Spotlight
The Heilbrunn Center is pleased to report the selections for the 2020 vintage of the 5x5x5 Russo Student Investment Fund including AON (Freda Zhuo '20), CTAS (Tanya Kostrinsky '20), NUAN (James Shen '20), OTIS (Stephanie Moroney '20), and PYPL (Rodolfo Zeidler '20).
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 & Gardner and manager of the Semper Vic investment partnership. Russo explained in an interview in 2015, that “Students ought to have an opportunity to learn more from student investment funds and from the grim review of the shortfalls of most funds that are in practice today. ‘5x5x5’ simply means to have five investments, with no more than five articulated reasons for each investment and then hold those investments for five years.” With 5x5x5, after five years there will be 25 investments in the portfolio, “so there will be plenty of occasions to learn important lessons from those investments over time.” 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.
With the structure of the Fund, 2020 was the first year that the Center needed to sell a vintage--2015 which included CDK (Brian Waterhouse '15), CMI (Mallory Downing '15), DE (Patrick Enriquez Fischer '15), QCOM (Richard Taddonio '15), and WEIR (Oystein Kvaerner '15) -- in order to fund the 2020 purchases. In addition to allowing for the original $250,000 plus inflation to go back into the portfolio, gains from the 2015 vintage will also provide nearly $30,000 in financial aid.
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 here to watch the discussion.
The Heilbrunn Center is pleased to annouce the Value Investing Program Class of 2021!
Professor Santos recently presented a live lecture "From Value Investing to Modern Value" to those participating in the Alumni Edge program. To view the slides visit here.
13th Annual Pershing Square Value Investing and Philanthropy Challenge
The Heilbrunn Center hosted the 13th Annual Pershing Square Value Investing and Philanthropy Challenge on Thursday, April 30th. This year’s event took place virtually and over 700 viewers tuned in from all over the world. The five finalist teams from the Applied Security Analysis course, taught by Anuroop Duggal and Michael Herman ’15, presented their pitches to an esteemed panel of judges led by the event’s sponsor, William Ackman, Pershing Square Capital Management. The judges panel also included Leon Cooperman ’67, Omega Advisors; Mario Gabelli '67, GAMCO Investors; Dahlia Loeb, Arcadia Investment Partners; Anthony Massaro, Pershing Square Capital Management; Jillian McIntyre, Appian Way Asset Management; Anna Nikolayevsky '98, Axel Capital Management; and John Paulson, Paulson & Co. Inc.
The five teams pitched the following:
- Ball Corporation (BLL)- Rafael Matos ’20, Laethitia Patadji ’21, Lu Ye ’20
- Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. (BR)- Ryan Albert ’21, Rainbow Chik ’21, Michelle Ritter ’21
- EPAM Systems, Inc. (EPAM)- Manas Bajaj ’21, Akshay Chawla ’21, Amitaabh Sahai ’21
- Sysco Corporation (SYY)- Kyle Campbell ’21, Shaunak Misra ’21, Michael Weng ’21
- Verisk Analytics, Inc. (VRSK)- Ruth Chen ’21, Yi Cheng ’21, Mark Hu ’21
Congratulations to our first place winners Manas Bajaj ’21, Akshay Chawla ’21, Amitaabh Sahai ’21 who pitched EPAM Systems, Inc. (EPAM) and to our second place winners Kyle Campbell ’21, Shaunak Misra ’21, Michael Weng ’21 who pitched Sysco Corporation (SYY). In keeping with the philanthropic spirit of the event, the winning teams will receive a financial prize from Pershing Square and will decide the amount of the prize that they wish to keep and the amount that they wish to donate to an area of their choosing within Columbia Business School.
Thank you to William Ackman for his generous sponsorship of this event! To view the recording of the event, click here.
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, 3:30pm - 4:30pm EST (2:30pm - 3:30 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, you can review the slides from the Coronavirus Crisis here. You can also hear Tano’s conversation with Michael Mauboussin in Investing in the Value Investing with Legends podcast Investing in Times of (the Coronavirus) Crisis here.
