2011-2012
Smart Woman Securities Yale Chapter Annual Report
Š 2012 Smart Woman Securities All Rights Reserved
Table of contents Overview of Smart Woman Securities SWS Yale 2011-2012
2-3 5-36
Letter from Yale’s Co-CEOs Year in Review
5 6-33
Educational Programs Investment Process
6 7-9
Investment Portfolio
10-12
Stock Profiles
13-33
Executive Board
34-36
Support SWS Yale
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DISCLAIMER: Smart Woman Securities ("SWS") reminds you that nothing contained in this Annual Report constitutes tax or investment advice. Neither the information, nor any opinion, contained herein constitutes a solicitation or offer by SWS to buy or sell any securities, futures, options or other financial instruments. Decisions based on information contained in this Annual Report are your sole responsibility. The information found herein is provided "AS IS" and without warranties of any kind, either expressed or implied. By viewing the SWS Annual Report, you agree (a) that SWS shall not be responsible for any trading or investment decisions based upon such information, and (b) to hold SWS and its officers, directors, members, employees, agents and representatives harmless against any claims for damages arising from any decisions you make based on such information. To the fullest extent permissible pursuant to applicable law, SWS disclaims all warranties and liabilities, including, but not limited to: (i) any warranty of non-infringement of third-party rights, (ii) any implied warranties of merchantability and/or fitness for a particular purpose, (iii) any warranty regarding the accuracy, usefulness or completeness of the information, text, graphics, links or other items contained in the SWS publications, and (iv) all liability for errors and omissions in the SWS publications and for the use or interpretation by others of information contained therein. You should make your own investigations and evaluations of an investment in any company or industry referenced in the SWS Annual Report. You should consult your own attorneys, business advisers and tax advisers as to legal, business, tax and related matters concerning any such companies or industries. Investment involves significant risks and you should have the financial ability and willingness to accept the high risks and lack of liquidity that may be inherent in such an investment. You should be aware that you may be required to bear the financial risks of investments for an indefinite period of time. No assurance can be given that any investment objective will be achieved or that you will receive a return of your capital.
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Overview of Smart Woman Securities Smart Woman Securities (SWS) is a non-profit organization focused on investment education for undergraduate women. Originally founded at Harvard University in 2005, SWS currently operates 18 chapters at Boston College, Brown, Carnegie Mellon, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Duke, Fordham, Georgetown, Gettysburg, Harvard, MIT, Northeastern, NYU, Princeton, University of Chicago, University of Virginal, and Yale. Our Model SWS seeks to educate young women about investing in the financial markets via three channels: education, mentorship, and investing. Our educational seminar series provides students a basic framework in which to learn about investing and culminates into an investment project through which students apply the knowledge they attained. All educational programs are also supplemented by our mentoring initiatives, which connect students with passionate mentors who are able to provide professional insights. Finally, SWS places great emphasis on providing students with handson investment experience in which real-life risks, gains and losses apply.
Our Structure An Executive Director and a Board of Directors are responsible for overall policy and direction of SWS at the national level. The Board of Directors delegates responsibility for day-to-day operations to the chapter organizations and staff. The Board of Directors consists of the Chief Executive Officers of each college chapter, in addition to men and women who are interested in furthering the mission of the organization. All members of the Board of Directors are subject to SWS by-laws governing the organization, as well as Board Policies that have been implemented across the organization. At the chapter level, SWS is run completely by students. Each chapter is required to abide by the general principles set forth by the Board of Directors. SWS student leaders manage all operations of the chapter in accordance with SWS by-laws.
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• College chapters consist of an Executive Board that oversees the operations of that chapter’s activities. The Executive Board at each chapter manages the day-to-day operations of SWS, including school-wide educational programs, mentoring initiatives, and the investment fund. • Each college chapter maintains its own Investment Board comprised of students in the chapter. The Investment Board makes all investment decisions for the investment portfolio at each chapter, acting on the behalf of all student members. • Research Teams serve as the think tank at each chapter, conducting research within industries and making stock recommendations to the Investment Board.
The Yale Chapter – A Snapshot Founded in Fall 2009, the Yale Chapter of SWS has garnered tremendous interest among the female undergraduate community on campus. While other investment and business organizations exist at Yale, none focuses on education, making it difficult and intimidating – as many have expressed – for women with a lack of financial knowledge to join. SWS fills a niche on Yale’s campus by providing education that starts from the introductory level, accompanied by hands-on research projects and real-life investment opportunities.
SWS mission Smart Woman Securities (SWS) seeks to provide undergraduate women with the skills necessary to make investment decisions through market education, exposure to industry professionals, and real-world financial experience.
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I became an SWS analyst after finishing a mini-investment project at the end of last fall semester. With only limited knowledge about finance, I was quite overwhelmed at the beginning by the 5-10 pages equity research report and the final presentation I was responsible to produce within 2 months. At that time, browsing over Yahoo Finance or Wall Street Journal was not so much an enjoyment as it was an intimidation. Nevertheless, I was intrigued by those numbers, ratios, lines and graphs that powerfully feature the ups and downs of markets all over the world. As I started to explore the industry for the SWS research project, I was amazed by how much I had been driven by this experience. This has been not only an invaluable learning opportunity, but also a journey of discovering. - Yale SWS Associate, 2012
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2011-2012
Yale 4
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Letter from the 2011-2012 SWS Yale Co-CEOs Since its founding in 2009, the Yale Chapter of SWS has rapidly achieved an unparalleled status as an undergraduate organization on campus. This year, SWS Yale continued to build on its past successes, delivering invaluable learning, mentorship, and investment opportunities to its members. The fall semester began with an extremely successful display at the Undergraduate Activities Bazaar, from which over 40 girls were recruited. Upon the completion of recruitment, SWS Yale kicked off its 9week Seminar Series with a presentation led by Peter Davies of Merrill Lynch on the topic of Personal Finance, Saving and Investing. Attendance was spectacular with over 50 students who showed up. Throughout the semester, attendance at the Seminar Series remained high with an average of 40 SWS members and prospective members attending each seminar. We attribute this success to our passionate speakers who dedicate invaluable time into creating dynamic and engaging presentations. In addition to the 9-week Seminar Series, SWS Yale continued its Special Speaker Series, launched last fall. We were very fortunate to have three inspirational leaders share their professional experiences with SWS members and individuals in the Yale community this year. Joining us as special speakers were Mike Zamsky (Chief Consumer Credit Risk Officer at Capital One), Uta Werner (Chief Strategy Officer and Vice President of Xerox), and Barbara Byrne (Vice Chairman of Investment Banking at Barclays Capital). To allow our students to apply the knowledge they’ve gained through our educational program, SWS Yale continued to provide numerous research and investment opportunities. At the end of the fall semester, prospective members were given the option – as a requirement to become SWS Associates – to complete a mini-investment project or participate in the J.P. Morgan Investment Competition. Of the 46 teams selectively chosen to participate in the competition, seven came from the SWS Yale Chapter, and in the final competition, SWS Yale teams successfully took the top two winning spots. This year, 27 prospective members successfully completed the Seminar Series and mini-investment project or J.P. Morgan Investment Competition, joining us as new Associates. Of the 27, 17 became Research Team members, spending the spring semester on an in-depth research project. Each member, under the guidance of our Chief Research Officer and help of professional industry mentors, submitted a 10-page stock report and presented a 10-15 minute stock pitch to the Executive and Investment Boards. In addition to deliberating on the stock pitches presented by our Research Team members in the spring, the Investment Board together with the Executive Board met weekly throughout the year to monitor our investment fund, which became fully operational for the first time this fall. Each week, Investment and Executive Board members provided market updates, reviewed current holdings, and pitched new potential investment ideas. Altogether, our Investment Board invested roughly $10,000 of our $17,000 portfolio. As the year draws to a close now, we would like to extend our sincerest gratitude to our sponsors, speakers, mentors, Executive and Investment Board members, as well as Research Teams – without whom this year’s success would not have been possible. Sincerely, Alyssa Denning and Connie Liu Co-Chief Executive Officers SWS Yale 2011-2012
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2011-2012 SWS Yale chapter year in review educational programs “Gradually I began to grasp the language of the financial industry and learn to see through numbers and graphs” – Yale SWS Associate, 2012 Seminar Series Please see below for a list of our Seminar Series speakers and topics: 1. Personal Finance, Saving, and Investing Peter Davis, financial advisor from Merrill Lynch 2. Analyzing Companies and Industries Shyam Sunder, Yale School of Management (SOM) Professor 3. Understanding the Stock Market Dorothy Halsey, MBA student at Yale SOM 4. Understanding Financial Statements Kenneth Yoon, Director in corporate finance at American Express 5. Evaluating Companies with Financial Metrics Andrew Ralph of Jbush and Co. and Alex Hetherington from the Yale Investments’ Office 6. Valuation Techniques John Mark Warren, Vice President in Research at Morgan Stanley 7. Understanding Investment Banking Pat Linton, owner of educational company and former trainer of summer interns at Morgan Stanley 8. Resume Review SWS Executive Board 9. Wrap-Up Dorothy Price Hill, Co-head of 85 Broads
Warren Buffett Trip We were excited that five of our members were selected to attend the annual Warren Buffett trip in April this year, two of whom attended as Trip Directors. In addition to meeting the “Oracle of Omaha” himself for a Q&A session and exclusive dinner, trip participants had a chance to visit Fortune 1000 companies including Union Pacific, TD Ameritrade, and Nebraska Furniture Mart.
