Industry Immersion: Value Investing and Fundamental Asset Management in Richmond and Charlottesville

This course, offered as part of the programming by the Heilbrunn Center for Graham & Dodd Investing, is part of Columbia Business School’s portfolio of immersion experiences focused on domestic destinations. In addition to the Heilbrunn Center’s New York–based courses and events as well as the annual trips to Omaha for Berkshire Hathaway’s annual meeting, the contents and the discussions have been designed as a complementary initiative and bring a new focus to the growing and vibrant community of fundamental and value investors in the Richmond and Charlottesville area. Richmond and Charlottesville offer a unique perspective on the intersection of finance, manufacturing, policy, higher education, and innovation in the South Atlantic region of the United States. The Richmond metropolitan area is home to the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, major financial services and insurance firms such as Markel Group, often described as a “mini-Berkshire Hathaway” and an institution with existing ties to Columbia, and advanced manufacturing companies. Charlottesville is anchored by the University of Virginia, an innovation hub with growing startup and biotech sectors. This specific immersion experience is anchored by leading firms such as Markel and provides a unique opportunity to deepen connections with practitioners at the intersection of finance, insurance, and value-oriented capital allocation. By situating the program in Richmond and Charlottesville, two regional hubs with distinctive strengths in finance, insurance, and a long heritage in asset management, students will gain a perspective on how value investing principles operate outside traditional centers like New York. Industry Immersion Program classes bridge classroom lessons and business practices through in-person visits that complement the themes explored in the classroom. These three-credit courses combine a half-term of classes in New York with a one-week visit to cities that highlight the industries of focus where students will meet with businesses and organizations that exemplify the learning goals of the course. The program fee for this course will be $1050 for this year and provides students with double occupancy lodging, ground transportation and some meals. It does not cover roundtrip airfare into the first city and out of the last (any inter-city travel will be booked and included). Attendance in New York and on-site in Richmond and Charlottesville and regular classroom participation are a crucial part of the learning experience and, as such, attendance is mandatory.