Promoting better investing
Community education changes society. It’s that belief that led Marilyn Ashby, BA 84, to support her alma mater and the community through a public speaker series.
Her gift to Concordia’s John Molson School of Business established the William W. Ashby Lecture Series on Value Investing. It is named in honour of her ex-husband William Ashby, BComm 64, BA 66, retired president of Toronto-based investment management firm Beutel, Goodman and Company Ltd.
Marilyn Ashby is a former community nurse whose career and volunteer work led to her active participation at United Nations summits. She witnessed concrete change, both local and global, due to education campaigns.
“Public education is so important, especially when it comes to investing,” she says, “Look at the financial crisis that began in 2008. People lost so much: their homes, their retirement, their ability to educate their children and grandchildren. These losses have a high impact throughout the community.”
The series’ focus is value investing — opting for undervalued investments that can provide sustainable growth, over popular favourites like Nortel during the dotcom boom. Its famous crash spelled disaster for many eager investors.
“I established the series with Bill in mind. He had just retired and was quite current on the investment market,” Marilyn Ashby says.
She hopes the speaker series will help people understand the market and respond intelligently.
“When everybody around you is going in one direction, it’s very hard not to follow. But that’s exactly what I saw Bill do,” Marilyn Ashby says. “The industry recognized the investment company he was with as one of few that held the course during the dotcom boom, refusing to follow the crowd. Their approach protected their clients’ assets and the many pension funds entrusted to them.”
Since the series kicked off in 2012, four speakers have shared their expertise. The Globe and Mail’s personal finance columnist Rob Carrick spoke on Canadian investment services. George Athanassakos of the University of Western Ontario’s Richard Ivey School of Business and Zvi Bodie of Boston University probed historical and scientific perspectives.
Each event attracts a full house — nearly 100 alumni, students, members of the faculty and the public — and sparks networking and group conversation at the reception that follows.
“The speaker series is a tangible way to connect to the university. Especially as an alumna living outside Quebec, it feels great to get involved at Concordia this way,” Marilyn Ashby says.
The next event is November 14 and features Aswath Damodaran, professor of finance at the Stern School of Business at New York University, on valuation and investing in the face of uncertainty.
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