The Forum
The UChicago Investing Forum (“The Forum”) is a week-long virtual investing conference in partnership with The Booth School of Business scheduled from Saturday April 11 to April 18, 2020. During the course of eight days, The Forum aims to provide a holistic exposure to investing for the undergraduate student population at UChicago, including topics like public equity, private equity, venture capital, impact investing, and quantitative investments. The event will feature professors, investors, and over 25 student groups, through two keynote speakers, six investing workshops,  and four professional panels. Confirmed guest speakers include Professor Steven N. Kaplan and representatives from various firms, such as Citadel and Harris Associates.
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Our Mission:
The Forum aims to democratize access to knowledge and information related to investing for the undergraduate population by aggregating the fragmented resources already available both on campus and through the robust alumni network of the University of Chicago. By utilizing such resources, the forum strives to:
  • Resolve the disconnect between these invaluable resources and the broader undergraduate population
  • Serve as a platform to endorse interested students to acquire investing related knowledge
  • Provide networking opportunities for the attendees to connect with experts in the field of investing 
Date: April 11 - April 18, 2020 
Location: Virtual Webinar Event          
Register now!
 

Forum Agenda
​​Saturday, April 11
10:00 am- 11:00 am                 Fireside Chat with Prof. Steven Neil Kaplan
11:30 am- 12:30 pm                  Venture Capital Panel
​1:00 pm- 2:00 pm                    Quantitative Investments Panel
4:30 pm- 5:30 pm                    Private Equity Panel

Sunday, April 12
7:00pm- 8:00 pm                    Venture Capital Workshop

Monday, April 13
7:00pm- 8:00 pm                    Quantitative Finance Workshop

Tuesday, April 14
7:00pm- 8:00 pm                    Private Equity Workshop

Wednesday, April 15
7:00pm- 8:00 pm                    Investment Research Workshop

Thursday, April 16
3:30pm- 5:00 pm                    University Info Session
7:00pm- 8:00 pm                    Distressed Debt Workshop

Friday, April 17
​1:00 pm- 2:00 pm                    Value Investing Panel
7:00pm- 8:00 pm                    Impact Investing Workshop

​Saturday, April 18
10:00 am- 11:00 am                 Fireside Chat with Steven Strongin
​Saturday, April 11
10:00 am- 11:00 am                 Fireside Chat with Prof. Steven Neil Kaplan
11:30 am- 12:30 pm                  Venture Capital Panel
​1:00 pm- 2:00 pm                    Quantitative Investments Panel
4:30 pm- 5:30 pm                    Private Equity Panel

Sunday, April 12
7:00pm- 8:00 pm                    Venture Capital Workshop

Monday, April 13
7:00pm- 8:00 pm                    Quantitative Finance Workshop

Tuesday, April 14
7:00pm- 8:00 pm                    Private Equity Workshop

Wednesday, April 15
7:00pm- 8:00 pm                    Investment Research Workshop

Thursday, April 16
3:30pm- 5:00 pm                    University Info Session
7:00pm- 8:00 pm                    Distressed Debt Workshop
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Friday, April 17
​1:00 pm- 2:00 pm                    Value Investing Panel
7:00pm- 8:00 pm                    Impact Investing Workshop

​Saturday, April 18
10:00 am- 11:00 am                 Fireside Chat with Steven Strongin
* Conference agenda is displayed according to Central Daylight Time

Fireside Chat Speakers
Steven N. Kaplan​​
Neubauer Family Distinguished Professor of Entrepreneurship and Finance
Kessenich E.P. Faculty Director at the Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation
Steven Neil Kaplan conducts research on issues in private equity, venture capital, entrepreneurial finance, corporate governance and corporate finance. He has published papers in a number of academic and business journals. Kaplan is a research associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research and an associate editor of the Journal of Financial Economics.

Professor Kaplan co-founded the entrepreneurship program at Booth. With his students, he helped start Booth’s business plan competition, the New Venture Challenge (NVC), which has spawned over two hundred companies that have raised almost $1 billion and created over $10 billion in value including GrubHub, Braintree/Venmo and Simple Mills.
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Steven Strongin
Steve is a senior advisor at Goldman Sachs, where he advises the firm on a number of important client-facing initiatives.

