David Kern
Verified
Knowledgeable of equity, fixed income and alternative strategies - separate accounts, mutual funds, hedge funds, private equity and venture capital. Also, knowledgeable of growth and value investing styles. Familiar with investment firms across asset classes.
Portfolio Manager: Co-Portfolio Manager for long-only and long/short equity portfolios across mutual funds, separate accounts, a long-only concentrated equity partnership and a long/short equity partnership. Long-term performance outperformed benchmarks.
Senior Research Analyst: Conducted and assimilated in-depth fundamental research which combined company, industry and macro level information to determine investment attractiveness. Knowledge across most economic sectors. Focus where positive/negative change is occurring. Look for opportunities when informed conclusions differ from common beliefs. Emphasized small and mid-sized companies. Also researched and selectively invested in large-cap companies.
As an institutional investor, I take a forward thinking, long-term investment approach to identifying, analyzing, researching and investing in growth companies capitalizing on significant secular growth opportunities.
Performed detailed financial analysis of the income statement, balance sheet, cash flow statement and footnotes to assess the strength of the operating model. Familiar with different accounting methodologies. Experienced at financial modeling and translating strategic/tactical decisions into impact on the operating model.
Analyzed quarterly earnings conference calls, attended investor conferences and analyst events, engaged sell-side research analysts to discuss company and industry dynamics, discussed and participated in capital raising activities with company and investment bankers.
Conviction in the company’s success combined with sensitivity to valuation (absolute and relative) and investor psychology determines the attractiveness of the investment.
Non-investment responsibilities included managing the investment and non-investment professionals, marketing and client service, launching new products, conducting quarterly performance reviews, determining salary/bonus levels and making hiring/firing decisions. Worked closely with the CFO and his team on developing and implementing financial budgets, compliance programs and employee benefits (401K, health care and life/disability insurance) as well as interfacing with external tax, audit and legal firms.
Investment Committee member (not-for-profit): Balanced portfolio with asset allocation generally at 65% equity and 35% fixed income/cash. Invested in mutual funds across large-cap growth, large-cap value, mid-cap growth, mid-cap value, small-cap growth, small-cap value, international, corporate and government fixed income (short, intermediate and long duration). Preferred active managers with sensitivity to fees when value-added performance could be obtained. Broad based Index and ETF’s used on occasion.
Skilled at interviewing senior executives, key opinion leaders and customers to understand management capability, strategic initiatives and competitive advantages. Insightful questions plus careful listening to verbal and non-verbal responses is important for gaining insight into how performance was generated and changes occurring which could alter future performance.
I am an analytical person with high integrity and strong work ethic. I am a self-starter, problem solver and my critical thinking ability combined with my strong communication skills (oral and written) enables me to be a strong team member.