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Eric Schleien discusses value investing, rational investment analysis, and vital mental models.
Episodes
Wednesday Nov 18, 2020
Wednesday Nov 18, 2020
Show Links
- The Proxy Activism Project
- A New Model For Shareholder Activism (Blog)
- A New Model For Shareholder Activism (YouTube)
- A New Model For Shareholder Activism (Eric Schleien / John King)
- Netflix, Sears, and Tribal Leadership (Eric Schleien / John King)
- How To Keep Large Companies Innovative (Eric Schleien / Scott Forgey)
- Eric Schleien discussing Tribal Leadership
- Eric Schleien discussing Activist Investing
- CBRE Case Study - Tribal Leadership
- Comparing Transformational & Transactional Leadership (Eric Schleien)
- Cultural Issues In The Hospital Industry (Eric Schleien)
Took 9 Years To Develop
ProxyActivism is a project that has taken 9 years to create over the course of thousands and thousands of hours to develop, and finally launch. This blog post will go into the background into how ProxyActivism came to be, our process, how I see this project unfolding, and how you as a value investor can be involved (and no, for all you cynical fucks, I’m not trying to sell you something)
The Initial Insight
My idea for ProxyActivism started when I did an ontological leadership program with a former Vice President of Disney who decided to quit his job and devote the rest of his life to empowering people. I got more in a few days of intense Socratic style inquiry than in all the years of reading books combined. As someone who relied on books to “get ahead” this was a completely new paradigm for me. Within the next few months, my income tripled, I repaired relationships with the people around me, and produced many more results. I figured there must be some application to business as well. And it turned out my intuition was right. The company had a consulting arm. The consulting arm of the organization was recently named one of the top consulting companies in the world by Forbes. At a lecture I attended at NYU, the preliminary internal data at the company was that their average client experienced a 600% increase in profits within 12 months. I thought to myself, “I wonder if I could combine ontological coaching with shareholder activism?”
A Zero Competition Game
I figured this must have already been done and figured I would go work for a hedge fund already doing this and get some experience under my belt. However, after searching, I could not find a single hedge fund that was doing activism this way. Even the funds that talked about so-called “transformations” at companies - were really just doing more “change management consulting” and not actually anything transformational. Nothing wrong with that, just not as reliable or as effective.
So I became very frustrated that I could not find a single hedge fund playing this game called transform companies. I knew I was missing something. Every single business study on this kind of work showed results that any shareholder activist would be salivating over, this was clear alpha, and a low competition game with very high barriers to entry. (If the barriers to entry were low, I would not be writing about this or even talking about this).
Why Is Nobody Already Doing This?
I knew I was missing something but couldn’t figure out what. This was the best idea I ever had in my life for a business and also seemingly the lowest hanging fruit. I just couldn’t get why nobody had taken this on before.
And then it became quite clear.
I called 37 different hedge funds or investment managers that were engaged in some kind of activism. I was excited and figured they would all be competing for me to implement this idea at their fund. I had this vision that I would develop this business as a fund, make a ton of money, and make a ton of people (including myself) extremely successful in this world. These “so-called” rational people however became quite cynical. Not skeptical and open. Cynical and closed off. I couldn’t believe it. Some of them told me this was not their wheelhouse and they were going to stick to what they already knew. Ok fine, I can get that. But an unwillingness to learn something new? Whatever happened to expanding the circle of competence in a low-risk manner that would not take up a lot of time? Interesting. However, there were also managers that told me it sounded like bullshit, that the results sounded too good to be true. I asked them if they wanted me to share with them all the independent case studies out there. Not one person was interested.
The Challenge: Combining Two Domains
Now I was intrigued. Ontological coaching is so outside the realm of these managers because you can’t measure it directly as a function of cause and effect. I started to see that all business management tools and techniques were based on cause and effect and that these managers, while extremely smart at reading numbers or learning about different management techniques, were also completely immature around their thinking when it came to leadership, ontology, and anything transformational in nature. They were inappropriately trying to apply their pre-existing models for management techniques onto a leadership conversation as that was their box of awareness/logic system. Anything outside of that - it was like their thinking-brain just shut down and their survival-lizard brain went into automatic. It was outstanding to watch very intellectually smart people start spewing nonsense trying to make sense of something they had no understanding of into other models that were not relevant to this conversation. Long-story-short, they were unable to or unwilling to get it -- regardless of decades worth of data and case studies.
I figured, fuck these guys, I’ll just work with consultants who already have a great track record of transforming businesses and share with them how doing the work they are already doing in the context of a fund structure would be much more lucrative than charging a rate on their time.
The first person I went to was the CEO of this large consulting arm that had a several-decade long track record of doing ontological/transformational work with businesses, many that are in the billions of dollars in market cap. The CEO was extremely friendly on the phone with me but he flat out said that his company was going to stick to what they do best and not get involved in investing or starting a fund which he saw akin to gambling and “playing the market”.
Fuck…...
Was this why the idea hadn’t been done before?
