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  • - Hi everyone, welcome to the Daily Homeroom livestream.

  • We have a exciting, I guess we could call it a show today.

  • Just to get everyone on the same page

  • of what this thing even is.

  • If you're showing up for the first time

  • we're doing these live streams as a way to stay connected

  • during school closures.

  • When we started seeing the school closures

  • and now seems a lifetime ago,

  • but it was I guess it was four or five weeks ago,

  • we realized that all of us at Khan Academy

  • with as a non-for-profit with a mission of providing

  • a free world-class education for anyone anywhere

  • that we had to step up and we had to figure out

  • how to support all of you as parents,

  • as teachers and students as much as possible.

  • So we started publishing things like daily schedules

  • to structure all of the content on Khan Academy,

  • learning plans, teacher-parent webinars

  • and also this homeroom

  • and it's a place to talk about everything.

  • The closures themselves, the economy, COVID virus.

  • Many times just ask any questions you have.

  • We have an awesome guest today, I encourage you,

  • it's going to be Mellody Hobson.

  • I'll give a better introduction for her in a few seconds.

  • But feel free and start asking questions

  • on the message boards

  • either for myself or for Mellody especially.

  • I wanna give everyone a reminder, we are not-for-profit.

  • We are funded primarily through philanthropic donations.

  • And so if you are in a position to do so,

  • please think about donating to Khan Academy.

  • We were already running at a deficit before school closures

  • and now our traffic is almost three X

  • of what it typically is.

  • And you could imagine we're trying to do more

  • in this context.

  • So, for us to be able to do the work for folks

  • who might not be able to afford, anything is appreciated.

  • I do wanna give a special shoutout

  • to several corporations who stepped up in the last few weeks

  • to really especially around the COVID response

  • Bank of America, Fastly, Novartis, Google.org, and AT&T.

  • As with that, I'm eager to have as much time

  • with our guests as possible.

  • I've known our guests Mellody for some time,

  • Mellody Hobson is the co-CEO

  • and President of Ariel investments.

  • And, there's two things I really I'm eager

  • to talk to you about Mellody.

  • One is just your journey to becoming co-CEO

  • of what I think is one of the most important

  • investment firms in the world.

  • And your view of the economy,

  • we brought it, had a couple of folks

  • on in the investment management world

  • and it's just interesting times to put it lightly.

  • So maybe a good place to start Mellody,

  • tell us there's a lot of young people watching

  • who are trying to figure out their life,

  • what should they do with their life?

  • Tell us a little bit about your journey.

  • How did you end up becoming the co-CEO of Ariel investments?

  • - Well, thank you so much for having me on Sal.

  • And just know that I'm such a big fan of yours,

  • as you know, all too well, from the first time

  • I came to see you I told you I was just enamored

  • by all the things you were doing to teach so many people

  • all around the world and I applaud your efforts

  • and just feel so much gratitude

  • that you have things like this that exist

  • for people all over the world.

  • I'm also honored to be asked to be one of the people

  • that you interview and to tell my story.

  • My story I think is the story of many people

  • around the world in so many ways,

  • just a story of persistence and really, really hard work.

  • I grew up in Chicago,

  • and I was the youngest of six children.

  • My mom was a single mom

  • and when I was growing up,

  • we had a really at times challenging existence,

  • to say the least sometimes we got evicted,

  • sometimes our phone got disconnected, lights got cut off.

  • We'd live in some of the abandoned apartments

  • that my mom used to try to fix up

  • and rent for people in order to make a living.

  • And it is during that time that I became clear

  • that I was desperate to understand money,

  • not make it, not have a lot, understand it.

  • I thought if I could understand money,

  • I could have a better life

  • and I really committed myself to that.

  • When I was 19 years old,

  • I had the opportunity to be an intern at Ariel investments,

  • which was this fledgling investment firm,

  • started by this wondercan named John Rogers,

  • who started the company when he was 24 years old.

  • Today, we're 37 years old now.

  • And after I graduated from college,

  • I went back and worked at the firm in 1991,

  • after graduating from Princeton,

  • and I've only had one job since then.

  • And I started off on the client services and marketing side

  • learning everything I could learned about investing

  • in the stock market, and over time rose up

  • in the organization.

  • In May of 2000, I became president,

  • I went from intern to president.

  • And then last summer in 2019, I became co-CEO.

  • It's an amazing story in so many ways,

  • and I have so much gratitude for the opportunity

  • I've been given, but most of all,

  • I have the most amount of gratitude

  • for what I've been able to learn about money

  • and investing over this near 30-year career

  • that I've been doing this

  • and how that is really put in me a fire

  • to teach what I know to other people

  • so that they can have a better life.

  • - And what's your sense?

  • What do you think made your trajectory so successful?

  • What do you think were the traits

  • that made you a successful investor

  • and allowed other people to recognize it as well?