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2011-2012 SWS Yale chapter year in review investment process All SWS Investment Funds currently focus mostly on domestically-traded equities, operating with a one-year outlook. All investment decisions are made solely by students, and all returns from the fund will either be reinvested in the fund, allocated to cover operational expenses, or donated to a 501c3 public charity. No students or contributors may profit from the fund. Research Teams Select Stocks to Pitch In early Spring 2012, new Associates that completed the Fall 2011 educational seminar series and Mini-Investment Project applied to become Research Analysts. 15 Analysts were divided into 7 teams, with each team covering an industry listed at the right. Each analyst focused on conducting one round of public equity research, which culminated in a formal presentation of a potential "buy" to the Investment Board in late March. The Investment Board used Research Project findings to decide whether to buy recommended stocks for the SWS investment portfolio. Chief Research Officer Alex Cocleaza ’12 led weekly discussions to prepare Analysts to apply what they learned in the fall seminars to a stock pitch. Topics covered included Qualitative Industry & Competitive Analysis, Quantifying Comparisons with Ratios and Metrics, Review of Financial Statements and Accounting, Valuation Methods, Choosing a Stock, and How to Give a Good Stock Pitch.
Industries covered in 2012 Consumer & Retail Healthcare Financials Energy & Power Technology Industrials Clean Technology
Senior Analysts led team meetings to discuss industry news and trends. Research teams were also paired with an Industry Mentor, who helped them understand important industry metrics and valuation methods in addition to providing them information about careers in equity research. In general, Senior Analysts began by assigning each Analyst to cover a subsector within the industry. After submitting lists 4-5 of potential stocks to pitch, Analysts begin in-depth research on 2-3 stocks, focusing on features that rendered these stocks attractive compared to peers within the sector. Importantly, Analysts continued tracking at least one other company in order to ensure that they had high quality stocks to pitch on their assigned presentation dates, regardless of earnings announcements or other current events affecting stocks. Research Analysts independently selected stocks to pitch. Chief Research Officer Alex asked analysts to consider the following when picking a stock: 1) the state and trajectory of the U.S. economy, 2) sectors to focus on depending on demand for products and services, and 3) companies with strong business models, attractive valuations, favorable competitive landscapes, and catalysts, 7
such as acquisitions or restructuring, that would allow the target price to be realized in our Investment Board’s time horizon of around a year. During the course of a semester, each Analyst pitched one stock to the Investment and Executive Boards and prepared a supplementary, roughly 10-page, description of the stock, containing descriptions of the company and its sector, discussion of primary competitors, assessment of recent financial performance, valuation of the stock, and identification of key risks and opportunities associated with investing in the stock. Investment Board Chooses Stocks to Buy Our Investment Board, comprised of the Executive Board and Sector Heads, meets once per week on the weekend for an hour. At the beginning of the meeting, each Sector Head gives a brief overview of major events and news in their sectors for the past week, especially those affecting current portfolio exposures. Sector Heads and Executive Board members are also encouraged to pitch their own stock ideas by submitting an e-mail to the Chief Investment Officer, including a half-page write-up to be included in the Annual Report (see Stock Profiles, pages 13-33). At the start of the meeting these reports are emailed to the entire Board. The Chief Operating Officer takes minutes for all meetings and uploads them to a shared file for future reference. This year, because we wanted to invest as much of our cash as possible in our new fund, and because our Research teams were not operating year-round, 15 out of our 19 investment ideas came from stock pitches within the Investment Board. Members of the Investment Board are required to have completed a Research project in the past. In the future, Research teams will gradually assume the role of pitching to the Investment Board on a regular basis. This year, Research Analysts pitched their investment ideas at the end of March. Each 8-minute pitch was followed by 2 minutes for Board Members to question the Analyst pitching. Board members provided extensive feedback on 1-2 stocks, which they then represented at the Investment Board meeting to answer questions about the company’s fundamentals and recent news. After deliberating, this year’s Board chose 4 stocks to invest in from our Reseach Analysts. The Investment Board votes on stocks to buy on a roughly bimonthly basis. We prefer this timing to investing large sums of money at once since investing in small pools reduces the risk of buying securities whose prices are highly correlated, i. e. all undervalued at the same time. Depending on the number of stocks selected and their riskiness, an absolute dollar amount is chosen for the total 8
investments. The 3-5 stocks picked for investment are then allocated amongst this amount, taking the average of each voting member’s percentage allocation preferences. The Chief Investment Officer receives a mandate from the Investment Board to purchase the final allocations on the following trading day. A big thank you to all who contributed to investment research and portfolio deliberations this year: Investment Board Members Allison Rabkin-Golden ’12 (Fall) Alyssa Denning ‘13 Erica Schild ’12 (Fall) Gwen Tilghman ’14 (Fall) Katarina Krasulova ‘14 Rebecca Zhu ’14 (Fall) Sharon Ji ’12 Stephanie Chiang ’14 (Spring) Trang Nguyen ‘13
Research Analysts Amy Xiao ’14 (SR) Christiana Wong ’14 (SR) Deanna Zhang ‘14 Ioana Zamfir ‘15 Joanna Wang ‘14 Kaity Hsieh ‘15 Lillian Xie ‘15 Lucia Huang ’14 (SR) Mia Nishikawa ‘14 Michelle Tseng ’14 (SR) Mindy Yuan ‘14 Nabila Chitalwala ‘14 Pichaya Damrongpiwat ’13 (SR) Sally Cho ’13 (SR) Yiting Zheng ‘14 *SR = Senior Analyst
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2011-2012 SWS Yale chapter year in review investment portfolio Overview In 2011, we launched our investment fund at Yale with $10,000 in initial funding and a supplement in January 2012 of $7,000. As of April 2012, we hold $7,708.61 in cash and the rest is invested in long equities positions. We had 6 rounds of investing in December 2011, February 2012, March 2012, and April 2012. Currently, 23.05% of our stock portfolio is in Healthcare stocks, 20.56% is in Energy & Power, 18.93% in Consumer & Retail, 17.60% in Financials, 13.91% in Industrials, and 5.96% in Technology.
