The Official Pitch The PM Newsletter No. 4

Calendar:

Next Week:
- May 15, 2025: An Alpha Sense sponsored Webinar on ZM: A Stealth AI play - accelerating growth a catalyst. Register here
- Apprentice Program Lesson 2 Friday, May 16th 11 AM ET. Join here (it’s free)

Later This Month:
- New Episode with the CEO of Hydra Host, a private GPU Inventory SaaS Company. Subscribe to YouTube episodes here.

New Newsletter:
- Want Pitch The PM’s Job Board directly to your inbox in a Newsletter? Sign-up here to never miss a new opportunity.

Upcoming Webinar: Is Zoom the Next Stealth AI Winner?

We’re teaming up with AlphaSense, the industry’s top AI-powered market intelligence platform, for an exclusive webinar breaking down our bullish thesis on Zoom!

Zoom ($ZM) has quietly transformed from a video meetings tool into a full-stack enterprise communications platform— and AI is the key driver

We believe Zoom is at a real growth inflection point. The COVID-era SMB churn looks to be largely in the past, and now the Enterprise segment is picking up steam, setting the stage for reacceleration

We’ll break down:
- How Zoom's AI Companion is redefining meetings, messaging, and knowledge capture
- The revenue upside from Zoom’s next phase: Phone, Contact Center, Workvivo
- Why Zoom’s growth slowdown may be turning — and how a re-rating could follow

Register here to attend or receive a recording!

A Salute to Warren

A BIG Thank You to Warren Buffett. A Legend in Investing, Integrity, Philanthropy, and Living.

I am a grateful shareholder. My journey studying Berkshire began in 2013 when my first buy-side PM forwarded me his annual letter and said, “On this team- we’re real investors”. My studying began. I read every shareholder letter back to 1965, watched as many videos as I could find on YouTube, and countless other books by Warren and Charlie - my top books are here: https://pitchthepm.com/library/

Over the last two years, when I was away from the daily PnL grind of the pod shops, I reengaged in my studying of Berkshire and others like Pabrai, Spier, Greenblatt, etc… and am focused on investing in small cap names that are well below their intrinsic value. Continue reading to see my first idea worthy punchcard, included this newsletter.

In the spirit of continuous learning, I clone the research the Berkshire team does on new investments. I recently did an episode on Pool Corp ($POOL) after Berkshire purchased, using my “Berkshire Checklist”.

Link to watch EP 003 POOL: Reverse Engineering Berkshire’s POOL Investment: Buying a Great Company in a Lull

He’s 94. He’s seen the Depression, dot-com, 9/11, GFC, COVID, and now the AI boom.
- Through it all, he's taught generations how to think clearly about capital.
- In light of Warren Buffett’s retirement announcement, here’s a collection of his best one-liners. Brutal honesty and plainspoken, but all brilliant. Each one says more than most 100-page investor decks.

Inside the Buy-Side - No. 9

My First (Buffett) Punchcard 📇

I’m working on my first Buffett Punchcard:
- As Buffett said: "Only buy 20 names in your life- so be very selective"
- That said, Berkshire owns 189 private companies and then the public portfolio.

This is a small cap name in an industry I know well.

-It’s under covered because it’s small, in an unloved industry, is mid-transition, and has limited float.
✅ I see value at ~50% of "fair value" via SOTP.
💰 There's a margin of safety- the cash balance alone worth ~20% more than the current share price.
💼 Plus, they're owed more cash from legacy issues.

Even better:
📈One of its core industries is recovering after its worst year ever.
The company has already rebuilt its equipment base and is starting to see improved utilization.

Longer-term:
This is like buying a private equity vehicle at 50% of NAV- with no management fees!

1) What ACTION do I want the Portfolio Manager to take? 
2) Do I UNDERSTAND this business? 
3) Is the stock available at a REASONABLE price today?
4) Why is this stock MIS-PRICED?
5) What is my VARIANT VIEW vs the street?
6) What is my EVIDENCE?
7) What are the CATALYSTS for the street to realize my view? 
8) What is it WORTH if my bet is right?
9) What is the OTHER SIDE of the bet?
10) Is management ALIGNED with ownership?

Attached below is a copy of the first few slides of the Variant View Investment Checklist. (Yes, it includes the ticker) 👇

Pitch The PM Apprentice Program

Pitch The PM is hosting our Apprentice Program every other Wednesday (this week on Friday though)! We’re building a collaborative space for aspiring investors, current portfolio managers, and buy-side analysts who want to connect, learn, and refine their edge.

At last weeks 1 hour meeting, we discussed mental models on the Rate of Change in the investing process, and the importance of using checklists!

