Episode summary
Yobo Bello-Asemota explains her path into investing and the work of a long-term public equity investor.
Key takeaways
- Strategic research supports public equity investing.
- Active ownership is part of the discussion.
- Representation matters in shaping the future of capital markets.
About this episode
In this episode of Rocking Finance, RTSWS CEO Ashley Leftwich speaks with Yobo Bello-Asemota, Vice President at ValueAct Capital, about what it means to be a long-term public equity investor. Yobo shares how strategic research, active ownership, and an understanding of both business and societal impact drive better outcomes in finance. She also discusses her path into investing and why representation matters in shaping the future of capital markets.
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Transcript
Transcript supplied by Riverside; it may contain transcription errors.
Rock The Street, Wall Street: Welcome to Rocking Finance, the Rock the Street Wall Street podcast. Real stories, real access, real path into finance. Join us for candid high-impact conversations with industry leaders sharing the insights, experiences, career pivots, and journeys that can help young women advance through the financial industry with great confidence. Rock the Street Wall Street equips high school and university students, especially young women, by bringing the image To life through financial and investment fundamentals. We provide direct industry access and guidance supporting students and young professionals on their journeys from classrooms to careers while expanding participation in the capital markets. Through cohort-based learning, mentorship, and individual career connection, we help students build confidence, capabilities, and network. That opens doors. Our goal is clear: expand participation in the capital markets and strengthen the future of finance one cohort at a time. Today I'm your host, Ashley Leftwich, CEO of Rockmistry Wall Street, that loves rock finance. Yo voy, thank you so much for joining us. We're looking forward to today's discussion. You're a vice president on the investment team at Value at Capital. Can you start by sharing your background and the path that led you to public equity investing? Yeah, sure. I'm happy to. And so nice to be here with you, Ashley. So I'm someone who's intellectually curious. I've always considered myself to be this way, and I've been drawn to the intersection of ideas, people, and capital. And all of this is what led me to study economics, philosophy, and Hispanic studies at Columbia University in New York, which is kind of where a lot of this got started. Because while I was at Columbia, I got the opportunity to spend my summers interning at Morgan Stanley across a range of their divisions, you know, first in sales and trading, and then equity research and eventually in investment banking, which is where I started my career after graduating. Each of these internships gave me a different. lens into how markets work and how the world of finance works. From the fast-paced decision making in sales and trading to the analytical depth of equity research and the deal making rigor that I got in investment banking. And so following graduation I spent two years in healthcare investment banking at Morgan Stanley before joining the infrastructure private equity practice of a Swedish investment firm called UT, which I did for two years. And working at EQT gave me more of an operational perspective, you know, especially being in the infrastructure side of things. But over time I realized that I was more energized by the research-driven side of investing rather than chasing after the next deal. I wanted to spend more time analyzing businesses deeply and thinking long term. And so when the Value Act opportunity came along and it seemed to check many of these boxes, you know, being research-focused, long-term oriented, and operationally engaged. It made perfect sense for me. And so I packed up my life and moved out west to San Francisco to join the team. That's so incredible. And I love that you looked into, you know, what is it that you really enjoyed and found the right fit for that? Building on that, what first drew you to finance and specifically the the public equity side of investing? Yeah. I mean, it's similar to what made me want to study all the things that I wanted to study and just this interdisciplinary lens that with which I've always approached the world. Just This idea of being drawn to the way things are done, thinking to people and to capital and an intersection between all of those things. I realized pretty early on in life that I didn't just want to look at numbers and, you know, through working in finance, realize I didn't just want to do deals, being spreadsheets, spreadsheets all day. I wanted to understand people, I wanted to spot patterns and think critically and ask big picture questions, which, you know, I was a philosophy major, so love asking questions. But yeah, applying those skills that I developed over time to asking these big picture questions about how businesses work and how should they work, how could they work better? Investing lets me do that. It lets me be truly interdisciplinary in my day-to-day work. It's a field where you're constantly learning about industries, about leadership, decision making, and the world at large. I also just love that it's a space where both analytical thinking and human insight matter. It's not just about being right on the numbers, it's about having a point of view and the curiosity