Top investment advisor Bruce Berkowitz resigns from Sears Holdings Board

By

Cassidy Mantor

Published
Oct 16, 2017

Sears Holdings has announced the resignation of  top investment advisor Bruce Berkowitz from the Board of Directors. Berkowitz will officially exit the board on October 31, 2017.

Berkowitz exited gracefully saying he enjoyed working with Lampert and the rest of the leadership team. He went on to say he wished Sears Holdings well as it "continues to execute on its strategic priorities."

"On behalf of the board of directors and management, I want to thank Bruce for his long-term commitment and investment in Sears Holdings. His leadership, guidance and counsel as a board member have been invaluable to our company," said Edward S. Lampert, Chairman and CEO of Sears Holdings.

Berkowitz, who was named top investment advisor of the decade by investment research firm Morningstar in 2010, first showed an investment interest in Sears Holdings in 2005 when he led his Fairholme Fund to buy Sears stock. He joined the Sears Holdings board in February 2016 to help the company navigate out of its retail decline, but the headwinds faced by the company in the bleak retail environment have proved as of yet insurmountable. Sears posted a $770 million loss in the last quarter, and has so far announced in 2017 the closure of 193 stores.

Sears stock took a 7 percent hit after the announcement Monday and is down 33 percent this year.

Berkowitz remains the Chief Investment Officer at Fairholme Capital Management, LLC, an SEC-registered investment advising firm. He is also the President and a Director of Fairholme Funds, Inc. which is also registered as an investment company with the SEC.