PITCH GUIDELINES

  • Presentations are to be limited to 10 minutes or less, with an additional 10 minutes for Q&A

  • Pitches must be a Long or Short idea on a single stock (Common or Preferred, including ADR’s and GDR’s).

  • ETF’s, ETN’s, Closed-End Funds, or other exchange-traded securities, including derivatives (options/futures) and currencies, will not be eligible.

  • Pitches should be a minimum of 2 pages long, with no maximum.

  • Individuals/teams should select a stock from the Nasdaq, NYSE, or NYSE Amex, with a market capitalization greater than $300 million.

  • Time horizon will be 3-24 months

  • All content must represent the author's own work.

  • All images must have a source (if it is the authors' work, please provide a source for data used), and all non-obvious information must also have a source, preferably a link.

  • The write-up should include:

    • Target price and time horizon 

    • Explanation of what the business does in simple terms (make sure people who aren’t familiar with the business can understand it) 

    • Your investment thesis

    • Catalysts that will bring the current stock price to the target future price within the time horizon 

    • Commentary on the market price vs. valuation and where the market’s wrong that led to the gap.

    • Discussion of the potential risks  

      • You don’t have to necessarily follow this exact structure, but you should address all of these points. All supporting pictures, financials, charts, and other graphics should be included in the appendix and you can reference them in the write-up.

  • Textual commentary should be included alongside graphics wherever possible to clearly explain what the graphic is saying and why it’s relevant to your thesis.

  • Judges will study the financial and valuation analysis so please double check to make sure: 

    • All numbers are defensible and logical

    • Formulaic calculations are correct

    • Numbers that show up in multiple places tie with each other, and 

    • Relevant footnotes are included.

      • A copy of the judging guidelines can be found HERE

  • For financial profiles, please provide commentary around the rationale behind various projections (i.e. why EBITDA margins are expanding, etc).