GuruFocus welcomes Brian Rogers (Trades, Portfolio) to Q&A with our readers. Brian is chairman and chief investment officer of T. Rowe Price, a firm with $692.4 billion in assets as of Dec. 31, 2013. He is also fund manager of the T. Rowe Price Equity Income Fund (PRFDX, Financial), a portfolio with net assets of $28.5 billion, which seeks dividend income and long-term capital growth through investment in value-oriented stocks.
To ask him your investing question, post it in the comments section below.Â
Portfolio, Investing and Outlook
After a number of positive developments that sent markets up in 2013, Brian sees a potential correction coming in 2014. He is positive on the outlook for equities in the long run, however, as the U.S. continues to see fundamental and economic data improvement and more confident consumers. These factors may “set the stage for a continuation of the bull market,” he wrote in his fourth quarter commentary.
In the past six months, Rogers has invested most heavily in Deere (DE, Financial), Stanley Black & Decker (SWU, Financial), GlaxoSmithKline (GSK, Financial) and Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan (POT, Financial). These companies, he said, “share the common characteristics of attractive valuations, good dividend histories, strong financial positions, and a recent pattern of disappointing stock market returns.”
The top sector allocations of Rogers’ portfolio are Financials (20.7%), Industrials and Business Services (14.3%) and Energy (13.8%).
He commented on his sector allocation going into 2014:
“During the quarter, our stock selection in the energy, consumer staples, and information technology sectors detracted from portfolio results. Stock selection in financials and industrials and business services, plus an overweight allocation to the latter, was beneficial. The portfolio also has fairly high exposure to the consumer discretionary sector, which is composed of a diverse group of industries, including retailers, media companies, diversified consumer services, and automakers. We particularly favor the media industry, where the portfolio holds companies that produce or distribute content and typically generate strong cash flow, much of which is returned to shareholders in the form of dividends and stock buybacks.”
Rogers' largest positions currently are General Electric (GE, Financial), JPMorgan Chase (JPM, Financial) and Chevron (CVX, Financial). Also recently, he has taken significant positions in Apple Inc. (AAPL, Financial) and Avon Products (AVN, Financial), which has experienced a management change and business restructuring in recent years.
General Electric holding history:
To ask Brian Rogers (Trades, Portfolio) an investing question, simply post it in the comments section below. We will send the questions to him and publish his responses shortly.