We have over 50 Apprentices already, ranging from Students to VP Research Analysts, all the way up to C-Suite— this is the last call to join and learn more about buy-side investing!

Click the image below to join the group on LinkedIn and receive updates on future meetings!

Updates to Pitch The PM Job Board

🚨 Sign-up for the BRAND NEW Pitch The PM Job Board Newsletter to get opportunities & candidates directly to your inbox as we transition this portion of the newsletter into its own🚨 

Subscribe here: https://pitchthepmjobboard.beehiiv.com/p/pitch-the-pm-job-board-may-7

Re-highlighting:
- The opportunity to join one of my former colleagues at Eisler Capital, as a Metals & Mining Analyst
- A former colleague of mine from Surveyor/Citadel that is an Industrial ace with a decade+ of L/S experience across several Industrial verticals. Email me for an intro!

📌5 New Job Opportunities:
- L/S Analyst (Steel/Metals, Autos, Housing) - Engineers Gate
- L/S Analyst (Industrials, Transports/E&C/Machinery) - Capstone Investment Advisors
- PE Associate (TMT, Secondaries) - Kline Hill Partners
- SS Research VP (Energy, E&P) - Truist
- SS Research Associate (Commodities, Oil/Refined) - Goldman Sachs

🔍4 New Job Seekers:
- 1 yr L/S (Generalist) with PnL Responsibility, 4 yrs Alts
- 5 yrs SS (Internet), 2 yrs corporate at Tech companies
- 4 yrs Big 4 consulting, 1 yr advisory 
- 3 yrs credit/event driven, Masters in Data Science

Check out the most recent Job Board post with a comprehensive list of opportunities and candidates by clicking the image below!

About Us

Pitch The PM is the Professional Investor's Podcast that provides a deep-dive into a stock's investment case using the Variant View Investment Checklist. It is an open exploration of the research process in real time using high-conviction ideas from top PM’s and Analysts. Join the journey as Doug fills out his Buffett advised, 20-slot lifetime punch card. We learn and laugh together. 

The Variant View Investment Checklist is the process that combines:

• A decade of experience managing $1B at Citadel & Millennium, 

• Studying the great investors like Buffett, Munger, Lynch & Greenblatt, 

• and the latest AI tools to improve idea velocity, accuracy and conviction.

Westport Alpha Group is a family office consortium of like minded finance professionals. Individuals may engage in Special Purpose Vehicle’s (SPV’s), Separately Managed Accounts (SMA’s) or act as an Independent Sponsor for a private company or in a public company take-private. This is not a solicitation to sell/buy any security or engage in any services. This is not an attempt to form a group.

Pitch The PM is hosted by Doug Garber, a former Citadel Analyst and Millennium Senior Portfolio Manager. Doug was initially trained at Citadel by a former SAC/Point 72 Analyst who worked directly for Steve Cohen before becoming a PM at Citadel. Doug was ranked as a top five analyst while at Citadel’s Surveyor Capital and was the only one to receive that designation twice during his tenure. He managed a multi-sector, multi-strategy team at Millennium under Katahdin Capital. Prior to his buy-side career, Doug worked in sell-side equity research honing modeling and primary research skills. Doug is currently the CIO and DoR at the Westport Alpha Group.

Doug graduated from Tulane University with a BSM and Master of Finance. He was selected to participate in the Darwin Fenner Student Managed Endowment Fund that utilized quantitative factors to outperform its benchmark and be an Investment Research Manager in the Burkenroad Reports “Stocks Under Rocks” equity research program. Doug has a passion for iterating on the investment process and a quirky sense of humor. He lives in Westport, CT with his wife, Lexi, and three kids. When he is not reading a 10-K, you can find him coaching youth soccer, inverted on his yoga mat or on an eFoil looking for Zuck.

Disclaimer

Past performance is not indicative of future results. Neither Pitch The PM nor its author (s) guarantee any specific outcome or profit. You should be aware of the real risk of loss in following any strategy or investment discussed in this material or on the show. Strategies or investments discussed may fluctuate in price or value. Investors may get back less than invested. Investments or strategies mentioned on this website or on the show may not be suitable for you. This material does not take into account your particular investment objectives, financial situation or needs and is not intended as recommendations appropriate for you. You must make an independent decision regarding investments or strategies mentioned on this letter, on the website or on the show. Before acting on information on this website, in this letter or on the show, you should consider whether it is suitable for your particular circumstances and strongly consider seeking advice from your own financial or investment adviser.

The author (s) of this report may have positions in the securities discussed. The positions may change at a future date and neither Pitch The PM nor any authors are under any obligation to update you. The information may not be accurate and you should do your own research.

This is for educational purposes only. This is not investment advice. Please contact your financial advisor to see what is suitable for you. Please see disclosures at PitchThePM.com