After giving a talk on investing at Boston University business school, Pushkar Bedekar was one of the people who came up to me afterwards, expressing interest in investing and hedge funds. I told Pushkar what I tell almost all people who approach me in that way, "Pushkar, your best shot with someone like me is to find a way to add value. If you find a way to do that, I will then be indebted to you, and will feel obliged to help you"

In Pushkar's case, because he was Indian, I suggested that he take a look at one of Aquamarine Fund's holdings, Crisil - which is India's largest credit rating agency. I was more than a little surprised when, around 6 weeks later, Pushkar came back to me with a report on Crisil - into which he had put a lot of time and effort.

Based on his having sent me that report, I let Pushkar know that he was welcome at my office any time - but that he should come with ways to help me to make sure that he did not lose the good will that he had built up with me.

Later that summer, I supervised Aaron Byrd, a summer intern in doing some editing work on the report that Pushkar had written. I sent the resulting report to around 30 or so investing friends and colleages of mine in the investing world. I also encouraged Pushkar and Aaron to do the same with their circles. At around the same time I also wrote a letter to Louis Lataif who is the Dean of Boston University business school, telling him how impressed I had been with Pushkar's initiative and work.

As I understand it, our circulating Pushkar's and Aaron's report on Crisil was instrumental in getting Pushkar his summer job. Towards the end of the summer, when Novartis contacted Dean Louis Latief looking for some intern candidates, he naturally put Pushkar forward for the opportunity - which since translated into a very attractive job offer for Pushkar.

I am delighted to have been in some small way a part of that success story. Key elements of the story from my perspective are that Pushkar made it very easy for me to help him. My key points to him at the time I met him were:

A) Respect people's time
B) Learn about what my interests are
B) Only approach me when you have something that is value added to contribute.

Not only did Pushkar get a great job at Novartis; he also earned my respect, admiration and friendship.

To see the report, click here:

Crisil Report

Posted by Guy Spier at 09:28 PM | Permalink | Comments ()

Quarterly Reports now available for Aquamarine Fund Inc. and Aquamarine Value Fund L.P.

The most recent quarterly report for Aquamarine Fund Inc. (the Offshore fund for non-US investors) is now available at http://www.aquamarinefund.com/members/quarterly.html.For US investors, the most recent quarterly report for Aquamarine Value Fund L.P. is available at http://www.aquamarinefund.com/members/avalue.html. Please email Amanda Pullinger at amanda@aquamarinefund.com if you would like access to these reports.

Aquamarine hosts a luncheon at the House of Lords

On June 8th, Aquamarine hosted a luncheon at the House of Lords. Guests were treated to a private tour of the House of Lords and House of Commons, followed by lunch and a presentation by Guy in the Attlee Room. The luncheon was made possible through Lord John Taylor or Warwick, a family friend of Amanda's for 20 years. You can find out more about Lord Taylor at http://lordtaylor.org/ and his charity Warwick Leadership Foundation at http://www.warwickleadership.org/.

Guy speaks to students at Wharton and Boston University

In April, Guy had an opportunity to do an investment seminar with second year students who are part of the Investment Club at Wharton. This was followed by a visit to Boston University to speak to students about Value Investing.

Amanda rings the bell at the NYSE

On June 17th, Amanda had an opportunity to be on the platform as the closing bell was rung at the New York Stock Exchange. The President of the Gap, Inc. invited Big Brothers Big Sisters to share the platform for their centennial celebrations. Amanda was invited as the Gala Committee Chair for 100 Women in Hedge Funds, who will be holding their 3rd Anniversary Gala and Benefit in November with proceeds going to Big Brothers Big Sisters. For a photo of the bell ringing click here http://www.aquamarinefund.com/public/Scrapbook/nysebell.htm.

Aquamarine LLC's summer intern, Miroslav Vassilev

For the second year in a row, Aquamarine has been pleased to have a Wharton student working in the office during the summer. Miroslav Vassilev is orignally from Bulgaria, and we came to know him through the Oxford Alumni Association of New York, where Guy serves as President and Amanda as Secretary of the Board. Miroslav is currently a dual degree candidate for Master's
in Public Policy at Harvard's Kennedy School and MBA in Finance at the Wharton School. He was British Chevening Scholar and Soros Fellow at Keble College, Oxford University where he earned an MSc in Management Research with distinction. We want to thank Miro for his hard work this summer and wish him luck in his upcoming studies at the Kennedy School.

Posted by Guy Spier at 09:39 AM | Permalink | Comments ()