to keep sharpening it. So it definitely keeps me on my toes and keeps things interesting. That human insight piece is really key. And Value Act is actually known for its long-term approach and for looking beyond just those numbers, as you were talking about, to consider industry structure and strategy. And even the environmental and social factors. So, how does that perspective shape your work day to day? Sure. I mean, in my day-to-day, I focus on understanding businesses at a really deep level. As you said, that's kind of our MO here at Value Act. So it's not just through financial models, but by speaking with people across the ecosystem, you know, former executives, customers, competitors, and sometimes academics or policy experts. I mean, I I try to piece together a mosaic of perspectives to better understand how a company fits into the broader industry and where could both the company and the industry could go. ⁓ also spend time working directly with management teams and engaging with them. The conversations with them help refine my thinking and help with pressure testing assumptions. So it's like teach and learn is how we like to say it. So I'm learning from their perspective and Where there's alignment, sometimes we find ways to collaborate together on creating that long-term shareholder value. ⁓ But what I like most about this work is that it requires both patience and curiosity. You'll hear me say both of these words a bunch of times whenever I talk about what I do. Because it's not just about chasing quick wins, it's about building conviction over time. We are long-term investors here. And that means asking tough questions, stress testing ideas, and being open to changing your mind, which does take some humility. Easy for me because I'm very early on in my career. So I don't think anyone expects me to know too much of anything, but maintaining that over time as you sort of establish yourself in the industry. So for me, it's about being thoughtful enough and humble enough to arrive at real unique insight, which is what generates the returns and makes makes one have a successful career. And as you might imagine, our students are so interested in what a day in the life actually looks like. So share with us a little bit about what your day and your typical role looks like. I'm gonna be so cliche and say, well, no two days are the same. You know, it is true. Some days it's just me and my computer, maybe watching an animated YouTube video on semiconductors for dummies, or reading a dense white paper and trying to make sense of it. Sometimes it's more immersive, like spending a full day with a company executive, just listing, learning, absorbing as much as I can. Sometimes it's spending hours huddled around a round table with my team asking, you know, what are we missing? What's the counterpoint? What's exciting to you in your world today? So it can, you know, no two days are exactly alike. It can involve some mix of deep thinking and some conversations, but regardless of which one dominates in any particular day, it's always driven by curiosity. I love that. So, my background is in math, and that certainly taught me how powerful data can be informing those decisions, as you were sharing. So, how does data and analysis guide your investment recommendations? Sure. I mean, data plays a big role in helping us make better decisions in investing. Math and analysis helps us test assumptions, spot trends, and stress test different scenarios. So for example, I'll use a financial model to understand what would need to be true, like what you need to be believe is how we call these analyses, but wait what would need to be true for a company to succeed over time and where the risk may be hiding. So might ask questions like, what if a company grows more slowly than expected? And what if interest rates change? Or, you know, modeling these different scenarios helps us understand where things could break or surprise us, both for the positive but also for the negative, and helping us think about what is a reasonable price to pay for this investment and what kind of return could you hope to achieve over a set time frame. So but I see data as a way to sharpen your thinking and not replace it. This is even more important, I think, today with AI, et cetera. The analysis is important, but it's only part of the picture. You still have to ask the right questions. You need to understand the human side, which I've you know talked about quite a bit already. You need to understand that side of the business and connect the dots across different pieces of information. So data definitely is one step to getting there. You need to be facile with the numbers and understand how the tools that are out there for you, but also don't outsource your thinking. You do need to make sure you're asking the right questions and seeing the bigger picture as much as possible. I really love that phrase, don't outsource your thinking. And it possibly plays into the next point that I was just going to mention, which is you've been very vocal about increasing representation in finance. So can you share why you think it's important and what steps you take to help open doors for others. Yeah, sure. I mean, it's almost kind of funny that I end up sitting here in the seat as a public equity investor telling other people how to get to where I am because I never really saw myself doing this. Looking back on it, I think I did have an early interest in public equity investing. And I did have that typical experience of, ⁓ I got stocks for my birthday