Pitch Competition

The Maize and Blue Stock Pitch Competition was founded in 2023 by Jordan Hymowitz, Pedram Nezafat, and Corey Tobin. The competition provides a forum for all students at the University of Michigan to showcase their stock-picking skills for a panel of distinguished investors. 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

Competition finalists will be paired with professional investors prior to the final round to help refine investment ideas and better understand best practices for a stock pitch. 

Press Coverage

2024: Maize And Blue Stock Pitch Competition: Nurturing The Next Generation of Finance Leaders 

2023: 6 University of Michigan Students Make Their Stock Pitches: Bear Case for Household Name Finishes 1st

2023: Maize And Blue Stock Pitch Competition: Showcasing Student Talents In The World of Finance

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.

 Application: This is an individual competition. 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.  The pitch should include:

  • Company name, stock ticker, market cap, and other basic financial information.
  • Company description: how does the company add value to its clients?
  • Why is it interesting? Why does the participate believe the stock is under valued (for buy recommendations) or over valued (for stock recommendations)?
  • Basic financials, including a high level financial forecast for the next 3-5 years.

Timeline:

  • January 21st, 2024 at 11:59pm: First round applications are due
  • January 22nd – February 6th: Selected participants are notified, and selected participants are partnered with mentors to further refine presentations
  • February 6th: Final presentations due
  • Thursday, February 8th, 2024: Participants / Investors networking dinner
  • Friday, February 9th, 2024: Final round competition will take place

 

Stock Pitch Criteria:

  1. The pitched stock should be a U.S. publicly traded company with a market capitalization of at least $100M
  2. Long or short positions are eligible
  3. The stock must have at least $2 million of daily volume (over a minimum of the 3-month period immediately before January 1, 2024).
  4. ADRs, ETFs, ETNs, Closed-end funds, or other exchange-traded securities, including derivatives and currencies, are not eligible

 Sponsors:

  • William Blair & Company
  • Philadelphia Financial Management of San Francisco, LLC
  • Thrivent Financial
  • BlackRock

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

Background: The Maize and Blue Award for Excellence in Securities Analysis is provided for by a generous gift to the Maize and Blue Fund by Ross School of Business alumnus Corey S. Tobin. Corey is a Research Analyst on William Blair Investment Management’s U.S. Growth Equity team, and he previously served as the team’s Director of Research. He frequently visits campus and speaks to the Maize and Blue Fund. Corey received a B.S. in business administration with high distinction from the University of Michigan, an M.B.A. from Northwestern University’s Kellogg Graduate School of Management, and an M.S. in computer science with recognition from the University of Chicago.

Academic Year 2022-2023

 

First Place: Taylor Bielefeld 

Stock: Short WDFC

Second Place: Shrey Dalal 

Stock: Long ON

Third Place: Tejas Gumudavelly 

Stock: Long PRLB