I reached out to another woman I knew who for 20 years had been producing amazing results with very large businesses charging $5,000/hour for her services. I spent a month outlining an entire business plan and then did a call with her presenting her with the idea. I again explained how if she did what she did in a fund structure she’d make more than her already lucrative $5,000/hour and would be able to generate even more business as the stock price performance would be worth more in marketing than anything she was currently able to do right now. I wanted her to be the woman that when a guy like Bill Ackman or Carl Icahn needed extra support, they could give her a call.
She told me that she wanted to stick to what she was good at and not get involved in the stock market or hedge funds.
Holy fucking shit!!!!!!
It was becoming very clear to me why this had never been done before. The ontological coaching world didn’t know shit about investing and their brains would shut down. They were more akin to getting involved with startups, sexy industries, and today would be into things like Crypto and 3D printing. Again, all worthy pursuits but not to combine value investing/shareholder activism/ontological coaching together.
Resignation & Cynicism
On the flip side, many great investors are great because they are resigned and cynical by nature. Where is management lying to me? How are the books being cooked? Even people reading this article, many great investors may be reading this with their automatic little inner voice saying something like (where is this guy going to try to sell me something or bullshit something). The cynicism is great or investing and looking at raw data, however, it’s horrible for relationships, partnering with others, leadership conversations, creativity, and innovating. They see no or little possibility. Great for investing in a timber company at a huge discount to their land, not so great for transforming a company that doesn’t involve some cookie-cutter management tool that you can neatly fit inside a spreadsheet.
I felt completely defeated. I needed a lot of capital to get this off the ground yet no fund with the capital to do this would even listen to me or attempt to get it. I also needed an ontological coaching skillset to do this. Nobody with a track record in this realm understood value investing and wanted nothing to do with it despite the fact that they were more effective activists than any of the famous hedge fund activists (yet they didn’t even realize how valuable their skillset was). It’s like a biochemist who ends up realizing they can make a ton more money also consulting for a biotech hedge fund yet they want nothing to do with the stock market. Similar idea. It was also daunting because to get a background in ontological coaching would take many years of intense training, it wasn’t some horseshit thing I could do online and get a bullshit life-coaching certificate in a month. Fuck fuck fuck.
Finding A Needle In A Haystack
In one last desperate attempt, I posted a message on Facebook that said something like: “I’m working on a huge project where there is a lot of money involved for the success of this. I need someone who has a background in ontological/transformational coaching, has worked with many businesses over 10+ years, and has a successful track record at doing it”
I figured with everyone I was connected to on Facebook who was part of this industry, someone would know somebody who I could connect with. All I needed was one person to get it. I figured it I found one successful consulting firm or coach to get this, then I could either get their former clients to invest in a fund we start or introduce their former clients to some of these cynical hedge fund managers to get them to see this wasn’t some bullshit motivational garbage horseshit thing I was trying to sell them on (also funny because I wouldn’t even make money unless there was actually success the way this project is structured...but again….their preconceived belief systems overrode any kind of logical and rational thinking).
Meeting John King: Tribal Leadership
Within 24 hours, the messages started coming in. Eventually that led me to a guy who then introduced me to John King the creator of Tribal Leadership who co-wrote a book about his technology with a professor at USC, Dave Logan who started CultureSync. I loved John. He reminded me of Charlie Munger with his intellectual thirst, his independent way of thinking, and his non-stop learning, reading, studying. Like Munger, the guy was a genius (even though he will refuse to let me call him that), and he is a polymath who has the capacity to take principles from one field and synthesize them with another field to come up with completely new insights for looking at the world. When I shared with John how much he reminded me of Munger, he told me he was a huge fan of Charlie and also a lover of mental models. This was my kind of guy. Over the next 5 years he spent countless hours training me to be able to deliver his Tribal Leadership work. Finally I had found a form of ontological coaching I could build the skillset to deliver, I could find people around me who could also deliver this work and now all I needed was a fund manager to supply some capital.
I asked John if he would let me speak to some of his former clients to start getting testimonials together that I could share/use as a resource for fund managers I speak to. He said he would be happy to do that as long as he got consent from the clients first. All of his former clients he asked were happy to give him consent. I ended up speaking to people such as the Founder/CEO of 1st Service Solutions, Ann Hambly to the creator of the Private Client Group at CB Richard Ellis and former head of Colliers International for all of North America, Glen Esnard. I also ended up meeting through John, the guy who created the culture and foundational work at Lululemon when it was just 4 people and who now coaches VP’s at Google, LinkedIn, and PayPal.
Each person I spoke to was fascinating and knew I wanted to work with them on this project if I could in some capacity. They all got what I was attempting to do.
