Logistics & Rules

Guidelines & Format

1. Teams of three full-time undergraduate students from each school will participate in the Undergraduate Stock Pitch Challenge.
2. Each team is responsible for preparing two pitches, one of which is assigned by organizers for the preliminary rounds and one stock of their own choosing, which will be presented by teams that proceed to the final round. We encourage teams to prepare this final round pitch well ahead of time.
3. One week prior to the challenge, on Tuesday, September 3 at 9 a.m. EST, teams will receive their assignment. Organizers will be in touch with details.
4. Teams have one week to prepare their investment recommendation (buy or sell/short) and presentation. For a sell recommendation, teams will need to clarify whether it is a sell assuming one is holding the position or a short sale recommendation.
5. Challenge will include presenters and judges. Judges will consist of distinguished investment professionals from sponsoring firms.
6. Students are expected to be on the honor system throughout the event.

The Presentation

1. All teams must put their stock pitch presentations on a pre-designed template provided by the organizers of the Undergraduate Stock Pitch Challenge.
2. Teams make their presentations, allowing all three students to present and participate in answering the judges’ questions.
3. A total of 15 minutes is allotted per team pitch; with 7 minutes of presentation time and 8 minutes for Q&A from the judges. Time limits will be strictly enforced by an official timekeeper.
4. Student teams cannot watch other teams’ presentations.  Non-finalist teams may watch all final-round presentations.
5. Judges will use an evaluation sheet for the competition. The presentation will be judged on the basis of the quality of the analysis, presentation delivery, and the quality of the Q&A session. These evaluation sheets will be scanned in and e-mailed to presenters in the week following the competition.

Honor System

All data sources are fair game, including the Internet and any proprietary quantitative or fundamental models developed in advance, sources must be cited.

1. Teams are expected to fully respect one another’s privacy; team members should neither seek nor provide information to anyone outside their own team. Teams may not contact anyone, including investment professionals on the buy-side or sell-side (alumni or otherwise) to ask about their investment opinion on the assigned stocks.
2. Violation of these rules constitutes grounds for disqualification.

Logistics

1. When the event is held in person, teams are responsible for their own transportation to and from the venue.  Cornell University will provide accommodations and meals for up to three students per team.
2. Teams should submit a copy of their presentation to their box folder by 10:00 p.m. EST on Tuesday, September 10. If the Box folder does not work, please email the presentation by the deadline. We encourage students to test the Box folder out in advance, as changes to presentations will not be accepted after the deadline.
3. Professional dress attire is required.