  • - Well, I think the first thing that helped me

  • was that I always believe

  • that you have to always be learning, always,

  • that I ever have felt even today

  • that I know enough and then I can stop.

  • And so having that open mind,

  • some people call it a beginner's mind.

  • That's a Buddhist concept that your mind is always new,

  • like a child, and you're approaching everything

  • from the perspective of a beginner,

  • allows you to really take in a lot of information.

  • Ray Kroc who started McDonald's had a quote

  • that I really liked.

  • Ray says, "As long as you're green, you grow,

  • "when you're ripe you rot."

  • And I really liked that concept

  • of just staying green all the time and being open.

  • Not being so convinced that you know everything,

  • I think that made a difference.

  • Secondly, a commitment to learning.

  • We call ourselves a learning culture at Ariel.

  • We always wanna build on what we learned from before.

  • So right now being in this global pandemic,

  • we're building on all the knowledge we learned

  • in the financial crisis of 2008 and nine.

  • And then during that period, we built on the things

  • that we learned in 9/11.

  • And that we built on things we learned in the crash of '87.

  • So it's like constantly accumulating knowledge

  • that will make you better, and building on it,

  • till you have more and more muscle memory.

  • And the last thing is just I love the idea of learning

  • about the markets, talking about companies,

  • really understanding how money works around the world.

  • It just really fascinates me.

  • And so I think it's very important,

  • you become more successful

  • at something that you really like.

  • And I just really love the business that I'm in.

  • And at the end of the day,

  • I tell our team that we work with,

  • we get to make people's lives better

  • because we grow their money in their pension fund

  • or their kids college education money,

  • that's on our mutual funds, whatever it might be,

  • so that they can have a better outcome.

  • And that's as fulfilling as anything that anyone can do

  • as fulfilling as you teaching maybe,

  • as fulfilling as doctors who are doing what they do.

  • We feel that our work is that important.

  • - And we're getting a lot of questions often

  • from YouTube and social media which is great.

  • For Aditya Gupta.

  • And this is a good starter question.

  • A lot of people are kinda vaguely familiar,

  • okay, they're these things, these investment funds.

  • But his question is, what does Ariel investments do?

  • And maybe I'll extend his question,

  • What is your day like?

  • And maybe what is it like when you started?

  • What does an investment manager and analysts do?

  • - So let's start off with Ariel investments does.

  • We are a boutique, independent, money management company,

  • we manage stock portfolios for big institutions,

  • so think states, cities, foundations,

  • whole host of organizations, often pension

  • but it could be endowment money as well.

  • And then for individuals,

  • we have publicly traded mutual funds

  • that anyone can invest with us,

  • who has as little as $50 a month to put in our mutual funds.

  • We buy domestic companies,

  • US companies that are small and medium sized companies

  • that are out of favor

  • but who are strong potential for growth.

  • And over the years, we've owned everything from companies

  • that you know, they usually dominate the niche

  • that they're in.

  • Everything from Smucker's jelly,

  • which is in the portfolio right now.

  • In the past, we've owned things

  • like Tiffany's, The Retailer and Clorox

  • the diversified consumer products company.

  • So you name it, those companies that dominated niche.

  • We say once you get the customer,

  • they go back again and again,

  • small and medium-sized companies.

  • And then we have international and global portfolios.

  • International means it's only companies based outside

  • of the United States

  • and global means it's companies all over the world,

  • including the United States.

  • And those portfolios also seek to invest in companies

  • that are out of favor.

  • And that's everything from higher companies

  • to the version of what you would have in America

  • with some of our internet businesses

  • that are based in China, like Baidu.

  • So, we're looking for these brands and franchises.

  • And we want businesses that will be able to grow over time,

  • but we wanna buy them when they're out of favor,

  • when for whatever reason they've been cast aside.

  • So as you might imagine, right now, during a time

  • when the stock market has been so volatile,

  • there have been a lot of buying opportunities

  • that have come to us.

  • So these days, we're super busy.

  • But when you ask about my day,

  • I am actually not an investment analyst,

  • although I am someone whose Rolodex

  • is used on a regular basis to inform the stocks

  • that we are buying.

  • So in this current environment,

  • I've been on the phone on many occasions

  • with my co-CEO calling friends in the industry,

  • talking about what they're seeing in the market

  • because we can learn from everyone,

  • including we called his old corporate finance teacher,

  • someone named Burton Malkiel,

  • who wrote a book called "The Random Walk Down Wall Street."

  • that is so famous, I think it's in its ninth edition,

  • to say, what do you think of this environment?

  • But we'll also call very famous money managers

  • and ask them that as well.

  • When we do our own independent work

  • and our own independent thinking,

  • but we can learn from anyone.

  • And then our team would be spending lots of time

  • on the phone, talking to management teams of companies

  • that we own, asking them what their prospects

  • for the business are, what has changed, what is the same,

  • how are they managing during the period?

