Graham Gearhart ’19 pitched Waste Management (WM) to the Student Managed Investment Fund (SMIF) on February 25, 2019. Waste Management focuses on waste collection and disposal through their network of vehicles, transfer stations, and landfills. In addition to waste disposal, WM also collects recycling materials and refurbishes those materials into a commodity that is then sold. The company is very focused on environmental and sustainability initiatives and other ways to help the environment. They have began to overhaul their fleet by converting about 25% of their diesel trucks to natural gas, some of which is taken from landfill gas produced at their landfills.They are also an innovator in the environmental and waste services industry in terms of technology, as they have implemented route optimization software for their fleet, and improved their digital presence with a better website and mobile applications in order to increase customer satisfaction and decrease churn. Gearhart believes that Waste Management is well positioned for the future because of their sustainability focus, stable revenues, and defensive profile, as they significantly outperformed the S&P during the recession of 2008-2009. The class voted to buy 145 shares of WM, creating an active risk position of 1.40%.