Sohn Investment Contest Presentations: IAC Interactive, WR Grace, Grupo Televisa, Constellation Software, Premier

We posted up notes from the Sohn Conference New York 2015 featuring all the big name hedge fund managers like David Tepper, David Einhorn, Bill Ackman and more.  Now Bloomberg Business has posted up the full slideshow presentations from up and comers who were finalists in the Sohn Investment Idea Contest.


Sohn Investment Idea Contest Presentations 2015

The winner of the contest was Angelo Martorell of the Wharton School, who pitched long IAC Interactive (IACI).  While the company owns various assets, his pitch centered around the company's online dating assets, and in particular its popular Tinder app. 

Embedded below is Angelo Martorell's pitch for IAC Interactive:



You can download a .pdf copy here.


There were also 4 finalists.  Here are their slideshow presentations as well:


Arthur Baer, Cavendish Fund Management: Short Premier (PINC):  This short is predicated on misleading accounting and he sees 60% downside in the name.

Embedded below is the slideshow presentation on Premier (PINC):



You can download a .pdf copy here.



Sean Murphy, Game Creek Capital: Long Grupo Televisa (TV):  This is a play on cable/satellite/content in Mexico.  There's potential to consolidate the cable industry and benefit from secular trends as the cable industry now in Mexico is similar to the late 1980's in the United States.

Embedded below is the slideshow presentation on Grupo Televisa (TV): 



You can download a .pdf copy here.



Lily Miao, The Wharton School: Long Constellation Software (CSU):  The thesis on this name is focused on outstanding management and smart capital allocation.

Embedded below is the slideshow presentation on Constellation Software (CSU):



You can download a .pdf copy here.



Venkata Amarthaluru, University of Pennsylvania: Long W.R. Grace (GRA):  This has been somewhat of a hedge-fund-favorite and Ted Weschler of Berkshire Hathaway has been a big bull on the name dating back to when he ran his own hedge fund and before.  With GRA's spinoff coming up, Venkata recommends to buy pre-spin and then sell the Construction Products division and hold the New Grace Co.

Embedded below is the slideshow presentation on W.R. Grace (GRA):



You can download a .pdf copy here.


If you missed it, be sure to also check out our full notes from the 2015 Sohn Conference.

Jeremy Siegel: 2010 Good For Stocks, Bad For Bonds

Wharton finance professor Jeremy Siegel last month sat down for an interview in the Knowledge @ Wharton newsletter. The talk delves into his view on the markets for 2010 and he believes it will be a good year for equities and a bad year for bonds. He also believes interest rates will go up. Once investors get over their initial fear and realize that such an increase would mean the economy is recovering, Siegel thinks we could see 10% equity returns.

His pessimism on bonds is due to risk premium dissipating, interest rates rising (causing bonds to lose value) and he does not like any long-term bonds in 2010. However, he did like corporate bonds and 'risky corporates' a little bit as well. This is not the first time we've seen this overall stance as Bank of America was out saying to overweight stocks and underweight bonds.

Below you'll find Siegel's thoughts and his market outlook for 2010:



You can download the .pdf here.

Siegel also recently sat down with Bloomberg to talk about the recent pullback in the markets. Here's the video:



Siegel definitely feels stocks are the superior choice to bonds for this year. With that in mind, head to the list of top stocks held by hedge funds for a few ideas (or crowded trades if you look at it that way).
For more outlook and insight regarding the markets for this year, head to the ten investment themes for 2010.