Manager Selection Through A 'Welkian' Lens

One of the most successful variety shows on television was the Lawrence Welk Show. Debuting in 1955, the show ran for 28 straight years, compiling 1065 episodes, then was picked up in syndication and continues running today on PBS. Combining musical skits and featured guest performers, the show established itself as a marquis entertainment offering for network TV in its prime. One of the most famous of the featured singing acts introduced to the American public on the Welk show was the Lennon Sisters (Dianne, Janet, Kathy, and Peggy), who were featured almost every week for 13 years during the show's network run.

Welk's show spanned the post-war boom of the 55s through the psychedelic 60s, the protest-laden 70s, and into the Reagan-era 80s before moving into syndication. Why was the show so successful longterm? What can fund managers learn from Lawrence Welk in getting their businesses to be as successful? Here are five lessons to be learned from the Welkian way...

LESSON ONE: Don't Pre-Judge Talent

Through the years, Lawrence Welk identified hundreds of new singers and musicians, often adding some to his core group of performers, or having them return frequently to be guest performers on his weekly variety show. Truly age-agnostic, Welk saw talent, not experience, as the main criteria for selection of these performers. From child singers to musicians who were in their late middle age, Welk's criteria for inclusion focused on the performance quality of each act. Fund managers can find encouragement in this model by highlighting their investment management talent and skill over their early-stage fund management experience when approaching advisors and investors with their fund or managed accounts.

LESSON TWO: Be Opportunistic

Although Welk's show was based in Los Angeles, Welk's early music career was a traveling one, and he......................

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This article was published in Opalesque's New Managers a top-down monthly analysis, news and research publication on the global emerging manager space.