Our investment fund operates with a 1+ year outlook; the below analysis is for reporting and illustrative purposes, but we do not feel an adequate analysis of returns can be performed until next year, when our fund will be just over a year old and our Investment Board will reevaluate our positions. What constitutes good performance? SWS at Yale has a long-term value investing approach to managing its all-equities fund. Though as a non-profit educational organization, the goal of our fund is to provide hands-on investment 10
experience to young women who often have no other way to learn this information, and not to make a certain amount of capital gains over a given period of time, it is helpful to define a general guideline for what constitutes ideal fund performance. By setting this standard, we can 1) evaluate what we learned from managing the portfolio and learn from our mistakes if we do not meet this standard, and 2) create a real-life investing environment in order to help women learn to become leaders in investing, whether for personal or career purposes. To follow one of our biggest inspirations, Warren Buffett, we believe ideal fund performance would be beating returns on the S&P 500 over 5 year periods; for instance, 2012-2017, 2013-2018, and so on (see page 5 of Berkshire Hathaway’s 2010 Letter to Shareholders). Fund Performance After the April 2012 stock market selloff, our portfolio’s overall return is -0.71%, which we attribute to major uncertainties surrounding the Eurozone sovereign debt crisss and stagnant key US economic reports. Our three best performing stocks include investments from earlier in the year: JPM, FLL, and FIO, which boosted returns in their respective industries. Our most recent purchases, HAL, APA, SZYM, and DEPO, have been in our fund for a month, so the returns in their respective industries are down. However, this is not a cause for concern given that we expect the majority of our investment theses to play out over the year. GILD and JPM are two of our largest exposures at 10.72% and 8.50%, respectively, of our current portfolio, and both have significant gains. SZYM, PBR, and VNDA are currently down, but they constitute smaller exposures, at 4.03%, 3.07%, and 1.53%, respectively, of our current portfolio. The graphs below are for illustrative purposes, but we do not believe an in-depth returns analysis is valuable given that we have only been invested in these stocks for 1 to 5 months. Individual Stock Performance All figures as of market close on 4/27/12.
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Performance by Industry All figures as of market close on 4/27/12.
The SWS Investing Experience Only a few months into managing our live portfolio, SWS members have already learned so much about investing. Each year, our research analysts and Investment Board members have received more and more training and have more and more opportunities to learn about investing, culminating with experience managing our live portfolio. This year’s Invesment Board members completed the fall Seminar Series in 2010 and completed research projects in the spring of 2011. Next year’s Investment Board members were elected from a competitive applicant pool based on their preparation and investment knowledge for their spring research presentations. They also completed the Seminar Series in the fall of 2011, met weekly for in-depth workshops with our Chief Research Officer, and interacted with equity research professionals through the Industry Mentorship Program. Next year, we hope to have our research teams continue to run year round, led by experienced analysts and with extensive feedback from the Investment Board. New and returning analysts alike will have the opportunity to pitch regularly to the Investment Board, participate in stock competitions such as the SWS- JPMorgan Investment Competition, and continue to build relationships with professional analysts through the Industry Mentorship Program. SWS at Yale is proud to be the only student investment group currently on campus with an emphasis on investment education and experience for all, regardless of prior knowledge.
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2012 SWS Yale chapter year in review stock profiles All charts from purchase date to market close on 4/27/12. In order from date of purchase.
Full House Resorts (NYSE: FLL) 4.72 % of Current Portfolio Full House Resorts is a casino and entertainment company. It has joint venture in Gaming Entertainment (Delaware), LLC with Harrington Raceway, Inc., which manages Harrington Raceway and Casino in Harrington, DE. Additionally, the company owns 50.0% of Gaming Entertainment Michigan, LLC in Battle Creek, MI and owns Stockman’s Casino Inc. (Stockman’s) Casino in Fallon, NV. Recommendation: Why we invested in December, 2011: Buy at $2.57 on 12/12/11 1. Strong fundamentals FLL has had very strong revenue and earning growth for the last few years. Its free cash flow more than doubled to $24m over the years 2010-2011, the company hisorically only had FCF in the single digits. Versus its industry peers, it has healthy debt to equity ratios. Its current ratio was previously in the double digits but is now around 1.5, suggesting that the company reinvesting its cash effectively. 2. Attractive Valuation Given its attractive levels of cash and free cash flow growth, FLL’s price to cash flow is extremely attractive at 2x versus an industry average of around 10. 3. Focused management vision In recent months, company insiders have increased their holding of shares. Their business model is to invest in companies that “cater to a local customer base, have good to great demographics, and have easy accessibility” at reasonable prices, and their recent JVs and acquisitions demonstrate potential to significantly increase future earnings. The company’s main source of revenue is management fees, which is accretive to earnings.
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East West Bancorp (NYSE: EWBC) 5.52 % of Current Portfolio East West Bancorp, Inc. (EWBC) is a holding company for East West Bank (EWB) and other banking-related subsidiaries. With locations in California, Georgia, Massachusetts, New York, Texas, Washington, Hong Kong, and several cities in China, EWBC has operations in retail banking, commercial lending, treasury, and residential lending and serves small and medium sized businesses. EWBC also offers a range of deposit products, including a Chinese RMB-lined CD and a Greater China Index CD. Recommendation: Buy at $22.80 on 2/6/12
Why We Invested in February, 2012:
1. Poised for growth EWBC is a company well poised for growth. In addition to having strong capital and reserves, the company has nonperforming assets to total assets under 1.00%. The company is currently expanding its fee-based business lines and recently acquired United Commercial Bank and Washington First International Bank, both of which will aid the company in continuing its growth. 2. An Asian edge EWBC focuses on the Asian-American community, an increasingly prominent niche market, by placing branches in places like 99 Ranch Market grocery stores, an Asian-American hotspot, and in Hong Kong and China. EWBC’s strategic placement of its branches makes it possible for the company to make cross-border introductions for businesses interested in tapping China’s lowcost manufacturing.
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3. Attractive valuation At the time of our investment, EWBC was trading at a P/E of 7.28, well below the industry average of 22.78. Since EWBC had not recently experienced earnings above historic trends nor has it profited from selling assets, this low P/E is a sign of undervaluation.
General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE: GD) 6.58 % of Current Portfolio General Dynamics Corporation is an aerospace and defense company and is the fifth largest defense contractor in the world. With a market capitalization of 25.28B, the company has four main business segments: Marine Systems, Combat Systems, Information Systems and Technology, and Aerospace. General Dynamics was founded in 1899 and is based in Falls Church, Virginia. Recommendation: Buy at $71.00 on 2/6/12
Why we invested in February, 2012:
1. Steady customer base and contract generation 75% of General Dynamic’s revenue comes from the U.S. military, which indicates future stability given that the U.S. military will need upgrades to their equipment. General Dynamics recently won two large contracts with the U.S. Navy and the Canadian government. 2. Strong financial metrics General Dynamic’s low P/E ratio suggests the company may be undervalued. The company also has a low debt and high dividend which indicate financial stability and self-sufficiency.
