JCC MetroWest: A Wall Street Legend: Leon Cooperman
Tuesday, August 15
7:00 pm - 9:00 pm (EDT)
Wall Street mogul Leon Cooperman provides a brilliant business memoir encompassing a quarter-century with Goldman Sachs and then the management of his own successful hedge fund, Omega Advisors. Cooperman traces his life story from his roots as the son of immigrant parents in the Bronx through his days as an undergraduate at Hunter College, his subsequent graduate studies at the Columbia Business School, and beyond, all the way to his current role as a subscriber to Warren Buffett’s “Giving Pledge” and a committed philanthropist engaged in giving away the entirety of his multi-billion-dollar fortune. Along the way, Cooperman also spells out his philosophies and “best practices” for stock research and investment, rooted in the classic value-investing approach originated by Benjamin Graham and David Dodd. Additionally, Cooperman makes an impassioned defense of capitalism as the best of all possible economic systems. Cooperman’s narrative also includes meditations on taxes in general (and a wealth tax in particular) and challenges the thinking of political progressives who espouse policies that Cooperman believes would unduly restrain the free market.
Moderated by Evan Ratner:
Prior to joining Chatham in 2009, Mr. Ratner had an 18-year career at DLJ / Credit Suisse in investment banking, high-yield research, and distressed research, most recently as a Managing Director and Head of Distressed Research. In this capacity, he hired and trained nearly all members of the distressed research team, and also ran the vendor finance business for four years. Evan joined DLJ in 1991 in investment banking before joining high-yield research in early 1994. He later became a distressed analyst and subsequently headed DLJ’s Distressed Research team. After Credit Suisse purchased DLJ in 2000, Evan continued to head the distressed team until leaving for an event-driven hedge fund, Darmel Management, in mid-2002, where he was the Distressed Portfolio Manager. He returned to Credit Suisse the following year and resumed his role as the head of Distressed Research. Before joining DLJ, Evan was a financial analyst in Goldman Sachs Investment Banking group focusing on financial institutions. Evan earned an M.B.A. in Finance from Columbia University Graduate School of Business in 1991, as well as a B.A. in Economics from Columbia College in 1985. Prior to his 27 year career in finance, Evan was a Professional Tennis Player from 1985-86, and achieved a high world ranking of #309 in singles and #209 in doubles.