The Heilbrunn Center hosted the 15th Annual Pershing Square Challenge on Thursday, April 28 from 6:00pm-9:00pm in Geffen Hall. Congratulations to PGNY short (Georgina Cheng '23, Ma Lang '23, and Bohan Xue '23) on winning first place and to CARG long (Edison Chang '23, Justin Manevski '23, and William Wu '23) for taking second.
CARG, GAW, PGNY, PYPL, and TNDM were presented and selected as the top five ideas out of the twenty submitted.
3rd Annual Artisan International Value Stock Pitch Challenge
Congratulations to Dickson Pau '22 pitching KKR who won the 3rd Annual Artisan International Value Stock Pitch Challenge! Watch video from the event here .
The presenters included Andrew Gale '22 pitching FLTR; Will Husic '22 pitching MTCH; Dickson Pau '22 pitching KKR; and Wenbo Zhao '22 pitching ALSN. The event took place on Friday, February 25 from 6:00pm-8:30pm on Columbia Business School's new campus in Geffen Hall. It was the Center's first large scale in-person open event since February 2020.
Save the Date for the Value Investing Program Information Session. This event is mandatory to apply to the Program.
Thursday, February 10, 2022
Please register here!
The Heilbrunn Center and the Columbia Student Investment Management Association hosted the 25th Annual CSIMA Conference virtually on Thursday, February 3 and Friday, February 4, 2022. Keynotes included David Abrams , Abrams Capital; Dawn Fitzpatrick , Soros Fund Management; Neil Blumenthal, Warby Parker with Alexandra Cowie ’17, Good Friends; Howard Marks , Oaktree Capital; and Mellody Hobson, Ariel Investments, with Tom Russo , Gardner, Russo, Quinn.
The Conference also featured the Best Ideas panel with Kevin Becker , O’Brien-Staley Partners; Kevin Fogarty ’95 , Dupont Capital Management; Yen Liow , Aravt Global; and Brant Rubin '11 , Vor Capital, moderated by Angela Aldrich , Bayberry Capital and the Investing in Tech panel with Brad Gerstner , Altimeter Capital; Phil Ruvinsky, BlackRock; and Evan Zehnal, Fidelity International. Moderated by Samantha Greenberg , Mint House.
Nearly 700 alumni and friends attended this virtual event. Mark your calendar for the Center's first open, in-person event since February 2020. We are traveling to Omaha for the "From Graham to Buffett and Beyond" Omaha dinner. Further details to come!
"Undiversified: The Big Gender Short in Investment Management"
Ellen Carr and Katrina Dudley discuss their book Undiversified: The Big Gender Short in Investment Management .
25th Annual CSIMA Conference
The Columbia Student Investment Management Association, along with the Heilburnn Center, will host the 25th Annual CSIMA Conference virtually on February 3 and February 4, 2022. Confirmed keynotes include David Abrams , Abrams Capital; Neil Blumenthal , Warby Parker; Dawn Fitzpatrick , Soros Fund Management; Mellody Hobson , Ariel Investments; and Howard Marks , Oaktree Capital Management. Panels include 'Best Ideas' and 'Investing in Tech.' Further details to come!
Women in Investing (WIN) Conference
The Heilbrunn Center is pleased to annouce the pitch team for the 2021 WIN Conference. Selected by Capital Group, Courtney Owens '22, May Hinin '23, Rachita Jain '23, and Jiayan Ping '23 will represent Columbia Business School and pitch ATR at the multi business school event hosted by Cornell Johnson in November 2021. The conference is designed to educate MBA students about the rewarding career opportunities available to women in investment management and is a forum for full-time MBA students and investment professionals from sponsoring firms to come together.
Don't forget to register for the 31st Annual Graham & Dodd Breakfast featuring Kim Lew, President & CEO, Columbia Investment Management Company. The event will take place on October 29, 2021 at 8:00am virtually. Register here !
Video Archives
Did you know that the Heilbrunn Center maintains a library of video from past events? Watch past Center and Alumni Club events here . We also have video of the Pershing Square Challenge dating back to 2017 which can be found here . For more Columbia Business School content, visit the School's YouTube channel .
Michael Mauboussin discussed the 2nd edition of 'Expectations Investing' on September 29. Watch the video from the event here .
