Assets Under Management
Responsible for managing over $300,000 on behalf of the University of Michigan’s endowment
Action-Based Learning
Our platform allows MBA and BBA students to apply the concepts of asset valuation, equity research and portfolio management in the real world
Pathway to Wall Street
Our alumni remain actively engaged with the Fund, connecting members with successful financial service professionals
Our Process
Fund membership is highly selective, enabling members to work with other talented and highly-motivated students in an environment similar to an investment firm.
Upon admission into the Fund, new members will partake in a series of training sessions on key concepts in equity research, financial modeling and valuation, and portfolio management. Fund members will become fluent in technical tools such as FactSet and Bloomberg.
The Fund is organized in to 3-4 person pitch teams led by a Senior Analyst. These teams will be responsible for sourcing and pitching equity investment opportunities (2-3 pitches per semester) and monitoring ongoing investments.
Investment Style
The Fund focuses its efforts on identifying undervalued US equity securities for long-term investment by leveraging industry research, financial statement analysis and valuation analyses, including discounted cash flow modeling, comparable companies and precedent transactions. The Fund uses the S&P MidCap 400 Index as a performance benchmark, giving the Fund an inherent bias towards investment in public companies with a market capitalization between $2 and $10 billion.
Faculty Advisors
Robert Dittmar
Associate Finance Professor
Robert Dittmar is a Finance Professor at the Stephen M. Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan. His research centers on empirical and theoretical topics in the pricing of fixed income and equity securities. His research has been published in the Journal of Finance, Journal of Financial Economics, Review of Financial Studies, and Journal of Econometrics. His past experience includes a position as Assistant Professor at the Kelley School of Business, Indiana University and work as a financial analyst at First Chicago (now JP Morgan Chase) and First Union (since acquired by Wachovia and Wells Fargo).
Tyler Shumway
Chair of Finance, Director Tozzi Finance Center
Tyler’s research examines the structure and function of financial markets and the pricing of financial securities. Some of his recent work concerns bankruptcy prediction and the pricing of corporate bonds, the efficient market hypothesis and the intersection of psychology and finance. Tyler’s research is published in the Journal of Finance, the Review of Financial Studies and the Journal of Business. His research also has been featured in numerous business and popular publications, including the Economist, The New York Times, Time Magazine and The Wall Street Journal.
Kai Petainen
Adjunct Finance Lecturer, Trading Floor Manager
Kai Petainen is the Tozzi Trading Floor manager and an adjunct finance lecturer at the Ross School of Business. He teaches Finance 334, “Applied Quant/Value Portfolio Management”, a class that uses ‘action-based learning’, to evaluate stocks and funds from a quant/value perspective. Petainen is featured in Matthew Schifrin’s book, “The Warren Buffetts Next Door: The World’s Greatest Investors You’ve Never Heard Of and What You Can Learn From Them“. He’s also a contributing blogger at Forbes. Petainen had articles in Forbes, MoneyShow.com, Welt Am Sonntag, the San Francisco Chronicle, Santa Cruz Sentinel, MSN Money, Financial Post, the Globe and Mail, and many others.
Executive Board
Abhi Ananta
Co-President
Abhi is a full-time second year MBA student at the University of Michigan Ross School of Business. Prior to his MBA, Abhi worked as a high yield and distressed analyst at Deutsche Bank and Canaccord Genuity for three years. Before that, Abhi worked at John Hancock within their rotational program, covering high yield investments. Abhi graduated Cum Laude from Boston University and holds a CFA charter. Please reach out to Abhi at aananta@umich.edu with any questions you may have about the Maize & Blue Endowment Fund.
Robert Janeway
Co-President
Robert is a senior studying finance at the Ross School of Business. This past summer, Robert was a Distressed Debt/Special Situations & High Yield Summer Analyst at J.P. Morgan. He will be joining J.P. Morgan as a Distressed Debt Desk Analyst. Before joining J.P. Morgan as a Summer Analyst, Robert interned at ValueWorks LLC. When outside of the classroom or office, Robert enjoys classic films, hiking, and golfing. Please reach out to Robert at rjaneway@umich.edu with any questions you may have about the Maize & Blue Endowment Fund.
Wei Chi Loh
Co-President
Wei Chi is a senior at LSA majoring in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics. Last summer, Wei Chi interned at Credit Suisse’s Investment Banking division where he worked across multiple industry and product groups. Wei Chi likes to think that he enjoys reading and hiking – though its verity may be called into question. But he unabashedly professes a strong love for mangoes (a certain tropical fruit) and dogs (an animal). Please reach out to Wei Chi at weichi@umich.edu with any questions you may have about the Maize & Blue Endowment Fund.