Grad Talks Investments—in Stocks and McCombs
Craig Hester
BBA ’71, MBA ’72
Craig Hester has been hitting the business news circuit, making rounds on Bloomberg Television, Bloomberg Radio, CBS Radio and most recently CNBC’s “Closing Bell.” During his appearance on that show in October, Hester discussed his picks for value stocks, a subject he handles with aplomb from 19 years of experience running Hester Capital Management.
The Austin firm manages just under $1.6 million for individual and institutional clients. Since Hester founded the company, the firm has grown steadily, starting with just one employee in 1989 to 17 today. His client base comes mainly through referrals and though his firm is successful, Hester’s desire isn’t to grow the company so large that it becomes impersonal.
“Money management is a relationship business at the end of the day,” Hester says. “It’s built on trust and credibility, and my team and I work hard to preserve that.”
Before starting out on his own venture, Hester began his career as a financial analyst with the Texas Retirement System of Texas and Republic Bank. Later, he gained experience in money management with the Texas Municipal Retirement System and InterFirst Investment Management. In all of these roles, he cultivated relationships with people across the state, many of whom would later become clients of Hester Capital Management.
In part because of his own successes and because he’s a strong believer in education, Hester remains involved with McCombs. He serves as a member on the Advisory Committee for the MBA Investment Fund, where he interacts with student managers and faculty.
“I think advisor participation was designed to be educational for the MBAs,” Hester says. “But I’ve learned just as much from the faculty and students and been introduced to very bright people.”
Among those bright stars, Hester counts three of his current employees—former McCombs MBA students who worked on the MBA Investment Fund.
“Being involved with McCombs is a winning situation for me. We employ interns from McCombs and hire grads. I buy the McCombs product and am proud to come to work with these people every day.”
When he isn’t managing money for his clients or giving back to McCombs, Hester splits his time between a small Texas ranch and traveling to Colorado to hike. In 1998, Hester made it a personal goal to climb the 54 Colorado peaks that reach over 14,000 feet. He’s managed to meet that goal half way, climbing 27 of those peaks thus far and has plans to complete the remaining in the following years. For Hester, raising new heights is equally important in both his personal and professional lives.
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Last Updated
Wednesday, July 23, 2008