Clemson business students compete at the annual Stock Pitch Competition in Georgia

This year, as part of a Creative Inquiry (CI) course in the Department of Finance at the Wilbur O. and Ann Powers College of Business, nine students participated in the University of Georgia’s Stock Pitch Competition.

This is the second year Angela Morgan, chair of the Department of Finance, has offered the course and the second year that Clemson has had a team compete at UGA. Clemson was one of only 15 teams chosen to compete this year out of 109 teams. Other competitors included New York University (NYU), University of Pennsylvania, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC), University of Chicago, Emory University and the University of Florida.

Morgan says, “Creative Inquiry courses allow us to provide more hands on, specialized experience than what we provide in the normal lecture-based class. The stock pitch CI allows students to hone their skills at analyzing firms and then perform an in-depth valuation on a firm that the students have chosen. Students then go on to create a pitch slide deck similar to what you would see in industry. For the teams who go on to present, they learn to communicate effectively in a business setting and to answer questions from real finance professionals. ”

For the competition, each team of students chose a stock to pitch to investors to buy or sell. Throughout the year-long course, students learned how to pick stocks, calculate WACCs and value stock prices based on discounted cash flow and multiples approaches.

Financial management juniors Shane O’Malley, Ryan Wolf and Ryan Smith, with financial management senior Alec Batt, attended the two-day event at UGA to represent Clemson. They chose to pitch the firm Aptiv and presented to a panel of industry judges. The judges on the panel included Marc Bosworth, Masters Capital; Craig Inman, Artisan Partners; Eli Yarborough, First Capital; and moderator Larry Cummings (GENCapital).

O’Malley says, “Being selected to compete in this challenge was a rewarding experience for our team, allowing us to learn from one another and connect with exceptional students from top universities nationwide.”

For inquiries into the Stock Pitch Creative Inquiry course, please contact Angela Morgan.

About the Department of Finance

The Department of Finance at Clemson offers a Bachelor of Science (B.S.) degree in financial management. Students specialize in one of four emphasis areas: corporate finance, financial services, financial planning, or real estate. Employment opportunities include positions at major banks, investment firms, corporate headquarters and real estate development firms.

Students in the department have access to the finance trading room and specialized trading resources and software such as the Bloomberg machine. Opportunities for students are extensive, with highlights including simulated investing through Wall Street South, financial modeling workshops, CFP exam preparation, and scholarships for the Level I Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) Exam. Past Creative Inquiry classes have explored topics such as artificial intelligence and machine learning in real estate, the CFA Global Research Challenge and Bloomberg Certification.

The department’s faculty conducts research in empirical corporate finance, financial institutions, and real estate. Specialty research areas include corporate governance, housing markets, mergers and acquisitions and debt contracting