Isenberg Hosts Annual Stock Pitch Conference

Fourteen teams of finance students from across the United States and Canada presented stock pitches to a panel of esteemed judges and an audience of more than 150 at the seventh annual Isenberg Stock Pitch Conference in April. The Minutemen Equity Fund (MEF), the Minutemen Fixed Income Fund, and Smart Women Securities hosted the event, which was held virtually.

UMass Amherst students launched the Isenberg Pitch Conference in 2016 to build relationships and networks and expand business acumen in the field of finance. Student teams research and pitch stocks, and judges from top investment firms challenge the students with questions to provide more depth and analysis into their pitches.

At the 2024 conference, six Isenberg students— Jack MacKinnon ’26, Kate Radulski ’27, Maxwell Voellmicke ’26, Anthony White ’26, Diya Bhogesara ’26, and Krisha Gorgi ’26—competed as part of two teams.

MacKinnon, a junior finance major, participated because it was an opportunity to represent Isenberg and UMass Amherst in front of other institutions and judges. He also enjoyed expanding his network and learning from other schools’ teams as he watched their presentations.

“My experience with stock pitches has been within MEF, and being able to present to people outside of Isenberg allowed me to get a more realistic sense of pitching to people I don’t know,” he said. “I was able to work with a different team as well and build off the skills its members brought to the table.”

MacKinnon also improved his public speaking skills through the competition—and learned how to answer tough questions from the judges.

“The Q&A portion of a pitch demonstrates to the audience if you know the company and industry well,” he explained. “Being able to answer questions is extremely important to create credibility with the audience.”

Gorgi, a junior finance major, participated to get a better understanding of the fundamentals of researching companies, including understanding the business model and making her own predictions about a company stock’s future performance.

“I also wanted to collaborate with other UMass Amherst and Isenberg students who are interested in investing and capital markets,” she said. “Throughout the research process, we were able to share ideas and learn from each other as I gained exposure to a new company and sector.”

Gorgi noted that participating in the event will help her develop her career and skill set.

“As a student interested in pursuing a career in investment research, this competition allowed me to gain hands-on experience related to the field and develop useful technical and soft skills,” she said. “I learned more about researching companies, Bloomberg Terminal, and valuation.”

The judges were Ethan Hugo, portfolio manager at Pyramis Global Advisors; Alex Messisca ’17, equity research analyst at Eagle Asset Management; Ted Morton ’08, equity research analyst at Westwood Global Investments; and Kevin Wolf, chief financial officer at American Financial Exchange and a UMass Amherst lecturer.

Schools participating this year included Dartmouth University, Harvard University, the Isenberg School of Management, New York University, Emory University, University of Oxford, and Temple University, among others.

PLANNING UNDERWAY FOR 2025

Each year, teams attending the conference hear a keynote address from prominent finance industry leaders on stock research and pitching. The students also have an opportunity to network with accredited investors and talent acquisition teams from major Wall Street firms and asset managers and learn from students from other universities. With significant interest already expressed for the 2025 conference, planning is well underway by the student groups.

Lorraine U. Martinelle ’97 is content manager in the UMass Amherst Isenberg School of Management’s Marketing and Communications office. Submit story ideas to lmartinelle@isenberg.umass.edu.