2nd Annual Roger Murray Lecture Series
The Heilbrunn Center hosted the 2nd Annual Roger Murray lecture series event on August 26, 2021 featuring a conversation with Tano Santos, David L. and Elsie M. Dodd Professor of Finance and Faculty Director of the Heilbrunn Center for Graham & Dodd Investing and Richard Thaler, Charles R. Walgreen Distinguished Service Professor of Behavioral Science and Economics and 2017 recipient of the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences for his contributions to behavioral economics. Video from the event can be found here .
Save the Date for a book talk with Michael Mauboussin as he discusses the updated edition of Expectations Investing on September 29. Invitation to follow.
Update on the performance of the 2016 vintage of the 5x5x5 Russo Student Investment Portfolio
The Center is pleased to report that the sale of the 2016 positions of the 5x5x5 Russo Student Investment Portfolio (AXTA , MA , MCO , ORLY , RR ) resulted in a 134% increase in value over the five year holding period and outperformed the S&P by 30% over the same time period. As shared, the Heilbrunn Center recently purchased new positions (ASML, TEAM, GRUMA B, VWS.CO, YUMC) for the 2021 vintage of the 5x5x5 Russo Investment Portfolio. Visit here to read more about the latest vintage. Funds from the sale of the 2016 vintage were used to purchase these positions.
The idea for a student fund where a limited number of stocks are held for a long time, reflecting the value investing tradition was that of Thomas Russo , partner at Gardner Russo & Quinn and manager of the Semper Vic investment partnership. He designed and funded this first-ever student investment fund at Columbia Business School in 2014.
Save the Date: 2nd Annual Roger Murray Lecture Series Webinar
The 2nd Annual Roger Murray Lecture series will feature a conversation between Richard Thaler , Charles R. Walgreen Distinguished Service Professor of Behavioral Science and Economics, University of Chicago Booth School of Business and Tano Santos , David L. and Elsie M. Dodd Professor of Finance; Faculty Director, Heilbrunn Center on Thursday, August 26, 2021 at 6:00 p.m. Guests can register for the webinar here .
The Heilbrunn Center Needs Mentors, Mock Interviewers, and Modeling Coaches!
The Heilbrunn Center is excited to welcome the Value Investing Program Class of 2022 back to campus in August! As part of the Value Investing Program experience, each student is paired with at least one industry professional to provide guidance and advice on career development, feedback on pitches, and other assistance with networking and recruiting. This mentorship provides our students with the invaluable opportunity to engage one-on-one with an active member of the investing community and has led to many lifelong professional friendships. For those unable to commit the time to a formal mentee, we also offer mock interview preparation for the VI Program students and are building a directory of practitioners to conduct mock interviews and review pitches on a one-off basis.
We are also looking for friends and alumni who are willing to host office hours to help first year students with modeling skills.
If you are interested in participating with the mentorship, mock interview or modeling programs please contact Julia Kimyagarov at [email protected]
Course Offerings for the 2021-2022 Academic Year
The Heilbrunn Center is pleased to annouce its course offerings for the 2021-2022 academic year. New courses include Activism as a Value Strategy taught by Wei Jiang; Short Selling taught by David Horn '02 and Jaime Lester '02; The Case for Boring: Investing in Investment Grade taught by Ellen Carr; The Credit Superhighway taught by Avi Friedman; and The Equity Analyst's Toolkit taught by Mike Kimpel '12. To see the full list of courses, visit Spotlight .
5x5x5 Russo Student Investment Portfolio
The Investment Board for the 5x5x5 portfolio met on June 14, 2021 to select the five positions for the 2021 vintage of the portfolio. The selected ideas included ASML Holding NV (ASML) - Shradha Mani '21; Atlassian (TEAM) - Rainbow Chik '21* ; Gruma (GRUMA B) - Ryan Albert '21* ; Vestas Wind Systems (VWS.CO) - Andreas Helland '21* ; and Yum China (YUMC) - Leo Pertsovsky '21* .
Welcome to the Value Investing Program Class of 2022! To see the class list visit Spotlight .
"From Graham to Buffett and Beyond" webinar
The Heilbrunn Center hosted the 12th Annual "From Graham to Buffett and Beyond" event on May 1, 2021.
