The 3rd Annual UCLA Anderson Investing Conference took over Korn Convocation Hall today for a daylong look into the state of investing and global economics. Topics such as “Behavioral Finance in the Digital Age,” “Equity Investing: Uncovering Opportunities in Bull Markets,” “Global Credit: Navigating Uncertain Waters” and “U.S. Real Estate: From Boom, To Bust, To Rebound, To…” dug deep into current market conditions.
Dean Judy Olian noted that UCLA Anderson faculty help provide insights into market phenomena as a matter of course, and highlighted recent award-winning research by Associate Professor Andrea Eisfeldt. Her paper, co-written with Dimitris Papanikolauou of Kellogg, received the prestigious 2013 Smith Breeden Prize awarded for best paper of the year in the Journal of Finance. The paper, “Organization Capital and the Cross-section of Expected Returns,” analyzed the effect of organization capital on asset prices and argued that firms with high levels of that capital tend to be riskier than firms with more physical capital. “That’s just one example of important research at Anderson that has significant market implications,” said Olian, “and why this kind of dialog between Anderson and the financial and investment communities is so valuable."
The final keynote by keynote by Steven Romick, managing partner of First Pacific Advisors, provided a glimpse into his firm’s investment strategies and gave attendees a chance for a Q&A. When asked about how MBAs can prepare themselves for the real world, Romick replied that his advice for them would be the same as he would give to everyone who wanted to practice his form of value investing. “Learn to be a psychologist. Learn how the world works and how you work. How will you react to pressures?” he said. “Whatever you want to do, apply yourself to be an independent thinker. Do what fits with your skills and what you love.”
The day ended with a cocktail and networking reception for attendees.
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