Like Father, Like Son

Ognar fils apparently was an excellent listener, as the fund, renamed Wells Fargo Advantage Growth (SGRAX) after Wells Fargo's 2005 acquisition of Strong Capital Management, has thrived under his guidance, along with that of co-managers Brandon Nelson and Bruce Olson. Its performance has earned it Lipper's top ratings for total and consistent return, as well as tax efficiency.

As of Feb. 6, the fund had outpaced 93% of its peers for the trailing year. It gained 3.57%, compared with a loss of 6.62% for the Standard & Poor's 500. Over three years, it outperformed 93% of its category, rising an average of 9.68% a year, versus 5.27% for the S&P. Wells Fargo Advantage Growth's five-year record is similarly impressive: up 14.44% a year, compared with an average annual gain of 11.64% for the broad index. Morningstar gives it five stars, its highest rating.

Although the no-load fund's holdings sport an average market-capitalization of more than $42 billion, Advantage Growth goes anywhere in search of opportunity. Specifically, Ognar and his team seek not only robust but sustainable growth that has been ignored by the market, which could lead to future revisions in earnings expectations. Nearly half of the fund's assets are invested in shares of medium-, small-, and micro-cap companies.

Turnover is about 120% a year, and the expense ratio is a stiff 1.42%, excluding fees, which were waived by the adviser through November of 2008. Absent the waiver, the fund's gross expense ratio would be 1.51%.

Ognar graduated in 1992 from Miami University of Ohio, and did a short stint as a trader at Republic Securities in Chicago.

His real apprenticeship, however, occurred in the Applied Security Analysis Program at the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Business, where, as a student, he was responsible for running a part of the school's endowment. He and Nelson won the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel's stock-picking contest in 1995, which helped lead to other jobs. Ognar joined Strong in 2002.

To identify underappreciated stocks, Ognar and his team regularly generate quantitative screens, meet with companies and also buy externally generated research. Charles Schwab (SCHW), which has fallen about 20% this year amid a furious selloff in financial shares, is typical of the fund's holdings. Ognar contends that investors misunderstand the company, wrongly assuming it makes most of its money from trading. "Only about 17% of revenue comes from transactions," he says, noting Schwab's business is primarily fee-based. "As baby boomers age, they will need more financial advice, and Schwab should aggregate more assets."