{{Short description|Investment firm}} {{Use dmy dates|date=January 2025}} {{Infobox company | name = Ruane Cunniff LP | logo = Ruane Cunniff Logo.svg | type = Private company | founded = {{start date|1969}} | founder = | hq_location_city = New York City | hq_location_country = | key_people = | industry = Investment Management | products = Mutual fund, Hedge funds, Separately managed accounts | aum = $6.73 billion (7 November 2022)<ref>{{cite web | url=https://wallmine.com/fund/27q/ruane-cunniff-goldfarb-l-p | title=StockStory }}</ref> | owner = | num_employees = 66 | website = {{url |https://www.ruanecunniff.com/home }} }}
'''Ruane Cunniff LP''', based in New York City, is the investment firm founded in 1969 by William J. Ruane, Richard T. Cunniff and Robert Goldfarb.
Ruane Cunniff LP is best known as the investment advisor and distributor of the Sequoia Fund (SEQUX). For a long time after its inception in 1970 the Sequoia Fund recorded one of the best long-term track records on Wall Street.
Ruane Cunniff LP manages $19 billion in assets across the Sequoia Fund, hedge fund partnerships (Acacia Partners and Wishbone Partners), and separately managed accounts.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://investment-advisors.credio.com/l/33295/Ruane-Cunniff-And-Goldfarb-Inc|archive-url=https://archive.today/20160216050819/http://investment-advisors.credio.com/l/33295/Ruane-Cunniff-And-Goldfarb-Inc|url-status=dead|archive-date=February 16, 2016|title=Ruane, Cunniff, and Goldfarb|publisher=Credio|date=2015-05-13|accessdate=2015-05-13}}.</ref>
==Management== Robert Goldfarb retired at the end of 2016, following Sequoia Fund's significant losses that year. David Poppe succeeded Goldfarb as CEO.<ref name=bberg>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-03-23/goldfarb-to-retire-from-sequoia-fund-after-valeant-losses|title=Goldfarb Exits as Sequoia's Valeant Debacle Caps 45-Year Career|magazine=Bloomberg Business|date=2016-03-23|accessdate=2016-04-22}}.</ref> Poppe retired in 2018. Since then, a four-person investment committee has managed the Sequoia Fund.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://citywire.com/pro-buyer/news/david-poppe-to-retire-from-sequoia-fund-after-20-years/a1164005|title=David Poppe to retire from Sequoia fund after 20 years|website=Citywire|language=en|access-date=2025-07-16}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.sequoiafund.com/teams/|title=Sequoia Teams|website=www.sequoiafund.com|access-date=2025-07-16}}</ref>
==Sequoia Fund== The history of the Sequoia Fund traces its roots to Bill Ruane's lifelong friendship with Warren Buffett. Bill Ruane first met Buffett at a value investing seminar taught by Benjamin Graham at Columbia University in 1950. When Buffett closed his investment partnership in 1969, he advised his clients to invest with Ruane in the Sequoia Fund. In 1970, William J. Ruane and Richard T. Cunniff founded the Sequoia Fund to take on Buffett's former investors.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2011-12-29/cutting-buffett-helps-sequoia-fund-top-value-investor-rankings|title=Cutting Buffett Helps Sequoia Fund Top Value Investor Rankings|magazine=Bloomberg Business|date=2015-05-31}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://blogs.barrons.com/focusonfunds/2011/12/30/sequoia-funds-deep-ties-to-warren-buffett-still-paying-off/|title=Sequoia Fund's Deep Ties To Warren Buffett Still Paying Off|newspaper=Barron's|date=2015-05-13 |accessdate=2015-05-13}}.</ref><ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/bw/magazine/for-sequoia-life-after-warren-buffett-is-sweet-01052012.html|title=For Sequoia, Life After Warren Buffett Is Sweet|magazine=Bloomberg Business|date=2015-05-13 |accessdate=2015-05-13}}.</ref> Robert Goldfarb joined the firm in 1971.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Lauricella |first=Tom |date=2010-07-06 |title=Sequoia Fund Sticks to What Works |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748704198004575311042771457112 |access-date=2025-05-04 |work=Wall Street Journal |language=en-US |issn=0099-9660}}</ref>
In The Superinvestors of Graham-and-Doddsville, Buffett wrote, "When I wound up the Buffett Partnership, I asked Bill Ruane if he would set up a fund to handle all of our partners, so he set up the Sequoia Fund. Bill was the only person I recommended to my partners."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www8.gsb.columbia.edu/rtfiles/cbs/hermes/Buffett1984.pdf|title=The Superinvestors of Graham-and-Doddsville|publisher=Columbia Business School|date=2015-05-13|accessdate=2015-05-13|archive-date=2015-09-24|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924030644/http://www8.gsb.columbia.edu/rtfiles/cbs/hermes/Buffett1984.pdf|url-status=dead}}.</ref> During his search for a candidate to succeed him as chief investment officer of Berkshire Hathaway, Buffett said, "I'm looking for another Bill Ruane."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB117769304545985007|title=Want to Be Next Warren Buffett? The Line Forms in Nebraska|newspaper=Wall Street Journal|date=2015-05-13 |accessdate=2015-05-13}}.</ref>
