Founded in 1998, Michigan Interactive Investments (MII) is a highly selective, leading undergraduate investment club at the Stephen M. Ross School of Business. Each year, MII builds an investment portfolio with the goal of educating members about investing through interactive portfolio management. By maintaining a small, dedicated member base of approximately 60 undergraduate students, MII is able to effectively teach members about investing in a variety of equity, fixed income, and derivative securities. MII is unique in that we manage a $20,000 student-run portfolio that is completely funded by our members. As such, we have complete freedom over our investment strategies and asset classes, which include long/short equity, fixed income, and currencies.
MII utilizes a multifaceted investment strategy involving both fundamental and quantitative analysis to invest in equities, options, and fixed income instruments. We take a disciplined approach to investing, focused on a medium-term outlook for attractive returns while preserving capital. Furthermore, we primarily use a bottom-up approach to source investment ideas, while also implementing top-down and quantitative screening strategies to identify opportunities that will outperform our S&P 500 index benchmark. Additionally, we supplement this fundamental approach to investment selection with technical analysis to identify appropriate entry and exit points for our positions.
MII also provides many resources to help members secure internship and full-time job placements, and hosts the Undergraduate Investment Conference (UIC) Sponsored by the David Kudla Foundation each fall. The UIC invites participants from over 20 of the top universities in the country for a featured stock pitch competition. The winner is awarded an approximately $3,000 grand prize, and the Conference includes a keynote speaker and the opportunity for students and corporate partners to meet and network.
We pride ourselves on MII’s three core pillars: Education, Investing, and Professional Development.
Education
An important goal of MII is to educate members about investing and strengthen their knowledge of financial markets. This goal is comprised of three parts: First, new members attend “Breakfast Club” sessions to learn the basics of investing, including how to source investments, value firms, and use financial data tools. Second, senior members lead presentations during club meetings on more advanced investing topics, such as distressed debt investing, options valuation, and monetary policy. Third, every meeting features a market update that provides members with a foundation and framework to understand current economic conditions and events.
Investing
MII builds a student-run portfolio through a process in which members evaluate market sectors and pitch their best investment ideas in small groups. After each pitch, members vote on whether the security should be added to MII’s portfolio. Profits are reinvested into the club, either through growing the size of the portfolio or funding special events throughout the year.
Professional Development
Our members are high performing. Graduating seniors have gone off into a variety of firms on both the sell side and buy side. The following list omits many firms, but on the sell side, members have gone on to work for Deutsche Bank, Evercore, Guggenheim Partners, Goldman Sachs, Moelis & Company, Morgan Stanley, Royal Bank of Canada, and Rothschild Global Financial Advisory. On the buy side, members have worked for Ares, Apollo, Bridgewater, Insight Venture Partners, and Prudential Capital. Please see the Careers page for a comprehensive list of where our alumni are currently employed, as well as where current members have interned. Overall, MII members can expect an extensive network that can open many doors during recruiting season.