Wells Fargo CEO's Management Style Works to Widen the Moat Spring is the
season for annual reports, and many executives use the occasion to spin a few
tales about business in the year past. Though ostensibly these are letters from
management to the boss is, the owners too many seem to take their storytelling
lessons from the habits of celine
handbags online evasive, guilty teenagers. On rare occasions one finds
an celine tie
tote honest, clear assessment of the year work, and such candor is
impossible to miss. For the investor, the spring season is one for assessing the
pen of management, in order to discern trustworthy and honest stewards of
capital.
Of course, candor from celine cabas phantom
totemanagement has almost become an endangered species in recent years.
Rittenhouse Rankings Inc. has followed this trend with its annual celine phantom
bag CEO Candor Scores, and in 2007, found that in shareholder letters
and misleading statements or fog, increased 66 percent celine mini
handbag up from 39 percent five years ago. Instead of providing an
impartial and clear analysis of successes and failures, more and more executives
speak their Orwellian language, using to describe truth we want to exist, rather
than facts. And the point here is not merely pedantic, for Rittenhouse Rankings
argue that candor scores and rankings reveal high quality leadership, cohesive
corporate cultures, more reliable accounting and superior financial performance.
One CEO known for his candor is Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC) John Stumpf.
In his most recent letter to shareholders (pdf file), Stumpf makes good on
his reputation. Though Wells Fargo acquired Wachovia in one of the largest
banking acquisitions in the last year, Stumpf does not trumpet their size, for
[Wells ranks] in asset size alone is meaningless celine bag to us In fact, to
our customers, bigness can be a barrier. I yet to hear of a customer walking
into one of our banks and saying, 'I want to bank here because you so big!' For
Stumpf, Wells annual success should be determined by two metrics vs. expenses,
and return on equity. Regarding the first, Wells revenue http://www.celinehandbagse.com/ grew six percent in
2008, while expenses declined one percent best such revenue/expense ratio among
our large peers, and the one we consider the best longterm measure of a company
efficiency. And on the second, Wells return on equity was 4.79 cents for every
dollar of shareholder equity, best among their peers for the year. By the
numbers, Wells did more with less than the year before, celine
trapeze and it had better returns on shareholder capital than peers.
Even in a difficult macroeconomic environment, someone had to be the best. For
the large American banks, 2008 was the year of Wells.
As an investor, Stumpf candor is refreshing, but his focus arguably more
important. Rather than telling a lengthy and jargonladen tale of Wells growth or
enigmatic synergies, Stumpf celine
handbag reveals his concentration on managing his owners capital
productively, and optimizing aspects of Wells business that he can control.
Increasing the loan portfolio may not be a productive use of capital: only if it
can be done at adequate margins, and without excessive expense. Rather than
spinning a grand story of how our economy went wrong, Stumpf keeps his eye on
his business and intelligent opportunities for growth in the year ahead. Though
these two tasks need not be exclusive, experience shows that too many bankers celine trio bag
for sale love to indulge in forecasting and 'professoring'.
In our assessment of economic moats, managerial ability, more than almost any
other factor, directly correlates with the width of a business moat. Like Andrew
Grove, the best managers are capable of rebuilding a protective moat with a new
product, even as past competitive advantages deteriorate. Like Warren Buffett,
the best managers are capable of redirecting the life blood for building moats
the best castles with the ablest builders. Like John Stumpf, celine mini
belt the best managers are capable of concentrating their gaze on
matters they can control, and each day use capital a little better than the celine box day
before.
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