Reaching top three and learning from others along the way
The
mandate
of
the
Association
of
Canadian
Intercollegiate
Investment
Clubs
(ACIIC)
is
to
bring
together
Canadian
university
students
from
coast
to
coast
to
form
a
community
of
ambitious
students
who
are
passionate
about
finance
and
investing.
Each
year,
ACIIC
calls
for
members
from
Canadian
student
investment
clubs
to
form
a
chapter
team
that
represents
their
university
at
a
national
stock-pitch
competition.
In
November
2021,
several
students
from
the
School
of
Accounting
and
Finance
(SAF)
joined
the
University
of
Waterloo
chapter
team
and
competed
in
the
event,
which
was
sponsored
by
the
National
Bank,
PenFund
and
Purpose
Investments.
The
team
placed
third
out
of
ten
universities,
beating
out
teams
from
Queen’s
University,
Western
University’s
Ivey
Business
School,
University
of
Toronto
and
York
University.
In
this
year’s
competition,
each
chapter
was
tasked
with
pitching
a
long
equity
investment
that
is
listed
on
a
North
American
or
European
exchange
over
the
course
of
a
10-minute
presentation.
This
was
then
followed
by
a
Q&A
session
where
presenters
had
to
defend
their
investment
theses
in
front
of
a
panel
of
judges
from
the
financial
services
industry.
We
witnessed
several
impressive
presentations
from
other
Canadian
universities
on
the
day
of
the
competition
and
it
was
very
exciting
to
learn
about
a
variety
of
businesses
and
industries.
We
were
able
to
gain
an
understanding
of
trends
impacting
electric
vehicle
companies,
real
estate
technology,
retail
chains,
and
energy
companies.
It
was
also
interesting
to
see
how
other
chapters
went
about
analyzing
the
stock
they
pitched,
and
the
intricacies
involved
in
building
financial
models
for
businesses
operating
in
different
industries.
The competition provided us with an opportunity to apply the analytical, valuation and presentation skills we developed in the courses we take at the SAF. Looking back, constant communication, emphasis on learning, and our ability to draw on our diverse backgrounds and experiences were the building blocks of success for our team. We highly recommend that students participate in competitions and extracurricular activities like ACIIC, as they provide opportunities to collaborate with others, build upon concepts taught in class and broaden one’s horizon.