Episode summary
A hunting dog mindset to investing
Capital Ideas Podcast
· · 25 min · Hosts: Debbie Leow · Guests: Harold La
Summary
Harold La frames investing as a process of finding change early, not predicting it perfectly. He says his interest started with a discounted Fortune subscription and a painful lesson from his mother’s concentrated bet on her employer’s stock, which taught him the costs of poor diversification and high fees. That experience helped shape a career focused on active research and first-hand company visits rather than relying on screens or consensus.
A major theme is his preference for under-covered markets and businesses that are misunderstood. He describes building a career around Asian banks after the Asian financial crisis, early Indian technology and private-sector banks, and other parts of emerging markets where “nobody is looking.” He argues that the advantage comes from being present, meeting management teams in person, and having the patience to stay with ideas while they compound.
La also makes the case that global investing should broaden beyond the U.S. He remains constructive on India and China, sees entrepreneurship spreading worldwide, and believes the right framework is “and” rather than “or” when comparing the U.S. with international markets. He ties that long-term mindset to leadership, noting that resilient management teams can turn disrupted businesses into major winners, just as Steve Jobs did at Apple.
Key takeaways
- Harold La says his edge is finding disruptive companies early and staying with them until the market recognizes the story.
- He built much of his track record in under-covered areas like Indian banks, Chinese and Korean opportunities, and other neglected emerging-market segments.
- La argues that firsthand research matters: investors should visit companies in person, meet management, and avoid relying only on screens or other people’s reports.
- He remains bullish on India and China because he sees strong entrepreneurs, long-term growth, and improving market infrastructure.
- His analogy to Vega Sicilia Unico is patience: great investments, like great wine, need time to compound before their full value shows.
Notable quotes
“I love looking for companies that are disrupting and changing the way we do things”
“You got to be present. You got to show up”
“I still believe in India. I believe in a lot of the emerging markets”
“It's a both, it's a both. You look for companies in the U.S. that start things, but there's great entrepreneurship all over the world”
How the episode opens
- Hi, I am Mike Gitlin. Welcome to another episode of our Capital Ideas podcast. Today, I'm excited to have Harold La join us, an equity portfolio manager from our Hong Kong office.
Harold's been at Capital Group for 27 years. Today, we're sitting down with Harold to explore how a magazine subscription created a spark for investing and why he considers himself to have a hunting dog mindset. Harold, welcome to the podcast.
- Great to be here, Mike. - Alright, so you and I were talking, and I wanted you to share with others what you shared with me about how you got interested in investing. You talked about a Fortune magazine subscription and wanting to help your mom, but I think it's important for this group to hear that story.
- Well, I got interested in business a long time ago when I was a teenager. The great thing was that Fortune magazine came out and I was able to get a subscription with a 77% discount, and I thought this is a great way to learn about companies at that time. So, I got a subscription.
Now, for my mom, she got the worst investment advice of her life. She worked at a company and her manager said, "You should buy our stock. So, she bought her stock at the high.
- That was her whole retirement was just that stock? - Yes, and so she bought the company stock at literally the 52-week high, if not all-time high. And then the company went bankrupt.
So, lost all the money, nearly. So, after paying full-service brokerage charges, what little money she had then went to zero. - So, there was not a lot of diversification in her portfolio.
Would you say that's fair? - That was pretty fair.
From the episode’s captions: roughly the first two minutes, lightly cleaned. Keep watching on YouTube →
Topics
- active investing
- emerging markets
- contrarian mindset
- china opportunities
- investment conviction
Companies and tickers mentioned
- Capital Group
Watch the episode
Watch “A hunting dog mindset to investing” on YouTube
Summary, takeaways and quote selection by Octagon. Quotes are short excerpts; the full conversation is in the episode.
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