BUFC Team Finished As A Finalist In The Cornell Undergraduate Stock Pitch Competition

September 27, 2023

The Boston University Finance and Investment Club (BUFC) team placed in the top 4 of the prestigious 13th annual Cornell Undergraduate Stock Pitch Competition in Ithaca on the 14th and 15th September.  Boston University participated for the first time represented by Henry Chen (Questrom ‘25), Mihir Bhuptani (CAS ‘25) and Thomas Smith (CAS & Questrom ‘25). The team got the opportunity to present stock pitches in front of portfolio managers and recruiters at T. Rowe Price and Dodge & Cox. BUFC’s President, Atharva Mhatre (Questrom & CAS ‘24), says “the club is proud of this team for representing BU and putting up an amazing performance in this selective and prestigious competition.”

Left to right: Thomas Smith (CAS, Questrom‘25), Mihir Bhuptani (CAS ‘25), Henry Chen (Questrom ‘25)

The 13th annual Cornell Undergraduate Stock Pitch Challenge consisted of 10 teams from colleges across the country, like Columbia University, Cornell University, Carnegie Mellon University, New York University, Emory University, Notre Dame University, University of Connecticut, and of course, Boston University. The competition runs for two rounds, during which teams craft and present a comprehensive investment thesis on whether they would buy or sell the stock based on the analysis of gaps in the market’s valuation of the company. The teams needed to show why their forecasts were more accurate and rationalize why there is a potential upside to the current stock price.

In the first round, each team was given 4 stock choices to pick from: Lululemon (LULU), Crocs (CROX), Under Armour (UA), and On Holdings (ONON). BU chose Lululemon to pitch as a “buy,” with the argument that the company is well-managed, growing, and could succeed in international markets. The four best pitches advanced to the finalists round: BU, Emory, Notre Dame, and NYU. For the final round, the team could choose any stock with a market cap of 3 billion and above. BU presented InMode as a “buy,” with the argument that the company fills a treatment gap in medical aesthetics. Of the four best pitches that were sent to the final round, BU placed among Emory at 3rd/4th place (unspecified).

“Ultimately, for BU’s first appearance in the competition, we were very happy with our performance and both of our team’s pitches. We plan to use what we learned at the competition to further improve investment pitches for BUFC’s $1 million student-run investment fund,” says BUFC’s VP of Investment Management, Nicholas Glomski (Questrom ‘25). You might remember the BU Finance and Investment Club reached $1 million in assets earlier this year, under their own direction, and with their own money.

BUFC’s President, Atharva Mhatre, added that the club will continue BU’s participation in prestigious competitions like this one and hopefully leverage what they have learned to win going forward.

Finally, the competition team extended their appreciation to Questrom Professors and mentors – Professor Louis Salemy and Professor Greg Stoller for their continued support of BUFC.