Michelle Connell, CFA, owns Portia Capital Management, LLC, a registered Investment Advisory firm specializing in the investments of foundations, charities, and high net worth individuals. Portia Capital Management is the only investment management firm in the Dallas-Fort Worth area owned by a female CFA charterholder-an important resource in a world where 60% of women retire in poverty.
Michelle’s expertise is backed by more than 20 years of financial experience in management positions with large investment boutiques and private banks. She is also one of the highest-rated finance professors in the U.S., currently serving as an adjunct professor at The University of Texas at Dallas.
She works with her students and clients to understand the value of crafting a portfolio that includes conventional products as well as alternative assets. In addition to her work with students and clients, Michelle teaches the CFA Review through the DFW CFA Society.
She also founded “Portia’s Children,” through which up to 10 percent of her company’s profits are donated to the North Texas Charity, Educational First Steps.
“The only way that you’re going to have any security is by understanding money and finance.”
Michelle Connell
Worst investment ever
Michelle got a job analyzing semiconductor stocks for a private boutique in San Diego in the late 90s. She didn’t have a background in engineering, and because technology stocks can be extremely volatile, it was a struggle for her to handle these stocks.
No choice but to learn
To save her job and prevent losing too much on the stocks, Michelle quickly learned how to understand any investment's downside, whether it’s a stock, a bond, a private investment, etc. This way, she could tell when to let go of an investment.
Though this was tough, this knowledge worked to Michelle’s advantage as a few years later; she got to use it as the head of the tech sector for Wells Fargo, right before the tech bubble burst.
Lessons learned
Always look at the downside
Look at the downside of your stocks, and if possible, have your analyst hold back on what you own. And if you don’t understand the downside, be willing to sidestep the upside.
Actionable advice
You need to evaluate the upside and downside in the different investments you hold. That doesn’t just mean the individual securities, but also those within a particular style or market cap.
No. 1 goal for the next 12 months
For the next 12 months, Michelle's goal is to concentrate on her investment reallocations and take advantage of her portfolio's fixed income side.
Parting words
“Keep reading and looking at the downside as well as the upside. Think of investing as a long-term game. That’s the way you should approach your retirement and your assets.”
Michelle Connell
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