Previously, Steve was head of Global Investment Research for more than 12 years. He was a member of the Management Committee and Firmwide Client and Business Standards Committee. Steve was also co-chair of the Firmwide Technology Risk Committee. Additionally, he also served as global head of strategy research and co-chief operating officer of Global Investment Research, as well as global head of commodities research. Steve joined Goldman Sachs in 1994 and was named managing director in 1998 and partner in 2002.

Prior to joining the firm, Steve spent 12 years at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, most recently as the director of Monetary Policy Research. Before that, he was an economist at the Center for the Study of Economy and State at the University of Chicago and a researcher at PanHeuristics, a think tank focused on military strategy and energy policy.
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Steve is a distinguished visiting professor at the Pardee RAND Graduate School and a member of the Board of Directors of Ocean Conservancy. In addition, he is a member of the Advisory Council to the College at the University of Chicago, a member of the Jury of the World Resources Institute’s Ross Prize for Cities, and a member of the Becker Friedman Institute Advisory Council. Previously, he was a member of the Advisory Board of the RAND Center for Corporate Ethics and Governance.
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Steve earned undergraduate and graduate degrees in economics from the University of Chicago and a graduate degree in management from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management.

Featured Guest Speakers

Joe Fennessey
CEO/Portfolio Manager
​Finalyze Capital
David Lorentzen
Member
​Lorentzen Investments
​Alex Fitch
Associate Director of U.S. Research
​Harris Associates
Michael Vander Roest
Vice President
​Baird Principal Group
Ashley Hartman
​Principal
​Bluestein & Associates
Max Rhee
Quantitative Researcher
Citadel
Nate Pomeroy
Quantitative Analyst/Education Associate
​Wolverine Trading
Tim Kelly
Investor in Residence
​Chicago Booth
Katherine Schulman
Senior Associate
VitalizeVC
Peter Christman
Principal
Chicago Ventures
Jusvin Dhillon
​Quantitative Researcher
Tudor Investments
Shawn Li
Associate
​Sansome Partners
Chris McGowan
Adjunct Professor of Entrepreneurship
​Chicago Booth
Lance Dietz
Principal
​KB Partners
 

Panel Topics

  • Value Investing
    The purpose of the panel is to introduce students to the perspectives of fundamental investors and the investment research process for discovering long-term value creation opportunities.

    ​The panelists will share about their initial interests in investing, and their subsequent investing journey. Together, we will discuss about the development and changes in the fundamental investing process with the rapid rise and disruption of technology.
    • Point Person: Ricardo Mestre | rpmestre@uchicago.edu

  • Private Equity
    Public or private? Come learn about the pros and cons of private investing and how exactly private equity funds reap returns from their investments.
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    While private equity industry has remained on a long-term growth trend, it has experienced a handful of short term disruptions and changes including rising levels of valuations and dry powder and business cycle fluctuation. Come learn about how fundraising within the industry is changing, how investment strategies are crafted and perfected, and how some of the top professionals in the field have maneuvered through the industry and found their niche. This is the perfect gateway to explore the industry and connect with professionals in the field. Don’t miss out!
      Point person: Karina Petrunova | kpetr@uchicago.edu 

  • Quantitative Investments
    With the rapid development of technology, quantitative finance has taken an increasingly strong presence in the financial industry as a whole.

    The purpose of this panel is to introduce students to the wide range of roles and paths within quantitative investing and trading, as well as exposing them to the skills needed to be successful in this industry. Our panelists come from a diverse range of experiences and backgrounds within quantitative trading and quantitative research and will share their insights on the current state of the industry and how they foresee it changing in the future.
    Point Person: Evania Hong | evaniahong@uchicago.edu

  • Venture Capital
    This panel will focus on the emerging global trends for venture capital investors in 20+ years. With the growth in popularity of machine learning, artificial intelligence, Internet of Things and more, panelists will seek to answer how forces like these will shape the future across industries.

    ​Join us to learn more from investors at the cutting edge of these emerging technologies.
    Point Person: Agnay Mohindra | amohindra@uchicago.edu​

Register Now

Only available to current undergraduate students
       Contact info@ucinvestingforum.com with further questions
Full speaker's list will be accessible after registration