Richard A. Barone

Richard Anthony Barone (born March 10, 1942) is an American entrepreneur, investment advisor, and activist investor. He is Chairman of the Arch Eagle Group, a family office, and Chairman Emeritus of The Ancora Group, a company he founded in 2002, through which he manages the portfolios of two public mutual funds and high-net-worth individuals.

Richard Anthony Barone was born on March 10, 1942, in Cleveland, Ohio. He studied economics at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C.

After working for a regional broker-dealer, Barone founded the Maxus Investment Group in 1973. Maxus became a leading regional investment advisor and mutual fund manager (the Maxus Funds) with execution capability on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. In 2001, Maxus was sold to Fifth Third Bank.

During his early career, Barone, through Hedge Fund First Enterprise Group, acquired significant positions in publicly traded companies such as Peek 'N Peak Recreation, Diversified Industries and Hampton Utility shares. In April 1985, Barone made a tender offer for all shares of Peek 'N Peak Recreation, a ski resort located in Western New York. In April, 1988 First Enterprise Group became one of 17 original founding investors in OfficeMax.

1990s

In 1992, Maxus purchased Daley & Company, a small Cleveland discount investment firm from Wedbush Securities. Several years later Maxus was able to expand assets under management with the purchase of Gelfand Partners. The acquisition doubled the size of the assets under management and diversified the product offerings to include fixed income. The combined companies had over $2 billion in assets under management. Terrence Johnson, a writer for the Cleveland Plain Dealer, called Barone "a self-described dreamer that has single-handedly turned a three-man operation... into one of the biggest players in Cleveland's money management sector".

In 1999, First Security Corporation purchased the Comstock Bank of Nevada. Comstock was a state-chartered bank insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, financed and controlled by Barone and investors. At the closing of the transaction. Wells Fargo bid on and ultimately purchased First Security.

Other notable acquisitions in the 1990s included positions in publicly traded companies such as Park Ohio, Rockefeller Center Properties, Scott's Liquid Gold, Rocky Brands, Olympic Steel, and Bull & Bear Group, a New York-based money management firm. During the late 1990s, the Maxus Investment Group purchased an ownership position in Donna Karan. In December 2000, Louis Vuitton had plans to purchase Donna Karan, at a price that Barone felt was low. The offer price was eventually raised by $22 million.

Later career

In 2001, Barone sold the Maxus Investment Group to Fifth Third Bank. With that sale, Fifth Third Bank decided that they were not interested in Daley Securities which Maxus had purchased in 1992. Barone purchased Daley back and converted its operation into a Friends and Family office. By 2005, Daley's business began to grow and with the return of several Maxus Investment Group executives, Daley became the nucleus for the formation of The Ancora Group Inc., an investment management firm in which Barone became Chairman.

In May 2008, Barone offered to invest $25 million in the Journal Register, owner of 22 daily and 346 non-daily newspapers in the Eastern United States if the Company and its bankers would agree to a restructuring of its debt. Barone warned that without restructuring, the company was heading for bankruptcy. Journal Register rejected Barone's offer. In February 2009, Journal Register filed for bankruptcy for the first time.

In March 2013, Barone launched the Arch Eagle Group Inc., a provider of investment services to investment professionals such as hedge fund managers, investment advisors, and other small broker-dealers. In 2011, he was elected Chairman of Mace Security International, a pepper spray products and personal protection company that he helped refinance.

Barone's investment philosophy is based on value investing. In the early 1970s, recalling several conversations with investor Warren Buffett, Barone concluded that several aspects of value are important to a transaction. According to Barone, these comprised branded products, pricing power, and free cash flow relative to market price. Investments in publicly traded corporations should only be made at corresponding values one would make if buying the whole company in a private transaction. According to Barone, volatility and uncertainty are good for creating investment opportunities, not a detriment. "When we see prices drop, that just means we're buying businesses at even less."

Barone's investment history has been written about in Barron's, The Wall Street Transcript, New York Times, and Individual Investor.

In 2002, Barone joined the Board of the Cleveland State University Foundation. The foundation works closely with Cleveland State's Office of University Advancement on fund raising projects. In 2008, Barone became Chairman of the Cleveland State University Foundation. In the same year, Barone became a community member of the Cleveland State University Board of Trustees. In June 2015 he was voted Director Emeritus.

In 2007, Barone was elected to the Board of Directors of the Stephan Company, a publicly traded manufacturer and distributor of haircare and skincare products.

In January 2008, Barone was elected to the Board of Directors of the Brentwood Foundation. The Brentwood Foundation, now part of the Cleveland Clinic Health Organization, was established in 1994 as a charitable trust dedicated to the promotion and advancement of medical education, clinical research, and community initiatives that impact health and wellness in the field of osteopathic medicine.

In the fall of 2008, Barone was elected to the Board of Directors for the Hospice of the Western Reserve. He began serving his tenure in January 2009. Prior to being elected to the Board of Directors, Barone provided financial and investment consulting services to the organization, which provides hospice services throughout Northeast Ohio.

On March 31, 2009, Barone was elected to the Board of Directors of Mace Security International. Mace Security International is a publicly traded company that offers personal defense sprays, home, and business surveillance and security, automotive security, and child safety and security. Dennis Raefield, CEO and President of Mace at the time, said "we are excited to have Barone as a member of the Mace Board as he was elected by a unanimous vote. Mace is currently executing an aggressive turnaround strategy and we welcome Mr. Barone's guidance during this time as we strive to increase sales." In 2011, Barone was elected Chairman of the Board of Mace.

On May 30, 2013, Barone submitted the winning bid to purchase the Telling Mansion, which, at the time, was home to the South Euclid-Lyndhurst branch of the Cuyahoga County Public Library. The Telling Mansion is an Ohio Landmark and is on the National Register of Historic Places. On September 25, 2015, the Telling Mansion became the permanent home of the Museum of American Porcelain Art (MAPA), a public 501 (c)(3) which Barone established in 2014 through the donation of his personal collection. Shortly thereafter, on October 1, 2015, MAPA, with the backing of Barone, purchased the Edward Marshall Boehm Porcelain Company of Trenton, New Jersey. The company is considered to be the most widely recognized creator of porcelain art in the world. Boehm Porcelain Art is displayed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Smithsonian Institution, Buckingham Palace, and the Vatican Museums.

Along with partner Robert Arace, he launched the Boehm Showroom on the former site of the Boehm Porcelain Company in Trenton, New Jersey.

Barone lives in Sarasota, Florida with additional residences in New York City and Cleveland, Ohio.