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3. High predicted sales of G650 jet General Dynamics recently came up with a new Gulfstream business which will supply G650 jets that are already extremely popular in Asia. The company already has a backlog of jet orders, with each jet priced at $65 million.
JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) 8.50 % of Current Portfolio JP Morgan Chase is one of the largest financial institutions in the United States, with more than $2 trillion in assets and operations in more than 60 countries and a large market cap of 155.89B. The company is organized into 6 business segments, representing its investment banking, commercial banking, treasury and securities services, asset management, retail financial services, and credit card businesses. JP Morgan Chase is a major player in the derivatives market and its CEO is well-known Jamie Dimon. Like its peers, JPM faces the squeeze on net interest margins and it has reduced its investment bank staff by 4% in 2011 due to the global inaction against the spread of financial crisis. Recommendation: Buy at $38.59 on 2/6/12
Why We Invested in February, 2012:
1. Immense size and well-deserved reputation JPMorgan’s scale allows providing impressive scale of products to customers as well as corporate clients. The bank has a stellar reputation and fortress balance sheet. 2. Well-positioned to carry the burden of new regulations Most of the competitors are facing the same scrutiny – the company is generating capital internally (2011 0.94% return on assets) and it has the ability to adjust risk-weighted assets, so it won’t have a problem to meet the new regulatory standards in 2012. Perhaps it will even face a smaller amount of competitors as global capital requirements are standardized, which will again push it forward. 16
3. Great financial health and loss hedging Nearly half of JPM’s derivatives are centrally cleared, which limits the risk of large exposure as a result of centralizing the management of credit risk in the past decade. Moreover, the bank has during the grim times for financial institutions reasonable profitability and earnings are improving quarterly. The aggressive buy-back of shares in 2011 will most likely create a considerable value in 2012.
Fusion-io, Inc. (NYSE: FIO) 5.96 % of Current Portfolio Fusion-io, Inc. engages in the development, marketing, and sale of storage memory platform for data decentralization in the United States. Its platforms enhance the processing capabilities within a datacenter by relocating process-critical or active data from centralized storage to the server where it is being processed. The company’s storage memory platform includes ioDrive and ioCache products; directCache data-tiering software; ioTurbine virtualization software; and ioSphere platform management software. It sells its products through its direct sales force, original equipment manufacturers, resellers, and other channel partners in the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Korea, Australia, Canada, France, China, Italy, Denmark, and the Netherlands. The company was formerly known as Fusion Multisystems, Inc and changed its name to Fusion-io, Inc. in June 2010. Fusion-io, Inc. was founded in 2005 and is headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah. Recommendation: Buy at $23.75 Why we invested in February, 2012: on 2/13/12 1. Growing demand for data storage Fusion-io addresses one of the fastest growing and most challenging problems in modern day data center – underutilization. 80% of servers are currently idle 50% of the time, so the processors sit idle half of the time waiting for data, like workers in a factory sitting on their thumbs waiting for the materials. Second, driven by growth in social media, cloud computing, 17
and the need for faster transactions, the demand for data storage will more than double every year. Conveniently, Fusion meets both the demand of storage and performance -- a 26.2 billion market opportunity. Rather than adding more servers that traditionally increases physical IT infrastructure, Chief Information Officers can simply insert a Fusion-io card into the server to increase its performance. Right now, Fusion-io is the only one in the market that can deliver this enterprise product. Long term, we believe Fusion-io can address 4 million servers of half market, driving revenue over toward $2 billion in three years. 2. Attractive valuation and competitive landscape . Right now the market is distracted by competitors trying to enter the market, but it grossly underestimates the barrier to entry -- the software system that comes with the Fusion memory card. Competitors, such as OCZ or STEC, are only component vendors, but Fusion’s competitive advantage is that it is a software enable system solution. 3. Customer pipeline Currently Apple and Facebook are the biggest strategic customers. What the market sees is a concentration of risk, but what we see is the first mover advantage Fusion-io derives from these accounts. The underappreciated growth driver here is that with Apple and Facebook, Fusion-io has build degree of credibility for its technology. This is crucial in the storage sector, where users are concerned about data security. A major catalyst for upside is the announcement of another strategic customer. Currently, 10 are in the pipeline, and at least one of them, Amazon is as large as Facebook.
Lazard Ltd. (NYSE: LAZ) 3.58 % of Current Portfolio Lazard is a financial services company with financial advisory and asset management business segments. With a presence in 25 countries and diversfied customer base, including corporations, partnerships, institutions, governments, and high net worth individuals, Lazard has a successful history dating to 1848. A $3.7 billion market capitalization makes Lazard smaller than many of its 18
competitors, so its relationship with top clients is all the more impressive. The firm spun off its capital markets division in 2005 and today earns 95% of its revenues from M&A advisory, restructuring advisory, and asset management. Why We Invested in February, 2012:
Recommendation: Buy at $27.89 on 2/13/12
1. Growth in M&A M&A advisory is a major business segment at Lazard. M&A activity has been on the decline in recent years, but should begin increasing following economic recovery and increased liquidity in the debt markets. Lazard is in a strong position to profit from this upturn, and should see more growth than its more diversified competitors. Since it spun off its underwriting business, its revenues in this segment are tied less to the volatility of the markets. 2. Growth in the equities market 83% of Lazard’s $141 billion in assets under management are equities, which are on the uptrend following the financial crisis. Its assets under management increased nearly 5% in 2011, and fees in this business segment should be on the rise for Lazard. 3. Attractive valuation Stocks of financial institutions took a large hit after the financial crisis and have yet to recover. Though this is justified for many financial institutions given the risk in the industry, Lazard is less risky given that it is no longer involved in volatile capital markets and underwriting and has a more focused core business.
Petroleo Brasileiro SA (NYSE: PBR) 3.07 % of Current Portfolio Petroleo Brasileiro (Petrobras) is a Brazil-based integrated oil and gas company controlled by the Brazilian government. The Company operates in six areas: Exploration and Production, Provision, 19
Gas and Energy, Biofuel, Distribution, and International. It performs research, extraction, refining, processing, trading, and transporting of oil from wells, shale and other rocks, oil derivatives, natural gas and other liquid hydrocarbons. The Company is active in Brazil and in 24 countries abroad over five continents. As of December 2011, the Company owns 132 concession contracts for 194 exploration blocks. Recommendation: Why We Invested in February, 2012: Buy at $30.70 on 2/13/12 1. Long term increase in oil price Global growth, especially in emerging markets, and potential supply disruptions due to weather or politics will tip the oil supply/demand scale towards demand. Therefore, oil price, though subject to fluctuations in the short run, will increase in the long run. 2. Strong offshore drilling program The Brazilian coast has strong potential based on offshore discoveries in 2007 and a strong record of deep-water oil development. 3. Solid past financial performance The Company has maintained a consistent profit margin of 16% for the past five years and a low P/E ratio of 8.9, compared to Exxon’s 10.3 and Eni S.p.A.’s 9.7.
