Our Investment Process

Upon joining TSIG, new members are assigned, based on their interests and experiences, to one of six investment groups focused on a single aspect of the energy transition. These investment groups, shown below, deal with different aspects of the energy transition. Through their work in investment groups, our members retain their freedom to pitch the stocks they are interested in while gaining a corpus of experience and expertise on a specific area.

Teams are structured meritocratically based on each member's dedication and performance to TSIG. The vertical yet flexible structure of our teams perfectly harmonizes learning and initiative. We value the ability to have our seasoned upperclassmen pass on their knowledge to the next generations while also encouraging newer members to make active decisions. Below is a diagram of our team structure.

Our multi-step investment process is designed to maximize the quality of our pitches by ensuring rigor and accountability along the way. Every semester, teams start by developing an investment question within their field of expertise. An investment question should be a substantive question or problem which touches on both the intrinsic properties of a particular technology or idea as well as its connection to the markets and the broader economy.

After that, teams conduct thorough qualitative research on the investment question, collecting information about the question as well as the geopolitical, macroeconomic, and policy factors that influence it. This information helps the investment group's members come up with a more specific investment thesis targeting the opportunity involved in a particular technology or idea. When a thesis pitch is inaccurate, groups go back to analyze what went wrong, and are held accountable for providing explanations. More is learned through failure than success. 

After developing an investment thesis, investment groups collect a list of three to seven companies that fit the thesis. Then, group members leverage their qualitative policy expertise as well as their quantitative financial valuation skills to conduct more in-depth research about these potential stocks. Group members evaluate each company's environmental impact as well as their financial prospects, eliminating unattractive opportunities along the way to arrive at 1-3 final stock proposals.

Investment groups develop pitch decks which they present to the rest of Tiger Sustainable Investment Group on pitch day. Members respond to other member's questions in a highly energetic day of back-and-forth discussion where TSIG is joined by its board members and other professionals to make final investment decisions. After each stock pitch, members vote on whether or not to make the investment, maintaining the ability to postpone the decision to a later date.

Building a portfolio is easy, maintaining it is much harder. Besides simply proposing stocks to invest in, teams will also be tasked with managing stocks pertaining to their group's field. Investment groups must keep track of their stock's performance and keep on top of market news to make decisions on when to divest from and reinvest in certain stocks.