Challenges and Competitions

Association for Corporate Growth (ACG) Cup

The ACG Cup is the largest finance competition with upwards of 30 teams competing. ACG represents the valuation, taxation and finance community in the Grand Rapids region. The competition involved analyzing several opportunities for a company and recommending the most appropriate course of action. Students are required to value companies using the DCF model and by transaction and trading comparables. CMU had 4 teams of 4 students compete in 2020. Consistent with 2019, CMU placed second in the competition with the team of Sam Reina, Connor McCarthy, Jake Aymen and Eric Scott.

Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) Research Challenge

Every year, more than 6,100 university students compete in the CFA Research Challenge. The competition consists of three levels—regional, national, and international. In teams, students intensively analyze a publicly traded company based in their region. This process includes speaking with management, using CFA Institute Resources, and delving into SEC archives. The competition requires a full equity research report and presentation in front of CFA Charterholders. While the benefit from gaining technical experience is substantial, the networking opportunities with other universities, CFA Charterholders, and employers is of immense value. In 2020, two CMU teams competed in the regional CFA competition where the students prepared a research report on Dominos. The team of Colin Roelofs, Preston Gee, Stewart Zondlak, Sam Reina and Andrew Gawryk finished third in the competition. In February, 2021, the team of Adam Schihl, Craig Schneider, Sebastian Schisel, Sam Grimaldi and Ben Feldpausch won the Michigan CFA Challenge. They will now move on to the Mid-Western Finals. Their CFA Research Challenge win marks the second time in three years that CMU has won this competition.

National Investment Banking Competition (NIBC)

Seniors Jake Aymen and Eric Scott prevailed over more than 10,000 participants from more than 200 schools –– including world-class universities such as Cambridge, Yale, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, National University of Singapore, HEC Paris and more — to win the $6,000 grand prize in the 2019-2020 National Investment Banking Competition of Canada. Teams apply and develop skills in financial modeling and pitching based on a simulation of an investment banking transaction. They value companies and present recommendations to a board composed of senior management of real-world banks. Another round of presentations whittled finalists to eight teams. A Goldman Sachs technology group from San Francisco, California, chose three teams, including Jake Aymen and Eric Scott, to advance and present to the whole conference. Judges, including the head of capital markets for all of British Columbia at TD Bank, selected Aymen and Scott to win the grand prize, the first team of only two people to win the NIBC.

Michigan State University Corporate Finance Competition

This October was the first time the MSU Corporate Finance Competition was held. CMU had four teams in the competition who competed against other leading finance institutions in Michigan. The team consisting of Sam Grimaldi, Morgan Colby, Jacob Chase and John-Anthony Stepp placed second while the team of William Bonnee, Sloan Felton, Connor Drake and Lacey Ives placed third. This competition allows students to improve their corporate finance skills through a complex case study. Students assess each alternative as well as recommend and defend the path that they chose. By presenting to industry experts and answering difficult questions, the students were able to improve their presentation skills.