Dear Readers,
I hate to do this, but given the wonderful state of affairs in the market for jobs in investment management, I am running out of options. For those of you who do not know me, I am currently a first year MBA at the Anderson School of Management at UCLA. I went to the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania for undergrad. After that I spent about four years working for my family in commercial real estate before my inoculation into the value investing world. From there I was fortunate enough to work at two small, long/short hedge funds in the New York City area, focusing mainly on financials. I think I understand the banking and P&C insurance sectors the best, but I have had plenty of exposure to other sectors. Specifically, the time I spent focusing on financials was mostly based on the market environment that included very attractive short opportunities (October 2007 to early 2009) and then compelling long opportunities (March-April 2009).
Right now I happen to be looking for hidden value among financial companies that have been left behind by this improbable and seemingly bulletproof market rally. I have been pitching both Synovus (SNV) and PMA Capital Corp. (PMACA) to just about anyone who will listen. They have both had very nice runs since I started recommending them but I still believe that they both offer long term, patient investors significant upside potential. If anyone would like to see my research on either company feel free to check out this post on SNV but stay tuned for my updated research on both companies.
I am looking for an internship position this summer that will help me become a better analyst and a better investor. To be honest, I am not focused on working for a "big name" fund. What I care about is working for a smart manager who can help me improve my research skills and for whom I can add a lot of value. I now am going to say something that people are never supposed to say: I don't care about being paid this summer. I am much more interested in finding an opportunity to learn and to potentially secure a full time position for when I graduate in June 2011. Clearly, I would rather not work for free because I know my research has the potential to help boost returns, both on the long and short sides. But, in the grand scheme of things, 10 weeks of salary will be just about meaningless if I can get one step closer to living my dream of being a portfolio manager.
So, I am looking for help from readers and from those in the value investing space. Anyone who has seen my recent notes from the Berkshire meeting, the Wesco meeting or the Value Investing Congress can see that I have a passion for investing. I am dedicated to making securities analysis a part of my life for the long run. Accordingly, if you know of anyone who could use a diligent and disciplined value-biased analyst for the summer, I would appreciate your willingness to keep me in mind. I am happy to email out copies of my resume and even sample research to anyone who might be interested.
Thank you for your time and for anything you can do to help.
Sincerely,
Ben Claremon
The Inoculated Investor
skip to main |
skip to sidebar
You can also follow me or contact me on Twitter: InoculatedInves
“Warren Buffett once wrote that value investing is like an inoculation--it either takes or it doesn’t--and when you explain to somebody what it is and how it works and why it works and show them the returns, either they get it or they don’t.” -Seth Klarman of the Baupost Group
The Inoculated Investor Has Moved
As of February 2012, all future posts from The Inoculated Investor will appear at http://covestreetcapital.com/Blog/?cat=14. Please visit the site to subscribe to Cove Street Capital's blog.
Feel free to email me at inoculatedinvestor@gmail.com if you have any comments or questions.
You can also follow me or contact me on Twitter: InoculatedInves
The Inoculated Investor
Labels
- Book Review (1)
- Charity (1)
- Conference/Speaker Notes (15)
- Cove Street Capital (1)
- Donations (1)
- Equity Research (13)
- Fund Manager Positions (14)
- Interview (1)
- Market Commentary (60)
- Misc. (2)
- Must Read Links (50)
- Press/In The News (2)
- Upcoming Events (2)
- Videos (5)
5 Best Value Investing Quotes
- Seth Klarman: “It turns out that value investing is something that is in your blood. There are people who just don’t have the patience and discipline to do it, and there are people who do. So it leads me to think it’s genetic.”
- Seth Klarman: “It sounds kind of crazy, but in times of turmoil in the market, I’ve felt a sort of serenity in knowing that I’ve checked and re-checked my work, one plus one still equals two regardless of where a stock trades right after I buy it.”
- Howard Marks (Oaktree Capital): “For forty years I’ve seen the manic-depressive cycle of investor psychology swing crazily: between fear and greed – we all know the refrain – but also between optimism and pessimism, and between credulity and skepticism. In general, following the beliefs of the herd – and swinging with the pendulum – will give you average performance in the long run and can get you killed at the extremes.”
- Bruce Greenwald (First Eagle Funds): "There are no bad days in the market. When the market is down, you’ve got bargains, and it’s lovely to think of what you are buying at low prices. When the market is up, the bargains have gone, but you’re rich.”
- Mohnish Pabrai (Pabrai Funds): “Warren Buffett has said many times that people either get value investing in five minutes or they won’t get it in five years. So, there is something in the human brain, that for some of us, makes all the difference in the world right away and the patience it requires is part of the wiring process.”