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. Eric and Jeffrey were interviewed by Meredith Trivedi, Managing Director of the Heilbrunn Center and answered questions related to the number of pitches that students should have prepared in their library to share throughout the recruiting process; how students should tactically think about preparing for an interview; some of the biggest mistakes that people make in an interview; how indiviudals can set themsleves apart; and how should they think about long term career planning . The speakers provided valuable advice on interview tactics and career planning from both investing and HR perspectives. The two stressed the importance of preparation and finding the right cultural fit through the process. Thank you to Eric and Jeff for a great discussion!
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. These new Heilbrunn Center adjuncts are offering a fresh perspective on the course and providing access to investing beyond equities.
Tell us a little about yourselves.
Anjali: Although I was a biological sciences major in college, my entire career has been on the buyside in credit. After university, I worked for Wells Fargo's principal investing group for three years. I graduated from CBS in 2015 (Denis and I were on the same learning team!), and after business school, I worked for GSAM before joining Korea's sovereign wealth fund.
Denis: I grew up in Russia and attended the Ohio State University for college, moving to NYC shortly after graduation and emerging myself into the world of finance. After 5 years working in investment and merchant banking, long/short equity hedge fund, and a real estate / technology start-up I had the dual privilege of ending up on the same learning team with Anjali and attending the Value Investing Program at CBS. Upon my graduation from CBS in 2015 I joined Capital Group, where I now cover Energy and Automotive industries for the High Yield team.
You’re both graduates of the Value Investing Program. How do you feel it helped you in your careers today?
Anjali: In addition to offering its unique classes, the Value Investing Program has helped me to build a network within investment management. The fixed income market consists of a deceptively small community, and it's so nice to be able to call upon a group of people, across the capital structure, with a shared Columbia experience.
Denis: The Value Investing Program helped me develop technical skills, build a strong professional network on the buy-side, and meet some amazing people that continue to educate and inspire me to this day.
Tell us a little about your course, Value Investing in Credit Markets, and how you developed it.
We wanted to create the course that we would have liked to have taken before our first roles in fixed income. Columbia has so many great resources for equity investing, but we thought that we could fill a space in the curriculum for a practitioner-focused introduction to credit investing. We try to reinforce major concepts (fundamental analysis, covenant analysis, valuation) with examples from our own careers as well as case studies from guest speakers.
Why did you start teaching?
We benefited from having fantastic teachers during our own educations, and wanted to try to give back in kind to the CBS community. Of course, teaching helps us to build a deeper understanding of our own subject, and we love having the opportunity to also learn from our students' examples and discussion points.
Any favorite teaching moments so far?
Well, we realized that our content was at least semi-competitive vs. Rugby Happy Hour when we managed to keep the students engaged in class for about 15 minutes after our session was supposed to end at 9pm on a Wednesday!
Photo Highlights from the 23rd Annual CSIMA Conference
Below are a few photo highlights from the 23rd Annual CSIMA Conference, which was held on Friday, February 7, 2020 at Lerner Auditorium on Columbia's campus. Please save the date for next year's Conference on Friday, February 5, 2021.
Women in Investment Management Networking Breakfast
The Heilbrunn Center is hosting a Women in Investment Management Networking Breakfast on Thursday, March 5th from 8:00-9:30 a.m. at the Penn Club. This event will bring together women at various stages of their careers who are currently in investment management. Space for this event is filling quickly, so please register today!
Promoting women in investment management is a top priority of the Heilbrunn Center which established a formal Women’s Committee in 2018. As part of this effort, the Center hosts a number of events, fosters mentorship opportunities, and provides other resources each year to current students, alumnae, and industry practitioners. To learn more about the Center’s Women’s Initiative please visit our Women in Value Investing page.
Finalists in the Artisan International Value Challenge with sponsor and judge David Samra '93
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 their Applied Value Investing class. Ideas included EZ Corp (EZPW) by Sam Semerjian '20, Nuance Communications (NUAN) by James Shen '20, Peleton (PTON) as a short by Bruce Kim '20, and Rolls Royce Holdings (RR/LN) by Alvaro Pasquin '20. Presentations were judged on the quality of the students' research and their concise presentation of a strong investment idea. Congratulations to Alavaro who took first place!
