William Fouse

William Lewis Fouse

October 17, 2019

William Lewis Fouse (Bill)
Bill, who played a key role in changing the face of investing, passed away peacefully on October 17, 2019 at the age of 91. Born and raised in Parkersburg, West Virginia, he played clarinet in the high school marching band. Bill went on to get his BS in commerce and MBA from the University of Kentucky, playing in jazz bands to help pay for his education.
He began his career at Mellon National Bank and Trust Co. in Pittsburgh, Pa. in 1952, and married Lina Torbrugge (Linn) in 1953. Together for 59 years, Bill is survived by two daughters Claudia FouseFountaine and Heather FouseClarke, Heather's husband Michael Clarke and four grandchildren Charles Fountaine, Anna FountaineTarbert, William Clarke and Charlotte Clarke.
In 1967, after having received the esteemed Charter Financial Analyst (CFA) designation, and rising to the head of the security analysis group, Bill presented Mellon Bank with a new concept; the index fund. When it was rejected, Bill left for Wells Fargo Bank in San Francisco, where the first index strategy was implemented for Samsonite Corporation in 1971. In 1983 Bill left to form Mellon Capital Management, which became a leading index and quantitative manager in the Bay Area, accumulating $1 billion in managed assets in just six months. By 1994, when Bill was scaling back his responsibilities at Mellon Capital, assets had grown to over $35 billion.
While there, Bill had created an atmosphere of collegiality that felt more like family, and he was ahead of his time in diversity as well, with half of the leadership positions on the team going to men, the other half to women. Among numerous awards Bill received was being named as one of the top 10 individuals that changed the face of investing in the 20th century (Pensions and Investments Magazine), and the prestigious Graham and Dodd Award.
A true Renaissance man who loved life - gourmet cooking, wine, history, art, architecture and music - his family always came first. A proud grandpa, Bill will always be known as "Bapa" to his family, the name given to him by his five year old grandson.
Donations in his memory can be made to the San Francisco Symphony.