Karen Talbert
Manczko

The service dials in exactly when performance doesn't

Wespath's own performance comparisons put the International Equity Fund composite in the 91st percentile of its eVestment peer universe on a 5-year basis (3.18% vs. a 7.44% peer median), 82nd percentile over 3 years, and 65th over 1 year — a fund losing ground against peers, not gaining it. That's the environment Karen has been operating in, and it's where the job actually gets hard: anyone can hold a relationship when the numbers are doing the selling. Karen has held 100% client retention when they weren't.

That's the real skill on display — not portfolio construction, but the client-facing discipline of staying in front of institutions with context, candor, and a long-term case, especially in the stretches where a purely numbers-driven advisor would be losing the account. It's the same instinct Moneyball is actually about: knowing what wins is being systematically undervalued, and building an edge around it anyway.

The pattern isn't limited to one fund. Wespath's U.S. Equity Fund composite has also trailed its eVestment peer median — 64th percentile at 1 year, 75th at 3 years, 84th at 5 years (7.04% vs. a 10.11% peer median). Two funds, two peer universes, the same story: performance relative to peers has been a headwind, not a tailwind, for the accounts Karen manages relationships for.

Source: Wespath U.S. Equity Fund performance comparison vs. eVestment U.S. Equity Universe, net-of-fees. Percentile rank: lower is better.

Source: Wespath International Equity Fund performance comparison vs. eVestment International Equity Universe, gross-of-fees. Percentile rank: lower is better; 91st reflects bottom-decile peer standing.