This event, which was orignially established by Alex Porter, founder of Amici Capital (formerly known as Porter Orlin), to honor Moon Lee, a dedicated value investor and employee of Porter Orlin, showcases the achievements of the outstanding Columbia Business School students in the Value Investing Program and provides a valueable networking opportunity for students, alumni, and industry practitioners. Thank you to David Samra '93 and the Artisan Partners International Value team for generously sponsoring this event!
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. Students will hear about the Program and application process from Heilbrunn Center managing director, Meredith Trivedi, and will also hear from current Value Investing Program students Stephanie Moroney ’20 (Cooper/Luft AVI section), Michael Nave ’20 (Renjen/ Oro-Hahn AVI section), Mingming Wu ’20 (Hendrickson/Kimpel AVI section), and Rodolfo Zeidler ’20 (Quinn AVI section). Attendance at this session is mandatory for any student who applies for the Value Investing Program. Please sign up for the session here. If you have questions, please contact valueinvesting@gsb.columbia.edu.
Register now for the 2020 CSIMA Conference on February 7, 2020! The full day's schedule can be found below.
Schedule
8:00 a.m. – 8:45 a.m. Registration and Continental Breakfast
8:45 a.m. – 8:50 a.m. Welcome Remarks
8:50 a.m. – 9:40 a.m. Expert Insight: Robert Shafir ’84, Sculptor Capital Management
9:40 a.m. – 10:30 a.m. Fireside Chat: William von Mueffling ’95, Cantillon Capital Management with Eric Almeraz ’02, Apis Capital Advisors
10:30 a.m. – 10:45 a.m. Refreshments
10:45 a.m. – 11:35 a.m. Expert Insight: Matthew McLennan, First Eagle Investment Management
11:35 a.m. – 12:50 p.m. Best Ideas with Angela Aldrich, Bayberry Capital; Alexander Captain, Cat Rock Capital Management; Brian Gootzeit, StackLine Partners; Clifford Sosin, CAS Investment Partners Moderated by Guy Adami, CNBC
12:50 p.m. – 1:50 p.m. Networking Lunch
1:50 p.m. – 2:40 p.m. Expert Insight: The Managing Directors of Tweedy, Browne Company Moderated by Paul Isaac, Arbiter Partners Capital Management
2:40 p.m. – 3:30 p.m. Fireside Chat: Baruch Lev, NYU Stern School of Business with Michael Mauboussin, Counterpoint Global
3:30 p.m. – 3:45 p.m. Refreshments
3:45 p.m. – 4:45 p.m. Value Investing in Europe Ryan Krafft ’07, Scott Management; Francisco Garcia Parames, Cobas Asset Management Moderated by Tano Santos, Columbia Business School
4:45 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. Networking Reception
Artisan International Value Stock-Pitch Event
The Heilbrunn Center is pleased to annouce the Artisan International Value Stock-Pitch Event on January 31, 2020 from 6:30pm-9:00pm at the Penn Club. Four finalists from the Value Investing Program will present their ideas from the fall 2019 Applied Value Investing classes to a panel of judges. Ideas to be presented include: (1) EZ Corp, Sam Semerjian '20; (2) Nuance Communications, James Shen '20; (3) Peloton, Bruce Kim '20; and (4) Rolls Royce, Alavro Pasquin '20. Thank you to Artisan International Value for generously sponsoring this event!
This event is formely known as the Amici Prize, fomerly Moon Lee Prize. Click here to register.
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?’ The course argues that we can extend the ideas and principles of value investing beyond the traditional focus on the stocks and bonds issued by sound companies but trading at distressed prices and aims to provide a bird’s eye view on what the ideal multi-strategy fund with a value orientation may look like. Key topics to be covered include valuation framework, risk management, investing in time of crises, activism, special situations, private markets, and disruption and trends.