Sanofi SA (NYSE: SNY) 4.59 % of Current Portfolio Sanofi-Aventis, market cap $102.2 billion, develops and markets pharmaceuticals with a concentration in oncology, cardiovascular disease, central nervous system disorders, diabetes, and vaccines. The company offers a diverse array of drugs with its highest revenue generator, Lantus, representing about 10% of total sales. The largest portion of sales income comes from the fastgrowing emerging markets (40%), which gives Sanofi a head start compared to its competitors covering mostly stagnating markets of the developed world. The core growth platforms are: 20
Emerging Markets, Human Vaccines, Consumer Healthcare, Innovative Products, and Animal Health. Recommendation: Buy at $38.24 on 2/13/12 1. Topline Growth in Emerging Markets SNY had a unique position in the emerging markets, which are the only ones with healthcare sales projected growth. It also has a consistent EM expansion across all drugs with growth picking up at accelerating pace, which at the same time mitigates expiring patents. Why We Invested in February, 2012:
2. Innovative Drug Pipeline SNY diversified its production and sales from the blockbuster drugs in advance and planned for an expanding pipeline through innovative R&D and acquisition of the rare disease company Genzyme. 3. Good Management – Cost-Cutting and M&A A great management strategy allowed SNY to carry out over 9 acquisitions in 2010 alone, which boosted its growth platforms while still maintaining $10 billion in free cash flow. It transformed its R&D program and company structures, which in effect saved even more and fueled the acquisition process. SNY also financed much of its operations with very cheap debt compared to its main competition, which again gave it a great advantage.
Teva Pharmaceutical Industries (NASDAQ: TEVA) 3.97 % of Current Portfolio Headquartered in Israel, Teva Pharmaceutical Industries (TEVA) is the world’s largest generic drug manufacturer. Having acquired Cephalon in 2011, TEVA has expanded its international presence to 21
include North America, Europe, Latin America, and Asia. While TEVA’s core business lies in the generic market, approximately 30% of its revenue is derived from its innovative and branded products. TEVA has a strong product pipeline for various therapeutic categories such as central nervous system, respiratory, women’s healthcare, biosimilars, and oncology. It holds the patents for Azilect, a drug which treats Parkinson’s disease, and Copaxone, the world’s bestselling multiple sclerosis treatment. With a market cap of $38 billion, TEVA is expected to continue to increase its market share. Recommendation: Buy at $44.99 Why we invested in February, 2012: on 2/13/12 1. Expansion of branded products portfolio With the October 2011 $6.8 billion acquisition of Cephalon, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company which focuses on developing treatments for neurodegenerative diseases, TEVA has expanded its branded products portfolio. The acquisition is expected to immediately increase TEVA’s earnings per share. Branded products are also expected to bring in over $8.2 billion in revenue in 2012. 2. Consistent growth and earnings TEVA has a consistent revenue growth rate of 28.5%, and a five year total return of 35%. Having consecutively increased its dividend for the past 12 years, TEVA has a five year dividend growth rate of 19.9%. Especially with the launches of new products like the generic version of Zyprexa and Lexapro in 2012, sales will continue to increase. 3. Growing demand for generic drugs TEVA’s generic products market is in great position to take advantage of the patent cliff that face most major drugs between 2011 and 2016. Analysts anticipate that generic drug companies will dramatically reduce the sales of major innovator companies. In addition to the patent cliff, an aging American population and ballooning healthcare spending will boost demand for cheaper and effective generic products.
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Vanda Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: VNDA) 1.53 % of Current Portfolio Vanda is a biopharmaceutical company specializing in developing drugs for diseases of the central nervous system. Its two main drugs are Fanapt, a schizophrenia treatment, and tasimelteon, an FDA-recognized orphan drug for the treatment of circadian rhythm sleep disorders. Vanda’s two drugs were in-licensed from larger pharma companies such as Novartis, and they have two more sleep disorder drugs in their pipeline. Recommendation: Why We Invested in February, 2012: Buy at $5.35 on 2/13/12 1. Success of Fanapt Recent approval of previously uncertain schizophrenia drug Fanapt should inject more confidence in a highly undervalued stock. Though Fanapt is the seventh entrant into the schizophrenia drug market, the lowest revenue drug in this market still brings in $1 billion, so there is a huge potential upside, especially given that Novartis has absorbed much of the cost. 2. In-licensing strategy Fanapt is partnered with Novartis, decreasing the expense of selling and marketing the drug. The Novartis partnership provides Vanda with access to the salesforce of a larger, more established player, creates near-term revenue opportunities, and it dissolves a great deal of the uncertainty surrounding Fanapt's future. Vanda’s two pipeline candidates are in-licensed from big pharma: Vanda's practice of in-licensing compounds and using contract research organizations to conduct trials helps keep capital requirements and development risks low. 3. Attractive valuation As a “penny stock,” Vanda has a large upside and relatively small downside risk. Though we allocated a small portion of our portfolio to Vanda’s stock since it is risky, we believe it is undervalued. Following initial approval of Fanapt (iloperidone) in May of 2009, Vanda’s stock reached $15. The company’s fundamentals are strong, their business strategy of in-licensing cuts many costs, and drug pipeline look promising, so we expect the price to rise to reflect this in the future.
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Denison Mines Corp. (NYSEAMEX: DNN) 1.54 % of Current Portfolio Denison Mines Corp. is an intermediate uranium producer with active mining projects in both the United States and Canada and development projects in Canada, the United States, Zambia and Mongolia. Denison’s assets include an interest in two of the four licensed conventional uranium mills in North America, with its 100% interest of the White Mesa mill in Utah, its 22.5% interest of the McClean Lake mill in Saskatchewan and its 60% interest in Wheeler River. With a market cap of $596 million, Denison currently ranks 10th among world’s largest uranium producers. Recommendation: Buy at $1.58 on 3/23/12
Why We Invested in March, 2012:
1. Growing demand for uranium Uranium demand and price are predicted to bounce back strongly starting 2012 after the uranium bubble in 2007 and the Japan nuclear crisis in 2011, mostly because of the aggressive expansion plan of nuclear power in China and India. Meanwhile, Russia, the world-leading uranium producer, has not renewed its production contract for 2012. 2. Access to strategic resources to turn this increase demand into profit Denison Mines owned the only active uranium mine in Colorado – the 3rd largest uranium reserve in the US, and two out of four uranium millers in North America. Exploration of its 60% owned flagship project at Wheeler River in Canada, the world’s highest grade source of uranium, started in early 2012. Canada also recently signed uranium supply deals with China for energy generation, paving the way for Denison to the world’s number one consumer of uranium. 3. Diversification DNN, currently trading at $1.55, is a penny stock that will provide good diversification to our portfolio.
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Domino’s Pizza (NYSE: DPZ) 5.63 % of Current Portfolio Domino’s Pizza, through its subsidiaries, is engaged in retail sales of food through Domino’s Pizza stores, sales equipment and supplies to Domino’s Pizza stores, and receipt of royalties from domestic and international Domino’s Pizza franchise. Domino’s distinguishes itself from competitors like Yum Brands, Pizza Hut, and Papa John’s by focusing on its distribution network rather than the taste and value. Domino’s has the largest market share in the pizza delivery business and has more than 9,500 stores in over 70 countries. Domino’s has a P/E ratio of 20.89 compared to an industry average of 19.82. By comparison, Yum’s is 23.92 and Papa John’s is 17.62. Recommendation: Buy at $36.60 on 3/23/12
Why we invested in March, 2012:
1. International expansion International stores represent 49% of the total number for Domino’s, delivering 50% of global sales and 36% of operating income. It is far ahead of its pizza industry competitors in international store growth. Its star international markets are Australia and New Zealand, India, Malaysia, Turkey and the UK and Ireland. All of its top ten overseas markets still have significant room for growth, making Domino’s a solid long-term option. Current expansion into India is especially notable.