  • And most important of all, do they have the liquidity

  • to get them to the other side?

  • And I say the other side because this will end

  • at some point, it won't be forever.

  • At some point there will be a vaccine.

  • At some point we will go back to life as we know it,

  • we don't know how long that will be.

  • And so the most important thing is to understand

  • from those companies, that they have the balance sheet

  • and the wherewithal to be able to withstand

  • whatever kind of pain they will feel during this period.

  • I spend an enormous amount of time on the phone talking

  • to our clients and shareholders, writing to them,

  • writing the communications explaining what we're doing,

  • so that they're as informed as possible

  • and there are no surprises when it comes to our portfolios

  • and how we're investing and performing.

  • - And touching on I think a lot of questions

  • are which are, where's the economy going?

  • Before I go into that there's something you said

  • that is interesting, I think a lot of people

  • could learn from.

  • The fact that you're looking at companies

  • that are out of favor,

  • that might be counterintuitive for some.

  • So what's the hypothesis there

  • and also I'm fascinated by your logo, which is a turtle.

  • So, and maybe those two things are connected.

  • - Well, we believe that real money is made over time.

  • And all of our beliefs come from studying

  • the investment grades.

  • The greatest investor of our modern time is Warren Buffett,

  • the CEO and chairman of Berkshire Hathaway,

  • who still happens to be alive,

  • who is one of the greatest track records in investing

  • of any human being ever.

  • And so we've thought a lot about what he's written

  • about and talked about, and he talks about time

  • is the friend of the wonderful investor,

  • the enemy of the mediocre.

  • And so we think about that fact

  • that we wanna invest in things that over the long term

  • will demonstrate growth.

  • And there may be a reason that it's temporary,

  • out of favor, maybe an entire industry

  • got taken down at once

  • and a good company went down with it.

  • And so we're looking for those opportunities

  • to be able to buy companies when for whatever reason

  • something has gone wrong.

  • So a simple example of that

  • we've been buying a company recently

  • that's in the dental industry.

  • And that's very much of late.

  • And the reason that it's compelling

  • is because we say to ourselves, okay,

  • we get it when you're sheltered in place,

  • no one can go to the dentist.

  • So the earnings and revenue on that business

  • just fall off a cliff.

  • There's no question about it.

  • Then our next question is,

  • can they manage through this period

  • for a significant period of time not knowing

  • when it'll be over.

  • They're best in class at what they do.

  • And when things get up and running again,

  • we believe most people will go back to the dentist.

  • In fact, they'll probably be some pent up demand there.

  • So that would be an example of out of favor,

  • but shows potential for long-term growth.

  • When you think of around the world,

  • more and more people go to the dentist.

  • I'll give you another quick example.

  • Medical related, we own a company called Zimmer

  • that makes hips and knees.

  • And they literally, it's a doctor gets trained

  • on one device, and they use that device all the time.

  • So it's in our mind a razor, razor blade business.

  • The doctor is the razor, the customer is the razor blade.

  • The customer comes through and gets hips and knees

  • over and over again.

  • Again, during this pandemic, no elective surgery,

  • having a bad hip or knee doesn't kill you,

  • but it might really hurt.

  • So people can't go to the doctor and get their hip replaced.

  • But we're looking at the demographics that show

  • this very basic math that shows baby boomers

  • are going to need hips and knees.

  • For every one pound you gain.

  • it's four pounds on your knees.

  • So while again, there may not be surgeries right now,

  • over time, not only will it recover,

  • but we say that's going to unfortunately

  • be a growing industry.

  • So that's what we mean about buying things

  • when they're out of favor.

  • - No, it's very compelling.

  • I don't know my old job, I was an analyst at a hedge fund

  • and at much more junior level than Mellody.

  • But, my boss always used to say,

  • when you're buying there's someone smart selling to you

  • and when you're selling, there's someone smart buying

  • so what do you think your edge is?

  • And Mellody's edge and it sounds like it's very much

  • aligned with the Warren Buffett's of the world

  • is that most people think relatively short to medium term

  • and kinda move with the herd and move with emotion.

  • And if you can somehow separate yourself from that

  • and be a little bit contrarian sometimes,

  • you might be able to, time could be your friend.

  • - And that speaks for our logo.

  • And we'd say be a lot contrary and the number of calls

  • that I've gotten from everything

  • from working class individuals

  • who are trying to make ends meet saying,

  • "My 401K plan or 403B plan is getting crushed."

  • The billionaires that we work for who say,

  • "I'm thinking of selling."

  • You don't sell into the panic.

  • Buffett has this quote, "Buy the panic."

  • There's another famous line, "You wanna be greedy

  • "when others are fearful

  • "and fearful when others are greedy."

  • So during the time of fear and panic,

  • indiscriminate selling which we saw in early March.

  • We're gonna be thinking, where are the opportunities?

