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The grueling job now passes to Stansky, 40, a highly regarded Fidelity veteran who has headed the $17 billion Growth Company Fund since 1987 and achieved healthy returns of 16.1% a year, including an 8.8% increase in the first four months of 1996. The two managers are a study in contrasting philosophies. Whereas Vinik made sweeping bets on entire sectors of the economy, like technology, Stansky methodically studies individual companies and favors blue-chip stocks over the small- and medium-size companies that Vinik preferred, in the manner of his mentor Peter Lynch. "Stansky will be a good fit," says Don Phillips, president of Morningstar, which tracks mutual funds. "What was always a little difficult for Vinik was that he was trying to run Magellan as if it were a smaller, more flexible fund." Stansky's approach promises less volatility in the performance of the fund. That's not a bad idea, since Magellan is fighting to stay high on the list of pension managers. The fund gets 90% of its new money from 401(k) plans.
Some experts say Magellan may have grown too large and unwieldy for anyone to run effectively these days. Others point to its high profile. "The problem with Magellan is that it's too famous, and the scrutiny you're under is almost unbearable," says Phillips. "Your every move is second-guessed."
--Reported by Sam Allis/Boston and Jane Van Tassel/New York