The history of the Sequoia Fund traces its roots to Bill Ruane's lifelong friendship with
Warren Buffett. Bill Ruane first met Buffett at a value investing seminar taught by
Benjamin Graham at
Columbia University in 1950. When Buffett closed his investment partnership in 1969, he advised his clients to invest with Ruane in the Sequoia Fund. In 1970, William J. Ruane and Richard T. Cunniff founded the Sequoia Fund to take on Buffett's former investors. Robert Goldfarb joined the firm in 1971. In
The Superinvestors of Graham-and-Doddsville, Buffett wrote, "When I wound up the Buffett Partnership, I asked Bill Ruane if he would set up a fund to handle all of our partners, so he set up the Sequoia Fund. Bill was the only person I recommended to my partners." During his search for a candidate to succeed him as chief investment officer of
Berkshire Hathaway, Buffett said, "I'm looking for another Bill Ruane." In the 45-year period from its inception in 1970 to 2015, the Sequoia Fund earned an annualized return of 14.65% versus the S&P 500's annualized return of 10.93%. According to
Morningstar, Sequoia Fund outperformed its large-cap blend-category peers in 332 of the 333 rolling 10-year periods dating back to its 1970 start. The fund closed to new investment in 1982 and reopened 26 years later in 2008. In 2010, Morningstar named co-managers Robert Goldfarb and David M. Poppe Domestic-Stock Fund Managers of the Year in recognition of the excellent long-term performance of the Sequoia Fund. In 2013, the Sequoia Fund again closed to new investors. In April 2016 and after a sharp loss on
Valeant Pharmaceuticals, the Fund indicated it was reopening to new investors. In 2016, the fund lost $1.26 billion in a single day when Valeant Pharmaceuticals stock, which made up 19% of Sequoia Fund holdings, lost a significant portion of its value. Goldfarb and Poppe responded by saying that their "credibility as investors has been damaged by this saga." At one point, over 30 percent of the fund's assets were invested in Valeant. ==References==