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Alumni Spotlight: Darin Ostrowski, Kopernik Global Investors, LLC.

By Jamie Boyle

ST. PETERSBURG (April 8, 2021) -- Darin Ostrowski came to USF in 2016 after serving two years in the U.S. Army. He majored in finance with a concentration in asset management and took part in the Applied Security Analysis Program as well as the Student Finance Association.

“The ASA course was by far the most applicable to real-world experience that you can get in any college setting,” Ostrowski said. “The same research I do now in my job, we did in that class.”

Ostrowski credits landing his job to ASA because he first encountered Kopernik Global Investors after he delivered a Student Managed Investment Fund pitch. He remained in contact with the firm after the pitch and the company later offered him a position.

Ostrowski works as an equity research associate, assisting and supporting sector analysts. Right now, he works with the company’s energy analyst, as well as the real estate and agriculture analysts. The company prioritizes working with multiple analysts and because of that, Ostrowski has been able to explore multiple industries and take on more responsibility.

Another aspect of his role is data analysis and aggregation.

Ostrowski loves the autonomy of his firm.

“We are a very unique investment manager in that we are truly a global manager,” he said. “We have investments in upwards of over 30 countries in the last five years. The company says, ‘If you find something interesting, we want you to look into it, because we want to be able to add it to our portfolio.’ We go places that a lot of firms are uncomfortable with.”

Not only is the firm unique in its long-term investment strategy, it is also unique in its office environment.  Kopernik Global Investors holds a summer global immersion program in which analysts go to other countries for a few months to work for the summer. The goal is to give the investors a chance to explore biases that may exist in other countries and why some firms avoid investing there. The firm’s associates have spent summers in places such as Budapest and Montreal, though the most recent plans to visit Russia were canceled due to COVID-19.

Ostrowski encourages students to go after what they want, explore the different areas of finance and constantly reach out to meet people and make connections.

“Take advantage of all that USF and ASA has to offer,” he said.