Scroll down
to reach links to other pages
Ó 2001, Andover Technology Partners
Qualifications in Business Analysis
James
E. Staudt, Ph.D., CFA
founder
of Andover Technology Partners
Many analysts in
this sector have strong credentials in finance or economics, but few have a
strong background in the technology they are investing in or have hands-on
experience with operating businesses that have taken technology to this
market. My background, however, covers
all of these. The key advantage that I
believe I offer my clients is that I can quickly assess the key technical and
business hurdles that must be overcome to grow a business in this field. Armed with this information, I believe that
I can make a better assessment of what a business is worth than an analyst that
does not have this background. That is
why some of the largest companies in the energy
industry are my clients and rely on my input when assessing businesses or
technologies for acquisition or for sale or want advice on strategies for
growth. I have also advised private equity investors who were considering
a significant investment.
In making an assessment
of a potential investment or business strategy, I rely heavily on fundamental
analysis of the company and the industry to estimate intrinsic value. Where data is available and meaningful,
quantitative analysis will also be used to support the fundamental analysis and
to provide information to test possible scenarios. In my view, fundamental analysis is the best approach for
assessing the kind of long-term investments that my clients typically are
interested in. Keep in mind that most
of my clients (to date, at least) are interested in growing a business,
acquiring (all or maybe just a portion of) a business, or selling a
business. Typically, they are not
speculating on price action of a security.
Of course, many things beyond business fundamentals and well beyond the
control of the investor or the company management affect the short-term price
action of a public security. The
short-term price action of a security is of less importance to most of my
clients than the long-term potential of the underlying business.
What has this meant
for my clients? Some clients have made
some very smart acquisitions (they were good for the sellers too), others have
entered new markets or developed new products with less expensive and more
successful strategies than they otherwise would have pursued, some have
realized more value in the sale of their technology than they originally
anticipated, and some clients (at least one) have avoided what would otherwise
have been disastrous investments. I
believe that my input had a significant role in influencing each of these happy
endings. Feel free to speak with me for
some specific examples of each of these.
Prior to Andover
Technology Partners, I had senior management roles in energy or environmental
technology companies where I successfully started new businesses for these
firms. For a more detailed resume, click here.
My education and
professional credentials are as below:
·
B.S. in Mechanical
Engineering from the U.S. Naval Academy (1979)
·
M.S. (1986) and Ph.D
(1987) in engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (M.I.T.).
·
Studied business
management and finance at the M.I.T. Sloan Business School.
·
Chartered Financial
Analyst designation.
I also served as an
officer in the U.S. Navy in the engineering department of the nuclear-powered aircraft
carrier USS ENTERPRISE (CVN-65) from 1980-1984.