Morningstar - Q1 2021 - 80

Ten Questions

Alger's Ankur Crawford Finds Growth
in Change
Laura Lallos, managing editor of Morningstar
magazine, interviewed Crawford in November.

of digital engagement with their customers are
emerging as winners.

1. What do you look for in a growth stock?

6. How does your engineering background inform your

We look for companies experiencing change
because change creates opportunities. The market
often underestimates how change can drive strong
earnings growth over multiple years. We seek
dominant businesses, market share gainers, and
great management teams.
2. Will today's tech leaders maintain their leads?

They may take temporary breathers, but they
are demand creators. They have reinvented their
markets, and as a result of making substantial
investments, they have strong competitive
moats. Amazon.com AMZN is the first truly global
retailer; Facebook FB is the first truly global
advertising platform.
3. Where do you see emerging technology opportunities?

Ankur Crawford is an executive vice president
at Alger and portfolio manager of several
strategies, including Alger Capital Appreciation
ALARX and Alger Spectra ASPIX, which
have Morningstar Analyst Ratings of Bronze
for most share classes. Before joining
Alger as a research associate in 2004, Crawford
earned a doctorate in materials science
and engineering from Stanford University. She
was awarded an Intel PhD Fellowship and
worked as an engineer with Intel. She
graduated from the University of California,
Berkeley with Bachelor of Science
degrees in mechanical engineering and in
materials science and engineering.
Photography by Christopher Lane.

Morningstar Q1 2021

Digitization is creating opportunities throughout the sector, which makes this one of the most
exciting times for growth investors. It touches
almost all aspects of a business and is enabled
by artificial intelligence, 5G, the " Internet of
Things, " and other digital services. Semiconductor
companies are enabling these trends.

investment decisions?

I was trained to solve problems and look
for patterns. By doing so, engineers don't have
to reinvent the wheel every time. I became
an engineer because I was fascinated with how
things worked-from a car engine in my
early years to atomic interactions in my later years.
This same curiosity drives me to find the
best businesses and understand what makes
them the best.
7. What prompted your switch to asset management?

As a Ph.D. student, I felt I had become too narrow
in my understanding of the world, so I pivoted
to asset management. The market is ever-changing,
and there is always something new to learn-
this makes it both gratifying and humbling at the
same time!
8. What do you enjoy doing outside of work?

I am a mom to three, and they are my biggest
enjoyment. It doesn't leave me much time for too
many activities, except running.
9. Do you have a favorite charity?

4. Is the sector at risk for something like the

dot-com crash?

Unlike the dot-com crash, many of today's larger
technology companies produce strong cash
flow. Given where the 10-year Treasury yield is, we
believe the appeal of companies with lowto mid-single-digit cash flow yields could limit an
aggressive pullback.

I am on the board of The Knowledge House, a
Bronx-based charity that educates, empowers, and
mentors students from underprivileged communities to help them build skills for successful
careers in the gig economy. We are at the start of
a technological revolution, and workers need
a completely different skill set to thrive.
10. What are you reading?

5. Where else should growth investors look today?

The powerful trend of digitizing business
models extends across the economy. In
the consumer discretionary sector, for example,
businesses that are harnessing the power

Living the Wisdom of the Tao by Wayne Dyer,
a modern interpretation of the ancient
Chinese text. These are life lessons that are good
to be reminded of.

http://www.Amazon.com

Morningstar - Q1 2021

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