2. Consistent profitability The company has beaten estimates the last four quarters and is coming off a quarter where it topped forecasts by 2 cents, reporting net income of 35 cents per share against a mean estimate of profit of 33 cents per share. 3. “Smart Slice” app DPZ introduced a new mobile app and nutrition initiatives such as the “Smart Slice” to compete with other fast food chains and to help counter the image of Domino’s as an entirely “bad for you” chain. 25
Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ: GILD) 10.72 % of Current Portfolio Gilead Sciences, Inc. (Gilead), headquartered in Foster City, CA, is a research-based biopharmaceutical company that discovers, develops and commercializes medicines. Gilead’s primary areas of focus include HIV/AIDS, liver diseases such as hepatitis B and C, and cardiovascular/metabolic and respiratory conditions. Gilead has operations in North America, Europe and Asia Pacific. The company’s products include Atripla, Truvada, Viread, Complera/Eviplera, Emtriva, Hepsera, Letairis, Ranexa, Lexiscan/Rapiscan, AmBisome, Vistide, Macugen, Cayston and Tamiflu. In January 2012, the Company acquired Pharmasset, Inc. Recommendation: Buy at $46.84 on 3/23/12
Why we invested in March, 2012:
1. Increasing biotech activity The biotech industry has the highest increase in activity and revenue across all healthcare subsectors. Gilead's diverse drug portfolio will hedge it against the massive cross-industry patent expiration in 2012.
2. Attractive valuation Various financial metrics indicate that this is a solid, undervalued company. As of February 2012, Gilead Sciences has a $33.7 billion market cap, with a P/E ratio of 13.25 vs. 22.94 for the sector and 18.32 for the S&P 500. At the time of purchase, it traded below its target price because a Hepatitis C drug failed its Phase II trials. Its operating margin is 45.2% vs. a negative value for the healthcare industry. The company also had a low beta value of only 0.45, zero long-term debt, and constantly increasing EPS since 2008. 3. Diverse pipeline The company is well diversified geographically, as well as in terms of R&D and existing drug portfolio. Despite the Phase II trial failure, Gilead has a number of Hepatitis C drugs in the pipeline for FDA approval in 2014. 26
PepsiCo, Inc. (NYSE: PEP) 8.58 % of Current Portfolio Pepsi is a global food company that is best known for its leading soft beverage, Pepsi Cola, that has a large share of the cola market along with its competitor, Coca-Cola. Pepsi also owns a portfolio of snack and health foods and beverages, including the brands Quaker, Tropicana, Gatorade, Frito-Lay, Mountain Dew, Lay’s, and Doritos. Foods account for roughly 50% of Pepsi’s revenues. Recommendation: Buy at $65.43 on 3/23/12
Why We Invested in March, 2012:
1. “Good for You” Portfolio CEO Indra Nooyi has focused on building a “Good for You” portfolio that will likely be more popular than Coke’s in the long run and reduces the risk of a tax on sweets and snacks affecting the company. Its recent acqusition of the Russian Dairy company Wimm-Bill-Dann should begin to see synergistic effects in 2012.
2. Attractive competitive landscape Though competition with Coke is stiff in the beverage market, threat of new competition is incredibly low given both Pepsi and Coke’s economies of scale and high barriers to entry for new market entrants. The sector’s competitive landscape is thus very stable. Additionally, Pepsi has over 50% market share in the salty snacks market, and future acquisitions to increase their portfolio in this area could drive revenue growth and make the competitive landscape even more attractive. 3. Attractive valuation With a price to earning ratio of 15.9 versus Coke’s 19.1, Pepsi appears to be a relatively good buy. Furthermore, trading at 11.5 times cash flow, Pepsi again looks undervalued versus Coke’s 27
17.2. Pepsi’s closest competitors in the food industry also have less attractive ratios, with Nestle and Kraft trading at more than 15 times cash flow and higher P/E ratios.
Xerox Corporation (NYSE: XRX) 7.33 % of Current Portfolio As a company that is over 100 years old that has continued to innovate and respond to changing markets, with a high emphasis on strategic development, Xerox is a stock that would add diversity and stability, but also continued growth potential, to our portfolio. Its revenue has increased annually for the last 5 years, adding over $5 billion during this time. It also appears relatively undervalued given its PEG ratio of only 0.99 and a P/E ratio that is the lowest among its competitors at 9.31 in an industry with an average P/E of 16.67. Recommendation: Why we invested in March, 2012: Buy at $8.24 on 3/23/12 1. Attractive competitive landscape Xerox is involved in an incredibly wide range of business processing, outsourcing, IT, and document management services. The diversity of its services provides it with flexibility in responding to changes in the marketplace, and makes it unlikely that any single new competitor could seriously disrupt its status. 2. Recent acquisitions Current management is extremely focused on continuously expanding the company’s reach and continued relevance, for example, with recent acquisitions of LaserNetworks and RK Dixon. 3. Decline of major competitor HP, one of its biggest competitors, has had an awful year with questionable restructurings and strategic decisions. The potential exists this year for Xerox to further overtake business processing and equipment work previously performed by HP. 28
Apache Corporation (NYSE: APA) 6.16 % of Current Portfolio Apache is one of the world's largest independent oil & gas exploration and production companies with the market cap of 36.3 billion. Its P/E of 8.4 is overwhelmingly low compared to the industry average of 20.4, while its financials have stayed almost intact. High REO, 17.7 compared to the industry's 8.9, and a very low debt to equity ratio, 0.3 compared to the industry's 0.8, clearly point to very skilled management and use of capital. We expect Apache to fund its extensive investment operations from its operating cash flows. Even though lots of its possible increase in value might be dependent on the benchmark oil price, we expect the global operating activities to increase production and drive the price up. Recommendation: Buy at $103.94 on 3/26/12
Why we invested in March, 2012:
1. Structured and intensive M&A: Apache’s assets are distributed among conventional and unconventional resources throughout North America, including shallow and deep water developments in the Gulf of Mexico, and oil and gas projects in Egypt, Australia, Argetina, and the UK. Apache is a large company with a very well developed structure of M&A, and it is very price disciplined, which is an attractive selling point for the value investors. Its conservative balance sheet brings a lot of stability into any portfolio. 2. Diversified Portfolio Besides M&A, its diversified portfolio includes a mix of oil and gas, offshore and onshore drilling, domestic and international, and near-dated as well as longer-dated assets, which should mitigate the possible risk of the commodity price fluctuation and secure growth into the future.
3. Financial and brand stability in a capital intensive industry We believe in the company's ability to drive production and reserve growth under a variety of economic conditions. At the same time we account for the potential risks, which are many times 29
very generic for all the oil and gas companies, such as a prolonged drop in oil and gas prices, cost overruns in long-dated projects, problems with emerging shale plays, and political instability in certain regions. Nevertheless, given the financing structure and the growth plan, together with the massive size of the company and its conservative budget, we believe that Apache is safe and profitable investment that is far ahead of its competitors.