and whatever. I cared about the markets. But For whatever reason, I never saw it realistically for me. I shouldn't say for whatever reason, I think a big part of the reason was that I didn't see it for people who looked like me. And so it didn't seem like something realistic. I mean, I I thought I had a better chance of being a global pop star than sitting where I am today. And so having sort of stumbled my way into this. I see so many people, especially young women, count themselves out of the race before it even begins by just not thinking that this is something that is achievable. And so I do try to put myself out there a little bit more and encourage people so that they can see that it is very achievable. It is very doable. The people who are doing this are not rocket scientists. The rocket scientists are off being rocket scientists somewhere. It's regular people just like you who have an interest and a passion and have. the discipline to go out and make it happen for themselves. So that's that's a big part of why I think it's so important. There's so many other obstacles that you're going to have to overcome in this career and pursuing this path. You shouldn't be one of the obstacles. And you as you might imagine some of our students think public equity investing sounds very intimidating. But what's one myth that you'd like to clear up? I don't know if this is very flattering Myself to say this, but you just don't need to be a genius to do this. It's really not that hard. And I'm being so sincere when I say that. I think a lot of people in particular think you need to be some sort of math whiz. And I I've met people who kind of assume that that is the case. Like I said, you need to know enough to be dangerous, but also there is such a broad range of what it means to be a public markets investor. Like there are definitely pockets of this industry where you do genuinely need to be kind of a math genius to play in those fields, but that's not everything. There is a a lot of variety in what a public markets investor is. And so maybe some of your journey there and seeing yourself in that role might be finding a mentor. And this could either be someone you know in real life or just someone whose career that you admire who has a skill set that you maybe already have or have an interest in building. and model yourself after that person. But there isn't one archetypical public markets investor. And you know, if you don't fit the mold of some of the more famous ones that you might have heard of, don't count yourself out of the race. Like you definitely can still do this. You shared such great insights. What's one step our students can take this year to begin building both their confidence and credibility in the investment world? Well, I'll say for starters, if you're watching this interview and you're engaged with the Rock, the Street, Wall Street community already, then you are well on your way. A big, big part of what I've seen makes a difference between both getting into the industry and staying into the industry is establishing a community, a support system around yourself, especially because as you go into these spaces very often, you won't see a lot of people who look like you every day. And so that can feel a little isolating. It doesn't have to be isolating, but I understand that, you know, the mind can play a lot of tricks in us. So it's good to have that support system of people that you know who are who share these similar interests, who are at a similar stage in life, going through this, doing that group learning and peer-to-peer mentorship, as well as, you know, the traditional mentorship to somebody more senior and ahead of you who can tell you what's coming down the pike. So staying invested in these communities is a big going to be a big thing that you can do to get yourself started. But also just study things that are interesting to you. I've also seen people make the mistake of again thinking of a very narrow definition of what a public markets investor can look like and then taking courses and joining clubs that they don't have a passion for. And when you're not passionate about something, it's hard to be competitive against people who are. So it's better for you to Be as authentic and genuine in your interests as you can. It's not to say that something you can develop an interest over time. If something is not interesting to you right now, like reading the Wall Street Journal may not be super interesting to you right now because you may not understand all the jargon. But that is something that can be built up over time. But the passion is something that you can't really fake. So if your passion is for public markets, there are a lot of tools, there are newsletters that kind of summarize the news of the day in more bite-sized forms. And I can promise you that repeated exposure to the Wall Street Journal, The Economists, Financial Times, etc., you will begin to get into the flow of things and start to understand the jargon that is being spoken. But again, just do the things that feel authentic and natural to you and the rest kind of takes care of itself. Well, Yoba, thank you for bringing your authentic and genuine self to this conversation. We so greatly appreciate it and know that our students will find great value. So thank you. Awesome. I'm really glad to have helped in any way that I can. Thank you for joining the conversation. Visit Rock the Streetwall Street.com to learn more. Make sure to follow and join us for the next episode. Until next time, let's keep rocking finance.
