A comfortable change in leadership should keep Mairs & Power moving forward. The firm retains an Above Average Parent rating.
With a public heads-up that few have matched, then-CEO Mark Henneman announced in 2022 his plans to retire at the end of 2026. One step toward that goal occurred on Oct. 1, 2024, when he handed CEO duties to President and Chief Compliance Officer Rob Mairs—a 2015 hire descended from one of the firm's founders. Henneman remains chairman of the board. While Mairs' appointment breaks from having an investor at the top, he has ready access to anyone at the close-knit, employee-owned firm based in St. Paul, Minnesota.
Mairs' main charge is to keep building on Henneman's pragmatic efforts to keep the 94-year-old firm relevant. Its three mutual funds—which hold more than half of Mairs & Power's nearly USD 12 billion of assets under management—have seen modest withdrawals for years, so a foray into exchange-traded funds with a Minnesota muni-bond product gives the firm experience with other investment types. The Upper Midwest focus of its strategies remains a distinctive feature, but the flagship Growth strategy—an all-cap equity offering—is more open to companies based elsewhere, especially under current lead manager (and CIO) Andy Adams. Indeed, Adams is a key player at Mairs & Power, too, helping introduce tools to conduct innovative research and better manage the mutual funds' cash flows. He and Mairs will be the faces of this historic firm's next generation.
Note: This share class' Parent Pillar rating is analyst-driven, as its Branding Name, Mairs & Power (Branding Name ID: BN000009CN), is covered by Morningstar Manager Research.
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