Investment Manager Bullish on U.S., China Relations

By Bob Quick, The Santa Fe New Mexican

Mar. 26–Lei Wang joined Thornburg Investment Management in 2004 as an associate portfolio manager and in 2006 was named co-portfolio manager for its International Value Fund.

His primary responsibilities at Thornburg include portfolio management, research and analyzing companies for consideration in the Thornburg Value, International Value and Core Growth funds.

Wang, who grew up in Shanghai, got his start at Thornburg back in 2000, when he was an intern and traveled to China with Bill Fries, lead portfolio manager at Thornburg Investment.

“We traveled together in China and picked some good investments then,” Wang said. “I finally settled down in Santa Fe as Thornburg offers great opportunities for my career development. The working environment here … is very open and collaborative, and I enjoy it. Santa Fe also gives us certain advantages, such as independence from the herd mentality on Wall Street.”

Wang often visits the Far East and says he doesn’t mind the overseas travel. He just returned from a trip to Singapore, Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong and is mentioned in other articles in this package of stories

“But it would be great if there were a Concorde-type flight between the U.S. and China,” he said.

Rather than simply visiting companies he’s invested in, Wang also cultivates networks among companies Thornburg’s not yet holding in its portfolios. “These companies may become our investment in the future, or we may have investments in other companies which have a business relationship with those companies,” he said.

Wang sees the U.S. and China becoming more interdependent, a development, he believes “is integral to the prosperity of both nations.”

As for his own future, Wang, who is 35, sees himself still happily involved in investment management 15 years from now. “It’s one of best professions under the sun,” he said.

Wang is married to Qing Han, who also is from Shanghai and has an M.A. in arts administration from New York University. She is planning to open an art studio called Han Dynasty Studio.

Prior to joining Thornburg, Wang was with Deutsche Bank and Enso Capital Management. He has also worked as a manager at China’s Central Bank. He has a B.A. and an M.A. from East China Normal University in Shanghai and an M.B.A. from New York University. He has earned the Chartered Financial Analyst designation.

—–

Copyright (c) 2006, The Santa Fe New Mexican

Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.

For information on republishing this content, contact us at (800) 661-2511 (U.S.), (213) 237-4914 (worldwide), fax (213) 237-6515, or e-mail reprints@krtinfo.com.

NYSE:DB,