Manager Research

Dodge & Cox recently announced some key personnel retirements. Charles Pohl, CIO as well as chairman of the firm and fund board, will end his career in June 2022. CEO Dana Emery will take over his chairman roles, but Pohl will remain a part of the US equity committee until he leaves. Bryan Cameron, the firm’s director of research, will also retire at the end of 2021.

Whilst these are material departures, Dodge & Cox have allowed ample time for succession to take place. The roles have already been redistributed and people like Bryan and Charles will remain at Dodge & Cox for a while still. David Hoeft will take over from Pohl as CIO in January 2022, and Steve Voorhis will become full director of research in April 2021. Furthermore, the fact that the firm is a partnership helps reduce key person risk. Dodge & Cox likes to hire people at the start of their careers, so Pohl and Cameron’s replacements have accumulated more than sufficient experience to ensure that these are as seamless transitions as can be hoped for. In this case the average tenure of the individuals retiring is 36 years while the average tenure of the people inheriting their roles is 29 years at Dodge & Cox.

We would add that the Dodge & Cox investment team is very collegiate so when senior people leave, it is a loss, but not one that is significant to us. Succession is built in and we see long-standing team members taking over from their retiring colleagues. We have spent time with both David Hoeft and Dana Emery, and think they will prove strong replacements.

We do not believe that these changes warrant a change in rating of the Dodge & Cox Global Stock Fund. The fund therefore retains its current Tier 1 rating.