  • Again, there's that famous line,

  • I think it's Churchill who said,

  • "Don't let a crisis go to waste."

  • And so, you say during that crisis,

  • just from an investment standpoint,

  • what are the opportunities

  • that might just be being rolling away,

  • where people are just running for cover.

  • You should never sell into that kind of down market.

  • That's why we have a turtle as a logo.

  • And we talk about slow and steady winning the race

  • like Aesop's fables, and don't get the sense

  • that we mean slow and being like,

  • we're not doing anything,

  • we are urgently patient.

  • Like we're looking for opportunities at all time.

  • We take our time, and we're thinking

  • of what will this company be over the next

  • three to five years,

  • not the next three to five quarters.

  • - I like that phrase, urgently patient.

  • I think I need to be a little bit more of that myself.

  • (laughs)

  • I have the urgency, I need the more of the patience.

  • - But that's what we really are.

  • We're urgently patient, we're looking at it with urgency

  • but we're taking a long-term view about what it'll be.

  • - That's great.

  • And we're getting a ton of questions

  • you could imagine about the economy itself.

  • And those businesses

  • that you just talked about make a ton of sense,

  • at least even with my old investment hat on.

  • But a lot of people and we had Ray Dalio on last week.

  • And there's kinda contrasting trends here.

  • We saw the market go down a lot

  • and then it's kinda gone back up to a reasonable level.

  • It seems to me as someone who's not doing

  • this as my day job anymore,

  • that the market got reasonably optimistic

  • maybe once we hit the peak of the crisis

  • and things like that.

  • But at the other hand, when you look at the jobless claims,

  • numbers, you think about well, even if a state does open up,

  • will people really go to restaurants or dentists

  • or whatever else?

  • It could be a while.

  • Do you think the market has it wrong?

  • Do you think there's something else at play here?

  • What's your macro read?

  • - So we are bottom-up stock pickers

  • We're looking at companies just one company at a time,

  • what will it be over the long term

  • and we like it best when those companies

  • don't get beaten up and down by what's going on

  • from a macro perspective

  • but in this environment that's unavoidable.

  • What we would say is that we we don't think of the market

  • as being right or wrong, it just is.

  • And so from that perspective,

  • our work is to try to be thoughtful around

  • what is occurring, and the market what it typically

  • does, it anticipates the future.

  • It looks out into the future,

  • and has some sense of what it thinks will happen.

  • And then that's obviously as a result of a cluster of people

  • buying and selling et cetera.

  • And there's no question with the recover

  • we've seen in such a short period of time

  • the market is anticipating

  • better days ahead for the economy.

  • Perhaps they're thinking that recovery will be faster

  • than what everyone thought in early March

  • when shares were being indiscriminately sold.

  • And so we would say that is what it is,

  • it could be wrong, we might have a W,

  • where we go down again, we may have stayed at home orders

  • again in the fall, we don't know.

  • We have thought more that it might look more like a U

  • that we've had this period through the rest of the year

  • where you would not expect a lot out of corporate America

  • especially in terms of profitability or earnings.

  • And then you'd start to see a recovery in 2021,

  • which to us is like a nanosecond in investing.

  • That is the scenario with which we're working against.

  • But we can be wrong and still be right.

  • Because remember, we're thinking long term,

  • and we're not making investments.

  • We're not trading based upon the next three to six months.

  • It's nice to have the market recover the way it has.

  • But we also know that

  • it has been a very, very volatile period,

  • and these things can turn on a dime.

  • I think our biggest concern right now

  • is if we come out, way too fast, and way too early,

  • that people, could be in a situation where

  • they have to lock down again,

  • that might be very, very upsetting.

  • So we will just have to play it by year and see here.

  • And for us, it's really to take advantage

  • of the opportunities as they come.

  • - And these businesses like say,

  • these are associated with the dental industry

  • or hip replacement that when you are in a stay-in-place

  • order, maybe even once we're out of the stay-in-place order,

  • and you're allowed to go, but most people will try not to go

  • until there's a vaccine or something.

  • How long, when you're looking at how long

  • they can be solved with little revenue.

  • What time horizon are you all looking at?

  • Is it six months?

  • 18 months longer? - We're looking at, yeah.

  • We were looking at the next six to 12 months, yes.

  • And saying if they're really, really compromised

  • during that period, will these businesses

  • do they have the balance sheet that they can be okay?

  • That's the question we're asking ourselves

  • and that's not a guess, for certain industries.

  • I mean, we're gonna see bankruptcies

  • come out of this environment.

  • We've already started to see that,

  • and there whole sectors that are really, really taking

  • it on the chin.

  • I mean, the airline industry is going to be compromised,

  • there's no question about it, because that's an industry

  • where capital expenditures are very, very expensive.

  • You've got big labor issues,

  • now they're benefiting lower oil prices

  • but there are a whole bunch of things that can hit them.

