Value Investing Program Attendee Testimonials

“The Fordham Value Investing executive education program was a fantastic opportunity to dive deep into value investing and to explore drivers and expectations of both growth and value. Paul Johnson’s proprietary “Italian Cookie Model” earns a place in any investors toolkit and should be common practice for investors to learn. I also appreciated the wholistic approach to investing that focused not just on the numbers, but also telling a story that builds out your ability to analyze factors such as competitive advantage, risk, and corporate governance.”

- Jonah Fox

“Professor Johnson’s session transcended a basic value investing lecture. Over two days, he delved into technical aspects of valuation, shared a profound understanding of the drivers behind value creation, and effectively linked valuation principles with long-term shareholder value. The roundtable, discussion-based format not only deepened engagement and understanding but also fostered meaningful connections among participants. As a practitioner, I found the two-day experience exceptionally enriching, providing me with additional tools to lead organizations. Professor Johnson’s status as a thought leader was evident throughout, and I am grateful for the opportunity to benefit from his decades of experience and profound insights.”

- Jason Hope

“The program is great for anyone that wants an Executive Education, “high touch experience” on Value Investing. The discussion on the history of Value Investing and the focus on fundamental investing was a nice antidote to the way investing is taught in business schools. It became clear why Value Investing is a lost art among institutional investors. 

The presentation on risk was extremely compelling. Using a standard distribution to explain the difference between risk and uncertainty, and then building on Howard Mark's work on thinking about risk from an *outcome* perspective was great. Showing that the price you pay for the stock determines its risk was exceptional. That discussion took the concept of risk to a whole different level of understanding for me.  

I thought the case studies were great! Overall, I came full circle with a better understanding of the difference between a platform and a network effects company. I believe that this concept is still misunderstood by Wall Street and most investors today. 

I also enjoyed the conversation with the other participants over lunch and at dinner.”

- Dr. Christian Koch

"The two-day value investing program provided great insight and a set of tools to evaluate both public and private companies. The focus was not on finance terms and formulas, but rather on doing the necessary work to understand a company's business, strategy, competitive advantage, governance, and growth trajectory.

It was only then that the focus turned to implementing the tools provided by Professor Johnson to assess the underlying research, assumptions, and data. The key element that was discussed by the practitioners in the room and what brought everything together was discipline. Discipline to do the work, discipline to follow a process, and discipline to constantly analyze and question every input and output. I would like to thank Professor Johnson and the rest of the group for a wonderful experience. I look forward to many more."

- George A. Tagaris