Harris Associates [profile] will start the new year by saying goodbye to a PM of its biggest mutual fund.

On Thursday the Chicago-based fund firm revealed that Ed Studzinski, the 62-year-old co-PM of the four-star, $19.1-billion Oakmark Equity and Income Fund, will retire on January 1. Co-PM Clyde McGregor, who PMed the fund solo from its launch in 1995 until Studzinski joined him in 2000, will return to being the fund's sole PM.

"This is a straight-up retirement," Harris spokesman Terry Badger told MFwire.com, adding that "there will not be a co-manager at this point" to take Studzinski's place.

Studzinski also served as an analyst under Harris' generalist analyst model, Badger explained.

"Most of our managers are also analysts to some degree," Badger said, adding that "Clyde will have tremendous support from our analyst team."

Studzinski joined Harris 16 years ago, and he became a partner a decade later. He previously served as chief investment officer at Mercantile National Bank of Indiana. According to Oakmark, Stuzinski also worked as an attorney and as a U.S. Navy officer, retiring as a captain in 2005.

With $19.1 billion as of December 21, the fund holds almost half of the $39.723 billion of assets in the Oakmark Funds. Kristi Rowsell praised Stuzinski and McGregor for turning Oakmark Equity and Income into "a prominent name in the balanced fund world."

"I owe Ed Studzinski a tremendous debt of gratitude," MacGregor stated."In every respect he has proven worthy."

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Company Press Release

CHICAGO, Dec. 22, 2011 -- Edward A. Studzinski, CFA, co-manager of the Oakmark Equity and Income Fund (OAKBX) since 2000, will step down from management of the fund and will retire from Harris Associates L.P., the fund's adviser, effective January 1, 2012.

Clyde S. McGregor, CFA, will continue in his role as portfolio manager of Oakmark Equity and Income. Mr. McGregor has managed or co-managed the fund since its inception in November 1995. Other members of the Harris Associates team of research analysts will assume Mr. Studzinski's research responsibilities.

"We are grateful to Ed for his significant contributions to the Equity and Income Fund and also for his work as a seasoned analyst with our research department," says Kristi L. Rowsell, president of Harris Associates and The Oakmark Funds. "The collaboration between Ed and Clyde established Oakmark Equity and Income as a prominent name in the balanced fund world. We are fortunate at Harris Associates to have a deep and talented investment team, and we plan for others on that team to work closely with Clyde in evaluating the opportunities in today's markets for our shareholders. We wish Ed the very best in his retirement endeavors."

"I owe Ed Studzinski a tremendous debt of gratitude," says Clyde McGregor.  "Ed joined Harris Associates soon after the Equity and Income Fund opened for investment.  He quickly distinguished himself as an investor whose experience and intelligence enabled him to be a great resource for a multi-asset-class fund like Equity and Income.  When Harris Associates adopted the policy of committing two managers to each mutual fund, Ed was the logical choice to become my co-manager.  In every respect he has proven worthy.  Many clients have also found his erudite commentaries in the Fund's quarterly reports to be especially interesting.  I will miss him greatly and wish him all success in his future projects."

"Working with Clyde McGregor for these past 11 years has been a privilege and an honor – he is one of the great value investors and great gentlemen of the investment management world, and the long-term record we were able to achieve for our shareholders during that time speaks for itself," says Mr. Studzinski. "And to spend 16 years at Harris Associates, the firm named after the great American philanthropist Irving Harris and the professional home of some of the great value investors of the 20th century, was an experience without parallel."

A native of Peabody, Mass., Mr. Studzinski, 62, joined Harris Associates in 1995 after serving as chief investment officer at Mercantile National Bank of Indiana. He became a partner at Harris Associates in 2005.

Mr. Studzinski's career also includes work as an attorney and he served as an officer in the U.S. Navy in both full-time and part-time status until 1995, at which time he retired as a Captain. He earned an A.B. in history at Boston College, a J.D. at Duke University and an M.B.A. in marketing at Northwestern University.

Mr. Studzinski is a CFA charterholder and a member of the CFA Society of Chicago. He is also a member of the Japan Society of New York, the Japanese Art Society of America and Naval Intelligence Professionals. He is a trustee of the Santa Fe Art Institute in New Mexico and a member of the Visiting Committee for the Art of Asia, Oceania and Africa at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.

ABOUT THE PORTFOLIO MANAGER

Clyde S. McGregor, CFA, is a portfolio manager for the Oakmark Equity and Income Fund, the Oakmark Global Fund and for a number of separate accounts advised by Harris Associates L.P. Prior to joining Harris Associates in 1981, he was an analyst and portfolio manager with The Northern Trust Company. Mr. McGregor earned a bachelor's degree from Oberlin College and an M.B.A. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.  

ABOUT OAKMARK AND HARRIS ASSOCIATES

The Oakmark Funds, with $35 billion in assets under management as of September 30, 2011, utilizes a long-term value approach. Oakmark's investment philosophy is centered on the belief that superior long-term results are achieved through investing in quality companies that are priced at a significant discount to their true economic value, with strong growth prospects and owner-oriented management teams.

Harris Associates L.P., a Chicago-based investment management firm founded in 1976, serves as the Adviser to The Oakmark Funds and manages domestic, international and global portfolios for institutional and high net worth investors worldwide. Including Oakmark, assets under management at Harris Associates totaled $60 billion as of September 30, 2011.

Harris Associates Securities L.P., Distributor, Member FINRA. 

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