General Investing >> Money Manager Interviews >> April 16, 2012
William Schaff, CFA, is Founder, Chief Executive Officer and Portfolio Manager of Phocas Financial Corporation. Since 1987, Mr. Schaff has managed institutional equity portfolios and mutual funds at Phocas Financial, Bay Isle Financial, Janus Capital Group, Berger Funds and the Undiscovered Managers organization. Over that time, he developed attractive track records investing in U.S. value equities and REITs in separate accounts as well as mutual funds. He was formerly the Lead Manager of the Berger Small Cap Value Fund, the Morningstar five-star rated Undiscovered Managers REIT Fund (from its inception in 1998 through 2003), the Janus U.S. REIT Fund for non-U.S. investors and Bay Isle's Large Cap Value Equity institutional strategy. He is still managing accounts for very large and smaller defined benefit pension plans, including those of state and local entities, corporate plans, and foundations and endowments. Mr. Schaff earned his master's degree in engineering from the University of California, Davis. He also holds the Chartered Financial Analyst designation and is a Member of the Security Analysts of San Francisco. He served as a multiterm Trustee and Chairperson of the investment committee of Alameda County Employees' Retirement Association (ACERA), a $5 billion public pension plan. Profile
TWST: Please start with a brief history and overview of Phocas Financial.
Mr. Schaff: We're a small team. Primarily, we do our own fundamental research. We do it pretty much the old-fashioned way,