  • And so that would be an industry that we'd say,

  • we just don't know what will happen there

  • that goes into the too hard category for us.

  • But there'll be a whole bunch of other areas

  • where you can again, look out and say, literally,

  • I know like, if my crown breaks, I'm going to the dentist.

  • It's just it's not going to be a question.

  • - Yeah, and I know you are bottoms-up.

  • And actually the fund I used to work for

  • was very, very similar on a much smaller scale.

  • But I am I'm sure you do have a view on,

  • I mean, you just gave a little bit of your the macro.

  • But what from a policy point of view?

  • If you were the chairman of the Federal Reserve,

  • or if you were the Treasury Secretary.

  • What kind of actions you think need to be taken or not taken

  • to get us through this?

  • - Well, I have to say I applaud what they have done so far.

  • I was in a board meeting with someone and they said,

  • the Federal Reserve didn't bring a bazooka,

  • they brought the whole arsenal.

  • And that is true.

  • This is a giant contrast to the '08-'09 financial crisis,

  • when I remember Henry Paulson,

  • who was been Treasury Secretary,

  • going and presenting to Congress

  • and asking for a stimulus bill that was 750 billion dollars

  • and them initially turning him down.

  • And he did needed that money to rescue American banks.

  • And that was one of those daunting moments

  • the market is literally cratered on that bad news.

  • This is just the opposite.

  • Congress has an open cheque book,

  • which has its own repercussions potentially down the road.

  • But today, you wanna be in the business

  • of doing too much versus too little

  • and they're approaching this in exactly that manner.

  • Now that said, I want this stimulus text

  • to get to individuals faster,

  • because that has been problematic at certain levels.

  • And I think the small business,

  • PPP is also a challenge in terms of how fast people

  • are getting money, and is everyone getting

  • that equal access to the opportunity to participate.

  • So those things I think we've got to get on.

  • The one thing I'll also say they did a really good job

  • with a furlough situation

  • that when employees get furloughed,

  • they're getting their full compensation,

  • which incense companies not to lay those people off.

  • And so I think that's really, really good.

  • And I think the unemployment benefits

  • given the number of people who had to file claims

  • at the end of the day,

  • I think they did the right thing there as well.

  • And especially with putting on the extra four children

  • and there was a lot there

  • that was I think, very, very thoughtful,

  • and the right thing to do.

  • I just don't think it's over.

  • I think we're looking at more stimulus, not less.

  • - And there's tons of question here

  • but one follow up question to that.

  • What do you think are the long-term

  • implications to your point?

  • In terms of emergence,

  • you can think of very fundamental terms.

  • There is food out there,

  • we just need to make sure people have currency

  • to buy the food.

  • Are there shelter?

  • We need to make sure they have currency to pay that rent.

  • But in order to do so, trillions of dollars

  • potentially of increasing the debt.

  • What do you think are the long-term implications, if any?

  • - Inflation is likely a long-term implication.

  • I mean, when we've talked to a number of experts

  • out there in academics,

  • they're pretty united in their point of view.

  • When Rome is burning, if your house is burning down,

  • you're not thinking about the rebuild at that point

  • you're thinking about putting out the fire.

  • So right now, we're assume the put out the fire mode.

  • And then we'll have to figure out the environment

  • afterwards and what we do about that.

  • But again, I think there is no other action

  • that could be taken than the actions

  • that have been taken thus far.

  • - Yeah.

  • We have this question from Tamika Rogers on YouTube.

  • And you've touched on this already, but I'll ask it again,

  • 'cause I'm sure a lot of people are asking this.

  • Miss Hobson, is this the perfect time

  • to invest in the stock market?

  • Well-known companies, I guess she's asking,

  • would it be well-known companies,

  • mostly that you expect to thrive in two to five years,

  • which does sound aligned with y'alls thinking?

  • - So this is what I would say, first of all,

  • I do think there are some opportunities out there

  • not as many as there were a month ago

  • when things were worse.

  • But what I would say, Warren Buffett says,

  • "It's a market of stocks, not a stock market."

  • So, there are companies always for sale in the stock market

  • even when the stock market is at highs.

  • I would caution people to make sure

  • they have the right perspective.

  • And I think you have to take a longer term view

  • and not to expect this to be like a rubber band

  • that's recoiled and it just bounces back like that.

  • So just making sure again,

  • you're looking out and you are patient in your perspective.

  • I also would encourage you to invest in things you know.

  • That's a famous line from another great investor,

  • value investor named Peter Lynch,

  • who was very famous in the '80s.

  • And he talked about investing in things

  • that you have a good sense of,

  • as opposed to trying to stretch and learn something

  • that you don't know or understand.

  • There are certain areas we don't invest in

  • because we do not understand them and we think we're smart.

  • But we tend not to buy commodities

  • because you have to predict them.

