Oppenheimer 60th Anniversary - 19

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THE NEW YORK TIMES

and on into the 1970s. On the one hand, the 1960s
saw such growth in the securities markets that for
a portion of 1968 the exchanges had to close every
Wednesday to give the back offices an opportunity to
process all the transactions. On the other hand, there
were bear markets and steep declines, including a
steady fall in 1970 that was followed by a recession.
Despite these overall fluctuations there were some
obvious trends, perhaps most notably the increasing
importance of mutual funds - both to investors and
to the functioning of the markets themselves. At the
end of World War II, assets under management in
mutual funds totaled just over $1 billion; by 1965 that
number had swelled to $35 billion, and funds were
coming in at a net annual rate of $2.4 billion. By 1969
mutual fund assets had increased to $50 billion.

1961
The New York Times, February 4, 1961, reports gains for
the Oppenheimer Fund after covering a short position.

Don Spiro
1962 Chairman Emeritus Don Spiro

joined Oppenheimer Management Corp.
in 1962. At the time, the Company had a
single product offering, the Oppenheimer
Fund, which then had $13 million in assets
under management.
When Spiro signed on to the sales team,
the Company had just five employees. In
fact, the Oppenheimer & Co. office did not
have a desk for Spiro, who initially chose a
windowsill as his workspace without any
qualms. Of his windowsill, Spiro said, "That's
great, because I'm not going to be in the
office anyhow. If you want to sell the Fund,
you have to go out and talk to the people."
Leon Levy, a partner in charge of research, recalled that Spiro had been hired
from Dreyfus because of his uncanny
ability to view the sale of mutual funds the
way an industry outsider would. Because
the Oppenheimer Fund was so innovative, Spiro recognized that the challenge
rested in crafting an effective message for
the Fund's market. "Nobody understood
what a mutual fund was in those days," he
explained. "The Fund is never going to sell
unless we can make it simple."

Spiro became vice president of sales just
three years later and was poised to play an
important role in expanding the Company's
product line. He became president of
Oppenheimer Management Corp. in 1969,
seven years after joining the Firm.
During his long career Spiro served
in many other leadership positions,
including vice chairman, general partner,
chairman, and chief executive officer of
OppenheimerFunds. After 42 years of
service, Spiro retired in 2004 as chairman
emeritus of the Oppenheimer funds board.

"If you want to sell the
Fund, you have to go out
and talk to the people."
DON SPIRO

Spiro was instrumental in establishing
the Company's Corporate Values, so it's fitting that the Spiro Awards, inaugurated in
1992, recognize employees who have made
significant contributions while embodying
those values.
Looking back, Spiro noted three things
he believed led to the Company's success.
"First, we tell companies what we're going
to do, and we do it," he said. "Second, good
marketing and advertising. Third, hiring the
best people."
These factors may be key to the Firm's
success, but Spiro's philosophy - Don't
follow where the path may lead; go instead
where there is no path and leave a trail -
just might have played a role. n
1959-1974 Growth

and Transition * 19
Oppenheimer 60th Anniversary

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