The Complete Investor from Debt to Equity and Beyond
The Heilbrunn Center is pleased to annouce an update to the structure of the Value Investing Program. After several years of planning, the Center will launch the changes to the Program in the 2021-2022 academic year. Details about the structure can be found here .
As a reminder, applications for the Value Investing Program Class of 2022 are due Thursday, April 22, 2021.
Congratulations to all of those who partcipated in the 14th Annual Pershing Square Challenge on April 15, 2021. The first place winners were Paul Chandler '21, Jack Devine '21, and David Kilgariff '21 pitching Dolby (DLB). Bill Henry '22, Tom Moore '22, and Dickson Pau '22 pitching Angi (ANGI) took second place. To watch the event in its entirety visit here .
Li Lu '96 and Professor Bruce Greenwald will host a virtual fire side chat on April 9 at 8:30 pm EDT for the 13th Annual Columbia China Business Conference. To learn more visit https://www.cbs-china.org .
14th Annual Pershing Square Challenge
The 14th Annual Pershing Square Challenge will take place on Thursday, April 15 from 6:00pm-9:00pm virtually. Click here for an agenda !
Value Investing Program Speaker Series
The Heilbrunn Center is pleased to launch a new speaker series for the Value Investing Program Class of 2021. To learn more and see the full line-up, visit Spotlight .
Information Session for the 2021-2022 Value Investing Program
The Value Investing Program Informaiton Session for the 2021-2022 academic year will take place on Tuesday, February 9 at 12:00pmET. Students interested in applying to the Program can register here and a copy of the presentation can be found here .
2nd Annual Artisan International Value Stock Pitch Challenge
Congratulations to Amitabh Sahai '21 who won the 2nd Annual Artisan International Value Stock Pitch Challenge with his ptich for DXC. To see the student presentations and watch the full program, visit Spotlight .
Congratulations to the many Columbia Business School students who placed in external, multi-business school stock pitch competitions this fall semester. Visit Spotlight to see the full line-up of results.
Bruce Greenwald, Robert Heilbrunn Professor Emeritus of Asset Management and Finance and Tano Santos, David L. and Elsie M. Dodd Professor of Finance and Faculty Director of the Heilbrunn Center discuss the Second Edition of “Value Investing: From Graham to Buffett and Beyond.”
Visit Spotlight to see the full list of events planned for the fall 2020 semester.
First Annual Roger Murray Lecture Series
The Heilbrunn Center was pleased to host the First Annual Roger Murray Lecture Series event, a conversation with Bruce Greenwald, Robert Heilbrunn Professor Emeritus of Asset Management and Tano Santos, David L. and Elsie M. Dodd Professor of Finance and faculty director of the Heilbrunn Center on August 26, 2020. For those who were unable to join the conversation, a copy of the recording can be found here .
With bidding underway for the 2020 fall semester, the Heilbrunn Center is pleased to share our list of courses for the 2020-2021 academic year. To see the full line-up visit Spotlight .
Watch Tano Santos' recent presentation to the Sao Paulo Alumni Club here .
The Heilbrunn Center Needs Mentors, Mock Interviewers, and Modeling Coaches!
The Heilbrunn Center is excited to welcome the Value Investing Program Class of 2021 back to campus in August! As part of the Value Investing Program experience, each student is paired with at least one industry professional to provide guidance and advice on career development, feedback on pitches, and other assistance with networking and recruiting. This mentorship provides our students with the invaluable opportunity to engage one-on-one with an active member of the investing community and has led to many lifelong professional friendships. For those unable to commit the time to a formal mentee, we also offer mock interview preparation for the VI Program students and are building a directory of practitioners to conduct mock interviews and review pitches on a one-off basis.
We are also looking for friends and alumni who are willing to host office hours to help first year students with modeling skills.
If you are interested in participating with the mentorship, mock interview or modeling programs please contact Julia Kimyagarov at [email protected]
Join us for a conversation between Tano Santos, Faculty Director of the Heilbrunn Center and Leon Cooperman '67 as part of the Business School's Leadership Speaker Series. For more details visit Spotlight .
Five new positions including AON, CTAS, NUAN, OTIS, and PYPL have been added to the 5x5x5 Russo Student Investment Fund . To read the student write-ups for each position visit Spotlight .
