The Maize and Blue Stock Pitch Competition provides a forum for all students at the University of Michigan to showcase their stock-picking skills for a panel of distinguished investors.

Why Participate?

  • This is an unprecedented opportunity for students to work closely with professional investors to develop their stock picking skills, as well as receive direct feedback for investment ideas.
  • Networking: Participants will have the chance to interact with judges and mentors while working through the ideas, at the networking dinner, and during the pitch competition.
  • Prizes: $5,000 in prize money will be granted to the participant with the best investment thesis. The second and third placed participants will respectively receive $2,000 and $1,000.
 

The competition was founded in 2023 by Jordan Hymowitz, Pedram Nezafat, and Corey Tobin. Competition finalists are paired with professional investors prior to the final round to help refine investment ideas and better understand professional investors’ perspectives. This year’s panel members are:

  • Matthew Finn, Head of Equity Investments, Thrivent
  • Jordan Hymowitz, Managing Principal/Portfolio Manager, Philadelphia Financial
  • Matthew Lipton, Portfolio Manager, Wellington Management
  • Phil Ruvinsky, Head of the US Growth Team, BlackRock
  • Corey Tobin, Partner/Investment Management Analyst, William Blair

Application & Timeline

2024 MBEF Stock Pitch Competition applications are currently closed. Check back soon for updates.

For more information or follow up questions: please reach out to Professor Pedram Nezafat (nezafat@umich.edu).

Applicants must submit a 1 to 3 page summary of their stock pitch (PDF) alongside their financial model (Excel), their resume (PDF) and their transcript (PDF) for the first round. Companies should meet the following criteria:

  • The pitched stock should be a U.S. publicly traded company with a market capitalization of at least $100M
  • Long or short positions are eligible
  • The stock must have at least $2 million of daily volume (over a minimum of the 3-month period immediately preceding the competition).
  • ADRs, ETFs, ETNs, Closed-end funds, or other exchange-traded securities, including derivatives and currencies, are not eligible

The pitch should include:

  • Company overview: name, stock ticker, market cap, and other basic financial information.
  • Company description: how does the business operate on a fundamental level?
  • Thesis: Why is the stock is undervalued or overvalued, and what are catalysts that support a correction?
  • Financial analysis: high-level financial forecast for the next 3-5 years and appropriate price target.

2024 Highlights

First Place: Jay Namdhari, short HIMS

Second Place: Dylan Crasto, short GTX

Third Place: Jack Gibbs, long BUR

Fourth Place: Valarie Sherr, long ADEA | Adam Cox, short WSM

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