Fundsters used to treat Sean Healey "like dirt." That is undoubtedly not the case now that his Affiliated Managers Group has 28 affiliates and a stock that is up more than sixfold since its November 1997 IPO. Healey, his roots at AMG and his personal background are the focus of a lengthy profile in Bloomberg.

What are the highlights? Healey said he received a less-than-warm welcome from fund managers when he called them to discuss his company buying out a portion of the fund.

"They treated you like dirt," he told Bloomberg.

The article, written by reporters Anthony Effinger and Sree Vidya Bhaktabatsalam, also goes into detail about Healey's against-his-will involvement in Massachusetts politics. His wife is Mitt Romney's lieutenant governor, and the Boston Globe once published a picture of Healey smoking a cigar on the porch of AMG's headquarters, situated near the home of late novelist John Updike.

As usual, dealmaker Don Putnam of Grail Partners gives the best quote:

"We have wild personalities in the money management business," Putnam tells Bloomberg. "AMG has a secret sauce."

Other nuggets include Healey's time working at the Harvard Law Review with future Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan (he didn't enjoy it), his working for J.C. Flowers while at Goldman Sachs, and his strategy for getting fund managers to agreee to do business with him. He makes sure to match people up in easy-going social situations like a round of golf or dinner.

He also makes sellers sign a 10-year deal with AMG.

For more anecdotes and business tips from Healey, read the full article. 

Edited by: Ben Geier


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