Heilbrunn Center Faculty Director Tano Santos recently moderated a conversation "Uncovering Value in a Time of International Crisis" with David Samra '93, Portfolio Manager, Artisan Partners and David Marcus, Portfolio Manager, Evermore Global Advisors. Visit Spotlight to watch the video.
The Heilbrunn Center is pleased to annouce the Value Investing Program Class of 2021. To see the class list and students' LinkedIn profiles, visit Spotlight .
Alumni Edge
Professor Santos recently presented a live lecture "From Value Investing to Modern Value" to those participating in the Business School's new Alumni Edge program. To view the slides visit Spotlight .
13th Annual Pershing Square Value Investing and Philanthropy Challege
The Heilbrunn Center hosted the 13th Annual Pershing Square Value Investing and Philanthropy Challenge on Thursday, April 30th. To read about the event and view the recording, visit Spotlight .
Upcoming Heilbrunn Center Virtual Events - Save the Date
Pershing Square Challenge - Thursday, April 30th, 6:00pm - 8:30pm
"From Graham to Buffett & Beyond" Omaha Panel - Saturday, May 2nd, 3:00pm - 4:00pm EST (2:00pm - 3:00 pm CST)
The Coronavirus Crisis
Heilbrunn Center faculty director Tano Santos presented the Coronavirus Crisis during his Modern Value class on Wednesday. The Heilbrunn Center is planning a webinar for Tano to further share this lecture and looks forward to being in touch regarding this event and other ways to engage with the Center online. In the meantime, to review the slides from the Coronavirus Crisis visit Spotlight .
Interview Prep Workshop
The Heilbunn Center provides recruiting support to students in the Value Investing Program throughout the academic year. Recently the Center hosted an Interview Prep Workshop featuring Eric Hagemann ’11, Senior Research Analyst at Pzena Investment Management, and Jeffrey Marcus, Head of Human Resources at First Eagle Investment Management. To read more visit Spotlight .
Faculty Highlight
Value Investing Program graduates and CBS clustermates, Denis Tolkachev ’15 and Anjali Verghis ’15, have revived the Value Investing in Credit Markets course, last offered in fall 2016. To read about how these new Heilbrunn Center adjuncts are offering a fresh perspective on the course and providing access to investing beyond equities, visit Spotlight .
Photo Highlights from the 23rd Annual CSIMA Conference
The Heilbrunn Center and Columbia Student Investment Management Association (CSIMA) hosted the 23rd Annual CSIMA Conference on Friday, February 7, 2020. To view photo highlights from the event, visit Spotlight .
Women in Investment Management Networking Breakfast
The Heilbrunn Center is hosting a Women in Investment Management Networking Breakfast on March 5, 2020. For more information about the event and how you can register, visit Spotlight .
The Heilbrunn Center recently hosted the Artisan International Value Stock Pitch Challenge. Four finalists from the Value Investing Program as selected by a panel of judges presented their final projects from Applied Value Investing. To read more about the event and ideas presented visit Spotlight .
Finalists in the Artisan International Value Challenge with sponsor and judge David Samra '93
Value Investing Program Information Session
On Thursday, February 20, 2020, the Heilbrunn Center will host the Value Investing Program Information Session for any current 1st year full-time MBA student who is interested in learning more about the application process for the 2020-2021 Program. For more infomation and to register, visit Spotlight .
Register now for the 2020 CSIMA Conference. To see the full agenda visit Spotlight .
To register for this event and learn more about the presentations visit Spotlight .
Course Spotlight: Modern Value
Tano Santos, David L. and Elsie M. Dodd Professor of Finance and Heilbrunn Center Faculty Director, has developed Modern Value, a new course for the spring 2020 semester to answer the question ‘how are we to think about the future of value investing in the face of the changes occurring in financial markets and in the economy at large?’ To read more about this new course, visit Spotlight .
Value Investing Program Student Spotlight: Stephanie Moroney '20
With the end of the year quickly approaching, the Heilbrunn Center caught up with current Value Investing Program student, Stephanie Moroney '20. To read more about Stephanie's experience in the Program during the fall semester, visit Spotlight .
Women in Investing Conference
In November, select Columbia Business School students traveled to Boston to attend the MBA Women in Investing Conference (WIN) hosted by Cornell’s SC Johnson School of Business. To read more about WIN and hear from the students who pitched at the stock pitch showcase, visit Spotlight .