Meeting Chuck Gillman
My big break came around 2017/2018 when I was in Omaha, Nebraska at the Berkshire Hathaway meeting and was attending the annual party I go to every year hosted by Whitney Tilson and Chuck Gillman. I had been going every year since I was 18 and had gotten to know both of them. Chuck has an outstanding track record as a shareholder activist. He runs a family office and only invests in microcap situations where he can do activism. He focuses solely on that. I had shared with Chuck that I had a team of people that I partnered with who had a background in turning around companies focusing on organizational culture and that a year 10 longitudinal study showed an average increase of 3-5x in profits within 24 months of organizations doing the work. Chuck was intrigued and had the humility to get that he had no idea how the technology worked and was completely outside of his circle of competence yet was totally willing to listen for as many hours as it took to understand the process, how it worked, and get a good handle on what we wanted to do. He immediately saw the opportunity where others didn’t. I introduced him to John King on the phone and he was immediate impressed by some of the formers examples of organizations that had used this work such as the private client group of CB Richard Ellis which seemed to defy industry tailwinds during an extremely difficult time for the industry and also Zappos which Tony Hsieh shared about his influence of Tribal Leadership on the company in his book Delivering Happiness and now gives out copies to all his employees.
Today I have a pretty deep bench of trained Tribal Leaders with long track record of executive experience and turning around companies that are ready to get on boards when duty calls.
Going Forward: Our Process
This is what our process looks like going forward.
Identity Microcap Targets
The first step is simply identifying companies that we could bring Tribal Leadership into the organization. This is extremely difficult and the hardest part. The criteria are very strict. The market cap of the company must be under $400 million and ideally below $200 million. On top of that, management must own 10% of the stock or less. Then the management must be underperforming for a long period of time due to incompetence and mismanagement or simply because they’re corrupt.
Talk To Existing Shareholders
However, we do things a bit unconventionally. Instead of taking a position and then attempting to wage a proxy battle, we first start talking to existing shareholders that already own a lot of stock. If we win the election, we then buy a lot of stock in the open market. Yes, it caps our upside but it also limits our downside if the election doesn’t turn out. This is what Chuck has been doing for several decades and it’s a very low-risk and patient approach to being successful and getting people onto a board where there’s activism opportunity. Chuck spends most of his time networking with people who invest in small and microcap stocks with the idea that at some point a small percentage of these people will reach out to him with a company that has been underperforming and management won’t work with them or take any of their ideas and this is a last resort. Now, partnering with Chuck, I have been taking calls on a weekly basis with shareholders from all over the world and it’s been a fascinating and fun experience to meet so many intelligent and interesting people both here in the United States and abroad.
Screening Candidates
The next step is I examine the business model to see if I deem it a candidate for Tribal Leadership. There are some businesses where there really isn’t a shot at being able to do anything. However, often what looks like a strategic issue or mismanagement issue is merely a cultural issue. When you move organizations from Stage 2/Stage 3 to Stage 4 - the managerial strategies and behaviors naturally alter naturally as a function of the new culture and profits increase by a factor of 300% - 500% within 2 years. Results start showing up in as little as 6 months.
If the company seems like a fit, the next step is to call major shareholders and see if they are interested in seeing change and interested in new board members who will be aligned with shareholders. If any of our team gets on the board, the salaries will be extremely low and we will be incentivized with out of the money options. Chuck has a long track record of being friendly towards shareholders once he and/or his team gets on the board. This will be no different….(remember I’m not re-inventing the wheel here...just combining two wheels to create an ultra-wheel).
Paying Legal Expenses & Getting On The Board
Then the next step is we will pay all the legal expenses of the Proxy Battle and we will do it knowing we already have the support of large shareholders. If we know they will vote for our slate, we will spend the money to make it happen.
Once the new board members get elected who already are trained in or have experienced Tribal Leadership for themselves, the next step is actually transforming the culture of the organization.
Reorganization
One of the wonderful things is that this does not require reorganization of any kind. The current structure and configuration of a company work well with Tribal Leadership because the kinds of benefits are in management and leadership capacity and the ability to work together to resolve problems and produce business results. Of course measuring results is important. The great thing about this project is that the fact we will only be working with public companies will make our successes public. The first 1-2 situations will be the hardest. However, as this is proven in public markets (vs ontological coaching being proven outside of a fund structure for 40 years...I know, I know...it shouldn’t matter but it does to most people)....my goal is to get to the point where people start calling us to help them and this process becomes even easier. There is some horseshit conversation that these are “soft skills” which is far from the truth. The soft stuff is the hard stuff. Measuring is easy. You measure before you start a project. Measure after you finish a project. When you go from Stage 3 to Stage 4, the results generally go from 3-5x in measurable results, including the bottom line. There are a variety of different metrics that we utilize as we go through the process. Different metrics are appropriate for different circumstances and cultural stages. For a run down on the different stages of culture, refer to the Tribal Leadership TED talk, here.
Velocity In Results
It also doesn’t take long to implement a new culture. The actual initial training only takes about 2 days. It’s intense with very long days. Many people report it as the most valuable and life altering experience they’ve ever had. That’s not hyperbole either. After the 2 day program, there’s usually half day follow ups every 6 weeks at the beginning until it becomes self sustainable and really gets embedded into every facet of the organization. Generally, it takes 18-24 months to elevate from a Stage 2 or 3 culture to a Stage 4 culture. Results start to show up within 1-2 quarters.
