Growing Rich - Arabictrader.com

KIRK KAZANJIAN
firm, Bramwell Capital Management, with the Securities and Exchange
Commission. A woman attorney who read in the paper about her
breakup with Gabelli offered to help write Bramwell’s fund prospectus,
while preparing and filing the necessary forms with the SEC. Meantime,
a friend found some temporary office space for her to work out
of, until she could locate a place of her own.
Gabelli was not happy about Bramwell’s departure. He sued to get
1993’s $750,000 bonus back, claiming it was an advance on future
earnings. Since she was gone, he argued, she should return it.
Bramwell filed a countersuit, and the case went to binding arbitration
with the National Association of Securities Dealers. “We had this
agreement that if I were to leave, I’d be paid six times my last month’s
compensation,” she says. “Also, I had not been paid out on stock I
owned in Gabelli’s two companies, Gabelli Group and Gabelli Securities.”
The NASD ultimately rendered a judgment in Bramwell’s favor.
She wound up receiving a settlement worth around $1 million.
After a few months of getting organized, Bramwell found permanent
office space in a modest complex in the heart of Fifth Avenue’s
shopping district. It’s a historic building that boasts several art galleries
as its primary tenants. She has a great view of Central Park. If your
vision is good, you can also see the street she grew up on - West 67th.
“I moved into my new office in June 1994,” she says. “I couldn’t even
put in a phone system until then. I never realized how important that
was. I then began assembling a team of people to work with me.”
Most investment advisers start their money management firms with
a few large accounts and over time work their way up to establishing
a mutual fund. That’s how Gabelli did it. Bramwell, however, chose
a different path. “My recognition was with the general public, as the
Gabelli Growth Fund had blossomed to more than 60,000 individual
shareholders,” she says. “Starting a fund immediately was the way
for me to go, although it’s not the normal route managers usually
take.”
BIRTHING BRAMWELL GROWTH
One person who was especially helpful to Bramwell as she got her
new firm off the ground was Don Yacktman. He invited her to come
out to Chicago and spent the morning giving her advice, particularly
on how to structure her fund and investment advisory firm. He had
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