Tickets On Sale for the 23rd Annual CSIMA Conference
Tickets for the 23rd Annual CSIMA Conference are now on sale! This year’s conference will take place on Friday, February 7th in Alfred Lerner Hall on Columbia’s campus. For more information, visit Spotlight .
Save the Date!
Join the Heilbrunn Center for the 5th Annual CSIMA Holiday Party on Tuesday, December 10, 2019 at Public House (140 East 41st Street) from 8:00pm- 10:00pm. Register here !
Neuberger Berman ESG Investing Challenge
Neuberger Berman recently hosted an ESG Investing Challenge that encouraged Columbia Business School students to incorporate environmental, social, and governance (ESG) considerations into their investment process and present an idea that has both positive impact and financial performance. To read more about the event and hear from the winners, visit Spotlight .
5th Annual CSIMA Stock Pitch Challenge
The Columbia Student Investment Management Association (CSIMA) recently hosted the 5th Annual CSIMA Stock Pitch Challenge. To read more about the event and see a list of the winners, visit Spotlight .
Security Anaylsis Class visit to California
Over the recent fall break adjunct professor Chris Begg, Chief Executive Officer, Chief Investment Officer, and Co-Founder of East Coast Asset Management, arranged for students in his Security Analysis class to visit and meet with the management teams of several high-profile California-based companies. To read more about the trip visit Spotlight .
Spring 2020 Course Offerings
Bidding for spring 2020 courses begins next week, and the Heilbrunn Center is pleased to announce our full course offering for the upcoming semester. To see this listing, please visit the Spotlight page.
Faculty Highlight
Adjunct professor Kian Ghazi, Hawkshaw, LLC, teaches Advanced Investment Research in the fall and spring semesters. His class, which requires an application to be admitted, has been part of the Heilbrunn Center's cirriculum since 2013 and is always highly rated and oversubscribed. To read more about Kian and his experience teaching visit the Spotlight page.
Professor Ghazi (far left) speaks with a group of students at the 2018 Value Investing Program Welcome Reception.
Recap of the 29th Annual Graham & Dodd Breakfast
The Heilbrunn Center hosted the 29th Annual Graham & Dodd Breakfast last Friday, October 11 in New York City. To read more about the event, visit the Spotlight page.
Bridging Theory and Practice
Columbia Business School's Heilbrunn Center promotes the dynamic study and development of Value Investing; improves the practice of investing with world-class education, research, and practitioner-academic dialogue; and furthers Columbia Business School's role as the leading resource for investment management. In fulfilling this mission, the Center creates opportunities for students, faculty, and practitioners to come together in and out of the classroom. In the classroom the Center supports more than 40 fund managers who serve as adjunct faculty members. Outside of the classroom the Center regularly partners with the Columbia Student Investment Management Association (CSIMA) to create experiential learning opportunities and provide students with access to investors. While the students are able to hear from many great investors on campus-- just this week the Heilbrunn Center hosted a lunch for 10 students in the Value Investing Program and Ross Glotzbach, CEO and Head of Research at Southeastern Asset Management-- they also gain access to those outside of New York City through the Club’s annual Career Trek Program. Through this student-led program, CSIMA members are able to visit firms in key cities around the world with a group of their peers. This year the students will host four separate treks visiting Boston on November 15 (led by Tanya Kostrinsky '20), Southern California on November 14-15 (led by Navin Ram '20), Asia the week of November 25 (led by Vivan Wang '20) and London the week of November 25 (led by Rodolfo Zeidler). If you are interested in hosting the students at your office while they are in town please contact Meredith Trivedi at [email protected]
Value Investing Program Young Alumni Recruiting Panel
On Tuesday, the Heilbrunn Center invited recent alumni to campus to speak to current Value Investing Program students about their experiences navigating the recruiting landscape. Panelists included Mike Allison ’19, Hawkshaw LLC, Abheek Bhattacharya ’18, Shelton Capital Management, Fernando Concha ’18, 17 Asset Management, and Alexandra Cowie ’17, GAMCO Investors, with Meredith Trivedi, Heilbrunn Center, serving as the panel’s moderator. When asked why the panelists pursued a career in investment management, Abheek, who was a journalist for The Wall Street Journal prior to business school, said that he sees investment management as a fuller way of being a business journalist and understanding the ‘story.’ Alexandra, who worked in investment banking before business school, was drawn to how people-heavy she found the research process which added another dimension to analyzing companies.
