Larry Pitkowsky and Keith Trauner, former portfolio managers of the Fairholme Fund, are launching GoodHaven Capital Management, an investment firm that will have a focused portfolio management strategy and a “go anywhere” mandate, using the tested investment concepts of intrinsic value and margin of safety.
GoodHaven plans to take on management of separate accounts for high net worth individuals, institutions, and retirement accounts on or before February 15, 2011 and also expects to launch this strategy in a no-load mutual fund early in the second quarter of 2011.
"Larry and I are looking forward to a long and profitable partnership with our fellow investors and clients," says Keith Trauner (pictured), founder and Co-Managing Partner of GoodHaven. “We believe that our disciplined and ‘go anywhere’ approach will allow us to take advantage of a few carefully chosen opportunities. As managers who are committed to investing a sizeable amount of our personal net worth on the same basis as our clients, we are confident in our strategy and our ability to make money for our clients and ourselves.”
Over the last decade, founders Pitkowsky and Trauner held research, portfolio management, and executive positions with Fairholme Capital Management, LLC (“Fairholme”) and that firm’s affiliated Fairholme Fund. Combined, they have more than 50 years of research and portfolio management experience.
Pitkowsky joined Fairholme in 1999 and was a Portfolio Manager with the Fairholme Fund from 2002 until 2007 and a member of the firm’s portfolio management team from 1999 until 2007. He also held various other positions, including CEO of FCM Services, an affiliate of Fairholme. Previously, Pitkowsky worked at Paine Webber as a VP of Investments and Portfolio Manager. He received his BS in Accounting from Rutgers University.
Trauner joined Fairholme in 1999 and was a Portfolio Manager of the Fairholme Fund from 2006 to 2008. During his tenure at Fairholme, he also served as a Senior Analyst, Portfolio Manager, and Chief Financial Officer of the firm. Keith was also an Officer and Director of Fairholme Funds, parent company of the Fairholme Fund. Prior to Fairholme, Trauner was the founder and Chief Executive Officer of an investment advisory subsidiary of a private bank in New York. He received his BA in History from Middlebury College.