The Myth Of Employee Buy-In
One of the concerns is how to get “employee buy-in” which is some garbage taken from your traditional consultant/flavor of the month who has some strategy or point of view they try to force onto every employee. Employees roll their eyes while pretending to go along because they need to play nice with the boss. It’s the reason why most consultants are a total waste of money. Motivational speakers are even worse. With Tribal Leadership there is no buy-in. Instead we distinguish what is already there in a way people have never seen before. To my knowledge it is impossible to change people. The first step in implementation (buy-in...except not really...will just look like that on the surface) is that we first do a diagnostic that tells us where we are culturally and the prevailing issues or predicaments that are just not getting resolved. This is called “culture mapping.” Then, we look to discover where there already is alignment to create new overall strategies, using the “strategy model.” Then, we drill down and do the work until each and every person has their own map and their own self-designed strategy. Success depends upon the degree to which people follow the strategies that they created themselves. Normally, the people in the C-Suite hand a strategy to the employees and demand “buy-in.”
The way we do it, we involve everybody in the design of their own strategies and the wisdom of the overall strategy all at once.
No Use Of Force
Something we get asked a lot is if we aren’t forcing this upon anyone, why would someone who is already very successful want to partake in something like this. It’s a valid question and a key issue. Those at Stage 3 ‘have it made’ and are in control of those at Stage 2, so their incentive is predictably not great to change their ‘I’m great- You're not’ point of view. However, if the overarching interest of the organization is to elevate their culture and the outcomes and results of the greater group, then the Stage 2/Stage 3 culture must move to Stage 4. In order to do this, the issue of ego and self-promotion on the part of the Stage 3 people must be addressed. The organization will only move to Stage 4 if the issue of the Stage 2/Stage 3 mentality has been successfully addressed. The issue with Stage 3 will always show up in the overall financial success of the company.
The Low Hanging Fruit Alpha
Another thing I get asked by nearly every hedge fund manager is if there’s such a focus on shareholder value, why isn’t everyone doing this? Of course the asshole response would be “because people like you are closed off to this because you’re lazy and/or immature in your thinking.” However, you can’t really say that to anyone. I had this conversation recently with the COO of a business unit of a major multi-billion dollar publicly traded company that’s compounded by nearly 20% over the last 20 years. They implement a similar kind of work at their business and as he said, “it’s the last bastion of alpha because it’s low hanging fruit that nobody is doing so there is no competition.”
The ‘shareholder value’ focus is a focus on the bottom line, not a focus on the cultural vitality of the organization. Tribal Leadership is focused on the well-being and effectiveness of the organization. Ultimately, shareholder value is an outcome of an effective and stable culture. The more effective the culture of the people at work, the more effective their results. Our philosophy and our supporting data have shown that if we effectively attend to the well being of the people doing the work, the quality of their work will show up in measurably higher productivity.
What’s Missing In The Prevailing Model For Shareholder Activism: Icahn, Ackman, Etc
What we do is drastically different and also significantly more effective than what is taught in modern day business schools. Firms like McKinsey and basically every shareholder activist that is using management models, cost cutting, etc is the modern portfolio theory of the leadership world. That doesn’t mean it doesn’t produce results. You can still make money using modern portfolio theory over 50 years. You can still improve shareholder value by cutting costs and improving efficiencies. It’s just leaving a ton of extra value on the table that isn’t even that difficult to attain. It’s low hanging fruit. Business schools are strong on management and weak on training people to be leaders. Management is based on control, domination, survival, and ultimately, fear. Most management is a carrot/stick game. The game is about managing for a result against a diminishing resource - time. Leadership requires transforming the relationships that people have while working together, mutual respect, collaboration, and stability. The culture of an organization is a function of the quality of leadership provided and attended to. If the management disrespects the employee, the employee will slow down and waste the most critical resource that management has - time. If the management provides effective leadership, the employee will respond by using the time effectively. Employees who have the experience of partnership and respect of their employers produce net superior results.
Tribal Leadership builds sustainable environments where leadership and partnership arise naturally. Our data supports the point of view that a focus on culture and leadership produces superior results in a more efficient and sustainable manner than management techniques that focus on operational efficiencies alone.
Nothing Wrong With Management Conversations
I’m also not saying there’s anything wrong with making operations or management more efficient. I’m saying that there’s an entire component that’s missing that’s leaving a lot of low-hanging fruit alpha on the table. Put simply, Management and Leadership are in and of two different domains. Management is about efficiency and is the vital and necessary underlying craft of any great company or organization. Leadership is about empowerment, teams, and the relationship between people working on a team, between teams to teams, and ultimately, an organization operating as a single unit producing profits and creating shareholder value. Leadership is in its own realm and requires a different mindset and worldview. The leader must be a great manager - that is a given - but he/she also must know when to step away from the psychological limitations of the manager fixated on efficiency and adopt the mindset of a leader who is exploring the creative world of breakthrough into ‘out of the box’ thinking and hitherto unknown or experienced effectiveness of the organization.
Culture Kills Off Strategies
Drucker famously said, “Culture eats strategy for breakfast.”
