General Investing >> Money Manager Interviews >> September 13, 2004
WILLIAM F. D'ALONZO is president, CFO and CIO at Friess Associates. Born
and raised in Wilmington, Delaware, Mr. D'Alonzo earned a Bachelor of
Science degree in Business Management from Widener University in 1978,
followed by an MBA with a concentration in Finance in 1984. With 25
years of experience, including 23 years with Friess Associates, Mr.
D'Alonzo is an integral part of a bottom-up, fundamentals-based research
process. As Chief Investment Officer, he ensures that all proposed
investment ideas have been extensively analyzed, intensely researched
and are consistent with the Friess investment disciplines. Since Mr.
D'Alonzo came on board, assets under management at Friess Associates
swelled to more than $7 billion from $90 million in 1981. During this
time, the Friess team grew from five employees to more than 70,
including roughly two dozen investment professionals solely focused on
research. A network of another dozen research consultants called
'external research resources' complements their work. Respected fund-
tracking firm Morningstar in July 2000 wrote: 'Friess and D'Alonzo work
with one of the deepest management staffs in the business.' Mr. D'Alonzo
has held a number of volunteer positions over the years and currently
sits on the board and is Treasurer of Delaware Wild Lands, Inc., a land
conservation group, and the Delaware Community Foundation Board and
Investment Committee. He owns and operates Turner's Creek Farms, 600
acres of grain farms in Kennedyville, Maryland, and is a partner in
Stagg Haven Farm, 750 acres in Mardella Springs, Maryland. He enjoys
hunting, golf, reading, outdoors and family time. Married to his
wonderful wife Sarah for almost 24 years, they have two children, Susan
and Nick. Profile
and your responsibilities there?
Mr. D'Alonzo: Friess Associates was founded in 1974, so we've been
around for about 30
