John’s passion for investing began at age 12 when his father began buying him stocks as Christmas and birthday gifts. His interest in equities grew at Princeton University, where he majored in economics, and over the two-plus years he worked as a stockbroker for William Blair & Company, LLC. In 1983, John founded Ariel to focus on patient, value investing within small- and medium-sized companies. While our research capabilities have expanded across the globe, patience is still the disciplined approach that drives the firm today. Early in his career, John’s investment acumen brought him to the

Ken serves as co-portfolio manager of our small cap value and small cap value concentrated strategies. Additionally, his portfolio management responsibilities extend across Ariel Fund, as well as our micro-cap value and small cap deep value products. In his research capacity, Ken covers consumer services and industrials. Prior to joining Ariel as a research analyst in 2004, he spent more than two years with William Blair & Company, LLC, most recently as a senior investment banking analyst. Ken also worked as a senior auditor at KPMG, LLP. He earned a BS in accounting from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and an MBA from the University of Chicago, and he is also a Certified Public Accountant.