The University of Notre Dame Investment Club (NDIC) scored two notable wins in recent undergraduate stock pitch competitions.
“The Notre Dame Investment Club prides itself on being very knowledgeable about the companies that it pitches and presenting a well thought out thesis,” said John Stiver, associate teaching professor of finance at Mendoza College of Business who serves as NDIC faculty adviser. “These competitions give the students an opportunity to show off their hard work and make valuable contacts with industry professionals. Winning is, of course, a welcome bonus.”
On September 15, students Jack Viscuso (BBA ’25), Jack Wayman (BBA ’25) and Ellie Wyshner (BBA ’25) took first in the Undergraduate Stock Pitch Challenge at Cornell University’s SC Johnson College of Business. The challenge allows students from top undergraduate programs to showcase their stock-picking skills in front of a panel of investment professionals.
Each of the nine teams competing prepared two pitches, one of which was assigned by organizers for the preliminary round and one stock of their own choosing for the final. The Notre Dame team pitched Crocs in the first round and Garrett Motion, a leading manufacturer of turbochargers, for the final round. Judges from T. Rowe Price and Dodge and Cox selected the winner based on overall quality of analysis, choice of stock and investment process, the team’s handling of Q&A and presentation skills.
“As someone interested in a career in investing long term, the competition afforded a unique opportunity to present our thesis on stocks that had a compelling return profile,” said Viscuso. “It was equally helpful to hear the questions and concerns from judges, which helped our team to think more strategically about the investment. I’d certainly encourage other finance students to enter these competitions as they offer a tremendous opportunity to learn more about investing in public equities.”
Mendoza students also took first place in the Undergraduate Women in Investing Conference Stock Pitch Showcase hosted by SC Johnson School of Business on September 29. The team of Kathleen Mark (BBA ’25), Grace Hibey (BBA ’25) and Peyton Richardson (BBA ’25) was one of 12 schools competing.
The teams were divided into three presentation groups with the top two schools in each group declared as winners. Notre Dame presented before judges from Fidelity Investments, Boston Partners, and Dodge and Cox. Judging criteria for this competition was also based on a combination of the team’s quality of analysis, stock pick, investment process and presentation skills.
“I highly recommend that finance students interested in investing do a stock pitch at some point in their four years, whether internal or external competition or an NDIC pitch,” said Mark. “The pitching process offers the practice of implementing fundamentals learned about in class and employing creativity in the presentation. Our team really valued the experience of seeing how other schools approach the investment process, which exposed us to a myriad of diverse perspectives.”