As part of our ongoing efforts to provide our readers with the highest quality investment content, ValueWalk is now offering the Harvest Interview Series.
The Harvest Interview Series provides exclusive access to financial business leaders including money managers, institutional allocators, research firm founders and other top investment professionals.These unique Q&A interviews give investors access to the top thought leaders in the investment industry.
Vijay Marolia, Managing Partner and Chief Executive Officer
Q&A with Vijay Marolia – Regal Point Capital
Vijay J. Marolia has over 13 years of experience in capital markets specializing in hedge fund and private equity investment strategies. He is Managing Partner and Chief Investment Officer of Regal Point Capital, a multi-strategy investment firm, which he launched in 2013. Previously, Vijay spent 8 years at Private Wealth Management at Heathrow, one of Central Florida’s top wealth management firms, with over $300 million in assets under management. As Chief Investment officer, Mr. Marolia served as the firm’s global macroeconomic strategist and was responsible for research and portfolio construction.
Vijay earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Finance from the University of Florida and a MBA with a concentration in Finance from Rollins College’s Crummer Graduate School of Business, where he served on the Alumni Board. Vijay is frequently featured in media outlets including the Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, Reuters, ValueWalk, Mining Weekly, Seeking Alpha, Investopedia, Fox 35 Orlando and more.
Khai Nguyen: I’m joined here today by Vijay Marolia, Managing Partner and Chief Investment Officer of Regal Point Capital. Vijay, welcome and thanks for joining us.
Vijay Marolia: Thank you for having me.
KN: Vijay, can you start by telling us about your background and how you got started in the world of professional investing.
Vijay Marolia: I’ve been fascinated by the concept of investing since I was about 5 years old. My dad took me to the bank for the first time and that sparked the conversation which led me down the rabbit hole that I am still exploring. While in college as a finance major, I was able to get my feet wet at Morgan Stanley. I realized very soon that I didn’t want to be a stockbroker. I wanted to be a professional investor so I kept growing and learning until I finally became a fund manager.
Most of my actual experience running other people’s money came a few years after college at one of Central Florida’s premier wealth management firms. When I first joined as an analyst out of undergrad, we had less than $80 million under management, but the firm kept growing and so did my responsibilities. By the time I left in 2012, I was the youngest partner at the firm and we were managing more than $300 million in assets. That was an amazing experience for me and it helped me immensely, especially during the financial crisis when I was promoted to Chief Investment Officer. I realized then that most of what I learned about investing in business school was impressive in theory, but dangerous in practice: markets are not efficient or rational—they are emotional just like the people that ultimately make them up. Risk cannot be defined or measured by volatility—risk is being wrong and losing money. And Wall Street will be ready to promote and sell anything it thinks people will buy—anything.
I remember he was the first person who taught me about Warren Buffett, and I was hooked immediately.
KN: Who has been the biggest influence on you as an investor?
Vijay Marolia: Definitely my father. Even today he still inspires me. When I think about him leaving his family, friends, and everything he knew at age 19 to come to America, it makes any of my problems seem small. I remember he was the first person who taught me about Warren Buffett, and I was hooked immediately. As I learned more, I eventually came to realize that Buffett and my father had very similar strategies, but very different playing fields. I wanted to win at both games; securities and real estate.
That’s one reason why a recent influence of mine has been Bill Ackman of Pershing Square. Ackman’s father was also in the real estate business. Ackman and I both manage concentrated portfolios for long-term growth and we both take short positions as a means of delivering alpha, not just hedging beta. Also, we currently share similar portfolio exposures: we are both long Fannie Mae and short Herbalife.
See full PDF below.
To follow and receive notifications on future Harvest investor interviews please click here
To apply to participate in the Harvest Interview Series please click here