Over the past year, Tano 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. From these meetings, Tano developed Modern Value to ensure that students are being exposed to important new topics facing the industry.
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, and asked her to share her thoughts and experiences with the Program during the fall semester.
I had a very positive experience in the Value Investing Program this fall and believe that I am a stronger investor as a result. It was a lot of work, but it is one of those things where the more you put into it, the more you get out of it. The small classes enabled a strong learning environment, where no question went unanswered and constructive feedback was a core tenant of the Program. The classes included many stock pitches and case studies, and with more repetitions, my research process and pitches improved. At the same time, I was recruiting throughout the fall and spent many hours networking and interviewing for full-time positions. The semester ended with a stock pitch presentation to one of the best value investors, a job offer from my top choice firm and many life-long friends.
Thank you to Stephanie for sharing your thoughts with us! We look forward to seeing all of the Value Investing Program students back on campus in the new year after a well-deserved break!
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. WIN is a two-day event where female MBA students have the opportunity to network with and hear presentations from investment management professionals. Additionally, each school pitches a stock idea at the conference’s stock pitch showcase. Columbia’s pitch team consisted of Christine Bancroft ’21, Jocelyn Bohn ’21, Laethitia Patadji ’21, and Yi Cheng ’21, and the team pitched YETI. Here’s what these students had to say about their experience at WIN:
We received constructive feedback on our YETI pitch from a panel of judges during the stock pitch showcase. From speaking with firms at the networking sessions, we better appreciate various investment styles and approaches. It was inspiring to learn from successful female investors and see how the industry is promoting the inclusion of more women. Overall the conference was a great learning experience and further increased our interest in pursuing a career in investment management.
Congratulations to the pitch team for a job well done! Thank you to Cornell’s SC Johnson School of Business for hosting this event and to Capital Group for serving as Columbia’s industry mentor.
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. A finalized agenda for the day is forthcoming, but we are pleased to announce the following featured speakers:
- The Managing Directors of Tweedy, Browne Company LLC
- Michael Mauboussin, BlueMountain Capital Management and Baruch Lev, NYU Stern School of Business
- Matthew McLennan, First Eagle Investment Management
- Robert Shafir ’84, Sculptor Capital Management (f/k/a Och-Ziff)
- William von Mueffling ’95, Cantillon Capital Management
The Conference will also feature two panels, Best Ideas and Value Investing in Europe.
Tickets can be purchased here. We look forward to seeing you at the Conference!
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. The theme of this year’s challenge was income inequality. Students who participated were paired with mentors from across Neuberger Berman who provided guidance throughout the process. For the Competition itself, teams presented to Joseph V. Amato, President of Neuberger Berman and Chief Investment Officer of Equities; Ingrid Dyott ’03, Co Portfolio Manager of Core Equity and Sustainable Equity Strategies; and Jonathan Bailey, Head of ESG Investing. In addition to prize money for the winners, Neuberger Berman will donate to a 501c3 organization of the winning teams’ choosing. The winners from this inaugural year’s challenge were Kyle Campbell ’21, K.Y. Wong ’20, and Mingming Wu ’20. Here’s what the winners had to say about participating in the challenge:
The Neuberger Berman ESG Investing Challenge was a two-month competition in which teams conducted in-depth equity research with a ESG investing perspective. We are honored to win this competition and learn more about ESG investing, which we believe will be a big wave in the future. Instead of being a restriction, the ESG lens actually could serve as a mental model for one to identify stocks that are financially attractive. For example, we pitched Etsy, an online marketplace, because its ESG impacts reinforce its seller acquisition and retention, rendering it a competitive edge over peers.
Congratulations to Kyle, K.Y. and Mingming for your win! Thank you to Neuberger Berman for this great experience and valuable opportunity for our students.
