Stephen Jarislowsky

Born in Berlin, Jarislowsky moved to Canada in 1949 after earning his M.B.A. at Harvard. Six years later founded Jarislowsky Fraser, investment company that today manages $44 billion for institutions and individuals. Convinced there's a housing bubble "waiting to burst" in Canada. In addition to eclectic art collection that includes jade, Chinese furniture and Eskimo artifacts, owns private island in British Columbia with 16 miles of shoreline. Holds degree in fine art from University of Chicago. Moonlights as professor of investment analysis at the likes of Queens University, McGill University and University of Victoria, B.C. Born in Berlin, Jarislowsky emigrated to the U.S. in 1941. He studied engineering at Cornell University and served in the U.S. Army during World War II. After the war, he was posted in Japan as a counterintelligence officer before getting an MBA from Harvard Business School. He moved to Montreal in 1949 to work for Alcan Aluminum Ltd. as an engineer, eventually starting his firm in 1955. Jarislowsky Fraser began by conducting field research on Canadian companies, developing statistical tools to find and value companies, according to a presentation posted on the firm’s website. Fund managers made more than 100 annual company visits, interviewing executives “and ascertaining the quality and growth prospects of their companies.” While running the firm, Jarislowsky emerged as one of Canada’s most vocal advocates for better governance. After co-founding the Canadian Coalition for Good Governance with Claude Lamoureux -- the then-CEO of the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan -- in 2002, he championed the creation of a national securities regulator and fought to trim CEO compensation at companies such as insurer Manulife Financial Corp. and auto-parts supplier Magna International Inc. He also pushed Canadian banks to separate the posts of chairman and CEO to improve accountability. In recent years, after stepping down from an active role at the firm, Jarislowsky turned his focus to various charitable and educational activities. According to a November 2017 biography prepared by the Fraser Institute think tank, he endowed more than 23 university chairs. He and his wife also sponsor the chief curator at the Audain Art Museum in Whistler, British Columbia.