The show must go on, in money management even more so than on Broadway, and especially when hungry reporters are involved.

Neil Joseph Hennessy Hennessy Advisors, Inc. / Hennessy Funds Chairman, CEO, Director / Chairman, President, Chief Investment Officer, Portfolio Manager

Today Terry Nilsen, president and chief operating officer of Hennessy Advisors [profile], stepped up today as hostess of the 14th annual Hennessy Funds Market Outlook & Hennessy Cornerstone Mid Cap 30 Fund Rebalance Press Luncheon, held as per usual at Mastro's Steakhouse in New York City. Nilsen was pinch-hitting for Hennessy CEO Neil Hennessy, who is out sick, Nilsen told reporters.

Teresa Mariani Nilsen Hennessy Advisors, Inc. / Hennessy Funds President, Chief Operating Officer, Director / Executive Vice President, Treasurer

"This hasn’t happened in 20 years (the flu) so I guess the good news is I’m good for another 20!" Hennessy told MFWire later via email.

Nilsen and Ryan Kelley, senior vice president and PM, expanded their roles in the presentation in Hennessy's stead. Kelly laid out the Novato, California-based firm's view on the economy (strong) and on the bull market (still going, despite hiccups), then laid out the changes in the annually rebalanced, purely quantitative Hennessy Cornerstone Mid Cap 30 Fund.

Ryan C. Kelley Hennessy Funds Senior Vice President, Portfolio Manager

In the subsequent Q&A, Nilsen, Kelley, and Josh Wein (vice president and senior portfolio analyst) fielded questions on a host of topics, including: fears about the growth of ETFs ("there's going to be an evening out of that," Nilsen says); fee pressure; and the recent woes of publicly traded asset managers (like Hennessy Advisors).

"At some point in time, every sector is going to get beaten up," Nilsen says, noting that the asset management industry still has "very strong margins" and cash flow. "We've had some pretty punishing outflows, and also some great successes ... There's always going to be a place [good portfolio management]."

In terms of distribution, Hennessy Advisors focuses on the RIA market, Kelley notes. Yet they also work with FAs at wirehouses and independent broker-dealers, and they work with a lot of individual investors.

"We are really distributed very wide and very thin," Nilsen says. "We have a lot of small shareholders nationwide."

Meanwhile, Hennessy Advisors has historically been an acquisitive mutual fund shop. Nilsen sees more opportunity for that given the rough time that most asset managers are currently having.

"In this environment in the asset management business, there's going to be a lot of consolidation," Nilsen says. "You're going to be either a buyer or a seller, and we're both." 

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