  • There are a whole host of things,

  • we don't have a lot of exposure to technology,

  • because we think there's rapid obsolescence,

  • especially amongst smaller and mid-size technology companies

  • that you can be put out of business very quickly

  • by another competitor or disrupted very easily

  • and then your value could erode.

  • It's harder for Google now or harder for Facebook,

  • but some of this on the smaller end that can be challenging.

  • So we don't tend to do a lot there,

  • being very realistic about what you know and understand.

  • I'm not one for stock tips from people, anything like that.

  • And if you don't have the stomach for this, don't do it.

  • Get a professional, buy mutual funds,

  • that you have investment professionals like us in Ariel

  • that are actually doing the work

  • and worrying about this on a day-to-day basis.

  • - Actually, just a curious question,

  • something I always struggled with

  • when I was in the same field is,

  • you have a strong thesis, you've done your homework,

  • you've made your investment.

  • And y'all are famously patient about it.

  • Well my question is, are there some times

  • that you are unsure about yourself?

  • How do you draw the line between

  • doubling down on your bet versus saying

  • maybe I was just wrong and getting out of it?

  • And obviously, there's parallels to life there

  • but you're living it every day in the investment world.

  • - So first, we have this point that we make

  • with our investment team and we say,

  • "We hold our ideas lightly, not dearly."

  • So we hold them lightly so that we have the ability

  • with new information to change our minds.

  • It's very important.

  • biz investing, you don't need, as again quoting Buffett,

  • "A perfect batting average to be successful."

  • And so as a result of that, you're going to make mistakes,

  • you must accept that.

  • One of the greatest pieces of advice I got

  • was from my co-CEO and business partner.

  • Once I was agonizing over something and he said,

  • "Mellody, I don't agonize over mistakes,

  • "because I make them frequently."

  • And you really have to have a little bit

  • of a move-on mentality.

  • You make it, what did you learn from that?

  • And you move on.

  • And there are times we have absolutely made mistakes

  • we went on internalize those lessons.

  • One of the periods where we made mistakes was in 2008-2009,

  • where we underperform for the first time in a down market,

  • and we underperform significantly.

  • And we went back and completely overhauled

  • our balance sheet work and how we were doing it

  • and making sure companies have the wherewithal

  • for tough periods.

  • And we think that those learnings allowed us

  • to survive this period and endure this period

  • much better than we did before as an example.

  • And so we make mistakes with stocks all the time.

  • And the simple question we ask our analysts,

  • this is the easy way to think about it.

  • We don't allow our analysts to say, "Hold."

  • Some companies, you have a buy, a hold or a sell.

  • We say you're either a buyer or seller, you must pick.

  • If you don't wanna buy it, you wanna sell it.

  • And in some ways, that's figurative for us

  • but it's a way of making people

  • really put a stake in the ground

  • either like it or you don't,

  • you can't live in this no man's land or hold

  • without showing your hand of what you really believe.

  • - That's a fascinating point is it?

  • I've always thought about it but never phrased

  • the way you just said, 'cause your point is right.

  • If you're holding something, you're essentially saying,

  • if you were buying today, you'd be willing to buy it.

  • - 'Cause right - Correct.

  • - Definition holding that's a fascinating thing,

  • the rest of the industry (laughs)

  • I think a lot of the folks are seeking shelter

  • in that hold position (laughs)

  • 'cause you can't be two, right?

  • - And the thing is, we have to affirm that every day.

  • That's the thing, you can't rationalize that

  • because you've owned it for this whatever amount of time.

  • Again, quoting a great investor,

  • "The stock doesn't know you own it, it doesn't care."

  • So every day, you're starting off with the idea

  • that is this better than owning something else.

  • It doesn't matter how long I owned it before.

  • - And I really love that idea

  • of not holding your ideas too tightly.

  • I think there's a very big meta wisdom to that.

  • Even in life our egos can get very attached

  • to our points of views or ideas.

  • And sometimes even become destructive (laughs)

  • our lives 'cause we hold so tightly to them

  • in the face of new information.

  • So there's something very zen about that.

  • - Think about that, from the perspective

  • just politics today and the polarization of ideas

  • around political parties, et cetera.

  • And when people become too wedded to an ideology,

  • it can break down, real progress.

  • And so we really do have this perspective

  • of that's one of the reasons we believe diverse points

  • of view are so important to solving really hard problems.

  • And bringing people with all of those diverse points of view

  • that might have a point of view that's very strong.

  • But again, that I'm willing to yield my perspective

  • to a more compelling point of view,

  • as opposed to just being wedded to an ideology.

  • - Yeah, no, I mean, that's so relevant on so many levels.

  • There's a question here about finance in general

  • or learning finance from Aditya Gupta from YouTube.

  • How to start learning about finance investing

  • in the economy at a younger age?

  • How can we start investing at our ages?

  • - So first and foremost, this is one of the things

  • that just you know, Sal, I came to see you on this topic

  • because the thing that frustrates me so much is that

  • I'm just gonna use America

  • as the base for the conversation here.

