It retains its Above Average Parent rating.
The firm was founded by international-equity experts in 1989, and CIO and portfolio manager Ferrill Roll had ample foreign stock experience when he came on board in the early 1990s. It has gradually expanded its roster and now has 13 U.S.-domiciled funds. (It also has SMAs for U.S. investors and UCITS for non-U.S. investors.) All are international-equity strategies.
The firm’s offerings use the same quality-growth process. The process is attractive and repeatable. And it has earned good long-term results at Harding Loevner International Equity HLMIX, which is the firm’s largest and oldest fund.
Harding Loevner, which is majority-owned by AMG, has done a good job of hiring and retaining investment staff. It has 41 investment professionals at present; the managers and analysts are experienced and talented overall; and the team has a strong culture as well as solid manager ownership. Few members have left, and the firm's practice of having two co-lead managers on all its strategies—plus one or more comanagers on most offerings—helps it handle retirements and other manager transitions.
The firm isn’t commendable in all respects: It has so-so fees and bases managers' bonuses on their one-year performance. But it serves fundholders well overall.