Business school strategies are mostly derived from HBS and Michael Porter - a brilliant man. However, according to Peter Drucker, at best, the Porter model is successful 30% of the time on average. That is because the strategy is ‘imposed’ on the employee and the employee has little or no input. Therefore, the person who best knows the job and is actually doing it is told what to do and how to do it. Predictably, the employee often resists and is resentful. The strategy model we teach in Tribal Leadership is between 70-80% successful. This is largely because we teach the employee to design their own strategy, quarter by quarter. They are ‘bought in’ by definition from the beginning of the process and appreciate that their input is honored. Furthermore, the strategy model we teach is simpler, self-managing, and self-correcting. In essence, a more elegant design. Furthermore, it allows leaders and managers to take advantage of and capitalize on the inherent understanding of customer data and other critical aspects of having an organization perform at a high level and make its clients and market happy.
ABOUT ERIC SCHLEIEN
Over the past decade, Eric has trained thousands of individuals including board members of public companies as well as several Fortune 500 CEOs. Eric specializes in organizational culture and has become a leading authority on organizational culture in the investment industry.
Eric has been investing for 15 years and has been using breakthrough coaching methodologies for over a decade. Eric had the insight to combine proven coaching methodologies with shareholder activism techniques to create an entirely new model for shareholder activism that was more reliable and created greater sustainable results in a rapid period of time. On average, Tribal Leadership produces a 3-5x increase in profits of culturally troubled companies within an average of 24 months or less.
Eric currently resides in Philadelphia, PA.
HELP OUT THE PODCAST
If you like The Intelligent Investing Podcast, please consider leaving a rating and review on Apple Podcasts. It takes less than 30 seconds to do and makes a huge difference! You can also join the Facebook page!
You can subscribe to the podcast on the following platforms:
CONTACT ERIC SCHLEIEN
Tuesday Nov 10, 2020
Tuesday Nov 10, 2020
Show Links
Don's Proposal
PROPOSAL THREE
(Non-Binding Stockholder Proposal)
THAT THE BOARD SEEK AND PURSUE ANY AND ALL MEASURES TO ENHANCE SHAREHOLDER VALUE
A stockholder, Donald Chambers, submitted the following proposal for inclusion in the Company’s proxy materials. If the stockholder, or a representative of the stockholder who is qualified under state law, is present and properly submits the proposal for a vote, then the proposal will be voted on at the Annual Meeting. The Board of Directors unanimously recommends that you vote AGAINST the proposal. The proposal and the stockholder’s supporting statement, exactly as received from the stockholder, are set forth below and are followed by the Board’s explanation of its reasons for opposing the proposal. As an advisory vote, if approved, the stockholder’s proposal would be a non-binding recommendation to the Board of Directors. The Company will provide Mr. Chambers’s address and number of shares held promptly upon oral or written request.
STOCKHOLDER PROPOSAL
RESOLVED: That the shareholders of SVVC assembled at the 2020 annual meeting in person and by proxy, hereby request that the Board of Directors of SVVC seek and pursue any and all measures to enhance shareholder value including: (1) orderly termination of the fund, (2) orderly liquidation of SVVC assets with distribution of available cash to shareholders, (3) tender offers for SVVC shares using available cash from any and all investment exits, (4) merger of the fund into an entity offering shareholder exits near NAV (net asset value), or (5) other measures likely to allow shareholders to exit SVVC near its NAV.
REPRINTED SUPPORTING STATEMENT FROM STOCKHOLDER
I urge shareholders to vote “Yes” to this proposal for the following reasons (based on information, belief and personal computations):
The performance of SVVC’s stock has been catastrophic relative to relevant benchmarks. The total annualized compounded market returns of SVVC and three relevant benchmarks over the life of SVVC are:
|
Ticker |
Description |
Annual Return |
|
VT1 |
Total stock market ETF |
9.5% |
|
VB |
Small stocks ETF |
8.0% |
|
SPBDCUP |
S&P BDC Index |
6.3% |
|
SVVC |
-8.9% |
Basing SVVC’s return on its recent NAV generates a positive return (4.8%). But that highlights the crux of the problem: SVVC’s NAV overstates its value under current management because it does not fully account for prospective fees and expenses. SVVC’s market price does reflect the massive fees and indicates a loss of -8.8% per year. SVVC’s 2% annual management fee (on gross assets) is roughly a 7% annual fee based on the market value of the equity. SVVC’s most recent statement reports $908,003 as the quarterly management fee (which is over 50 cents per share annualized). There are additional expenses and a 20% incentive fee on realized net profits. Accordingly, the discount of SVVC’s market price to its NAV has been very large - recently well over 50%.
The annual rate of compensation to each of the four independent directors of SVVC is $50,000 per year yet, reportedly, only one director held SVVC stock and that director held only 700 shares (see SVVC Proxy Statement 5/30/19).
Assuming that SVVC’s valuations of its private investments are reasonable, the Directors should be able to locate private equity investors enabling SVVC to be liquidated at a value near to its NAV.
Disclosure:
Mr. Chambers is a part-time employee (CIO-Model Portfolios) of Biltmore Capital Advisors (BCA) which manages approximately 292,254 shares of SVVC on behalf of its clients. Mr. Chambers has recused himself from all decisions at BCA regarding SVVC transactions or voting while this proposal is under consideration. SVVC is a restricted security for BCA employees so Mr. Chambers is restricted from transacting in SVVC while this proposal is under consideration.
About Don Chambers
Donald R Chambers currently runs the website, SaveFirstHandTechnology. He is also a recently-retired (June 2017) professor of finance with 36 years of teaching experience. Dr. Chambers has written several books regarding investments and personal finance that are distinguished by their clear writing and ability to make difficult concepts accessible to his audience. He is the lead author of the 600+ page Modern Corporate Finance: Theory and Practice which is in its eighth edition (forthcoming with FlatWorld), the 1,000-page Alternative Investments which is in its third edition with Wiley, and several other books on finance. Dr. Chambers has published over 50 scholarly articles.
Dr. Chambers has had numerous appearances in media including national television, national public radio, regional television, and regional radio. Dr. Chambers co-starred in a nationally-televised cable television series regarding finance in 1988 (45 Fortune) and frequently serves as a public speaker.
In more recent years, he has written numerous blogs and spoken frequently regarding investments in his role as Chief Investment Officer of Biltmore Capital Advisors.
About Eric Schleien
Over the past decade, Eric has trained thousands of individuals including board members of public companies as well as several Fortune 500 CEOs. Eric specializes in organizational culture and has become a leading authority on organizational culture in the investment industry.
Eric has been investing for 15 years and has been using breakthrough coaching methodologies for over a decade. Eric had the insight to combine proven coaching methodologies with shareholder activism techniques to create an entirely new model for shareholder activism that was more reliable and created greater sustainable results in a rapid period of time. On average, Tribal Leadership produces a 3-5x increase in profits of culturally troubled companies within an average of 24 months or less.
Eric currently resides in Philadelphia, PA.
HELP OUT THE PODCAST
If you like The Intelligent Investing Podcast, please consider leaving a rating and review on Apple Podcasts. It takes less than 30 seconds to do and makes a huge difference! You can also join the Facebook page!
You can subscribe to the podcast on the following platforms:
Contact Eric Schleien
Tuesday Oct 27, 2020
Tuesday Oct 27, 2020
In this episode, Eric Schleien sits down with Ann Hambly, the Founder/CEO of 1st Service Solutions. I'm a huge fan of Ann, as she transformed the CMBS industry and has also been impacted by the Tribal Leadership technology which I've shared about many times here, here, and here. As one of the managers of Brookfield Asset Management shared with me, "Transforming Culture is the last bastion of alpha due to the low competitive nature of the endeavor."
To watch this episode on YouTube, see below or click here.
Ann has been involved in literally every aspect of the CMBS industry throughout her 35+ year career. She created from scratch and ran many large servicing shops before creating 1st Service Solutions in 2005. She has been an intentionally integral part in shaping the CMBS industry since its inception.
Ann founded 1st Service Solutions in 2005 to address what she saw to be a gaping hole in CMBS. Unlike ‘on book’ commercial real estate loans, there is no ‘banker’ for the borrower to speak to after securitization. In creating what was to become the first borrower advocacy space in commercial real estate, Ann has grown 1st Service Solutions into what is now known as the preeminent CMBS Borrower Advocate practice. The company has been featured on William Shatner’s ‘Moving America Forward’ show as a company changing the business landscape in America.
Ann has been and continues to be highly involved in industry leadership as a featured keynote speaker at conferences across the country speaking on CMBS structure, CMBS workouts, assumptions, and hot topics in the general CRE industry.
With the release of her book, ‘CMBS 911,’ Ann once again set out to meet an unmet need: explaining, in simplistic and straightforward terms, the roles, responsibilities, and motives of every individual or entity involved in the CMBS process. “The whole process can be overwhelming and confusing for the borrower and there’s always a lot on the line,” she explains. The book has gone on to become an industry bestseller and is being adopted into the Purdue College of Business Real Estate curriculum as well as other colleges and universities.
In addition to her own book, Ann’s expertise has been featured in ‘True Leaders: How Exceptional CEOs and Presidents Make a Difference by Building,’ ‘Trends in Commercial-Mortgage Backed Securities,’ and ‘The Law of Distressed Real Estate.’ Ann is also a prolific contributor to many, many real-estate and business-related publications having published 50+ articles, commentaries, and columns in such publications as the Commercial Real Estate Show, the Commercial Observer, Scotsman Guide, GlobeSt.com, Mortgage Bankers Magazine, National Real Estate Investor, Real Estate Business, Real Estate Forum, and Reuters among others.
Jurists frequently request Ann’s involvement in high-profile cases regarding commercial real estate because of her vast and varied experience. She has been called upon to provide expert reports, depositions, testimonies, and professional consulting services on many high profile cases.
Ann is a member of the Board of Directors of the Counselors of Real Estate (CRE) and has been an active member of C12, a Christian CEO group, for the past several years. In addition, she has previously served on or as the chairman of the Board of Directors for the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA), the Commercial Mortgage Securitization Association (CMSA), the Multifamily Housing Institute, and the Real Estate Capital Recovery Association (RECRA).
Throughout her lengthy career, Ann has received many, many professional awards and citations. Among them are the induction in the Commercial Real Estate’s Hall of Fame, numerous times designation as a ‘Legend and Woman of Influence in Commercial Real Estate’ by Real Estate Forum, named a ‘Top 10 Most Distinguished Women in Real Estate’ by the Mortgage Bankers Association, selected as a member of the prestigious Real Estate Roundtable, and named as one of six ‘Most Influential Women in Commercial Real Estate’ by National Real Estate Investor to name a few.
Ann lives in the Dallas/Ft. Worth Metroplex and enjoys time spent with her family, especially her six grandkids.
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Email: IntelligentInvesting@gmail.com
Contact Ann Hambly
1st Service Solutions | Email: ahambly@1stsss.com
Friday Oct 23, 2020
Friday Oct 23, 2020
Summary
In this episode of The Intelligent Investing Podcast, I sit down with Luis Carlos Sánchez. Mr. Sánchez is has a background in commercial law and is an avid net-net investor.
If you are interested in Net Net Investing, I would also recommend listening to a previous episode with the Founder of Net Net Hunter, Evan Bleker.
You can also watch Episode #122 of The Intelligent Investing Podcast on YouTube.
Net Net Stocks Mentioned
In this episode, we discuss three different net net stocks. Two of the companies either via myself or my clients are also shareholders in. One of the companies is a stock that Luis recently sold but it makes an interesting net net stock case study.
Trilogiq SA (Paris: ALTRI)
Trilogiq SA is a company based in France that specializes in the production and design of tubular structures for production lines. The company’s products and services are used to reduce non-productive areas, decrease operator movements, and optimize ergonomics, costs, and production times. It's a relatively simple and straightforward business.
This makes an interesting net net case study due to the fact that a few years ago the now CEO (who is also the founder) brought in a new CEO to help grow the company. The business, in turn, took on debt to start new projects and they didn't exactly work out too well. During this attempted transition, some value funds that like "strong-moat" businesses started buying the stock.
The Founder eventually took back the role of the CEO position in which he pretty much has absolute authority on the direction of the company being the largest shareholder at over 75% ownership in the business. During the past year, the Founder/CEO, Eric Courtin, started shutting down the money-losing projects and bringing the company back closer to its roots once again. They are also paying down debt and sticking to what they do best.
Support.com
We also highlighted Support.com (NASDAQ: SPRT) as it is another interesting situation. However, the company is much less compelling of an investment as it was back a few months ago pre-COVID. The company mainly focuses on online tech support which has been helped by COVID lockdowns.
Ref Holdings
We also discussed REF Holdings Limited (HKSE: 1631). The company provides ancillary services such as the provision of conference room facilities and financial printing services for the financial sector in Hong Kong. Ref offers a wide range of financial printing services, from typesetting, proofreading, translation, design, printing, web submitting, newspaper placement to distribution. Luis bought the stock below net cash and recently sold out.
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CONTACT ERIC SCHLEIEN
Tuesday Oct 20, 2020
Tuesday Oct 20, 2020
Summary
In this episode of The Intelligent Investing Podcast, I sit down with Harris Kupperman (also known as Kuppy). Kupperman is the Chairman and CEO of publicly-traded Mongolia Growth Group (YAK: Canada and MNGGF: USA). Kupperman is also the founder of Praetorian Capital and writer of one of my favorite investment blogs, Adventures In Capitalism. You can also watch this episode on YouTube.
On this episode we discuss St. Joe Company (JOE) and Cornerstone Building Brands (CNR)
See Blog Posts Below:
We also discuss Inflection Investing and the Tortoise Acquisition Arb deal in which Hyliion is getting acquired by Tortoise Acquisition (SHLL – USA)
Get In Touch With Kuppy
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CONTACT ERIC SCHLEIEN
Wednesday Oct 14, 2020
Wednesday Oct 14, 2020
SUMMARY
In this episode, Eric Schleien and Brian Langis discuss TikTok, social media, Facebook, and more. This episode was recorded before Oracle announced an intention to buy TikTok. This was more of a free for all and great discussion as always with Brian. Hope you enjoy! You can also watch this episode on YouTube.
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Wednesday Sep 16, 2020
Wednesday Sep 16, 2020
To watch this episode on YouTube, click here.
Summary
The music industry is growing for the fourth consecutive year, driven by the rise in online streaming. Platforms like Spotify, Youtube, Amazon Music, Pandora, and others are revitalized the industry which presents an opportunity to acquire intellectual property rights that pay royalties each time a song is streamed. Companies like Facebook, TikTok, and SnapChat have also recently announced that they will start paying royalties for music that is being used on their platforms which will only further increase the value of royalties are new users are starting to upload videos. The ICM Crescendo Music Royalty Fund (the “Fund”) is positioned to acquire songs in the $100,000 to $5 million range based on analyzing data such as historical royalty revenue and factors like artists tour schedule, number of playlists a song is on if the artists are releasing songs in the future, amongst other variables.