  • You can go to high school in America today

  • and take woodshop or auto and not a class on investing,

  • which always leads me to ask audiences the same thing

  • who's wiggling in their spare time?

  • Who's cleaning their own carburetor?

  • No one, right?

  • But when it comes to understanding

  • the basics of the Dow, the S&P, the NASDAQ,

  • small cap, mid cap, large cap, market capitalization,

  • growth, value, all of these things

  • that have some profound potential effect

  • on your long-term financial security, we don't teach it.

  • And so that's why opportunities like this are so important.

  • What I believe very strongly is that investing

  • should be taught in school in America, at a very young age.

  • I think it should be like learning a language.

  • I have a six-year old and she takes Spanish at school,

  • she already speaks Chinese.

  • And once you can start early, you become very facile

  • in the language and I think that's very, very important.

  • One way if you can't get it in a school

  • to get them to have it as part of the curriculum

  • and I say to people,

  • if you have a stockbroker or financial advisor,

  • the person in the local bank

  • that may know something about investments,

  • maybe they can come in and teach a class

  • for your nephew or your child or what have you,

  • so you get a sense of these important concepts.

  • The children get a sense of these important concepts.

  • If you can't do that, I think a great idea is to do

  • what John Rogers, my business partner's father did for him.

  • His father was a child of The Depression, an orphan.

  • He moved to Chicago, when he was 11 years old.

  • He was in the first class of Tuskegee Airmen

  • and he wanted John to understand money.

  • And so he gave John stocks

  • every birthday and every Christmas

  • starting when he was 12 years old, instead of toys.

  • That you may not do the instead of toys part,

  • but certainly having that component,

  • be a part of his gift-giving really taught John

  • from the very beginning the fundamentals of investing,

  • and you can do that with a child by giving him

  • gifts of stock of things that they know and like.

  • And that's the gift that keeps giving versus the toy

  • that becomes obsolete at some point.

  • And that could be Mattel,

  • that could be shares of Sony because of PlayStation,

  • that could be McDonald's or Nike,

  • things that the children understand fundamentally

  • or your teen, and ultimately may create some interest

  • there that they can watch and understand

  • the benefits of ownership and equity,

  • as opposed to just consumerism.

  • - Yeah, that's powerful idea.

  • And I actually think, it's talking about edges

  • that I think some younger people

  • because they think a little bit different

  • have a different lens, they actually might be able

  • to have a perspective that professionals

  • might not even fully have.

  • There's a question here from Layla Torres.

  • It's really praise, but I think it leads to a question,

  • "Mellody, thanks for being a role model

  • "to all females in finance.

  • "We don't have many

  • "and it was great to learn about you."

  • And the question I'll ask is,

  • why don't we see more females in finance?

  • - I think there's a lot of stigma around issues

  • related to math and girls.

  • And, I'm not the first person who's ever said this.

  • And it's disappointing, and it continues to exist.

  • And it's true.

  • And that, therefore, affects our ranks

  • in both the investment business

  • as well as in engineering and other areas.

  • And I think it's a perception that's just wrong,

  • the data shows it.

  • So we've looked at the investment habits, patterns

  • and successes of women versus men.

  • And interestingly, women tend to be better investors.

  • Part of the reason that we tend to be better ambassadors,

  • we tend to trade less and be more patient.

  • And that ultimately works in our benefit.

  • And they've looked at lots and lots of decisions

  • that have been made over time to be able to show that

  • that's just rank and file people

  • in their personal investment portfolios.

  • In the industry that I'm in,

  • only 7% of portfolio managers are women.

  • We actually have one in my office that's great investor

  • named Rupal Bhansali,

  • who manages our international global strategies

  • and has done a phenomenal job.

  • But it's really disappointing to see those numbers

  • haven't moved very much.

  • Now I think exposure is part of that

  • they need to see people like Rupal and people like me,

  • who love what we do, and are in this business

  • and in it to win it.

  • And I think to the extent that girls and teens

  • and college students are aware of the opportunities

  • in our industry and the fulfillment

  • that we get from the work that we do,

  • I think they would be as excited about it as we are.

  • - And related to that.

  • Another comment this is from Rushika Tellim Saidi

  • from YouTube said, "Mellody Hobson, you are so inspiring

  • "to all girls around the world.

  • "I'm a girl of color and I'm really inspired by you."

  • And that kind of going with a question from Layla.

  • When you went into the industry right out of college,

  • and you looked around at probably were even fewer women,

  • even fewer people of color, did you ever feel like,

  • "Hey, how come there's no one like me, maybe I don't belong"

  • and how did you overcome any feelings like that?

  • - So I'm smiling because I had a friend once

  • that I asked a question about being different

  • in the industry, et cetera.

  • And he was like "Mellody, how long have you been black?

  • "How long have you been a woman?"

