Mark Cooper on Idea Generation and Portfolio Management

We had the pleasure of interviewing Mark Cooper, Senior Vice President and Equity Analyst at PIMCO. In our conversation, Mark explains what it takes to invest successfully in out-of-favor companies and touches on other investment topics, including idea generation and portfolio management.

Prior to joining PIMCO in 2010, Mark was partner, portfolio manager and equity analyst at Omega Advisors, a New York City hedge fund, focusing on global industrials, capital goods and commodities. He previously worked as a global industrials analyst at Pequot Capital Management and as a fixed income, foreign exchange and precious metals portfolio manager at J.P. Morgan. Mark is also Adjunct Professor in Finance and Economics at Columbia Business School, where he teaches a course on applied value investing. He has 21 years of investment experience and holds an MBA from Columbia Business School and a bachelor’s degree in management science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He is a former United States Army officer.

MOI Global: Tell us about your background and path as an investor.

Mark Cooper: I have been an investor in most asset classes throughout my career. I received my undergraduate education at MIT and went to business school at Columbia where I focused on value investing. Before joining PIMCO, I spent eight years at JP Morgan where I was a portfolio manager in fixed income commodities and currencies. My two prior employers where I was more equity focused were Pequot Capital, a large New York-based hedge fund, as well as Omega Advisors, where I was a partner and portfolio manager focusing mostly on industrials, basic materials, commodities and parts of energy.

MOI: Tell us a bit about some of the events and people that have shaped your investment philosophy. Some of the places you’ve mentioned are venerable investment houses. Who really shaped your investment philosophy?

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