16 BARRON’S March1,
Photograph byKEVIN SERNA
Q&A
An Interview With John Rogers Jr.
Founder and Co-CEO, Ariel Investments
Patience
IsaVirtue...
For Value
T
he past decade hasn’t been kind to value
managers, and their ranks have thinned. But
John Rogers Jr., co-chief executive of Ariel
Investments, has stayed the course. And his
patience and contrarian style of investing
are starting to pay dividends once again.
Rogers founded Ariel in 1983; it was the
first minority-owned mutual fund company, and is still
only one of a few. The $15 billion firm has long been a
value-oriented shop with an eye toward companies
that have strong management and are good corporate
citizens—a successful strategy for decades. Over the past
year, the $2.5 billionArielfund (ticker: ARGFX), which
Rogers lead manages, has returned 36%, beating 94% of
its mid-cap value peers.
The markets are underestimating the strength of a
postpandemic recovery, Rogers says, and that bodes well
for areas that have been largely ignored in recent years,
including smaller companies and those in cyclical busi-
nesses such as financials and industrials.
Rogers has had a busy year—scooping up bargains in
the midst of the crisis and fielding calls from chief exec-
utives looking for advice on how to create a more diverse
team.Barron’scaught up with Rogers to hear why value
is finally primed for a comeback, what hehas been buy-
ing, and tips for executives trying to turn diversity talk
into action. Edited excerpts of our conversation follow.
Barron’s:It has been a rough decade for value
stocks—the Russell 1000 Growth index has beaten
its value counterpart by an average of six percent-
age points a year. Is it time to retire the “value
versus growth” framework?
Rogers:No. It’s a totally different mentality between the
two mind-sets. To be a value manager, you have to truly
be a contrarian and be comfortable buying things people
By RESHMA KAPADIA
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