Halliburton (NYSE: HAL) 5.75 % of Current Portfolio Halliburton is the second largest oilfield service company in the world. It provides services for natural gas and petroleum exploration, such as drilling, pressure control, cementing, formation evaluation, and hole enlargement. It was founded in 1919 by Erle P. Halliburton in Duncan, Oklahoma as the “New Method Oil Well Cementing Company.” Now headquartered in Houston and Dubai, it has nearly 70,000 employees in over 80 countries. Recommendation: Why we invested in March, 2012: Buy at $34.37 on 3/26/12 1. Outstanding fundamentals Compared to its industry average, Halliburton’s P/E ratio of 9.9 and debt to assets ratio of 20.36f are one of the lowest, which means that Halliburton is one of the best in its class in terms of efficiency and lowest risks. Because the oil and gas industry in general is trending up, the safest yet most profitable investment would be the least risky oil and gas company, Halliburton. It is also very liquid, lowering its investment risk. 2. Turnaround potential Having just been cleared in January 2012 of charges from the BP oil spill, Halliburton is just beginning to recover from legal issues that have plagued it since the spill in 2010. Because of this, we should see a rebound in Halliburton’s stock price as investors continue to purchase the stock. 30
3. Strong activity in North America and potential for international expansion A majority of its business lies in North America; however, Halliburton is trying to increase its presence internationally by focusing on its Eastern sector, while at the same time reducing input costs – an excellent long term growth platform.
Solazyme Inc. (NASDAQ: SZYM) 4.03 % of Current Portfolio Solazyme is San Francisco-based alternative energy company that produces high-value commercial oils from plant based sugars. Founded in 2003, Solazyme uses its proprietary technology to focus on utilizing microalgae to produce ground and air transportation use. It has formed strong partnerships with several companies including Dow Chemical, Chevron, and Unilever to research and develop alternative technology. Some of its partners and clients for the Solazyme’s algal fuel include the US Navy and Volkswagen. Solazyme features a diverse line of products that range from transportation fuels to beauty products. Its innovative technology and commercialized products will help Solazyme see continued growth. Recommendation: Why we invested, March 2012: Buy at $15.48 on 3/26/12 1. Increased commercialization Solazyme is in position to capture both consumer and industrial demand with its wide array of commercialized products. Not only does Solazyme produce transportation fuel, but it also has a skin care line, Algenist, already on the shelves at Sephora, with another line, formed in a partnership with Therabotanics, coming out later in 2012. In addition, Golden Chlorella, Solazyme’s nutritional oil product line, is being sold in Whole Foods. On the fuel front, with the recent approval of commercial airlines’ usage of biofuels, Solazyme aims to produce large commercial quantities of oil for jets by 2013. Furthermore, starting in 2014, United Airlines has signed a contract with Solazyme to purchase up to 20 million gallons per year of its renewable jet fuel. Solazyme has even reached into other areas of the world, specifically Brazil, where it has 31
partnered with Bunge Limited, one of the world’s largest vegetable oil distributors, to develop renewable chemicals. 2. Innovative technology Solazyme’s strongest quality remains in its innovative and easily adaptable technology. Its usage of “indirect photosynthesis” yields tailored oils that most large modified seed producers are not able create. Its technology enables an exponentially quicker development time, which gives Solazyme an edge in the field of alternative energy research. Solazyme is constantly researching new methods to create alternative fuels, even partnering with large, established firms such as Dow Chemical and Chevron. 3. Growth of alternative energy market The alternative energy market has exploded recently with increased attention on the world’s potential impending energy crisis. Biofuels, in particular, have been identified as the fastest growing sector in the market. With its unique and successful technology, Solazyme can easily capitalize on this growth.
DepoMed, Inc. (NASDAQ: DEPO) 2.23 % of Current Portfolio DepoMed Pharmaceuticals is a specialty pharmaceutical company focused on developing new drugs and improving existing ones based on its novel Acuform drug delivery technology. The company was founded in 1995 and is headquartered in Menlo Park, CA. DepoMed has marketed two products, Gralise, for post-herpetic neuralgia, and Glumetza, for type 2 diabetes. It is developing two more, Serada, for menopausal hot flashes, and DM-1992, for Parkinson’s Disease. DepoMed also holds strategic partnerships with large drugmakers to both develop and commercialize drugs.
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Recommendation: Buy at $15.48 on 3/26/12
Why we invested, April 2012:
1. Unique Acuform technology Large pharmaceutical industries are seeking to use novel technologies to improve and differentiate their products from generics. DepoMed has a novel oral extended-release gel technology, Acuform. This makes DepoMed highly attractive to large pharmaceutical companies for potential partnerships or even an acquisition target. DepoMed’s current partnerships include Merck, Janssen, Boehringer Ingelheim, Covidien, and Ironwood.
2. Serada approval likely Depomed’s menopausal hot flash drug Serada is in Phase 3 of clinical trials and is likely to be approved by the FDA in the next few years. Serada has the potential to be the first nonhormonal drug of its type in a market of 13 million women. Depomed leadership is meeting with the FDA to discuss approval of Serada sometime before June 2012. 3. Strong fundamentals and competitive landscape DepoMed has strong cash flows when compared to other specialty pharmaceutical companies. This is attributable to its recently approved drugs, Gralise and Glumetza, as well as its many partnerships with big pharma. Furthermore, DepoMed essentially has no direct competition in either its drug platform technology. Durect (DRRX) and Alkermes (ALKS) are both specialty pharmaceutical companies with oral extended-release gel technology. However, Durect is more focused on its other technological platforms, while Alkermes is not seeking to lend its technology to other companies. Thus, Depomed has maximum leverage when forging partnerships with companies to use Acuform.
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2011-2012 SWS Yale chapter Executive Board Alyssa Denning '13, co-Chief Executive Officer is a junior History of Art major at Yale. She is thrilled to have the opportunity to become more involved with SWS and to help provide to other young women what SWS provided to her: the opportunity to learn about finance and investing. Raised in a historic town near Philadelphia, Alyssa enjoys yoga, literature, foreign languages, and travel. Aside from SWS, Alyssa is a dancer and works at the Yale University Art Gallery. After an engaging semester of equity research with SWS as Senior Analyst in the Energy and Power industry, she looks forward to broadening her investment knowledge during a summer internship in fixed income research at Gordian Knot Ltd., an investment management firm in London, where she will focus specifically new financial regulations and their effects on structured financial products. Connie Liu '13, co-Chief Executive Officer is a double major in Economics and Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology at Yale. When entering college, Connie had had her mind set on pursuing a career in science, that is, until she joined SWS, through which she discovered a strong passion for finance and investing. Connie is honored to have been part of the 20112012 SWS Executive Board at Yale and hopes to continue to contribute to SWS as a nonBoard member next year. Aside from being involved in SWS, Connie also dedicates a significant amount of time conducting Biology research at the Yale Medical School, fundraising for Chinese orphans through China Care at Yale, and serving on the Board of the Yale Daily News Business Team. Grace Bang '14, Chief Operating Officer is a sophomore at Yale University pursuing a double major in Economics and Psychology. She was born and raised in New York. She is interested in focusing her studies on Behavioral Economics. Grace is also involved in the Yale Daily New Business team and serves as a research assistant in the LAM Lab at the Rudd Center for Obesity at Yale University. This summer, she will be traveling abroad to Spain to study Spanish and partake in an internship. In her spare time, Grace enjoys playing basketball, cooking, visiting museums and dancing. Alexandra Cocleaza '12, Chief Research Officer is a junior at Yale University pursuing a double major in Chemistry and Economics. Hailing from Romania, she is interested in the tech and healthcare industries and loves educating peers and international students about finance and science. As SWS Yale's 2010-2011 COO, Alexandra was dedicated to empowering women and finding new finance-related resources for Yale women. When she is not in the lab doing research, she enjoys Origami, ancient history, learning languages and traveling. This summer she looks forward to interning at Barclays Capital in New York City as an investment banking analyst. Margaret Greenberg '12, Chief Mentorship Officer is a double major in history and Italian. Margaret was a member of the Yale varsity gymnastics team for her first two years at Yale. Now she runs recruiting on campus for YES Prep Public Schools (a Houston-based charter school network), is a staff writer for the Yale Herald, works for the Yale development office, and is a member of Kappa Alpha Theta. She enjoys trying new cuisines, traveling and running halfmarathons. Last summer Margaret worked with the Ford Motor Company International Fellowship of the 92nd Street Y as part of a Yale Community Service Fellowship. This summer she is looking forward to her internship with Barclays Investment Banking Division in New York City.
