本期节目，我们邀请了罗素学生投资基金的设计者Tom Russo，以及两位表现出色的学生James Shen和Freda Zhuo，共同探讨该基金的特色、投资选择、学习经验以及过去五年的表现。这个由哥伦比亚商学院价值投资课学生运营的基金，每年选出五个学生的五个投资想法，持有五年后，原始投资额将重新投入基金，其余收益用于支持奖学金。

🎓 该基金与其他学生运营基金相比的独特价值在于其长期持有和再投资于教育的理念。【详细】

📈 James Shen选择投资Nuance Communications的原因，以及他从最初研究到投资后观察到的变化。【详细】

☁️ 投资者应关注向云基础软件转型的公司，James对此的看法和Nuance的竞争优势。【详细】

💡 Freda Zhuo对Aon PLC的投资兴趣，她从投资中学到的东西，以及Aon如何应对COVID-19的影响。【详细】

🌐 通过5x5x5基金过去五年的观察，对构建韧性投资组合的思考，以及Tom Russo对基金和参与者的评价。【详细】

Welcome back to a new season of the show! Our first conversation is going to be a little different as we’ll be talking about this year’s picks for the 5x5x5 Russo Student Investment Fund. Joining me today is Tom Russo, who designed and funded this first-ever student investment fund at Columbia Business School in 2014, and students James Shen and Freda Zhuo, whose portfolio picks have performed particularly well.

The 5x5x5 fund is run by the students of the Value Investing course at Columbia Business School, with ideas being submitted by the students each year. Five students are selected with five ideas that will be held in their entirety for five years. At the end of five years, the inflation-adjusted original amount is invested back into the fund and any other gains will be used to support scholarships for traditionally under-represented members of the class. As we enter year six of the fund, we’re taking a deeper look at the performance of the fund.

On this episode, Tom, James, Freda and I discuss how the 5x5x5 fund is more valuable than others, why James and Freda selected the particular companies for investment, what they have learned since investing in those companies, overall observations of the past 5 years of the fund, and so much more!

 

Key Topics:

Why the 5x5x5 fund is more valuable than other student-run funds (1:35) The higher purpose of the fund (2:42) How Nuance Communications attracted James’ attention (3:41) What James learned from his initial research into Nuance (4:43) The changes James has seen in the months since the initial investment was made (5:57) Why investors should be on the lookout for companies making the transition to cloud-based software (6:42) Getting comfortable with a long investment horizon (8:16) Nuance’s competitive advantages over new players entering the market (9:24) Why Freda became interested in investing in Aon PLC (11:09) What Freda has learned about Aon since investing (12:12) How Freda maintained confidence in Aon despite the hit caused by COVID-19 (13:05) Significant developments in the insurance industry due to COVID-19 (14:32) Aon’s risk management advantage (17:58) Why Aon’s customer-centric model gives them an extra edge in client retention (20:28) How Aon mitigates disintermediation risk (23:00) Using new technology as an advantage for Nuance communications (25:49) How Aon covers risks internally (28:15) The redistributive nature of the shock caused by the pandemic (31:57) Observations from the past five years of the 5x5x5 fund (33:09) What to consider when constructing a resilient portfolio (36:22) Tom’s review of the fund and participants (40:47) And much more! 

Mentioned in this Episode:

5x5x5 Student Investment Fund
James Shen’s Write-Up of Nuance Communications Freda Zhuo's Write-Up of Aon Plc

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