5th Annual CSIMA Stock Pitch Challenge
On Friday, November 8, 2019, the Columbia Student Investment Management Association (CSIMA) hosted the 5th Annual CSIMA Stock Pitch Challenge. Eight of the top business schools from across the country pitched their investment ideas to 18 investment professionals at the full-day event held on Columbia’s campus. The day also included a breakfast panel where panelists Chuck Harris, ClearBridge Investments, Jaclyn Hourihan, Hamlin Capital, Sohail Shahrasebi, Carlson Capital, and moderator Meredith Trivedi, Heilbrunn Center, discussed recruiting and careers in investment management. CSIMA co-president, David Hao ’20, moderated a lunch discussion with alumni Anna Nikolayevsky ’98, Axel Capital Management, and Michael Weinberg ’98, APG. UCLA Anderson School of Management placed first pitching Kimberly-Clark (KMB) short. Columbia Business School placed second pitching Copart (CPRT) long. The University of Chicago Booth School of Business placed third pitching Beacon Roofing Supply (BECN) long. Thank you to Capital Group, Carlson Capital, Causeway, Citadel, ClearBridge Investments, Fidelity, Hamlin Capital, and T. Rowe Price for their generous sponsorship.
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. The group started their trip in Southern California enjoying dinner with Blas Moros, Operations Supervisor, Glenair. The topic of conversation for this dinner was Compound Learning and it was a robust discussion! Students then had the opportunity to spend a full day at Glenair hosted by Peter Kaufman, CEO of Glenair and author of Poor Charlie’s Almanac: The Wit and Wisdom of Charles T. Munger. The group also met with Brad Gerstner, Founder of Altimeter Capital while in town.
Following the Southern California portion of their trip, students headed north to Mountain View where they spent a full day at Googleplex. The visit included presentations on Google Cloud, Google Brain, Google Ads, Google SRE, Google Search and Q&A sessions with Hamilton Helmer author of 7 Powers: The Foundation of Business Strategy and David Hansell, Head of Aviation Regulatory Affairs and Policy at Google Loon. Thank you to Professor Begg for coordinating this opportunity to bridge theory and practice outside of the classroom! This is the third year that the class has visited Peter Kaufman at Glenair and the second year at Google.
Bidding for spring 2020 courses begins next week, and the Heilbrunn Center is pleased to announce our full course offering for the upcoming semester:
| Course Name | Professor |
|---|---|
| Advanced Investment Research | Kian Ghazi |
| Applied Security Analysis | Anuroop Duggal |
| Applied Value Investing | Eric Almeraz '02 and David Horn '02 |
| Applied Value Investing | Tom Tryforos '84 |
| Art of Forecasting | Ellen Carr |
| Compounders | Anouk Dey and Jeff Mueller '13 |
| Distressed Value Investing | Michael Gatto '93 |
| Distressed Value Investing | Daniel Krueger '02 |
| From Feast to Famine and Back Again: Investing in Credit Markets Through Cycles | Ellen Carr |
| Modern Value | Tano Santos |
| Practice of Wealth Management for High Net Worth Clients | Maria Brisbane and Alex Zachary |
| Security Analysis | Tripp Blum '08 |
| Security Analysis | Michael Mauboussin |
| Value Investing | Tano Santos |
| Value Investing in Credit Markets | Denis Tolkachev '15 and Anjali Verghis '15 |
| Value Investing with Legends | Tano Santos |
While the Heilbrunn Center offers courses for both the MBA and EMBA populations, some of the above listed sections are only open to a particular cohort. Some are also application based and are not open to the bidding process. For more informaiton about a particular course, please contact valueinvesting@gsb.columbia.edu.
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 curriculum since 2013 and is always highly rated and oversubscribed.
Tell us about how and why you got into the field of equity research.
I grew up in a home where my mom was an avid Peter-Lynch-like investor (even before his book One Up on Wall Street was written). For example, she was an early investor in Starbucks when it was just a regional coffee chain in the Pacific Northwest because she and her sister liked the coffee and thought it had a lot of potential for growth. I also remember as a teenager, my mom buying stocks the day after the 1987 crash. She really subscribed to “buy-the-dips,” “long-term-buy-and-hold,” and the benefits of compounding. It was this early exposure to investing, plus a natural strength in math, that led me to a career in equity research.
