Dennis Lynch Jr. (Marshall) was featured on the Masters in Business podcast by Barry Ritholtz. Dennis is the Head of Counterpoint Global, where he oversees more than $130 billion in assets under management (AUM). In these podcasts, Dennis talked about how his investment strategy has evolved over the last 20 years, how to build a research team, how to build a portfolio, and more. Here is a brief recap of the podcast.
Masters in Business Podcast by Barry Ritholtz
When asked about the function of Counterpoint Global within Morgan Stanley, Dennis shared that Counterpoint Global owns about 200 companies globally and manages several funds within those companies. The strategy of Counterpoint Global is to figure out which company they want to own, and then later figure out which product or fund is the right fit for it.
Talking about how to build a team, Dennis believes personality testing is a useful way to profile researchers and managers to find individuals who are a right fit for the team culture and diversity. Personality testing is not just for putting together a new team but should be done for the existing team to help build a bit of self-awareness and promote team bonding. Self-awareness is a great way for the team members to understand where they can improve.
Dennis shared that a few years ago, the investment strategy focused primarily on large companies, such as Google, Apple, Amazon, and Facebook. However, for a few years, Dennis and his team have had some young, disruptive, and exciting companies, including some from the service and e-commerce industry. The COVID-19 pandemic acted as a catalyst for the growth of these young companies.
One of the investment strategies used by Dennis is to make sure he builds a portfolio that has exposure to all parts of the economy, including short-term and long-term investments. He also emphasized the importance of investing in companies that are a good fit for your temperament as an investor. According to Dennis, the success of an investment depends on both quantitative and qualitative analysis. Dennis believes there is so much more to an investment strategy than to look at P/E ratios, price, and other quantitative analyses. Gaining market insight or trying to understand how a company can impact the world is extremely important. Dennis advises investors to not just focus on any one variable, but be open to thinking about how the economic situation or circumstances might affect those variables.
When asked about how to identify when to sell a stock, Dennis replied that there are several factors to consider when deciding to sell a stock. One of the reasons is diversification, as he looks to find a balance in the exposure of the investment portfolio. Another reason to sell is when the risk-reward equation is not as compelling as the potential of other ideas or products on the market. Lastly, an investor should sell a stock based on the ever-changing competitive landscape. One piece of advice that Dennis has for all new investors is to harness the power of annual growth and make it part of your investment DNA. He also advises young investors that are great to dive in and become an expert in a particular sector, but they should not be too narrow and keep broadening their learning.
About Dennis Lynch Jr. (Marshall)
Dennis Lynch Jr. (Marshall), who also goes by the name of Marshall Lynch, grew up in Rumson, New Jersey. Dennis got his MBA degree from Columbia University Business School and his BA in Government Studies from Hamilton College. He started working as an analyst for JP Morgan before making the switch to Morgan Stanley in 2002. He has been with Morgan Stanley for almost three decades. Dennis has seen remarkable success in his career, including several awards and recognition for his work as a fund manager, including the Morningstar Fund Manager of the Year Award. Dennis has an AA rating from Citywire.