Podcast Highlights
Success lies in failure. While mistakes can be painful in the moment, they can also open the door to growth and higher levels of achievement. In an episode of Citywire’s Mistakes Were Made podcast, Polen Focus Growth Portfolio Manager Dan Davidowitz reflects on how this truth has manifested over his career as an investor and what he has learned along the way.
Listen to the full podcast here →
- Davidowitz describes the different stages of his career – from starting in healthcare, to becoming a value investor during the tech bubble, to ultimately finding his true purpose as a growth investor seeking companies that can compound over long periods.
- When asked for examples of past failures, Davidowitz shares how he once struggled to transition from a value-oriented approach to the mindset needed to run a concentrated growth portfolio. He had to re-wire his thinking to fully understand the power of compounding, a lesson driven home by a premature sell recommendation he made on Nike during the early days of his career with Polen.
- Another lesson Davidowitz has learned is the importance of sticking to your discipline, even when it may feel exciting to expand beyond your circle of competence to areas that are new and different. It’s easy for investors to quickly “get over their skis” with businesses they don’t fundamentally understand.
- Many investors talk about the need to shed personal biases when making portfolio decisions, but it’s easier said than done. Davidowitz describes the Polen approach and the value of getting a “fresh pair of eyes” on a company.
Sometimes even highly experienced professional investors don’t understand the power of compounding.
—Dan Davidowitz, Portfolio Manager & Analyst
Listen to the full Citywire Mistakes Were Made podcast here →
Important Disclosures
Please note that this document is a condensed summary of the full interview conducted by Citywire. There is no guarantee that the investments selected will perform as expected. Some holdings may lose value.
This information is provided for illustrative purposes only. Opinions and views expressed are as of the date of this podcast and may involve a number of assumptions and estimates which are not guaranteed and are subject to change without notice or update. Although the information and any opinions or views given have been obtained from or based on sources believed to be reliable, no warranty or representation is made as to their correctness, completeness, or accuracy. Opinions, estimates, forecasts, and statements of financial market trends that are based on current market conditions constitute our judgment and are subject to change without notice, including any forward-looking estimates or statements which are based on certain expectations and assumptions. The views and strategies described may not be suitable for all clients. This document does not identify all the risks (direct or indirect) or other considerations which might be material to you when entering any financial transaction.
This information should not be construed as a recommendation to purchase, hold or sell any particular security. Holdings are subject to change without notice. There is no assurance that any securities discussed herein will be in the portfolio at the time you review this podcast or that any securities sold have not been repurchased. The securities discussed do not necessarily represent the entire portfolio. It should not be assumed that any of the securities, transactions or holdings discussed were or will prove to be profitable or that any investment recommendations we make in the future will equal the investment performance of the securities discussed herein. For a complete list of Polen Capital’s past specific recommendations for the last year, please contact [email protected]. Past performance does not guarantee future results and profitable results cannot be guaranteed.