Data Analytics
To efficiently and objectively evaluate acquisition opportunities, the ICM Investment Management Inc. (the “Manager”) has developed an algorithm that will offer support in the acquisition process of material catalogs. Currently, 18 different input variables are analyzed to help predict the number of future streams of a particular asset. While machine learning mechanisms come to a conclusion without human intervention, a live tech expert will determine which input variable is useful and will place weights on each. While the model generates a certain prediction, the way we weight the variable will influence the anticipated future income streams.
Partnership
A Canadian music royalty fund was launched under the partnership between the Manager and Crescendo Royalty Corporation as an advisor to the Fund. Investors now have an opportunity to own music royalties and benefit from the rise in music and video streaming, generate incremental income, and have fun while doing it.
ICM Asset Management was founded in 2003 and currently has over $1 billion in assets under management in real estate and venture capital investments. Crescendo Royalty Corporation has been acquiring royalties since 2017 with interest in hits like LaLaLa by International pop star Shakira who performed at Super Bowl LIV and Blame it on the Alcohol by legend Jamie Foxx.
Additionally, Devo Harris was brought on as an Advisor and he is a Grammy Award-winning producer and songwriter who discovered, signed, and produced EGOT winner John Legend and has written for Kanye West, Britney Spears, Aretha Franklin & more.
Own Your Favorite Song
On the ICM Crescendo Music Royalty Fund website, you can submit a song you would like to own. The team will track down the rights holders and will attempt to acquire an interest in the song you submit. By investing in the fund, you can therefore potentially own a piece of your favorite songs.
Make Money While Listening to Music
The Fund also has a Spotify playlist so you can track all the songs they have acquired. If you listen to the playlist, the Fund will also make money every time you listen to a song on the playlist. To follow the playlist click this link.
How to Invest
Canadians are able to invest into the Fund directly through the Manager or through their own investment advisor.
US residents who are accredited investors can invest into a Delaware based Limited Partnership.
Show Links
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If you like The Intelligent Investing Podcast, please consider leaving a rating and review on Apple Podcasts. It takes less than 30 seconds to do and makes a huge difference! You can also join the Facebook page!
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Contact Eric Schleien
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Email: IntelligentInvesting@gmail.com
Thursday Aug 27, 2020
Thursday Aug 27, 2020
Subscribe
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Summary
Structural Balance
International Seaways
Distressed Mortgage Notes
Show Links
- Never Navios (blog post)
- Navios Bonds (SEC Filing)
Staying In Touch With Braxton Gann
Staying In Touch With Eric Schleien
Tuesday Aug 25, 2020
Tuesday Aug 25, 2020
To watch this episode on YouTube, click here.
Subscribe
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Summary
In this episode of The Intelligent Investing Podcast, Eric Schleien sits down with Mariusz Skonieczny. We discuss the shipping industry, COVID recovery stocks, value investing in general, Oroco Resources, and Mitcham Industries. We also discuss his new website, Microcap Explosions.
About Mariusz Skonieczny
Mariusz Skonieczny is the founder of Microcap Explosions and Classic Value Investors and the creator of Value Investing University. He is also the author of several books on the subject of investing.
He is a professional investor meaning and has written books and videos. He also, teach ballroom dancing.
Mariusz graduated from Indiana University in 2003 with a Finance degree. From 2003 to 2008, he was in the commercial real estate industry as an appraiser and broker. During the 2008/2009 financial crisis, he left the industry to start Classic Value Investors.
Staying In Touch With Mariusz Skonieczny
Staying In Touch With Eric Schleien
Thursday Aug 20, 2020
Thursday Aug 20, 2020
Robert is a Certified Management Accountant (CMA) who graduated Cum Laude with a BSBA degree in Finance and Economics from the University of Massachusetts, where he also earned his MBA degree in Accounting and Finance. He is an accounting and finance professional with an immense passion for stock and real estate investing, business, entrepreneurship, traveling, and spending time with his friends and family.
Show Links
- JL Collins (The Simple Path to Wealth) on Millennial Investing
- Pomp (Bitcoin, COVID-10, and Macro) on Millennial Investing
- Simon Erickson (Growth Investing) on Millennial Investing
- Gary Mishuris (Warren Buffett Value Investing) on Millennial Investing
- TIP's Real Estate Deal Analysis 101
- Chad Carson (Get Start in Real Estate) on Real Estate Investing
- Neal Bawa (COVID-19 and Finding Great Markets) on Real Estate Investing
- Real AF Podcast with Andy Frisella
- 1st Phorm
- 75Hard
- 75Hard book
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If you like The Intelligent Investing Podcast, please consider leaving a rating and review on Apple Podcasts. It takes less than 30 seconds to do and makes a huge difference! You can also join the Facebook page!
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CONTACT ROBERT LEONARD