UChicago Investing Forum
The Investing Forum, hosted annually since 2020 by TBC members, aims to democratize investing knowledge for the broader UChicago community.
Every year, we host panels and speaker series with notable professional investors whose expertise spans a range of asset classes and strategies.
The Forum – 2025
Keynote Speaker
Michael Fisch
Founder and CEO
American Securities
The University of Chicago Investing Forum is excited to host Michael Fisch for a keynote discussion. Michael is the CEO and founder of American Securities, a large upper middle-market private equity and buyout investment firm. Prior to founding American Securities, Michael was a partner in two private equity investment funds. Before entering the private equity industry, Michael spent time as a consultant at Bain & Company and at Goldman Sachs in the mergers and acquisitions department. Michael received a BA in Economics and Policy Studies from Dartmouth College, where he is a Member of the President's Leadership Council, and an MBA from Stanford University's Graduate School of Business, where he has been a guest lecturer since 2006. Michael serves as a director of the 1162 Foundation, a member of the Atlantic Council’s board of directors and its executive committee, a member of the board of trustees of Northwell Health, and chair of the board of trustees of Princeton Theological Seminary.
Jason Mudrick
Founder and CIO
Mudrick Capital Management, L.P.
The University of Chicago Investing Forum is excited to host Jason Mudrick for a keynote discussion. Jason is the founder and Chief Investment Officer of Mudrick Capital Management, L.P., a firm specializing in stressed and distressed credit. Founded in 2009 with $5 million, the firm now manages approximately $3.2 billion primarily for institutional clients. After beginning his career in 2000 at Merrill Lynch's M&A Investment Banking group, Jason joined Contrarian Capital Management in 2001, focusing on distressed credit. He launched and grew the Contrarian Equity Fund to approximately $400 million before founding Mudrick Capital. Jason has served on numerous creditors' committees and boards of public and private companies. He holds a B.A. in Political Science from the University of Chicago and a J.D. from Harvard Law School, where he also taught economics to undergraduates. Jason was admitted to the New York State Bar.
Time: May 6th, 4:30 pm - 6:00 pm CST ; Location: Ida Noyes Hall, 3rd Floor Theater
James Morrow
Founder and CEO
Callodine Group
Mr. James Morrow is the founder and CEO of Callodine Group. Prior to starting Callodine, Mr. Morrow spent the previous 19-years at Fidelity Investments (FMRCo) where he managed multiple equity-income strategies. He announced his retirement in February 2017 and remained with the firm through January 2018 as he transitioned all portfolio management responsibilities to his successors. In his role as portfolio manager at Fidelity, Mr. Morrow managed a wide array of funds with experience structuring value-focused portfolios within equities, fixed income and specialty niches. He is an active manager with a history of managing portfolios with significant absolute and relative over/under weight positions, private investments and activist positions. Further, Mr. Morrow has experience recruiting, training and managing research teams. Before serving as an equity research summer intern with Fidelity in 1998, Mr. Morrow worked as a distressed debt analyst for Chase Manhattan Bank from 1995 to 1997. Mr. Morrow earned his Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Chicago and his Bachelor of Science degree in finance from the University of Buffalo.
Time: May 9th, 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm CST
The Forum – 2024
Keynote Speakers
Will England
CEO and CIO
Walleye Capital
Will England is the Chief Executive Officer and Chief Investment Officer of Walleye Capital. He joined Walleye in 2013 and was named a partner in 2017. Will plays an integral role in setting the strategic direction of Walleye and oversees all aspects of the firm’s processes, including strategy allocation, risk management, and talent recruitment. Will began his career as a Quantitative Researcher for the AHL division of London-based Man Group plc, researching and implementing algorithmic trading strategies across global futures and equity instruments. He also spent time as an investment analyst with Valor Equity Partners, a leading growth private equity firm. Will earned a BSE in Operations Research and Financial Engineering from Princeton University (Academic All-Ivy honors) and a Master’s degree in Mathematical and Computational Finance from Oxford University.
Benny Peretz
Co-Founder & Managing Partner
Greenoaks
Benny Peretz co-founded Greenoaks in 2012 and is a Managing Partner of the Firm. Prior to Greenoaks, Benny invested in public and private businesses globally with D. E. Shaw & Co., L.P. Benny holds a BSc in Economics from the Wharton School and BAS from the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences at the University of Pennsylvania.
Ted Seides
Founder
Capital Allocators
Ted Seides, is the founder of Capital Allocators, an ecosystem that includes podcasts, gatherings, and advisory to asset managers and allocators. He launched the Capital Allocators podcast in 2017. The show reached 15 million downloads in April 2023 and has been recognized as the top institutional investing podcast. Ted previously worked under David Swensen at the Yale Investments Office, co-founded and served as Co-CIO of Protégé Partners, made a famous bet with Warren Buffett, and authored two investment books. Ted graduated Cum Laude from Yale University and received an MBA from Harvard Business School.
Weijian Shan
Executive Chairman
PAG
Weijian Shan is the executive chairman and co-founder of PAG, a leading Asia-based and focused investment firm with more than USD50 billion in capital under management. Before joining PAG, he was a partner of TPG and co-managing partner of TPG Asia (formerly known as Newbridge Capital), and a managing director of JP Morgan. He was an assistant professor at the Wharton School, the University of Pennsylvania. He also worked at the World Bank. Shan holds an MA and a PhD from the University of California, Berkeley, and an MBA from the University of San Francisco. Shan is the author of Out of the Gobi: My Story of China and America (2019), Money Games: The Inside Story of How American Dealmakers Saved Korea's Most Iconic Bank (2021) and Money Machine – A Trailblazing American Venture in China (2023).
Panelists
Private Investing
Alex Bennett | Vice President, GTCR
Alarisse Lam | Vice President, Francisco Partners
Angel Shum | Principal, Warburg Pincus
Elijah Sutanto | Vice President, Coatue
Moderator: Karen Liu, B.A. ’25
Public Investing
Darek Blachowicz | Research Analyst, Harris Associates
Mitch Linhart | Research Analyst, Diamond Hill
Eric Liu | Research Analyst, Ruane Cunniff
Chris Perez | Research Analyst, Dodge & Cox
Moderator: Jaden Wu, B.A. ’25
The 2024 Forum was organized by Ziyad Fahd, B.A. ’25, and Curran Chopra, B.A. ’24.
Team & Partners
We are grateful for the support of alumni, University institutions and programs,
and other investing-oriented student organizations for the Investing Forum.
Advisory Board
Henry Gao
Founder & Chair
B.A. ’20
Frank Li
Board Member
B.A. ’22
Alex Prakash
Board Member
B.A. ’23
Ziyad Fahd
Board Member
B.A. ’25
Past Events
Since our inaugural Forum in 2020, we have hosted nearly 100 speakers and 3,000 attendees.
We have hosted leading investors from firms including: