UF teams place 2nd and 3rd at Texas stock pitch
Two teams from UF Warrington placed among the top three in the University of Texas Stock Pitch competition (TSP) held in Austin, Texas.
TSP is the largest stock pitch competition in the Southern United States and provides students from all over the nation with the opportunity to demonstrate their proficiency in investment research, valuation and presentation to a panel of seasoned industry professionals.
The third place team, composed of students Justin Cook (BSBA ’25), James Donnelly (MSF ’24), Grant Stanish (MSF ’23) and Adam Weinberg (BSBA ’25), traveled to Austin where they pitched Warner Bros. Discovery.
“Placing in this competition feels amazing,” said Weinberg. “It’s a great feeling when your hard work pays off and the judges compliment you for the work you did.”
Weinberg and Cook made up the undergrad side of the team, while Donelly and Stanish made up the graduate side. When asked about lessons learned from this experience, Weinberg replied, “This was the first competition that Justin (Cook) and I competed in, so it was amazing having Grant (Stanish) and James (Donnelly) as mentors, as they’ve competed and placed in multiple competitions before. Their advice on how to think about crafting and arguing investing ideas helped for this competition and I know it will continue to help in future ones.”
The second place team, composed of students Eliot Glein (BSBA ‘25), Nathan Marshall (BSBA ‘25) and Ethan Poliner (BSBA ‘25) competed in two competitions within a 48-hour span – the aforementioned Texas Stock Pitch competition in Austin and the Student Managed Investment Fund Stock Pitch competition at the University of Georgia in Athens where they placed third.
“This weekend provided the opportunity to showcase the skills we have built in the Gator Student Investment Fund,” said Poliner. “Competing in both competitions allowed us to connect with like-minded peers in similar organizations from schools across the country and we are incredibly grateful for the opportunity to represent the University of Florida in such highly regarded events.”
Preparation was key for the team, as Glein and Marshall explained, “After meeting on Zoom throughout winter break and developing an investment thesis, we ultimately submitted the applications towards the beginning of the spring semester and were fortunate to receive invitations to compete. We created a pitch deck and financial model to aid in the explanation of our thesis and valuation.”
The teams were awarded $2,000 for third place and $3,000 for second place.
