Alumni Profile: David Daigle

The Capital Group Companies, Inc. form one of the most experienced and successful families of investment management firms in the world. For over 65 years we have managed assets for an international group of individual, corporate, and institutional investors.

Mr. Daigle has been with The Capital Group since he completed his Masters Degree. Acknowledging that it is unusual to work in his field for the same company for such a lengthy period of time, he stresses the unique focus of his company. He describes the culture at The Capital Group as "fun." It is a "small family" type of company without many hierarchical distinctions. The employees are expected to perform well, of course; however, they are encouraged to be autonomous. The employees each get to take turns serving as executives of the company. This strategy has served the company well: employees tend to stay with the The Capital Group rather than to jump ship. He sees the corporation as a good fit for his personality. He appreciates working for a company that is not nearly as abrasive as other financial institutions can be, and he values their concern for the well-being of their employees and investors.

EDUCATION:
B.S., Business Administration, UVM, 1989
M.B.A., University of Chicago

BUSINESS:
The Capital Group Companies, Inc.

Market declines can certainly have a profound effect on those who work in the financial field. According to David Daigle, "having a bad year feels worse than having a good year feels good." In his area of expertise, it is extremely important to make the right decisions, but, in making a wrong decision, it is also extremely important to be able to handle failure. It can be very easy to get caught up in the emotions of the ups and downs of the market.

Mr. Daigle is a Chief Analyst and Investment Officer of high yield bonds for The Capital Group Companies. A privately funded company, Capital Group is the 3rd-largest equity management company in the world as well as the largest manager of emerging market debt and equity funds. His career involves a lot of externally-oriented work. It is his job to generate good investment ideas by meeting with various companies, to evaluate these ideas, and to communicate them to his company.

Mr. Daigle's hometown is Westfield, Vermont. He was the first in his family to attend college, though he wasn't even certain, until he was a junior in high school, that he even wanted to go to school. He began as a biology major but soon switched over to the business school, a combination of being daunted by the chemistry requirements as well as being inspired by his father, who is a small business entrepreneur. Mr. Daigle took a dual track in Information Systems and Finance. When he graduated, he decided to pursue I.S. and joined Aetna. After working for them for three years, however, he determined that this was not where he wanted to be, and so he returned to school to focus on finance.