John Helyar Email & Phone Number

San Francisco, Ca, Us

New York, United States

Conducting qualitative research for real estate investments fund, including evaluations of asset classes under consideration as holdings and qualities of prospective co-investing and operating partners.Case study; Jadian was considering investing in plasma collection centers, those hundreds of locations across the country where people are paid to provide this protein-rich portion of their blood to manufacturers that pool and “fractionate” plasma into therapies for a variety of diseases. I was assigned to assess the growth prospects for this specialty pharmaceutical space – and hence plasma collection centers – by interviewing industry experts and center operators, along with finding actionable data and analyses. Fortunately, I had a leg up. While with Select Equity, I researched one of the major plasma manufacturers and learned much about the industry’s delicate supply/demand dynamics, which at the time were out of whack. Manufacturers had aggressively expanded production facilities following a clinical trial that touted plasma as an Alzheimer’s treatment. They anticipated a demand surge but were left with substantial overcapacity after subsequent trials refuted the first. I filed a bearish report then, but what about now? I revisited the best plasma experts, pointed Jadian to the authoritative source of industry data, interviewed operators of collection centers, gathered information on their current state-by-state locations, and came to the opposite conclusion. The oversupply had cleared, the therapeutic uses of plasma had increased, and collection centers had much promise as a real estate play. Jadian made the investment, which became one of its most successful.Takeaway: Nothing beats experience and perspective.

San Francisco Bay Area

Providing research and advisory services to firms that have, or are considering, investments in the crypto space, upon requestCase study: A hedge fund considering investments in the crypto space asked me to evaluate a series of companies through one prism: not their respective niches and strategies but their management teams. Would leadership’s track record, in terms of how they do business and with whom, suggest an investor could feel comfortable with their ethics and capabilities? Or not? The eighth company on my list had just become the technological conduit allowing institutional investors to, for the first time, buy a popular algorithmic stable coin. From previous research, I knew some crypto experts doubted how stable a stablecoin not backed by dollars really was. They said algorithmic stablecoins relied on sustained robust demand, driven by promotional issuers ,and could go into a “death spiral” of steeply declining value if the market ever moved against the currency. I wondered about Company Eight’s vulnerability in such an event, given its role as a conduit for major investors who’d been burned. I found a precedent in a 2020 lawsuit, in which the customer of a crypto lender which went bankrupt and defunct that year alleged Company Eight was complicit, as a vendor, to the fraud that caused this demise. I filed a report headlining the demonstrable “reputational and legal risk” of Company Eight’s association with this currency. Two days later, the stable coin entered a death spiral.

San Francisco Bay Area

Conducting qualitative research for value-oriented investment partnership, both for purposes of evaluating companies of interest as stocks and monitoring the firm's holdings.Case study: Greenstone took a stake in a high-potential poor-performing company that had undergone a recent infusion of new management. The firm had previously made successful investments on underperformers in such circumstances, as leadership changes fairly quickly boosted results and stock prices. It wasn’t happening in this case, and I was assigned to learn why. Former company executives I reached were unanimous: the C-suite change-out had stopped one position short. The founder/CEO was still in place and in charge, with the company’s continued swerves bearing his imprimatur. But, these “formers” cautioned, they were no longer there; perhaps the newcomers were making changes not yet evident. Since I couldn’t speak with insiders to find out, I began reading the company’s employee reviews on glassdoor.com. I also took quarterly screenshots of 1) their composite views of the CEO and 2) whether they’d recommend working here to a friend. The first one had 51% of employees approving of the CEO and 41% recommending working here. Those numbers went steadily down each quarter, to where the CEO had a 29% approval rating and 27% would recommend working here. My research contributed substantially to Greenstone’s decision to exit the stock. Takeaway: insightful interviews + irrefutable datapoints = smart calls.

Greater Atlanta Area

Conducting independent qualitative research for hedge funds.Case Study: A hedge fund was considering investing in a luxury retailer that had been in decline and installed new leadership. Assigned to evaluate the CEO and his team’s turnaround efforts, I interviewed former managers who’d worked in different areas, to gather diverse perspectives. They included: an ex-brand manager, who saw this command-and-control European CEO trying to impose his continental sensibility on a quintessentially American brand, without seeming to understand it or care to; an ex-product designer, who described the CEO’s choice of new design head (also European) as being far more interested in developing her own product line than managing a team; an ex-store development chief, who called the CEO’s push to standardize all stores misguided, given the varying tastes of different markets’ target customers; an ex-quality control manager, who believed the company’s frequent reorganizations reflected the CEOs inability to make up his mind; an ex-merchandising manager, who quit in frustration at working for a new SVP whose dearth of luxury retail experienced didn’t stop her from micromanaging talented veterans. So. . . varied perspectives and a common theme -- this was not working -- plus another common denominator. These formers all made asides about not wanting to come across as whiners, stuck in the old ways. This company needed to change, they agreed, this but CEO wasn’t the right change agent. (He was forced out less than a year later.) Takeaway: varied voices + unified themes = strong conviction

Greater Atlanta Area

Conducting field research for this New York-based hedge fund. Wrote comprehensive reports on companies of interest based on interviews with customers, competitors, former employees and other experts on their respective industries.Case study: Select Equity had a short position in a mining company whose recently opened copper and gold mine was plagued by operational glitches, causing periodic shutdowns and lagging production. The CEO maintained they now had their arms around this and production would soon ramp up. True or B.S.? I was assigned to assess. In doing preliminary research, I found the name of the geologist who discovered the vein of minerals at this site back in the early 1980s. Could he still be around? Yes, and he took my call, relating how he’d consulted for the first three companies that bought mineral rights here, all of which backed off from mining. There were rich deposits but encased in thick hard rock, making extraction difficult. I then followed the paper trail of the five subsequent companies that explored, and abandoned, mining here. It was the company we’d shorted that finally took on the challenge, making a huge investment in world class crusher and milling equipment in the belief this was the answer to successfully separating copper and gold from rock. Six former company managers I spoke with uniformly described both the leadership team’s approach and its Achilles heel. It lavished money on Class A machinery and then hired Class B people who couldn’t manage its complexity. These “formers” doubted there was a quick fix, and my report concluded our short was rock solid.Takeaway: In gauging present management’s capability, it’s helpful knowing some history.

Greater Atlanta Area

Wrote groundbreaking and prize-winning stories on wide range of subjects, including the 2008 financial crisis, insider trading scandals and the business of sports.

Greater Atlanta Area

Lead writer covering business of sports for espn.com

Greater Atlanta Area

Wrote a broad range of feature stories for Money (1998-2000) and Fortune (2000-2006) including investigative projects and profiles of business leaders.