Small-cap manager Witter to remain in family's hands

NEW YORK - Dean "Kip" Witter III likely will assume the helm of William D. Witter Inc., New York, for at least some time following his uncle's unexpected death.

Mr. Witter told Pensions & Investments that he is executor of William D. Witter's will, which now is being processed by New York State probate court.

The elder Mr. Witter, the firm's chief executive officer and president, died May 11. He was 73. Mr. Witter was a well-known small-cap portfolio manager who regularly appeared on television to comment about investment management and the markets. More than 600 mourners attended a May 20 memorial service in New York, his nephew said. "We gave him quite a sendoff."

The elder Mr. Witter started the investment management firm in 1977. It managed slightly more than $1.3 billion as of Dec. 31, $335 million of which was from U.S. institutional tax-exempt clients. The firm specializes in active U.S. small-cap growth equities, but also offers balanced and fixed-income strategies for more than 200 institutional and high-net-worth clients.

Mr. Witter said he is relying heavily on the company's 23 staff members - including eight investment professionals - to manage day-to-day operations, particularly Paul B. Phillips, his uncle's longtime co-manager of the company's small-cap growth equity strategy. Mr. Witter stressed that management has "no plans to change what we do" and no plans to sell or close the firm.

The younger Mr. Witter is in the process of moving to New York from Los Angeles. "I knew I had the job (as executor), but I didn't expect that I would have to do it for at least another 10 or 15 years. I will run the company for some period, if the court permits, until I decide what to do," he said.

The younger Mr. Witter's background in corporate finance may serve him well in his new job. He graduated magna cum laude from Harvard University with a bachelor's degree in applied mathematics and later received an MBA from Stanford University. Mr. Witter filled a number of finance positions over a 30-year career at companies such as U.S. Leasing International Inc. and Amdahl Corp. He currently is an advisor to the Anila Funds, a seed-stage venture capital fund. He also is the president of The Dean Witter Foundation.

Victor Ugolyn, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Enterprise Capital Management, Atlanta, said, "Bill was a great man and a great portfolio manager. We will miss him very much." Enterprise uses William D. Witter Inc. as a subadviser for its Small Company Growth Fund and has no plans to replace the firm.