A University of Queensland (UQ) team has won the 2016 Citibank Stock Pitch Challenge, which was held at UQ and run by the UQ Banking Club, on behalf of the University Network for Investing and Trading (UNIT) and their premier sponsor, Citi.
Seven of the GO8 universities battled it out through heat rounds, followed by a national final at the University of Sydney, where the each finalist pitched their stock in front of a panel of industry professionals.
UQ’s winning team, ‘Peak Capital’, consisted of UQ Business School students Alex Paton, Caroline Mullin, Dominic Leahy, and Edward Hogan, who each received one week of work experience with Citi’s Markets & Securities Services Division.
Team member Edward Hogan said the competition was hugely beneficial and it gave his team exposure to the machinations of equity research, and an area they are all interested in.
“The competition required extensive research and modelling. In the heat rounds we pitched Transurban (TCL), and in the finals we pitched Virtus (VRT).
“Our team would like to thank Citi for organizing the competition and UQ Business School for facilitating the UQ rounds. In particular, we would like to thank Professor Karen Benson and Dr Karen Alpert for adjudicating,” he said.
Team members Caroline Mullin and Alex Paton were both in the 2015 CFA Challenge that achieved an overall 2nd nationally.
UQ Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Dr. Rand Low, led the UQ team in the CFA Challenge in both 2014 & 2015, and is currently looking for students for the UQ team in the 2016 CFA Challenge.
“I am very pleased to hear of Caroline and Alex’s achievements in the Citibank Challenge. Success is often the outcome of hard work, perseverance, and never giving up.
“UQ continues to attract students who exhibit desirable skillsets such as creative thinking and problem solving ability that will undoubtedly lead them onwards to bright and promising futures,” he said.
For more information on the 2016 CFA Challenge visit https://www.cfainstitute.org/community/challenge/involved/Pages/index.aspx. Students interested in participating in UQ’s CFA Challenge team can e-mail Dr. Rand Low (r.low@business.uq.edu.au)