When asked how to find the right post-graduation fit at a firm, the group stressed how important it is to find and understand one’s individual core competencies and consider which way of thinking resonates the most when researching potential employers. Mike, who was a career-switcher and worked in crisis management for a fraternity before business school, suggested students consider taking a transitional step after graduation to hone their skills before moving to the buy-side. He also mentioned that when preparing for and selecting what to pitch in an interview, students need to take the time to really understand what each fund is about. He laughed as he told the group that he once pitched a quality compounder name to a deep value shop and added that it’s important to learn from your mistakes. Fernando added that a mistake he made and one that he hopes the group will learn from is not to leave networking and recruiting for later in the academic year despite taking a full course load in the fall semester. He stressed to students that it’s never too early to start developing a network and strengthening relationships. Abheek echoed this message and said that in investment management the way to get a job is keep talking to and meeting people. When asked about beneficial resources that the panelists found helpful, Alexandra said that her strongest advocates were her Value Investing Program professors, who she saw as her mentors and promoters in the field. Mike took this a step further and accepted a full-time position working for one of his former adjunct professors who was a mentor to him both as a student and now professionally. The group also mentioned that students should take advantage of the access to guest speakers both through their classes and the Heilbrunn Center generally. The group, made up of 3 international students, also discussed the challenges with navigating the work authorization landscape. Thank you to these alumni for sharing their experiences and wisdom with our students!
CSIMA Co-Presidents
Heilbrunn Center Women's Initiative
Encouraging women to consider a career in investment management is a top a priority for the Heilbrunn Center, which launched a formal Women’s Initiative in 2018 led by alumnae Lauren Krueger '02, Alexandra Cowie '17, Mallory Downing ’15, Joanna Vu '17, and Jenny Wallace '94. This initiative uses a 3-step approach to pursuing its mission: (1) build the pipeline at the undergraduate level; (2) support the current female MBA population; (3) help graduating students and those who have recently entered the investment management industry to succeed. The Heilbrunn Center’s Women’s Initiative fits within the larger Women’s Initiative at Columbia Business School.
In supporting the current female MBA population, the Heilbrunn Center sends a group of first year female students to the Women in Investing (WIN) Conference annually and pairs these women with professionals at Capital Group for mentorship and coaching prior to the event. Additionally, the Center co-sponsors women’s events with CSIMA and the Private Equity Program, and will host a women’s career panel with the Columbia Women in Business Club on November 12, 2019 from 12:30pm-2:00pm . The panel will feature Mallory Downing ’15, Adakin Capital; Barbara Kotei, KKR and Lauren Young, Advent International. Following last year’s success, the Center will again host a Women’s Only Investment Ideas Club (IIC) on October 10 from 6:00pm-9:00pm along with alumnae office hours for those participating with WIN and the Women’s Only IIC. If you would like to host office hours or serve as a mentor for these students, please contact Caroline Reichert at [email protected]
The Heilbrunn Center is also providing a full tuition scholarship for a student interested in pursuing a career in the field of investment management with a preference for increasing diversity and is also thrilled to announce the new First Eagle Investment Management Foundation scholarship which was awarded to Tanya Kostrinsky ’20 for the 2019-2020 academic year. Thank you to the First Eagle Investment Management Foundation!
Last week the Heilbrunn Center traveled to Southern California to meet with alumni and friends of the Center. While there Tano Santos spoke on the future of value investing at a reception hosted by Sheldon Stone ’78. In his remarks Tano discussed how technology is changing and enhaning the industry, new investment opportunities with companies that exhibit operational inefficiencies, the power of specialization and how these industry shifts are changing the way that we educate our students. It was great to see and discuss these issues with value investors in the region and we look forward to being on the road more. Meredith Trivedi, managing director of the Heilbrunn Center, will travel to Boston in October to meet with alumni there.
Welcoming the Value Investing Program Class of 2020!
Last week, the Heilbrunn Center welcomed students in the Value Investing Program back to campus for a Value Investing block week course taught by our faculty director, Professor Tano Santos. This block week course is a new addition to the Value Investing Program curriculum and is one of the results of the Center’s strategic plan to re-format the structure of the Program. We also hosted a Welcome Orientation and Reception for students after class to kick off the school year and to provide them with an opportunity to network with their professors, mentors, and Value Investing Program alumni.
