Biz Dev in NYC by Rob Tsai

My beloved father passed away early this morning at St. Francis Hospital in Hartford, CT.

An obituary will be appearing in the Hartford Courant shortly, but I wanted to use this opportunity to share some memories and stories of the man that he was and to thank him for all he’s given us. 

Dealing with tragedy at 13

My father was the eldest son of seven in a farming town in the south of Taiwan called Shinnying.  His father passed away from cancer when he was only 13.  As devastated as I am feeling today, I can’t imagine how scared he must have felt to lose his own father at such a young age.  It was a testament to my grandmother and the whole Tsai clan that they were able to raise the family without my grandfather, send them off to college and graduate school, and instill a work ethic and ambition that enabled them to take the leap of faith and leave the home that they knew to immigrate to the U.S. in the late 1960s. 

Harvard (or Princeton?) of Taiwan, just barely

My father likes to tell the story about how he was accepted to the National Taiwan University Medical School (Taida) class of 1965.  In order to gain admittance to college, all students in Taiwan were required to pass an entrance examination, and Taida (the supposed “Harvard of Taiwan”) only accepted students with the highest scores.  My father’s class at Taida had 70 slots in their medical program, and my father’s score on his entrance exam placed him at a tie for the 70th highest score for students selecting medicine as their desired path.   My father jokes humbly that he was the worst of the best.  Not bad in my book.  As an aside, even though dad sent one of his sons to Harvard and one to Princeton, when pressed, he admits that he likes Princeton better.  Haha - in your face Harry!

The American dream - raising Roger Clemens or David Beckham

Harry and I used to go to Chinese school on Sundays, where we were drilled in learning how to read, write and speak Mandarin.  I mostly skipped classes though, to play baseball and soccer.  Dad bought a catcher’s mitt, and I used to pitch to him in the backyard.  Yes, I was a pitcher with HORRIBLE control and terrible mechanics (side-arm).  But he stuck in there - getting pinged with my wild pitches several times a night.  Sorry bout that!

The luxury of support

I am fully aware of how different my life is from the one my father lived - and how his savings and investment in my education and upbringing in America have enabled me to live the life I lead today.  When I think back to his generation - coming to a new country and supporting a family and 2 kids - I don’t think he ever tortured himself with the self-inflicted angst that our generation ponders - “What do I want to do?  What career path should I pursue?”   My own self-actualization path has spanned multiple careers - management consulting, strategic planning, investment banking, convertible bond research, financial analysis, software business development, and software sales consulting.  Dad - he became a doctor, because that is what was expected of him as the eldest male in his family with good grades, and he followed that path his whole life, no complaints. 

Realizing his dream, in retirement

Deep down, I think Dad wishes he were a fund manager.  And he got to live that dream for a few years.  Earlier in his investment “career” he had invested in the market with mixed results.  He largely missed out on the excessive returns of technology stocks in the late 90s, as his value mindset wouldn’t allow him to commit to the momentum trades that were generating outsize returns regardless of fundamentals.  However, his portfolio held up when the markets retrenched in 2001-2002.  After his retirement in 2003, Dad made large bets in commodity stocks with the investment thesis that the developing economies of Brazil, Russia, India and China (BRIC) would demand raw resources at a rate that would eclipse supply.  His investment wins included Valero, Canadian Pacific (pre-spin off and pre 2001), Southern Peru Copper, Occidental Petroleum, Companhia Vale do Rio Doce.   Lately, he had been bullish on Archer Daniels Midland, John Deere, Norfolk Southern and Trinity Industries, in addition to continuing to hold positions in commodity stocks in oil and copper.  

Sectors he disliked….

“No technology,” he said, “because the product life cycles are too fast and people just copy you.”  hmmm - I work in technology.  

“No financial services,” he said, “because there’s too much liquidity, an inverted yield curve, and banks are overextending credit at an alarming rate - (witness the blowup of the subprime lenders).”   hmmmm - Harry works at Goldman Sachs (though I’m sure Goldman’s operating model differs substantially from a willy nilly approach of extending easy credit to bad credit risks).

“No retail,” he said, “because I don’t understand it.  You have to pick your spots to invest (a lesson learned repeatedly from Warren Buffet’s annual reports).”  Though I think Dad made some money from Sears over the years when he bought the company based on the underlying value of the real estate.  

His last days

In the days and weeks prior to his death, Dad was fine tuning his stock portfolio, spending time with his family, dining out and savoring all the flavors he could (sushi at Sugiyama in NYC, oysters at Max Oyster’s in West Hartford, and Canolis at Vinny T’s in Manchester), and relaxing in the airjet tub in the dream house he built.   Though the cancer weakened his body, I was so proud of him for fighting through the chemo and the radiation - to enjoy those extra weeks and months with us.

Special thanks

Two medical professionals deserve a huge thank-you for delivering service and care above and beyond the call of duty.   Dr. Joerg Rathmann, dad’s oncologist at St. Francis Hospital in Hartford, was always accessible to him and my mother, frequently checked in on dad’s health and status on weekends and when off duty, and addressed my father and his family with sensitivity and caring.   And Barbara Howard, dad’s oncology nurse, whose vibrant personality, and loving hugs treated the patient in my father, as well as the part of us all that needed healing.

And thanks to my friends who listened and advised me through this difficult journey.