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Sharon Ji '12, Chief Investment Officer is a rising senior at Yale University double majoring in Economics and Modern Middle East Studies. Born in China, Sharon is passionate about international finance and social entrepreneurship. Previously, she served as the Chief Financial Officer of Elmseed Enterprise Fund, a New Haven based microfinance organization. Last year, she worked for a stock brokerage firm and a microcredit start-up in Kampala, Uganda. This summer, she will be interning at Credit Suisse as an Equity Analyst. In her spare time, Sharon enjoys learning Biblical languages, taking Krav Maga classes and playing poker. Andrea Lucido '12, Chief Development Officer is a senior applied mathematics major at Yale. After two very rewarding years in SWS, she is excited to be taking on the role of CDO and working with some of the most motivated women she has met at Yale. Outside of SWS, Andrea is involved with Kappa Kappa Gamma and works to bring in guest speakers for her residential college. She also might be found lying on a beach chair near her home in Long Island, trying any type of new food she can find, or attempting to speak Italian after a lovely summer abroad in Siena. Andrea looks forward to interning at Susquehanna International Group, a trading firm with its headquarters in Philadelphia, in the summer of 2011.
And introducing... 2012-2013 SWS Yale chapter Executive Board Stephanie Chiang ’14, Co-Chief Executive Officer is a junior majoring in Economics at Yale. She is extremely excited to be on Board this year, and can't wait to provide women the opportunity to learn about finance and investment from a fun and intellectually challenging platform. Aside from SWS, Stephanie also rides on the equestrian team, choreographs dances for Danceworks, and is involved with the Yale Herald business team. In her free time, Stephanie loves to peruse through copious amounts of fashion magazines and blogs. She can also often be found reading books about British history and travel to exotic destinations. Last summer, Stephanie interned at B Lab, working on the development of an impact investing ratings system. This summer, she is looking forward to working at Barneys New York as a buying intern. Yiting Zheng ’14, Co-Chief Executive Officer is a junior double majoring in Global Affairs and Economics. She is very excited to serve on the board of SWS. Having grown up in Beijing, Yiting is an astronomy lover who has traveled to many countries including Ukraine, Malaysia, and Italy just for astronomy observation and International Astronomy Olympiad. Besides SWS, Yiting serves as Yale’s International Ambassador and gives campus tours in both Chinese and English. In her spare time, Yiting enjoys playing poker, figure skating, and admiring architecture. Yiting spent her last summer in Paris, France to learn French and French culture. This summer, she wishes to build her finance knowledge as an Investment Banking intern at China International Capital Corporation. She will also participate in the SEO China internship program. Lucia Huang ’14, Chief Marketing and Mentorship Officer is a sophomore majoring in Chemistry at Yale. Hailing from San Jose, Lucia enjoys all things California, from swimming to trying hole-inthe-wall Mexican restaurants to just being outside in the sunshine. Outside SWS, she does research in the Center for Green Chemistry and Green Engineering at Yale and is involved in the Women's Leadership Initiative. She became involved with SWS last year and thoroughly enjoyed participating in the seminar series, J.P. Morgan stock pitch competition, and individual stock research report and presentation in the healthcare group and looks forward to expanding SWS's campus presence. She's excited to further explore finance as as an intern in the Investment Banking division at Barclays this summer.
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Katarina Krasulova ’14, Chief Operating Officer is a rising junior in Calhoun College pursuing a major in Psychology and Neuroscience. Born in Slovakia, she is interested in the overlap of economics and psychology, and when not in the lab, she enjoys working on improving the access of high-schoolers to education and spreading financial literacy to disadvantaged groups. She is president of Yale Model Government Europe, finance director at Dwight Hall Socially Responsible Investment Fund, she works for the Public Interest law division at the Yale Law School, and enjoys various financial competitions in her free time. She lived and volunteered in regions from Bosnia to Swaziland, and she spent her last summer in St. Petersburg studying Russian. Languages and traveling are obviously her passion, but she also never refuses late-night run, wine and cheese, and good music. She is looking forward to interning at Astin Capital in London this summer as a corporate finance analyst. Trang Nguyen ’13, Chief Investment Officer is a rising senior at Yale University majoring in Economics and Mathematics. Born in Vietnam, Trang is passionate about investing, corporate culture and fashion design. She strongly believes in the powerful mission of Smart Woman Securities as a professional and social network for college women. Previously, she covered Energy and Power stocks on the SWS Investment Board and served as a Trip Leader on the 2012 SWS Warren Buffett trip. Last year, she worked for the largest asset manager in Vietnam, assisting in a greenfield private equity project. This summer, she looks forward to interning at BlackRock Fund of Hedge Funds. In her spare time, Trang loves swimming and dancing. Michelle Tseng ’14, Chief Development Officer is from Folsom, California, and is currently a Biomedical Engineering and Economics double major at Yale \University. Aside from being involved in the Biomedical Engineering Society and doing research on tissue engineering with Dr. Laura Niklason, she explores her interest in business and finance through leadership in the Yale Business Society and participation in Smart Woman Securities. In order to continue her dedication to community service, she also devotes her time to Rotaract and their many service projects. During her spare time, Michelle can be found playing tennis, swimming, enjoying a book, or making simple sketches. Amy Xiao '14, Chief Research Officer is a sophomore Economics major at Yale University. After gaining hands-on experience in investing and valuation through SWS this year, she is excited to serve as CRO and pass on what she has learned to younger women. Amy grew up in Montgomery County, Maryland and enjoys table tennis, learning Chinese, traveling, and trying exotic foods. Aside from SWS, she exercises her passion for entrepreneurship by serving as Director of Client Services in the Elmseed Enterprise Fund, a New Haven based microfinance and consulting organization. She has also taught health education to local public school students through Community Health Educators. This summer, Amy looks forward to interning in Washington, DC at the Department of the Treasury's Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, where she will conduct research on banks' pricing and risk models.
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supporting
Smart Woman Securities 37
Supporting Smart Woman Securities Yale Chapter SWS Yale would like to sincerely thank the generous support of our 2011-2012 Corporate Partners and Friends. SWS Corporate Partners are companies that seek to advance the financial education of women and work within all facets of the organization by providing monetary support, as well as various other resources.
Silver
Gold Corporate Partner
SWS Friends
Bronze_______
___________________
SWS Friends are firms that help further SWS’ mission by hosting firm visits and mentorships.
To donate, or for more information on how to get involved, please contact our 2012-2013 Co-CEOs at yiting.zheng@yale.edu and stephanie.chiang@yale.edu
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“The combination of new people and skills, learning but also acting independently, has been quite unique when I think of my experience with other organizations. I joined in fall after a summer working in finance, looking to simply develop my practical skills. And I have, but there’s much more. Sure, there are investment clubs, and interest societies at Yale; you can learn investment theory through these tracks. In no other group would I have had the chance to put this learning into practice in a practical way, but more impressively, to receive real feedback on that work, from so many finance professionals ”
– Yale SWS Associate, 2011
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