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​
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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
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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.
*The registration is separate from the main registration for The Forum 2020, so please register for this special event

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

Workshops

  • Venture Capital Workshop
    LTF Ventures is a student-run venture capital fund that invests in novel ideas created by University of Chicago undergraduates. In the workshop, LTF will work with the Entrepreneurship & Venture Capital Group at Booth to provide a brief introduction to the world of venture capital, covering the basic investment process in a VC backed company, the role of assessing management and market potential in the context of VC, recent trends within the world of venture capital, and the dynamics of investing in student-run companies.

    ​In addition to this overview of VC, LTF will provide case studies on investments that the group have made including, what the group found compelling about the idea, the tools that the group used to assess market potential, and how the group looked at the amount of money that we would deploy invest in the venture. The workshop will be a valuable opportunity for undergraduate students to gain insight into the world of VC, whether you are interested in being an investor or an entrepreneur.
    Point Person: Agnay Mohindra | amohindra@uchicago.edu

  • Investment Research Workshop
    The Blue Chips (TBC) is a student-run value investing fund with over $150,000 AUM. In our workshop we will provide an overview of the investment research process from the perspective of a fundamental investor.

    ​We will conduct a brief introduction to the history of value investing starting with Benjamin Graham to the modern day with the goals of introducing the major underpinnings of value investing philosophy and their development over time. After this introduction to value investing, we will discuss a case study of an investment done by TBC which highlights the research process and how to identify undervalued and under-appreciated securities which are misjudged by the market. This is a wonderful opportunity to learn about the fundamental investment process in public market equities.
    Point Person: Henry Gao | henrygao@uchicago.edu

  • Distressed Debt Workshop
    OverLeveraged is an undergraduate distressed debt and restructuring club. In our workshop, we will provide a brief primer on the restructuring process and strategies for distressed debt investors to profit through the bankruptcy process.
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    ​In the primer we will detail what drives companies into bankruptcy, basic strategies to reduce debt burdens outside of bankruptcy and within bankruptcy, debt waterfalls (projecting returns for distressed debt investors), and the role of differing types of subordination within distressed investing strategies. After the primer we will walk through a case study on the Claire’s bankruptcy, analyzing the strategies of different distressed investors and ultimately looking at how the bankruptcy unfolded. This will be a great opportunity to see what the distressed debt and restructuring process looks in application.
    Point Person: Andrew Liu | andrewliu@uchicago.edu

  • Quantitative Finance Workshop
    Algorithmic trading drives a majority of trading volume in the United States and has demonstrated a significant and persistent effect on markets worldwide. This effect has ranged from the day-to-day assurance of fair prices provided by market makers to an "irrational" trillion-dollar flash crash observed in 2010. Given the key role that technology plays in our day-to-day lives, it naturally follows that technology has a significant effect on our financial markets through quantitative financial institutions.

    ​This workshop discusses how technology has drastically affected how traders and investors make financial decisions, whether through the usage of alternative data to price instruments or navigating market structure to capture edge. Workshop participants will be able to formalize our discussion on how algorithmic traders make decisions and how market makers enforce fair prices through an interactive market making game.
    Point Person: Chris Winkler | cwinkler@uchicago.edu

  • Impact Investing Workshop
    The UChicago Impacting Investing Group will provide a broad introduction to the world of impact investing including, a discussion of the goals of impact investing, how impact investors balance financial returns with making sure that their investments are impactful, how to measure impact in the context of investments, and the role of impact investing within the stock market.

    The workshop will discuss the rapid growth of impact and ESG investing and how it has entered the mainstream with notable money managers starting impact or ESG strategies including, TPG, Blackstone, and ValueAct. This goal of this workshop is to have attendees understand an exciting and growing field within the world of investing and the tools that it uses to analyzes businesses.
    Point Person: Dylan Demello | dcdemello@uchicago.edu

  • Private Equity Workshop
    The UChicago Private Equity (UCPE) group is a student organization that focuses on educating its members on private equity industry knowledge and skills as well as helping members achieve their career goals.Our mission is to elevate UChicago as a preeminent target school in the private investment industry, by providing members the platform and resources to become technically proficient and to develop meaningful relationships with industry professionals for important career opportunities.

    ​The private equity workshop, lead by Booth’s Private Equity Group and UChicago Private Equity, the undergraduate cohort, will walk you through an introductory crash course on private equity. Attendees will have the unique opportunity to get a real-life demonstration of an LBO (leveraged buyout) model through a guided case study. Don’t miss out on this incredibly valuable experience to learn about the industry, prepare for potential interviews, and connect with students within the private equity industry.
      Point person: Karina Petrunova | kpetr@uchicago.edu 
 

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