John Ray |
ContactEmail Address: Email Me Website: http://www.heritagellc.com One-Line Bio"The voyage of discovery is not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes." (Marcel Proust) |
What is Heritage "Tidbits"?
"Tidbits" started in December 2002 as an email update to partners and friends of Heritage Capital Advisors. Our goal for "Tidbits" was twofold. We wanted to give our clients a cross-section of our reading and research to help them understand our investment interests and thought process. Second, we believe in “writing to learn”; the discipline of sending out "Tidbits" on a daily basis reminds us of the need to research and dig for new bits of insight constantly.
Our email list grew dramatically, as our original subscribers forwarded "Tidbits" to their friends, who in turn asked to be put on the mailing list. As our list grew, we were sending out literally hundreds of emails a day, with many of those getting forwarded on in numbers we knew were large but we couldn’t count.
We began to realize that "Tidbits" was, in essence, an email-based blog. Instead of managing "Tidbits" by email, we decided to turn it into a blog and open it up to a wider audience.
Thanks for your interest in "Tidbits"; we welcome your comments at any time.
Biography
I am President of Heritage Capital Advisors, LLC, a private equity and corporate advisory firm with offices in Atlanta, GA and Memphis, TN. In addition to our private equity investments, Heritage Capital Advisors also manages a financial services hedge fund, Heritage Financial Partners, L.P.
Sectors of particular interest for us include financial services, media, and some consumer related industries. Our private equity investments and advisory work include a particular focus on the U.S. Hispanic market. This demographic—already larger than the nation of Canada--should experience favorable growth trends for several years, in my view.
We have growing business interests in China, with several different Mainland partners. We are working with both Chinese companies seeking a partner in the U.S. and a number of U.S. companies seeking a partner in China.
Before co-founding Heritage, my career included broad experience in both securities analysis and portfolio management. In other words, I’ve been around long enough to understand what Walter Wriston, the late former Chairman of Citicorp once said: “Judgment comes from experience--and experience comes from bad judgment.”
A major portion of my money management career prior to Heritage was spent as President of Commerce Capital Management, an $800 million (assets) investment management subsidiary of National Commerce Bancorporation. During my time as head of equity investments for Commerce Capital, the firm's equity performance placed it in the top 20% of all value equity managers nationwide as measured by the Frank Russell Company.
I also started Legacy Asset Management, an asset management firm that managed both private client accounts and hedge funds. While at Legacy, I started and managed Legacy Financial Partners, LLC, a hedge fund focused on financial services companies. I also formed Legacy Media Partners, LLC, a fund created to take a filing position in Summit America Television, Inc. (formerly Shop at Home, Inc.), a media and television station group owner. This filing precipitated significant management changes at Shop At Home, which in turn ultimately led to sale of the company to Scripps-Howard.
Prior to my money management career, I was a sellside analyst for about nine years in several regional investment banking firms. My industry coverage was mostly financial services, particularly regional banks.
I am a board member of Heritage Radio Partners, LLC, a Hispanic radio company, and a director of Hispanic American Broadcasting Company.
I'm active with Golfers Against Cancer, an all volunteer organization in which all money raised goes directly to specific cancer research projects. It’s an honor to be affiliated with this terrific group.
I am an honors graduate of Vanderbilt University with a B.A. in Economics and English.