Current Value Investing Program student, Zachary Lopez ’20, shares his thoughts on what being in the Value Investing Program means to him and what he thought of the new block week course:
Being a member of the Value Investing Program is not just being a part of an exclusive organization at Columbia but rather being part of an amazing, phenomenal family. Each student within the program brings intellectual curiosity, collaboration, and a passion for investing. The program allows students to build a strong framework and understanding of value. Students have access to top investors and have the ability to candidly ask them questions about their investment philosophy.
The Value Investing block week course was an incredible experience! Professor Santos has a true passion for value investing. He brings real world examples to the classroom that allows students to better comprehend the valuation methods and strategies taught. The class acts as a foundation for all students no matter their previous experience and background. This is essential for someone like myself who is a career switcher.
2019 - 2020 Annual Letter
The 2018-2019 academic year was an important year for the Heilbrunn Center as the organization transitioned from a co-faculty director structure to a single faculty director with Tano Santos serving in the role. In this year of transition, Tano Santos and Meredith Trivedi met with key stakeholders including Board members, adjunct faculty members, current students, and alumni to understand their experience at Columbia Business School, in the Value Investing Program, and with the Center in general. From these meetings, the Center developed a strategic plan to re-format the structure of the Value Investing Program, create several new elective courses, and develop a regional alumni and recruiting presence in key cities across the country and world. The Center also launched a new podcast, Value Investing with Legends, which is hosted by Tano Santos and has had nearly 42,000 downloads to date. You can learn more about the initiative at www.valueinvestingwithlegends.com .
Beyond this activity of assessment and strategic development, the day-to-day operations of the Center continued as always. Offering 37 class sections, industry events and experiential learning opportunities, the Heilbrunn Center continued to fulfill its mission of promoting the study and practice of Graham & Dodd’s original investing principles. New classes offered in the 2018-2019 academic year included Seminar in Wealth Management taught by Andrew Gundlach ’01, Director, First Eagle Investment Management and Kristin Gilbertson, Chief Investment Officer, Access Industries; Practice of Wealth Management for High Net Worth Clients taught by Maria Brisbane, Managing Director, Merrill and Alex Zachary, Vice President, Merrill; and Managing for Value taught by Paul Johnson, Founding Partner, Nicusa Investment Advisors. The Center also re-launched the Mental Models course which was taught by Grant Bowman ’10 and Brian Waterhouse ’15, Founding Partners, Hunter Capital. Overall, the Center supported 41 faculty members in 2018-2019 academic year.
Click here to read the full Annual Letter and access past letters.
Are You Hiring?
With summer coming to an end, many companies are winding down their summer internship programs as students make their way back to campus for the upcoming school year. But did you know that many MBA students interested in investment management look for part-time internship opportunities during the school year to supplement their business school experience? If your firm is considering hiring a part-time intern during the academic year, please contact us for more information.
Interested in hiring for a full-time role? The Heilbrunn Center maintains a resume book for students in the Value Investing Program. Please contact us to review the resume book or learn more about posting your firm’s full-time opportunity.
Looking for other ways to get involved with our students? The Heilbrunn Center would appreciate your help in preparing students for upcoming interviews. If you are interested in serving as an interviewer for our mock interview program or participating in our upcoming investment management interview prep panel, please reach out to us .
First Eagle Investment Management Foundation Funds Value Investing Scholarship
Thank you to the First Eagle Investment Management Foundation for funding a five-year, merit-based financial aid award for a student in the value investing program. Increasing diversity in the investment management industry is a priority for the Heilbrunn Center and we appreciate First Eagle Investment Management Foundation’s support.
First Eagle Investment Management continues to be an excellent partner to the Heilbrunn Center and Columbia Business School. The firm, which has hired many Columbia Business School graduates over the years, established the Jean-Marie Eveillard Professorship of Value Investing in 2016. First Eagle Investment Management Director Andrew Gundlach ‘01, a member of the firm’s founding family, is a member of the Business School’s Board of Overseers, the Heilbrunn Center Advisory Board, and the Family Business Advisory Board.
