General Investing >> Money Manager Interviews >> June 12, 2013

A Focus on Franchise Quality in Equity Selection

Dhingra, Gautam
Gautam Dhingra is the Founder and CEO of High Pointe Capital Management, LLC. He developed the firm’s pioneering investment approach based on the concept of Franchise Quality, which holistically integrates ESG factors. Dr. Dhingra’s research interests include ESG investing and valuation of intangible assets. He holds a Ph.D. in finance from the University of Florida. He was a faculty member at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management for two years, and he has also taught courses in Securities Analysis and Derivatives at University of Florida. Dr. Dhingra started his career as director of investment research at Hewitt, a consulting firm specializing in working with Fortune 500 clients; he rose to be the partner in charge of Hewitt’s consulting for the Midwest, Southwest and Western United States, and his clients included numerous Fortune 100 companies. Over the years, Dr. Dhingra was a member of the Board of Regents for CFA Institute’s Financial Analysts Seminar; a Judge for the CFA Global Research Challenge; and the Chairman of CFA Chicago and a member of the board for six years. He has written and published articles on various investment topics in publications such as Pension Investment Handbook, and has been quoted by various media outlets including Reuters, CNN, Fox Business, BBC, National Public Radio, and Chicago Tribune. Profile
TWST: Please start with a background of High Pointe, including its history and an overview of the firm today.

Mr. Dhingra: High Pointe is a unique firm, based in Chicago. When we