Four students gain exposure to finance at the Investment Research Challenge

From classroom to competition

This term, our team had the pleasure of competing in the Investment Research Challenge (IRC); our first in-person case competition experience in university. Out of eleven teams, our team was honoured to have won third place in this competition. Every member on our team is in their 2B term in Accounting and Financial Management (AFM) and are on the Student Investment Fund (SIF). Our team set out to pitch a buy recommendation for TSX: GDI, a commercial facilities service provider in Canada and the US.

Through the competition, our team was able to gain immense exposure to finance, from researching the business, to thesis generation, all the way to creating intrinsic and extrinsic valuation models. Although the process was challenging as we were all new to the industry, the team exhibited tremendous improvements in putting together a pitch, qualifying for the competition, and competing in the finals. This experience helped the team grow and work together to ultimately develop a deeper understanding of the leading players and the fundamental business as a whole.

The School of Accounting and Finance (SAF) IRC challenge was an unforgettable experience because it gave us the opportunity to transfer what we’ve learned in our finance courses and in the SIF, to a competitive space. Given our positive experience, we wholeheartedly recommend the SAF IRC to all students who have an interest in finance as you can build lifelong connections and learn from industry mentors and experienced faculty!

Thank you to the School of Accounting and Finance and Anish Chopra for making this event possible!