Among its efforts to increase diversity, the Heilbrunn Center has launched a Women’s Initiative, led by alumnae Lauren Krueger '02, Alexandra Cowie '17, Mallory Downing ’15, Joanna Vu '17, and Jenny Wallace '94, which uses a 3-step approach to pursuing its mission: (1) build the pipeline at the undergraduate level; (2) support the current female MBA population; (3) help graduating students and those who have recently entered the investment industry to succeed. This initiative fits within the larger Women’s Initiative at Columbia Business School. Learn more about the Columbia Business School’s Women’s Circle here .
Thank you again to First Eagle for furthering this important initiative.
Summer Reading!
Do you follow Graham and Doddsville on Medium? Find a searchable version of the publication's archives starting from 2008 at medium/graham-and-doddsville. Graham and Doddsville is the Business School's student run investment newsletter that is co-sponsored with the Heilbrunn Center and published three times throughout the year.
Introducing the 2019-2020 5x5x5 Student Investment Fund Vintage
The end of the academic year marks the start of a new vintage for our 5x5x5 Student Investment Fund, which was created and funded in 2014 by Tom Russo, partner at Gardner Russo & Gardner. The idea behind the fund is simple and reflects Graham and Dodd’s long-term value investing principles: five investments with no more than five articulated reasons for each investment are held for five years. The students’ whose ideas are selected for the portfolio become voting members of the Board for the following two years and select which positions will go into the portfolio during that time. The 2017-2018 5x5x5 Investment Board selected the following ideas which were added to the portfolio this summer:
1. Align Technologies (ALGN)- submitted by Michael Wooten ’19
2.Becle, S.A.B. de C.V. (BMV: Cuervo)- submitted by Michael Allison ’19
3. Booking Holdings Inc. (BKNG)- submitted by Jeffrey Johnson ’19
4. Mohawk Industries (MHK) – submitted by Neethling McGrath ’19
5. Rollins, Inc. (ROL)- submitted by Winter Li ’19
At the end of five years, the original amount, accounting for inflation, will be invested back into the 5x5x5 Fund and the remainder of any gains will be used to support current-use scholarships for students interested in investment management.
Listen to the season finale of our Value Investing with Legends Podcast to hear from Tom Russo and three of the newest 5x5x5 Investment Board members.
For more information and to take a look at the write ups for each idea in our portfolio, please visit our 5x5x5 Student Investment Fund page . Also, check back in with us next summer to see how the first vintage, invested in summer 2015, performed!
Tickets are now on sale for the 29th Anuual Graham & Dodd Breakfast!
The Heilbrunn Center is delighted to host Cliff Asness, Managing and Founding Principle of AQR Capital Management, for the 29th Annual Graham & Dodd Breakfast on October 11, 2019 from 8:00 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. at the Pierre Hotel in New York City. Inaugurated in 1990, the Graham & Dodd Breakfast exemplifies eight decades of Graham and Dodd tradition at Columbia Business School. This event brings together alumni, students, scholars, and practitioners for a forum on current insights and approaches to investing and provides a great opportunity to connect with classmates and colleagues. To purchase a ticket to this event please register here .
Help Us Keep You Connected!
The Heilbrunn Center has a robust schedule of activities in New York City, and we are working to strengthen our network and expand our calendar of events to other regions around the world. Help us stay in touch by completing this secure form which will ensure we have your most up to date contact information, including your geographic location. By doing so, you will receive the latest Heilbrunn Center news, information about upcoming events, and ways to get involved. We look forward to staying in touch!
For those alumni and friends in Southern California, Heilbrunn Center faculty director, Tano Santos, and Heilbrunn Center managing director, Meredith Trivedi, will be in Los Angeles September 4-6! Stay tuned for more information on ways you can connect with them during their visit.
The Heilbrunn Center is excited to welcome the Value Investing Program Class of 2020 back to campus in September! As part of the Value Investing Program experience, each student is paired with at least one industry professional to provide guidance and advice on career development, feedback on pitches, and other assistance with networking and recruiting. This mentorship provides our students with the invaluable opportunity to engage one-on-one with an active member of the investing community and has led to many lifelong professional friendships. For those unable to commit the time to a formal mentee, we also offer mock interview preparation for the VI Program students and are building a directory of practitioners to conduct mock interviews and review pitches on a one-off basis.
If you are interested in participating with the mentorship or mock interview program please contact Caroline Reichert at [email protected]
