Bobby Eubank, Thematic Research Analyst

We recently sat down with Bobby Eubank, Thematic Research Analyst at Chevy Chase Trust, to learn more about his background.

In your words, what is it that you do for Chevy Chase Trust?

I research themes for Chevy Chase Trust, and apply those themes to individual security selection. This involves researching long-term secular changes in the economy that will profitably accrue to companies that we can invest in as well as identifying companies that we should avoid. My current theme is Next-Generation Automation, or the set of technologies that will allow new industries to adopt automation and improve their production and distribution.

Give us a brief rundown of a typical day here at Chevy Chase Trust for you.

Lots and lots of reading! Thankfully that’s something I really enjoy. We have access to a lot of information– company reports, typical Wall Street research, financial press, but also trade journals and press, anything from Modern Materials Handling to TechCrunch. Beyond reading, I attend trade shows and visit companies to meet with management and engineering teams to keep abreast of business models and the technology. There is a lot of variety in my sources. I am constantly looking at what is happening in the world, and determining whether it confirms or challenges what we are thinking. I then take a deeper dive to find out what’s going on in existing or potential new themes and investments.

Tell us a little about your background.

I attended Towson University where I earned my bachelor’s degree in finance with a minor in economics. Early on, I joined the Towson University Investment group and became the Portfolio Manager of that group in my junior year. The group managed $100,000 of Foundation money for the University. We were relatively unique among our peers at other universities as our group and portfolio was entirely managed by students. I’m very proud of the group and its success in building experience in the investment industry and I do my best to continue to support the group. Additionally I interned at Blue Point Investment Management and Heritage Financial Consultants.

 

Where was your first job after college?

My first job out of college was here… I’m a lifer at CCT!

What do you enjoy most about your career?

I get to learn about an enormous variety of exciting topics. I’m always being exposed to something new, things that challenge my thinking. Meeting management teams, touring factories, and visiting trade shows are really fun ways to see how the products we use in our day to day life are produced, especially when they result in a lightbulb moment with an investment idea.

What do you enjoy most about working here?

I really love what I do. I joke to all my friends and family how lucky I am to have this job because I get paid to do what I would do even if I wasn’t here in the office.

What would you advise someone considering a career path like the one you’ve taken?

I think it’s wise to focus on creativity or seeing things in a novel way. I’m very interested in automation and artificial intelligence and I think that will impact most industries. What I think allows us to be different, or beat the machines if you will, is creativity. We will lose if our job is solely crunching numbers faster; machines will be able to do that. But we can pull in a variety of information, analyze it, let it distill in our brain for a couple months, and think about it in such a unique way; that’s the difference between us and the computers. I focus on thinking big picture, being creative, and being curious about the world.

 

What is the best lesson you’ve learned throughout your career?

To be honest with yourself, and be willing to change your viewpoints. Which isn’t easy. The world is more complex than we comprehend. You have to be willing to change what you thought you knew. Often times this isn’t a complete change of mind but rather refining or deepening of your understanding based on fluid information.