“There is a question I am asked every time I get behind a podium and a microphone, ‘Carlos, when is a good time to start investing?’ And there are several answers, but I always say ‘The best time was yesterday, the second best time is today.’ And I’ll give you an example, €1 invested in 1993 would be worth €1,700 today.”
Carlos González Ramos, Director of Investor Relations, Marketing and Communication at Cobas Asset Management, did a masterclass in front of an audience filled to capacity with CIS University students on how investment funds work, which professional profiles are most in demand in the sector, and provided information in terms of his organization’s investment philosophy.
Cobas was founded by Francisco Paramés, who is largely known in the press as “the Spanish Warren Buffett” for his focus on value investing and his ability to identify market opportunities. We are therefore talking about one of the most iconic and relevant companies in the Spanish financial sector.
What types of professional profiles are required to work for an Investment Fund?
There is a preconceived misconception that the only way to get a job at an investment firm is to study Finance or Business Administration. And while having knowledge in these fields, along with a strong command of English and international experience are highly valued, it is also true that the structure of these organizations is sufficiently varied to accommodate varying professional profiles.
Departmental structure:
Investment: The backbone of the company, and yes, mostly college graduates in the field Economics or Business Administration and Management, with some degree of specialization.
Investor relations: Their role is to provide the best service to clients and ensure that the investor’s experience is as satisfactory as possible. They can be college graduates in the field of Business Administration and Management, such as Carlos González himself is, although they also include more varied profiles such as liberal studies graduates. It is one of the most common ways into this type of company.
Backoffice: This is where all the administrative machinery of the company is kept running, and they look for administrative profiles rather than managers. The backoffice focuses on accounting, financial reporting, payroll management, and tax payments.
Dealing: This is the department where securities purchases and sales transactions take place. Think of the setting in which we normally associate the stereotypical image of brokers seen in so many movies.
Technology: This is where qualified IT profiles whose function is to organize, manage and maintain those technologies necessary for the work of the company are included: from the server side of corporate email to file and disk backups.
Compliance & Legal: Financial markets are a highly regulated environment by various agencies and states, so they need to comply with current legislation at all times. To this end, legal experts ensure that companies are in compliance with the law at all times.
What are the keys to successful investing according to Cobas Asset Management?
Long-term reliability: Investing in companies with solid fundamentals and good management is the key to long-term success. Cobas seeks to invest in companies with a sustainable competitive advantage and high growth potential.
Have a clear investment strategy: Do not be dazzled by market trends, but have a clear investment strategy and follow it through regardless of passing investing fads.
Downturns can be seen as opportunities: It is a common mistake to get carried away by fear of missing out instead of taking advantage of opportunities in the market to buy undervalued securities. As stated on the Cobas website, “volatility is opportunity”.
Be patient: Cobas’ DNA requires that patience should be a virtue in investing. It is preferable to invest in companies for the long term and wait for their growth potential to materialize than to seek explosive growth through speculative and risky short-term trading.
Diversify the investment portfolio: To reduce risk and maximize long-term returns, it is advisable to invest in companies from different industries and countries to achieve a well-diversified portfolio.
“In fact, as Carlos González points out, all these principles can be summarized in the statement that appears right at the top of our website: Investment is a long-term business where patience marks profitability.”
