and the implications of financial concepts in the case will fully occupy the novice. This case updates and replaces "Bill Miller and Value Trust" (UVA-F-1481) and "Peter Lynch and the Fidelity Magellan Fund" (UVA-F-0777). The case is intended for use in the opening stages of a finance course. It provides a nontechnical introduction to the U.S. equity markets and lays the foundation for some basic concepts in finance. Excerpt UVA-F-1772 Jun. 12, 2017 Larry Puglia and the T. Rowe Price Blue Chip Growth Fund By late 2016, Larry J. Puglia had been managing the $ 33 billion T. Rowe Price Blue Chip Growth Fund (Blue Chip Growth Fund) for more than 23 years. One of the fund's original managers, Puglia had been the sole manager of the open-ended mutual fund since 1997 and had generated superior returns on average for his investors over the life of the fund. Since inception in mid-1993 through September 30, 2016, the fund had returned an average annual total return of 10.12%, outperforming the 9.12% return of the fund's benchmark, the Standard & Poor's 500 Index (S&P 500). For most fund managers, beating the S&P 500 in any single year was an accomplishment, yet Puglia had served his investors well by performing better than competitor funds both in bull markets, such as that of the late 1990s, as well as the bear markets, such as that of the first decade of the 2000s. Exhibit 1 presents a summary of the Blue Chip Growth Fund. Exhibits 2 and 3 show the fund's performance and annual return versus its benchmark and other funds in the large-cap growth category. While Puglia, working out of T. Rowe Price's Baltimore, Maryland, headquarters, rarely had the best overall performance in any given year, and other managers had beaten his results over short-term periods, his overall long-term performance relative to the index was truly impressive. He ranked 20th out of 558 U.S. stock mutual funds with a single portfolio manager, and Morningstar had awarded the Blue Chip Growth Fund its coveted five-star rating for the fund's five-year performance, placing it in the top 10% of 1,285 mutual funds investing in large-capitalization growth stocks. Puglia had also been nominated by Morningstar as one of five finalists for Domestic Fund Manager of the Year in 2013. The fund had been recognized as an IBD Best Mutual Funds 2016 Awards winner by Investor's Business Daily (IBD). In addition, Money Magazine consistently named the fund to its annual selection of best funds, and Kiplinger's Personal Finance magazine included the fund on its list of 25 favorite funds.