An exclusive interview with BofA's stock-strategy chief, who shares her secrets for success

Hello everyone! Welcome to this weekly roundup of Investing stories from deputy editor Joe Ciolli. Please subscribe here to get this newsletter in your inbox every Tuesday.

Dear Readers,

The Investing team at Business Insider spends a lot of time trying to figure out what sets the world's most brilliant financial minds apart from others. In a market where momentum reigns and everyone crowds into the same stocks, such an endeavor can be more difficult than it sounds.

What we're looking for is that special sauce that gives high-performing individuals an edge — and more often than not, that deciding factor extends far beyond conventional market wisdom.

If you aren't yet a subscriber to Investing Insider, you can sign up here.

In the case of Savita Subramanian — the head of equity and quantitative strategy at Bank of America — that edge comes in the form of her philosophy major. In an exclusive interview, she broke down how her math skills got her a job on Wall Street, only for her philosophical insights to ensure and ultimately amplify her success.

The conversation with Subramanian is just one example of the work we're doing to help you excel in any market environment. See below for our best stories of the week, including a wide array of recommendations, strategies, and tips for navigating uncertainty.

Thanks for reading!

-- Joe

An investing champion's 11-part strategy

David Ryan, a renowned investor and the winner of the 1985 and 1987 US Investing Championships, shared his stock-picking methodology with Jack Schwager in a 1989 interview for his classic "Market Wizards" series.

Ryan is an advocate of William O'Neil, the legendary trader and author of "How to Make Money in Stocks," and uses many aspects of his CANSLIM stock-picking strategy. He lays out the 11 criteria he uses to find the next big winner.

Read the full story here:

US investing champion David Ryan famously garnered a compounded return of 1,379% in just 3 years. Here is the 11-part criteria he uses to find the next big winner.

4 portfolio shifts being made by the world's largest asset manager

Markets have been historically volatile in 2020 amid the coronavirus pandemic, meaning investors have had to adjust their longer-term views more frequently. Accordingly, BlackRock, the world's largest asset manager, shared four key strategic portfolio changes it is making now.

Read the full story here:

BlackRock unpacks the 4 biggest changes it has made to portfolios since the crisis began 6 months ago — and shares how it's positioning to thrive in a post-COVID world

An investor specializing in 100-baggers shares his latest pick

Chris Mayer, the portfolio manager and cofounder of Woodlock House Family Capital, analyzed decades of financial history to uncover the common threads that lived within stocks that had hundredfold returns.

Today Mayer has his sights set on an under-the-radar issue: Heico. He broke down the company's sales, free cash flow, and return on equity over the past 10 years to demonstrate the stock's attractiveness.

Read the full story here:

Chris Mayer wrote the book on how to make 100 times your money with a single stock. He gives an in-depth assessment of the latest company that 'checks all my boxes.'

Stock pick central

Seeking experts who are willing to name names? Look no further:

• GOLDMAN SACHS: The stocks most loved by hedge funds have smashed the market this year. Here are 15 that those investors flooded into last quarter.
• MORGAN STANLEY: Buy these 12 underappreciated stocks that offer strong profit growth and are due for a surge
• David Baron's fund has returned 400% to investors in the past decade using 20 stocks or fewer. He shared with us the 3 stocks he snapped up in 2020 — and the 3 travel and entertainment bets he loves going forward.
• Goldman Sachs says buy these 9 stocks that are poised to continue crushing the market as the 'shared favorites' of Wall Street's biggest investors

Take control of your financial future and learn how to develop an investment strategy that works for you by attending "How to Be a Smarter Investor Now" on Tuesday, September 15 at 12 p.m. ET. The event is part of Business Insider's Master Your Money Live Digital Bootcamp series, presented by Fidelity.

Register here.

Chart of the week

The chart above shows how BlackRock's investment-allocation recommendations have changed since the coronavirus outbreak first started hitting markets in February and March. Much of the upheaval comes on the credit side of things. The firm recently revealed four specific shifts it's made to its overall portfolio.

Click here for more details

Quote of the week

"Financial markets are a human construct, and behavior, psychology, and all the 'softer' disciplines matter just as much as determining the value that investors are willing to pay for an equity."

— Savita Subramanian, the head of equity and quantitative strategy at Bank of America, on the value of incorporating disiplines like philosophy into financial-market analysis