  • It just comes with the territory,

  • when you're a woman or a person of color,

  • you'll understand what you're up against.

  • I've told stories about how when I was a young girl,

  • my mother told me what I would be up against.

  • And she explained to me, I have it in my TED Talk,

  • that people won't always treat me well.

  • She told me that when I was six years old.

  • And it was really something that was very important

  • because it allowed me not to then be defeated

  • by any form of inequity that I saw.

  • I saw the opportunity when I entered

  • the industry in 1991, to be different.

  • And so I joke with people

  • when I would go to investment conferences,

  • I would be the only one, the only woman of color.

  • And when I go up to people, they'd say, "You're Mellody"

  • before they had even met me.

  • And I could have been like Cher or Beyonce

  • like no last name, I stood out.

  • And so I used that standing out to my advantage.

  • I said, "Okay, there's no one else like me.

  • "That I'm going to be memorable."

  • As opposed to seeing it as a cross

  • that I was carrying on my back.

  • It doesn't mean that it was always easy

  • by any stretch of the imagination.

  • The way that I built up my confidence is through knowledge.

  • The more knowledge I have, the more prepared I am,

  • the more confident I am.

  • And I think that's really important.

  • We all know what it takes for us to walk

  • into a room and feel confident.

  • If I was studied in my subject

  • I could walk in with my head high

  • and with my ideas ready to go.

  • And I think that's a very, very important

  • way of conquering the world.

  • When you can go on with good ideas

  • and not be afraid to state what they are

  • not be discouraged when they're rejected.

  • I always felt like I could get another job

  • was the other thing.

  • I was like, "If it doesn't work out here,

  • "I'm really confident in myself."

  • Not because I'm cocky or have a huge ego.

  • I just know I'll do whatever it takes.

  • If tomorrow you told me I couldn't go work at Ariel

  • and I had to go and work at Neiman Marcus

  • or Macy's or Kohl's or you name the store,

  • I'd be the number one salesperson without a doubt,

  • because I would do it with that much as much passion

  • as I do this proudly.

  • So I really think it's about your own mindset

  • and your own mentality.

  • There are going to be haters.

  • They exist everywhere, and big and small

  • and your own race and your own gender.

  • And they're gonna be people who root for you and help you.

  • I just I decided to ignore those who weren't there

  • to help me, try to avoid them as much as possible,

  • make choices that would lead me to people

  • who are more positive and more interested

  • in a better outcome for me.

  • And that doesn't mean I got it perfectly.

  • But more often than not by giving people

  • the benefit of the doubt,

  • I was more right than wrong.

  • - Wow that's an incredibly inspiring

  • and I think everyone has aspects about their being

  • that they might feel a little bit different than others

  • or feel imposter or feel insecure about certain things.

  • But I think the way you framed it right now

  • is inspiring for everyone.

  • Mellody, I could keep going for hours

  • asking you questions and it looks like

  • YouTube and Facebook could keep going on, as well.

  • But I wanna be very sensitive to your time.

  • Thank you so much for for joining this.

  • And I hope you join again.

  • Hopefully, you had a good time.

  • There's a lot of questions from a lot of folks here.

  • But this was a really inspiring conversation.

  • Thank you so much.

  • - Well, thank you for having me.

  • And I just really wanna end by thanking you

  • for all the work you do, Sal for so many.

  • You are one of my heroes, I mean that genuinely in my heart

  • and I'm just so proud to know you

  • and to be able to learn from you.

  • - Well, you're one of my heroes,

  • and it's only been reinforced from this conversation.

  • So I'm extra flattered that you even say that

  • but thank you so much Mellody,

  • it's a real treat. - Thanks.

  • - So everyone, thanks for joining what I found

  • to be a very inspiring conversation with Mellody.

  • A lot of takeaways that I'm gonna be thinking

  • about as I have my own.

  • I think we all have our own things

  • that we deal with in life.

  • I just loved Mellody's ability to power through

  • and be resilient and optimistic

  • and in the face of sometimes significant adversity.

  • But anyway thanks for joining, I hope we can have Mellody

  • on in the future as well.

  • We're gonna have some other amazing guests

  • in the next few days and weeks,

  • and stay safe, stay health and these times of COVID.

  • And just remind yourself that we're all in this together.

  • Don't try to focus too much on some of the negatives

  • that you hear in the news.

  • There's a lot of positives out there.

  • And one of the silver linings is we are seeing

  • a lot of humanity step up and do the right thing.

  • I'll also just throw out the plug again,

  • because it's part of my job.

  • We are not-for-profit.

  • If you're in a position to do so,

  • please think about making a donation to Khan Academy.

  • It's donations like that,

  • that allow us to continue to do this work,

  • especially for folks who might not otherwise

  • be able to have access to learning materials.

  • So thank you so much, and I will see you tomorrow.

- Hi everyone, welcome to the Daily Homeroom livestream.

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