Tell us about Hawkshaw.
I launched Hawkshaw with my former business partner and still good friend Frank Byrd in 2003. Hawkshaw Capital Management was a concentrated, research-intensive, long-short equity fund. “Hawkshaw” is an 1800s term for detective, and we chose it as the name of the fund to connote our style of investigative research. Behind each investment, we cold called numerous customers, competitors and other industry experts to help us better understand the risks and opportunities on the horizon. We found this research process instrumental to our success. While I closed the fund at the end of 2012, I relaunched Hawkshaw in 2014 as a special sits research service. Today we serve 20 concentrated, research-intensive, long/short equity funds, providing deep dive research on companies in two categories: those undergoing CEO Change, and those undergoing Transformational M&A. The idea is that these are two unique moments of change in the lifecycle of a company, where the likelihood of positive or negative shifts in strategy or execution are heightened. We hunt in these segments to identify interesting long and short ideas for our clients. Each deep dive that we do is supported by the same brand of investigative research that we performed at Hawkshaw the fund. My team includes one of the former analyst at Hawkshaw Capital Management Tarak Kadia (CBS 2009) and Mike Allison (CBS 2019).
Why did you start teaching?
When I closed Hawkshaw the fund, I knew I would miss mentoring and training the young analysts on our team. I wanted to find a similar outlet and teaching seemed like a natural transition. So in 2013 I expressed my interest in teaching to the Heilbrunn Center. I taught my first class in the summer of 2013, and thankfully, I have been teaching at the University ever since.
To date, what’s been your favorite teaching moment?
By far, the most rewarding part of teaching is when students go into their summer internships or full time jobs post-graduation, and then email me sometime afterwards to share how they continue to actively use the tools and techniques that they learned in class and how instrumental it has been to their early success. Having the opportunity to share some of what I have learned over my nearly 30 year career and having it benefit the next generation of young analysts is incredibly rewarding.
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. This yearly event brings together alumni, students, scholars, and practitioners for a forum on current insights and approaches to investing. This year’s hot topic was quantitative investing and featured a fireside chat with Cliff Asness, Managing and Founding Principal of AQR Capital Management, and Heilbrunn Center Faculty Director, Tano Santos. The two discussed the value factor and how that term is often misused and misunderstood; “Buffett’s Alpha,” the famous paper written by Andrea Frazzini, David Kabiller, and Lasse Pedersen; active versus passive management generally; the challenges faced by quant strategies in recent years; and staying true to one’s investment process while being adaptable in a changing world. Asness said that the key is to go into it with bias that your process is right but to keep an open mind…just not so open that your brain falls out! Thank you to Cliff Asness and Tano Santos for a great discussion. Thank you also to Kent Daniel, Senior Vice Dean for Faculty Affairs and the William von Mueffling Professor of Business at Columbia Business School for introducing the program. Please save the date for next year’s Graham & Dodd Breakfast on Friday, October 23rd which will feature Jeff Smith, CEO of Starboard Value.
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 Vivian Wang '20) and London the week of November 25 (led by Rodolfo Zeidler '20). If you are interested in hosting the students at your office while they are in town please contact Meredith Trivedi at mpm2157@gsb.columbia.edu. In addition to the Career Treks, the CSIMA students will also travel to Omaha the weekend of May 1-3 for the annual Berkshire Hathaway Shareholders Meeting. It’s always a pleasure to hear from the oracles of Omaha!
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!
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 cr2917@gsb.columbia.edu.
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 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 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.
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 to past letters.
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.
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:
- Align Technologies (ALGN)- submitted by Michael Wooten ’19
- Becle, S.A.B. de C.V. (BMV: Cuervo)- submitted by Michael Allison ’19
- Booking Holdings Inc. (BKNG)- submitted by Jeffrey Johnson ’19
- Mohawk Industries (MHK) – submitted by Neethling McGrath ’19
- 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.
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 Needs Mentors!
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 cr2917@gsb.columbia.edu.