Weekly Blog #8

Due Date: October 20th, 2014

By: Matthew W. Blair

       This week was rather relaxed, we had to do a couple things while at the same time we were responsible for meeting with professionals and conducting informational interviews. Miscellaneous work this week consisted of a research assessment, last weeks blog, our display board plan and interview assessments.

       This week I met with Mr. Jon Gattman, Founder and Portfolio Manager at Cloverdale Capital in Dallas. Meeting with him was very productive and beneficial. Cloverdale is only about a month old and had a very successful launch, as Mr. Gattman said. He provided me with a lot of useful information for my research. Cloverdale started off with approximately $65 Million, and is already making profits. Mr. Gattman was a really cool person to meet with. He had an interesting perspective on what I should major in college; he said that, while finance is beneficial, he is more inclined to hire someone who has a major in applied math, engineering or a social science because those majors are good at teaching one how to problem solve. He also said it was very important to set yourself apart, and the two big ways he recommended were: Investing on your own and make good grades. Overall meeting with Mr. Gattman was beneficial.  

       

Weekly Blog #7

Due Date: October 20th, 2014

By: Matthew W. Blair

       This week in ISM was typical; nothing out of the ordinary was assigned or completed. The week consisted of calling and setting up interviews with professionals in our field, a research assessment, keeping up with our portfolios, and other miscellaneous assignments.

       This week I was able to get an interview with the CFO of Noble Royalties in Addison, Mr. Eric Dibble. He is the “cash manager”, in his own words, at Noble Royalties. Noble Royalties deals with the sales and investing of oil and petroleum royalties. Although he is not a Hedge Fund manager he is an expert in the field of finance and was about to give me some insight and advice in the field. He is CPA certified and said that I should definitely pursue my double major in finance and accounting. He advised doing so because, for himself, being CPA certified has only given him an upper hand. Even though he is not currently in accounting, he says the knowledge he gained from accounting and being a CPA helps him vastly. He said that I was on a very good tract, ahead of my age in a sense; although he did advise me to make sure to enjoy my age, because you cannot go back at a later age. He has some contacts at a hedge fund in Dallas that he is going to explore for me and will share them with me when/if he finds them. Overall it was a very successful interview.

       Last week I was extremely proud of my research assessment. It was an article about how hedge funds “get away” with making so much, but only have average results. I was able to disprove a couple of the writer’s points, which was exciting. I used the knowledge I gained from my first interview with Mr. Matt Higbie and my personal knowledge of the field.     

This week was a good one. I am extremely excited for this next week though, for I have an interview with a hedge fund manager Tuesday and I can honestly say I have never been more excited for anything else in my life.

      

Weekly Blog #6

Due Date: October 6th, 2014

By: Matthew W. Blair

         This week was a busy one. Our assignments included: Business Symposium Thank You notes, scheduling two interviews by Friday, conducting interviews, and our usual research. I have made one of two thank you notes for my interviewers at symposium, and will have those 100% complete by next week.

         To start off the week I decided to call a couple Hedge Funds in Dallas and attempt to schedule interviews; that first day did not go so well. Not a single fund was able to schedule with me for various reasons. Some because they did not have time, others were traveling, and some just said no. As off-putting as that was I continued, and with the help of some of my resources I got two interviews scheduled before Friday. One was a phone interview on Thursday with Mr. Matt Higbie at Carlson Capital LP, and the other is scheduled for October 22^nd with Mr. Jon Gattman of Cloverdale Capital. After my interview on Thursday I was full of excitement, I spoke with Mr. Higbie from Carlson Capital LP. He deals with investing in banking companies at Carlson and was able to teach me some very interesting strategies of investing that Carlson uses. It was so exciting to get to talk to someone about investing and not have to clarify what a certain word meant. The biggest compliment I received from him was how ahead I am; with my reading and knowledge of the field he said that at my age he was not doing what I am. I took as a compliment and will follow the other advice he gave me. I hope to remain in contact with him and possibly schedule another interview with him, but at Carlson in Dallas.

         This week was, yet again, a horrible week for the market. Brent Oil dropped below $90 a barrel, the Dow fell below its recent 17K achievement steadily this week, the S&P and Nasdaq both had less than desired performances’ this week, upon Tesla’s release of its newest model the stock fell and ended the week over 7 points down, and to top it off the Russell 1000 showed a slight rally Wednesday but still ended the week down. Overall just another horrible week for the market to add on to the previous two bad weeks.

         Per my teacher’s inquiry and my own I have began researching all the previous market crashes and watching the market for telltale signs. I began reading “Too Big To Fail” by Anderson Ross Sorkin, which covers in depth the 2008 subprime mortgage boom and crash. On the side I have created bear market friendly portfolios that should prove resistant to a crash. The assets in the portfolio are mainly ETFs and Bonds that have shown either a rise in price or stagnation throughout this bull market and the 2008 crash.

Weekly Blog #5

Due Date: October 6th, 2014

By: Matthew W. Blair

         This week ended our first marking period. I would say that it went smoothly and was the positive start to the year that I needed. Knowing that by taking this class I have an advantage over my peers only inspires me to work harder.

         Friday we attended the ISM Business Symposium; it was a successful experience to say the least. At the Symposium we gained a sense of comfort during interviews through at least two practice interviews with professionals. My first interview was with a member of the FBI. He had little to no knowledge of hedge funds due to the difference between the two careers, however he taught me the importance of people skills. My second interview was better; I met with a GM Financial employee. He actually knew what a hedge fund was which was a first for the day, as it is a lesser-known career in Frisco I suppose. We talked about how he, much like a hedge fund, has to report to and deal with the SEC (Securities Exchange Commission). I knew going into the day that I would not have had the opportunity to meet with a hedge fund manager because there were not any present, however it was still a productive day. Many of the business philosophies I have either read about or my Father has taught me were reinforced by the professionals I met with Friday. If I could change one thing about that day I would have made an effort to meet with one of the bankers that were present, for I could not because they were not provided to my group.

         Overall this past week was a success and a great ending to the marking/grading period. Now I get to begin setting up interviews over the phone, and meeting with Hedge Fund Managers.