In the 45-year period from its inception in 1970 to 2015, the Sequoia Fund earned an annualized return of 14.65% versus the S&P 500's annualized return of 10.93%.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sequoiafund.com/fp-investment-return-table.htm|title=Sequoia Fund Inc. Investment Return Table|publisher=sequoiafund.com|date=2013-09-30|accessdate=2013-10-28|archive-date=2017-09-07|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170907025637/http://www.sequoiafund.com/fp-investment-return-table.htm|url-status=dead}}.</ref> According to Morningstar, Sequoia Fund outperformed its large-cap blend-category peers in 332 of the 333 rolling 10-year periods dating back to its 1970 start.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.seattletimes.com/business/legendary-sequoia-fund-opens-its-doors-to-new-investors/|title=Legendary Sequoia Fund opens its doors to new investors|newspaper=Seattle Times|date=2015-05-13 |accessdate=2015-05-13}}.</ref> The fund closed to new investment in 1982 and reopened 26 years later in 2008.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.marketwatch.com/story/storied-sequoia-fund-to-reopen-but-has-the-glory-gone|title=Storied Sequoia Fund to reopen, but has the glory gone?|date=27 April 2008 }}.</ref> In 2010, Morningstar named co-managers Robert Goldfarb and David M. Poppe Domestic-Stock Fund Managers of the Year in recognition of the excellent long-term performance of the Sequoia Fund.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://corporate.morningstar.com/no/asp/subject.aspx?xmlfile=1638.xml&filter=PR4611|title=2010 Morningstar Press release}}.</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-morningstar-idUKTRE7044BZ20110105|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305203825/http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-morningstar-idUKTRE7044BZ20110105|url-status=dead|archive-date=March 5, 2016|title=Morningstar names top fund managers for 2010|newspaper=Reuters|date=5 January 2011}}.</ref> In 2013, the Sequoia Fund again closed to new investors.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sequoiafund.com/images/sequoia%202%20Dec%20%2013.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140101040205/http://www.sequoiafund.com/images/sequoia%202%20Dec%20%2013.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-date=2014-01-01|title=Sequoia Fund Letter to Shareholders}}.</ref> In April 2016 and after a sharp loss on Valeant Pharmaceuticals, the Fund indicated it was reopening to new investors.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.yahoo.com/news/buffett-munger-slam-valeant-drugmaker-turned-sewer-192754322--sector.html|title = Buffett, Munger slam Valeant; drugmaker turned into 'a sewer'| date=30 April 2016 }}</ref>
In 2016, the fund lost $1.26 billion in a single day when Valeant Pharmaceuticals stock, which made up 19% of Sequoia Fund holdings, lost a significant portion of its value.<ref name=bloomberg>{{cite magazine | url = https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-03-15/bill-ackman-loses-about-1-billion-on-valeant-worst-ever-drop | title = Valeant Costs Hedge Funds $3 Billion as Ackman, Paulson Hit | magazine = Bloomberg Business | date = March 15, 2016 | quote = Mutual fund manager Ruane Cunniff & Goldfarb, manager of the Sequoia Fund and the company’s biggest holder of Valeant shares, lost $1.26 billion on the investment ... trailed 97 percent of peers over the last year because of Valeant. The shares accounted for 19 percent of the fund as of Dec. 31. “As the largest shareholder of Valeant, our own credibility as investors has been damaged by this saga,” the fund’s co-managers Robert Goldfarb and David Poppe wrote}}</ref> Goldfarb and Poppe responded by saying that their "credibility as investors has been damaged by this saga."<ref name=bloomberg/> The Valeant Pharmaceuticals position accounted for over 30% of Sequoia Fund's assets in mid-2015, and declined 87% from a high of $265.52 in August 2015 to $33.43 in March 2016.<ref name=bberg/> Over this time period Sequoia fell by 22%, performing worse than 99% of rival funds.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-04-20/how-sequoia-fund-s-valeant-mistake-upended-a-top-return-chart|title=How Sequoia Fund's Valeant Mistake Upended a Top Performance|magazine=Bloomberg Business|date=2016-04-20|accessdate=2016-04-22}}.</ref> At one point, over 30 percent of the fund's assets were invested in Valeant.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Stein|first1=Charles|title=How Sequoia Fund's Valeant Mistake Upended a Top Performance|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-04-20/how-sequoia-fund-s-valeant-mistake-upended-a-top-return-chart|accessdate=21 May 2016|agency=Bloomberg|date=20 Apr 2016}}</ref>
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== *[http://www.sequoiafund.com Official web site] of Sequoia Fund *[https://www.bloomberg.com/apps/quote?ticker=SEQUX:US Bloomberg overview] of Sequoia Fund *[http://quicktake.morningstar.com/Fund/Snapshot.asp?Country=USA&Symbol=SEQUX Morningstar overview] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040607040540/http://quicktake.morningstar.com/Fund/Snapshot.asp?Country=USA&Symbol=SEQUX |date=2004-06-07 }} of Sequoia Fund *[https://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=sequx Yahoo Finance overview] of Sequoia Fund
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ruane, Cunniff and Goldfarb}} Category:1969 establishments in New York City Category:American companies established in 1969 Category:Financial services companies established in 1969 Ruane, Cunniff, and Goldfarb Category:Companies based in New York City Category:Asset management companies