Paul Johnson and Paul Sonkin – The Perfect Investment (Capital Allocators, EP.32)

Capital Allocators – Inside the Institutional Investment Industry

Ted Seides – Allocator and Asset Management Expert

Investing, Capitalallocation, Business

4.8 • 806 Ratings

🗓️ 27 November 2017

⏱️ 61 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Paul Sonkin and Paul Johnson are investors, professors, and co-authors of Pitch the Perfect Investment. Paul Sonkin is an analyst and portfolio manager at GAMCO Investors and has researched small, micro, and nanocap companies for a quarter century. He taught for 16 years at Columbia Business School. Paul Johnson runs advisory firm Nicusa Investment Advisors, and previously was a top-ranked sell side analyst, hedge fund manager, and an investment banker across 35 years. He also taught 2,000 students across 40 classes at Columbia Business School and Fordham University, and has received a host of awards for his prowess in the classroom.

Their recently released book is the first I’ve come across that reverse engineers a portfolio manager’s thought process. It starts with crystal clear first principles of business analysis and covers everything an analyst needs to know to identify a great stock. Then, Paul and Paul describe how portfolio managers assess ideas. Their framework is targeted for analysts starting their careers in the field, but seasoned portfolio managers and allocators both will also learn a lot about communication with their teams from the clear descriptions and colorful examples in the book.

Our conversation covers the concept of the book, the wisdom of crowds, getting an ‘edge’, the four questions every portfolio manager needs to answer, and the role of creativity in investing. These gifted professors offer clear terminology for investment first principals and along the way offer a renewed appreciation for how difficult it is to beat the markets.

For more episodes, go to capitalallocatorspodcast.com/podcast

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Capital Allocators is brought to you by Ten East, an investment platform for sophisticated investors to access private markets.
0:10.5	Ten East brings benefits of having your own family office without the cost and headaches of doing so.
0:16.8	It's founded and led by Michael LaFelle, former deputy executive managing member of Davidson Kempner.
0:24.2	Michael and his investment team offer members the opportunity to co-invest by offering at their
0:29.1	discretion. Michael and his team source, diligence, and commit material personal capital to each
0:35.3	investment. The opportunities shared on the Ten East platform
0:38.9	offer exposure to private credit, real estate, niche venture and private equity, and other
0:44.5	idiosyncratic investments that typically aren't available through traditional channels.
0:49.2	The principles have over a decade track record of investing in these types of exposures
0:53.5	across more than 350
0:55.7	transactions. Post-investment, the Tennis team conducts ongoing monitoring and reporting,
1:01.8	just as you'd expect from an institutional investment organization. I've known Michael for about a
1:07.0	decade, and after becoming impressed by the quality of 10 East offerings, its research process,
1:12.2	and high-quality investment team, I became an advisor to the organization, an investor in multiple
1:18.0	offerings. You can learn more and join me as a member at 10-east.com. That's the number 10,
1:25.4	east.co.O.
1:33.5	Capital Allocators is also brought to you by SRS Aquium.
1:37.3	Want to make sure your M&A processes aren't stuck in the past?
1:43.6	How about partnering with a company that's been defining the future of dealmaking for nearly two decades instead?
1:44.4	When it comes to M&A innovation, SRS Aquium has reshaped the way deals get done more than anyone
1:50.9	else, streamlining processes for maximum efficiency and minimum headaches.
1:56.6	Professional shareholder representation? Online M&A payments, digital stockholder solicitation,
	...

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